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Please help identify AR 3’s


DC Speaker Man

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I found a pair of AR 3’ 

one has serial number c 22109

2nd tag torn and missing serial number

they were painted white and a sanded paint off

i found no veneer on sides or top but only on bottoms

i see they are plywood 

were these sold like this ?

shoukd I move forward with stain or leave as is ?

they have heavy duty plywood grills that fit into jams and are hard to remove 444E6507-FB71-43E4-A402-8C40DD297526.thumb.png.b8ad8edd3dc76d64d1846e30bbb807fa.png444E6507-FB71-43E4-A402-8C40DD297526.thumb.png.b8ad8edd3dc76d64d1846e30bbb807fa.png

dont wanna ruin them

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They are pine plywood cabinets and very collectable. If the grills are plywood they are not original. If you could post a picture of the serial number sheet and the drivers with the grills removed that would help with identification. Someone here can give you advice on carefully removing the grills without damaging them.  This is a very nice find.

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You'll probably have to buy grille material and badges separately, but you're well on your way toward having yourself a pair of gold standard "blondies".  There are at least two known sources for grille material - - one in U.S., one in Canada - - and other members will chime in with that information.

AR-3 unfinished pine-1.jpg

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2 hours ago, ar_pro said:

Wowie, zowie....congratulations on an excellent find!

vintage_ar offers grilles, cloth & logos for the AR-3, but with the AR-3a-style cloth:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/ACOUSTIC-RESEARCH-AR-3-SPEAKER-GRILLES-CLOTH-LOGOS/161992719904?hash=item25b784be20:g:rYMAAMXQskFRGlNo

Great thanks for the link

i know they have after market but would love to get originals 

and to think they were sold at a goodwill for less than 10 bucks 

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6 hours ago, ra.ra said:

You'll probably have to buy grille material and badges separately, but you're well on your way toward having yourself a pair of gold standard "blondies".  There are at least two known sources for grille material - - one in U.S., one in Canada - - and other members will chime in with that information.

AR-3 unfinished pine-1.jpg

Gold standard blondes ?

how can I make mine look that nice ?

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My comment was meant to suggest that with cabinets that show no major damage and drivers that all appear to be in very good condition, you've found yourself a rare and very desirable pair of loudspeakers. Your initial attempts at paint removal look very successful, but it will take a much more tedious and refined effort to get them to look anywhere near the pair that I posted. Take it easy with the sandpaper, and maybe try some chemicals and bronze wool for further paint removal.

I think it is the 7022 fabric here that is often used on the AR-3.

http://www.wendellfabrics.com/mellotonefabricsamples.html

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31 minutes ago, ra.ra said:

My comment was meant to suggest that with cabinets that show no major damage and drivers that all appear to be in very good condition, you've found yourself a rare and very desirable pair of loudspeakers. Your initial attempts at paint removal look very successful, but it will take a much more tedious and refined effort to get them to look anywhere near the pair that I posted. Take it easy with the sandpaper, and maybe try some chemicals and bronze wool for further paint removal.

I think it is the 7022 fabric here that is often used on the AR-3.

http://www.wendellfabrics.com/mellotonefabricsamples.html

Thanks 

did go easy 

I’m putting them on stands just as they are and gonna enjoy them 

i also have a pair of almost mint 

ar3a’s 

So I’m good the way they are 

thanks so much 

you guys rock 

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2 hours ago, lakecat said:

This will give you an idea of what your ten dollars bought and can be worth. These are still painted...

https://www.ebay.com/itm/VINTAGE-AR3-SPEAKERS-ACOUSTIC-RESEARCH-SPEAKERS-PINE-PAINTED-WHITE/263879278150?hash=item3d706e3e46:g:FcsAAOSwsoFbc2UH

 

Nice 

I just put them up on stands and in there new home (spot) listen to some Beatles 

pretty amazing sound 

poor JBL’s got the boot 

 

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Ultimately, what to do about the cabinets will depend on whether or not you can get all the white paint out of the wood. If you can, then great, you can let the pine age naturally. If not, you'll be better off applying a very, very light pigmented stain in a "pine" or "golden" tint to blend the white paint traces in, then  a matte or satin finish clear topcoat. That'll get you pretty close to the look of naturally aged clean pine.

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1 hour ago, genek said:

Ultimately, what to do about the cabinets will depend on whether or not you can get all the white paint out of the wood. If you can, then great, you can let the pine age naturally. If not, you'll be better off applying a very, very light pigmented stain in a "pine" or "golden" tint to blend the white paint traces in, then  a matte or satin finish clear topcoat. That'll get you pretty close to the look of naturally aged clean pine.

That sounds like a good plan

thanks so much

really appreciate all the help on this page 

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Very nice find, and all the drivers are producing sound! Almost unheard of with these because of corroded pots!

the original grill frames are plastic, and by now very brittle. Most are broken or sagging. The slots at the top and bottom hold the grills in place. You gently bow the grills outward won the sides to slip them out. My recent set of 3's only, had one grill, so I made new ones using a 3a grill as a template. I used 1/4 inch MDF and cut them out. I got the Saran grill material from Q Components in Canada, a virtual perfect match to the originals. I'm quite happy with the end results. You can see how they came out in my "Stopped for toilet paper and found AR3's" thread.

Congrats and enjoy them.

Glenn

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1 hour ago, GD70 said:

Very nice find, and all the drivers are producing sound! Almost unheard of with these because of corroded pots!

the original grill frames are plastic, and by now very brittle. Most are broken or sagging. The slots at the top and bottom hold the grills in place. You gently bow the grills outward won the sides to slip them out. My recent set of 3's only, had one grill, so I made new ones using a 3a grill as a template. I used 1/4 inch MDF and cut them out. I got the Saran grill material from Q Components in Canada, a virtual perfect match to the originals. I'm quite happy with the end results. You can see how they came out in my "Stopped for toilet paper and found AR3's" thread.

Congrats and enjoy them.

Glenn

Right on ?

i went to a vintage repair shop looking for help on grill couldn’t believe they had a pair on display with perfect cabinets , perfect AR3a grills with badges

Went looking for grills but came home with a set of 

AR3a’s

i appreciate all the support 

 

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unbelievable

A pair of 3s AND a pair of 3a's!!

Now you have to restore both pair and give us your impressions in an A/B comparison.

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37 minutes ago, JKent said:

unbelievable

A pair of 3s AND a pair of 3a's!!

Now you have to restore both pair and give us your impressions in an A/B comparison.

Will do

playing the 3’s now with a Marantz 2270

they sound like no restore required.

trust me I have sampled and owned many speakers.

my JBL 120ti’s are louder and have way more Bass to rock out to

but I love the sound of the AR3’s better 

like myself old but still going.

lol 

but when 3a’s are restored we shall demo and do a video 

will post on YouTube and give my findings here for all.

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