DavidR Posted August 24, 2018 Report Share Posted August 24, 2018 Damn, TX is too far. I'm in MA (sadly) Why is it that these great speakers only show up in NJ, TX and OH or other midwest States? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frankmarsi Posted August 24, 2018 Report Share Posted August 24, 2018 Don't despair David for there is a pair in good shape in Maryland on the auction site is 2 grand. That's about a 7 hour drive as the crow flies from MA. When I found mine in early 2015, I was lucky that they were only 45 minutes away. I wrapped each one in a moving-blanket, used much packing tape to hold the blankets in place and because rain was a threat that morning, I wrapped each one in two large black garbage bags each as protection. My helper and I carefully lifted each one on its back and laid them both in a pick-up truck. Got home and tied each one to a hand-truck to get them into the house. Should you buy a pair and have to pick them up, it is a mandatory two man job or damage could easily occur with their 130lb. dead-weight each. Moving blankets are highly advised with plenty of the 2 inch plastic packing tape. Although, over-all I prefer my four LST's, I must admit, the 9's are excellent but, project differently. P.S. There's also a nice pair of LST's for the same price in N.Carolina. I have found that after enjoying AR's larger speakers with very large amplifiers, I can't see myself ever going back to the 3a's or 2ax's. How could anyone? Good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harry398 Posted August 25, 2018 Report Share Posted August 25, 2018 4 hours ago, frankmarsi said: I own 2 ar9's and a set of ar9lsi. How could anyone enjoy a set of ar3a"s? I do! I like them and the ar58s! they have their place , however they do not project the same detail of the ar9's. The 4 way ar98 gets closer, but still it lacks the depth of bass. I hope to own the LST someday, and see if they live up to the hype. The AR9 is the KING in my house. Low to medium sound levels....awesome. High sound levels...still awesome. Great on the music I listen to. The ar9LSI has a different sound tone, and punchier Bass. Lacks some of the detail the ar9 offers in the midrange and tweeter ( I think its the crossover style) but the LSI has some percussion detail the 9 doesnt quite always get. The LSI seems a touch better than the 9 on some strong rock. Both are incredible. cant run ar9's in the office, so.......ar98-ar3a-ar58 have their place. Very Enjoyable. Quote Don't despair David for there is a pair in good shape in Maryland on the auction site is 2 grand. That's about a 7 hour drive as the crow flies from MA. When I found mine in early 2015, I was lucky that they were only 45 minutes away. I wrapped each one in a moving-blanket, used much packing tape to hold the blankets in place and because rain was a threat that morning, I wrapped each one in two large black garbage bags each as protection. My helper and I carefully lifted each one on its back and laid them both in a pick-up truck. Got home and tied each one to a hand-truck to get them into the house. Should you buy a pair and have to pick them up, it is a mandatory two man job or damage could easily occur with their 130lb. dead-weight each. Moving blankets are highly advised with plenty of the 2 inch plastic packing tape. Although, over-all I prefer my four LST's, I must admit, the 9's are excellent but, project differently. P.S. There's also a nice pair of LST's for the same price in N.Carolina. I have found that after enjoying AR's larger speakers with very large amplifiers, I can't see myself ever going back to the 3a's of 2ax's. How could anyone? Good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavidR Posted August 25, 2018 Report Share Posted August 25, 2018 7 hours ago, frankmarsi said: Should you buy a pair and have to pick them up, it is a mandatory two man job or damage could easily occur with their 130lb. dead-weight each. Moving blankets are highly advised with plenty of the 2 inch plastic packing tape. I drove to SW Connecticut to get my 10Pi and AR9's. Put them on their backs on top of a moving blanket. I don't know about a 7 hour ride each way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frankmarsi Posted August 25, 2018 Report Share Posted August 25, 2018 David, so then, you are pretty much well situated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavidR Posted August 25, 2018 Report Share Posted August 25, 2018 23 minutes ago, frankmarsi said: David, so then, you are pretty much well situated. I have a pair of 9's but one has a soft bottom. It can be fixed but they also have the particle board frame for the grills and pegs mounted in the cabinets. Always looking to upgrade. Is this you Frank >>> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frankmarsi Posted August 25, 2018 Report Share Posted August 25, 2018 No, it's not my set-up, though I did post that foto here a couple of years ago, I swiped it from the web. I will say that even though those speakers shown are the Mark Levinson version of the "LST", I can say they are not situated/placed in the room correctly as the LST type cabinet lends itself self better against a wall. The foto appears to be in a foto or TV -studio due to the high blacked-out ceilings, large doors and high thick black curtains. I feel this set-up's output is getting lost in that room. LST's were designed and intended to utilize front-wall reinforcement. Almost anyone can buy expensive speakers but, it doesn't necessarily mean they know how to place them correctly. In 2013 when I first brought my LST's into their new intended room, I tested a single pair in different locations. Using the one-third principal placing them 1/3 into the room while