jnolan5784

You can usually find good Adcom's (555) or NAD equipment there, but they do have Krell, Crown, or Levinson stuff as well. If you get the arrangement on opposing walls worked out post pictures - It is a really interesting idea.

The separate stereo power amp will make a tremendous difference. Try SkyFi Audio for amps. High quality used equipment that has been thoroughly checked out and restored. High current, class AB solid states would be my rec. Also if you go for a high current amp, pay attention to cables - you can build them yourself, plenty of YouTube vids on this.

Congratulations, you will be amazed at the capability of these speakers. I would recommend the following: 1. Fuses - cheap, easy 2. Refoam - I would send them off (RoyC or someone else here on this forum). They will use the correct foam and also reallign the coil 3. Rebuild the tweeters - these were probably made between 1971-1973, so the foam in these will be degraded. They may function, but you aren't getting everything out of them. Several on this forum are good (ChrisC, RoyC). I did this on my 3a's that I thought sounded good and it made a huge difference. It will be pricey with 8, but worth it if you plan on 30 more years of using them 4. Caps - I haven't done this, but if there is wax replace. Mine are later models - 2700's. 5. Aesthetics - your preference on grills, badges, etc Now to the issue of power, don't be afraid of it. These need a minimum of 250-300 WPC. Many on this forum go as high as 700 WPC. These units really inefficient, and come alive over 300 WPC. Use your judgement, but a well driven speaker always sounds better than an under driven speaker. My opinion is around 450 WPC is the sweet spot for LST's. Room placement is also key - against a wall on these. LST's that are restored, well driven, and properly placed will absolutely amaze. Have Fun

Wondering about the utility of rebuilding the midranges of my 3a and LST. In my 3a's, the tweeters were working "fine" but I had them rebuilt on the recommendation of this forum and couldn't believe the difference it made. Just wondering about the midranges since I see that service is available from vintage AR. 10 midranges from a pair of 3a's and LST's would be an investment. Thanks to everyone.

No, they are not spring loaded, the knob has a set screw that allows for them to be removed. Sometimes this set screw has loosened and the whole movement seems a bit "mushy". A tiny flat screwdriver can usually fix this.

My father bought his pair of AR-3a's in January of 1969. Throughout my entire childhood that sound became my reference point in audio. The setup in those days was anything but optimal - Pioneer 25 wpc receiver, speakers against the wall on carpeted floor, lamp cord for speaker wire, Dual turntable with who knows what cartridge, etc. He eventually put them up in the original boxes due the pots being so bad. A couple of years ago I was putting together a surround sound system and needed two more speakers. I went to get them and only one was functional. I had the one speaker playing in the background as I was working on the other parts of the system. As I was walking away, I heard something unbelievable that stopped me in my tracks. The one speaker sounded really, really good. I realized that they needed saving because of their potential. At that point, I knew little to nothing about AR or acoustic suspension. Through this forum, I was able to learn and eventually restore those speakers (caps, rebuilt tweeters, and Kent's potentiometers). They sound amazing and was able to give them back to my father with a more capable amp that does them justice. I now have a set of LST's that I am currently working on and acquiring the appropriate components to power those beasts. In response to the original question - I vote for the vintage because they have a sound I haven't been able to find new, but that may be because I grew up on them.

I haven't done a set of 3's (only 3a's), but what are the gold terminals adjacent to terminal 1 and 2? I highly recommend Kent's ceramic pots.

Just curious about the amplification strategy especially on the double stacked LSTs.

I have LST 2705 and 2708 and they do not have a removable backs for the crossover. I haven't started working on my set and have many of the same questions about recapping. I was planning on having all of the tweeters rebuilt. When I restored my 3a's (recap and potentiometer replacement), the difference after having the tweeters rebuilt was substantial. I thought the 3a's sounded good before tweeter rebuild, but was really surprised how much it helped. The LST's are worth the expense, and really only want to have them apart once.

I like the JBL L100 stands currently available new. They fit the cabinet perfectly and are metal.

There are a lot of good options for amps. Units from the 80-90's are great - adcom, krell, crown, hafler, levinson, mac, and even some of the NAD stuff would be great with these. Just make sure they can deliver the power and the current. These can dip down to 2ohms in areas of the curve.

The tweeter rebuild was about 75 - 80 per unit. Well worth it, even though I thought they sounded great before. My own opinion, but the amp selection for these is one of the most important choices. I think the reason these models are under appreciated is that the amps of that time frame were not up to the speaker's potential. A good, restored set with proper modern amplification and room placement will hold there own with anything new under 10k.

Also the other thing that is really important for these is a good higher power amp. I would recommend at least 150wpc of good power. You will be amazed how much they open up with higher power. This design is extremely inefficient but with good power they come alive and sound like nothing else.

I would also recommend having both tweeters rebuilt by Chris (contact info is on this site). I have a pair of 68 3a's that I did the restoration using the Dayton caps and new correct potentiometers (CLS with ceramic housing). After re-assembly, they sounded amazing - so I thought. I had the tweeters rebuilt and am totally amazed - didn't realize what I wasn't hearing. If you do the caps, new potentiometers, and rebuild the tweeters -they will be good for another 30 years. This particular woofer and the mids rarely if ever have issues. I didn't reseal the cloth on the woofer as per Roy on this site.

This may have been covered elsewhere, but what are correlations between LST serial numbers versus year manufactured/variations in components. I have LST #2705 and #2708 and they have rear wired tweeters, no access point on the back, and a sticker above the fuse stating LST-1. Also, anyone know how many LST's were produced? Thanks