DID THEY MAKE A AR 12B?

[lARrybody]

These AR 12's recently showed up on the local CL. They look a little different from the ones I have seen on the web. 

https://indianapolis.craigslist.org/ele/d/acoustic-research-ar-12/6548590929.html

I understand these were only made for one year around 1977. First there is no speaker tag on the front baffle. The line between the tweeters and midrange is something new.. I have a pair of AR11B speakers with the brass logo plates like these. I did find a pair on the UK auction site that look like these. Even the woofers with the fiber gaskets. I am pretty sure the Midrange and Tweeter are correct, but the woofer is definitely different looking. I would appreciate any information on these before I contact the seller.   The cabinets are a bit rough, but may be made presentable. 

[ra.ra]

This pic from the web may or may not help. Obviously, non-AR woofers have been installed in this pair, but you can see that the cabs with brass badges did not have the front-mounted printed label under the tweeter. In your local listing, I do not see any line between tweet and mid, but the horizontal line above the woofer is a velcro strip for grille attachment. It is hard to tell if those are original AR woofers in the CL listing, but the proper AR part for this driver should be p/n 200004 in the AR-12, and it should measure around 6.5 ohms DCR.

[ra.ra]

And here is the pair under consideration. The pics in the listing are terrible, with no view of backside, but I've tried to lighten up this frontal view.

[lARrybody]

I misspoke. I did mean the line between the woofer and upper drivers. Now I know it is s Velcro strip. Thanks RaRa. The woofers could of had the dust cap and fiber gasket added when refoamed. It almost looks like the surround is attached to the back side of the cone. If I remember correctly my AR 38S ‘s are like that. Unlike on the 200004 woofer. The best way to find out is to ask the seller. I know if I go to see them I will probably bring them home. Radio Shack woofers or not. 

[GD70]

Interesting version of the 12. The mids look like they have new surrounds. The damping foam on the tweeter with the square cutout is interesting. Keep us posted as to what you decide. I would assume these are early 12's? 

[genek]

Early ADD models had the brass name tags with embossed black lettering. Later models had the black/silver name tags. I have a pair of AR-11 cabinets that are marked "B" and are drilled for the black silver tags, but don't know whether the label change is a sign the model went to B.

[lARrybody]

I finally got to look at these AR 12's yesterday afternoon. Nice gentleman(Jeff) lives exactly 6 miles due east of me. When we went down into his finished basement I immediately noticed his Polk SDA SRS 1.2 speakers. He had the 12's hooked up and playing, and they sounded pretty good. Jeff said he got them from a co worker last year and didn't know much about AR at the time, but has since did a lot of reading and wanted more better AR's. He ask me if I have ever heard AR 9's because he wanted to find a pair. I told him I have a pair and like them very much. Inspecting the 12's  I could see the tweeters and mid ranges were correct, but the woofers didn't look quite right. I made him a offer If I could pull and identify one of the woofers and if they were labeled 200004. He agreed and I whipped out my stubby screwdriver.  They turned out to be replacements so I offered him half the asking price. He helped me carry them up to my car.  

This morning I took a closer look. The replacement woofer have a date of January 1984 and a part number but no indication of the manufacturer.

The woofer was sealed with puddy which I thought was strange for ADD speakers. I am thinking they might be european models because of the blue-grey damping fill and the speckled brown finish on the backs. No serial numbers front or back. I bet they came home with a service member.

I installed some PE foam gasket tape and reinstalled the woofer. Notice the velcro strips and not the dots you would expect to see. Maybe another euro trait?

Not sure what the veneer is, but it looks nothing like my AR 18's,11's and 15's. Much lighter and different grain. One has some moisture damage to the top back and they have a few corner dings, but nothing that can't be repaired. Not readily seen in the photos, but more of a yellowish tinge to the finish.

 

I have had these hooked up and playing for a couple hours now and the mids and highs sound very good set a 0db. The bass is there, not as good as my 2ax's, but not absent either. The treble and midrange shine the 2ax's on, but not overly bright. There are currently two sets of 200004 woofers on the auction site. One listing is a rough looking set with one woofer possibly not functional and the other set better in need of foam, but expensive at almost 60 dollars more than I paid for the set. Maybe I will listen to them as is for a while and explore my options. The grills are the open cell foam that parts express sells and fairley presentable. 

 

[dxho]

Looks like the Euro speckle paint on the backs.

[lakecat]

That certainly is a weird pair. The surround on mids has been done so who knows where the woofers came from. 

Did you get to hear the Polk 1.2's? I love mine.

[ra.ra]

2 hours ago, lakecat said:

The surround on mids have been done so who knows.....

This is a good point, since it would tend to refute that all-too-common occurrence of an owner tossing a driver simply because the foam had deteriorated. Nonetheless, the woofers remain a mystery.

21 hours ago, larrybody said:

I am thinking they might be european models because of the blue-grey damping fill and the speckled brown finish on the backs.

This is most likely an accurate assumption. Perhaps the crossover components offer a further clue?  Additionally, I have seen veneer like that on other Euro AR cabinets, and have assumed it might be English walnut, as opposed to eastern black walnut, which is found across much of North America. Last guess: could it be teak with applied walnut stain? Pic attached shows very similar grain structure but very different coloration.

If searching for authentic replacement woofers, the 004 woofer was also used in the AR-14, AR-2ax, AR-5 and AR-LST/2 which might help with availability options.

[lARrybody]

On 4/9/2018 at 8:59 AM, lakecat said:

On 4/9/2018 at 8:59 AM, lakecat said:

 

Did you get to hear the Polk 1.2's? I love mine.

That’s two pair I have ran across in 6 months  One pair in Springfield when I got my 9’s and another in Fishers when I got the 12’s.  Guess I am going to have to travel to northern Ohio if I ever am going to hear some  

 

 

[lakecat]

5 hours ago, larrybody said:

 

You are always more than welcome to come and have a listen...:) I've never heard the 9's either.... but hope too one day.