using different height stands, they sounded dead and with-out any of their true potential sound being realized. Instead of them eating up the room, the 13' X 26' X8' heavily cushioned room swallowed them up.The heavy rug, a thickly padded couch and two thick armchairs that were close to them soaked up much sound. Most speakers generally need some degree of room/wall reinforcement unless they're designed not to. Whereas all AR classic-era speakers will benefit from room and wall or shelf acoustic reinforcement, doing so is necessary for maximum listening enjoyment. For me, even though I can replicate a similar set-up to the one shown above, I'm still fearful of mounting another set on top of my double set even though the stands I use can easily handle the weight of 270lbs. per -side. And, as I've learned in my 31 year span of ownership, when I blow a fuse, it's always been an issue to swivel one or both speakers on their stands I use to get to that fuse. Changing fuses on three stacked 90 lb. speakers would be outright dangerous. You can tell "ARsurround" I said that. When I moved the speakers closer to the front wall, they sounded as they were designed to sound. I placed them closer still about, 3 inches from the wall to allow fuse access. They sounded much better and closer to how they were designed to sound permitting their fullness of presentation to be fully heard. I had utilized similar placement in the two other houses and apartments I once had them in prior to this final location. This last location/room is rectangular a therefore is virtually ideal as a listening room. I have placed 'bass-traps in the upper front wall corners to prevent a barely noticeable form of congestion that was occurring at the ceiling corners. Doing so, allowed for more transparency of mid and lower bass frequencies, and by doing this, the typically bass-rich AR speakers didn't suffer because of using this frequency manipulation and absorption. I plan on using more absorption/traps in the corners of the 'rear' wall also however, at this juncture my listening room is almost completely dialed-in and over-all is sounding superb and is my best 'set-up' thus far in over 45+ years of enjoying high-fidelity. FM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mez Posted September 5, 2018 Author Report Share Posted September 5, 2018 I glued, stained, and clear lacquered new veneer on one of the speaker where the original veneer was removed. Stain color is pretty close, so it certainly looks better than it was. Had to mix a couple of stains to get the color I wanted. Started last night on the 2nd speaker and will post photos when all done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mez Posted September 14, 2018 Author Report Share Posted September 14, 2018 Here is the front with new walnut veneer. Actually, it looks better than the picture. The lacquer improved the match. The grill covers the seam. Much better that the painted MDF before. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mez Posted September 20, 2018 Author Report Share Posted September 20, 2018 All done. Here are some more photos. The final stain and lacquer finished turned out to be a very close match to the original. Very difficult to see the repair when sitting on the floor. As I posted earlier, the caps were replaced on the mid and high frequency cross-overs. Played them last night very high volume and sounded excellent. This photo is after gluing the veneer down then sanded before staining. I used contact cement to glue the new veneer down on sanded MDF. It will not cause the veneer or base MDF to swell like wood glue. Once the cement is brushed on both surfaces and let dry for about 30 minutes, you carefully lay the veneer down. Once in place, its virtually impossible to remove without destroying it. this photo is the front before staining and clear lacquer finish. This is after staining and with 1st coat of clear lacquer. After the 2nd coat, I rub it with 0000 steel wool to blend the new finish with the original. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavidR Posted September 20, 2018 Report Share Posted September 20, 2018 Nice job! What brand of contact cement did you use? I was going to use Tightbond II to glue down some pieces that lifted on the base of an AR9. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mez Posted September 21, 2018 Author Report Share Posted September 21, 2018 Apply it to both surfaces and let it dry for 20-30 minutes. Put the two pieces together and they won't come apart...ever. Kind of like rubber cement. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mez Posted September 21, 2018 Author Report Share Posted September 21, 2018 iPhone picture of the front after put on the new veneer at the bottom. Color is difficult to get with the iPhone but very close to original. Unless you point it our, nobody would notice. The grill in place covers the joint. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mez Posted September 21, 2018 Author Report Share Posted September 21, 2018 22 hours ago, DavidR said: Nice job! What brand of contact cement did you use? I was going to use Tightbond II to glue down some pieces that lifted on the base of an AR9. Tightbond II is a better choice for glue if you have a piece of the original veneer lifting. Don't use Contact Cement for small repairs like that. Put the glue in, then lay a piece of wax paper over it and clamp it. I like to use the slower drying variety to give you time to clamp it. For larger areas like mine, contact cement is the better choice. Wood glue like Tightbond could cause the MDF and/or veneer to swell up. Not good! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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