JohnnyTheG

Very well said @frankmarsi. NYC is exactly how you imagined it has changed. It's a pity it lost a lot of it's old charm and appeal. Gentrification and rich out of state developers has made a fleeting memory of what it once was. Having said that, I still love it here. It's amazing but not surprising to think those ARs you bought in 71 are still sounding fantastic. Did you ever have any work done on them or are they as they were when purchased new? I image you recapped them at some point? I'm with you though, I have not heard any modern equipment that sounds as good as my system, especially my ARs. A real testament to their quality.

@Alex C What an incredible find! You are one lucky man. That's needle in a haystack stuff right there. And pairing it with those vintage Marantz components is amazing! I'd give anything to hear what they sound like. I love my AR2a's that have been upgraded to 2ax's and cannot get over how incredible they sound after 60 years of service! My dad bought them new back in circa 61 and I have had them since about 1982. I also have my dad's McIntosh C11 preamp and his Dynakit ST70 which has been modded the the van alstine circuit board. People come to my house and are constantly blown away by how real and lifelike the music sounds. They just don't make em like that anymore if you ask me. @frankmarsi What a great story about getting your first ARs. I live in Brooklyn and would love to know where that old hi fi store was on Avenue U. I am sure it went out of business during the Reagan years haha.

Wow, that is very interesting. Now I am very curious to try the 5 and compare it to my 2ax for bass response. Thanks Roy for your valued opinion.

This is very helpful, thank you for your input. I currently have a pair of 2ax speakers with 10" woofers and love the bass response I get in my listening room. At times I think I almost have too much bass which is why I was a bit hesitant with the 3a speakers which have 12" woofers.

I have an opportunity to buy a pair of AR 5s in pretty good condition recapped with Dayton Audio capacitors. I know the AR5 was basically the same as the 3a but with a 10" woofer. I believe these are relatively rare in the AR world, but wanted to get people's opinions of how they compare with the 3a. Thanks John

What a great idea. If you get them built and they wind up being pretty close to the originals, let me know the cost. I may join you in getting a pair.

Wow you have to do a youtube video on your different speakers and amps. That would be a very entertaining watch and informative. Who did you get to rebuild the tweeters and the mids on the ARs? Was it Larry from vintage AR?

Do you have a favorite amongst the speakers?

That is fantastic. It sounds like Hi-fi heaven.

Wow, that a beautiful setup. Bozaks, ARs and Macs. IS there anything better?

Haha, ahh youth! You spent your time focused on the right things.

Wow, @xmas111finally we tracked down someone who actually owned them! Did you hear a difference in the horizontal positioning of the speakers? In terms of the shelves, I am sure there are many that are sitting in antique stores and thrift stores around the country being sold just as furniture.

Wow amazing! Glad to see you have them horizontally. Villchur would be proud of you. Are those the 2ax speakers on top of the 3's?

I think the rod iron legs on the shelves must have been held to the shelves pretty securely. They would have to hold up the weight of the speakers and a rack of LPs underneath. RoyC makes replicas of the smaller stands, I wonder if he ever took a crack and making the shelves? @ar_proI think I saw the picture you are referring to. The speaker was definitely on an AR shelf in that pic if I remember correctly.

Yeah I agree. I am sure most people just used them as regular book/LP shelves. I'm sure there is nothing distinguishing them as being AR.

Has anyone ever come across these shelves AR made? I've never seen any used ones for sale or any pictures in someone's home. I am sure however many they sold, they just got used for shelving and were tossed out through the years. I am curious about them though. Very mid century vintage looking. I wouldn't mind finding a pair.

Hi all, I have had my 2a speakers upgraded to 2ax about 10 or so years and during that time the original pots were replaced with L-pads that came with the upgrade kit at the time. I normally leave the mid and hi pots set a certain way, but I got to playing around with them recently and I noticed when I turned the mid dial down somewhat on one of the speakers, the midrange driver cut out. It came back when i dialed it back up, but it got me concerned that the L-pad might have an issue. does anyone know if it's normal for the driver to cut out if the dial is turned down?

This was pretty helpful. Thanks @Aadams. This upgrade kit was purchased from now defunct Layne Audio back in 04.

Hello all, sorry for the very basic question, but I just want make sure I am clear on this. I have a pair of 2a's that have been upgraded to 2ax and L-pads were put in place of the original potentiometers. When the mid and hi controls are turned up or down am I simply making the midrange driver or tweeter louder or quieter or am I adjusting the frequencies that pass through those drivers?

Thanks for your suggestion.

Hello fellow Bozak fans. My friend recently bought a pair of 302-a Urbans. He currently has them toed in and about 2 feet from the wall facing the listener. Did Bozak intend their speakers to have this placement or were the meant to be pointing straight out and close to the listener facing wall? Thanks in advance John

Wow, what a great find!

Just to give a follow up to those who have given some very valuable suggestions to me, I finally got around to changing the position of my speakers so they would be pointing straight out instead of slightly toed in and I moved them back towards the rear wall and the change was dramatic. I got a full stereo image with proper center imaging finally and there were big improvements in the mid bass response. Who knew? All these years I was missing out on how much better these speakers could have sounded. Thanks everyone!

That's so interesting and it explains why my dad had them mounted flush against the wall back in the 60s when he owned them.

I've always heard that moving the speakers away from the front wall (the wall behind the speakers) about 2 to 3 feet is best, but from what I am reading that is not true of vintage AR speakers.