Jump to content

AR 1 questions


samberger0357

Recommended Posts

These are for sale not far from me.  Seller doesn't know much about them, or if everything is original. From the back it looks like something was done to them. Have no idea what the blue wire is all about.

They look to be in excellent shape, and looks like the drivers are original. Would appreciate opinions who know more about these rare speakers then I do. 

 

00Z0Z_94gqa3vXqn6_600x450.jpg

 

 

00r0r_7hm2x9sKaLK_600x450.jpg

 

01414_9X6cOnbuGvP_600x450.jpg

 

00o0o_g1izpjoMOE9_600x450.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Excluding an extraordinary physical/cosmetic condition or historic provenance, the state of the 755A drivers pretty much sets the value for the AR-1.

Here's a pair of 775A's that sold on eBay a few days ago:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Mint-condition-Pair-of-Altec-Lansing-755A-drivers/264205246285?hash=item3d83dc1f4d:g:A6gAAOSwWtpcbL0o

Your seller seems to have seen the same listing. ^_^

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Different seller. Mine is in NorCal, the Ebay is in SoCal. And mine is selling them for several hundred more. 

He claims  that the speakers "this speakers plays but need to move the nubs back and forth to get them to play.I can don't know if all parts are originals.Thanks."

I'm not going to buy them, but you don't see many 1's in these parts so they are intriguing. 

Any idea what the blue wire in the back would be for?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Sam -

I meant that your NorCal seller must've seen that eBay sale, and used it to set his price on Craigslist. It's so difficult to find an unmolested AR-1 that's not astronomically priced. My personal best was a single AR-1 for twenty bucks, but that was over 40 years ago!

Any chance the blue wire could be a hot lead from the crossover for an external tweeter? Just guessing.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

7 hours ago, samberger0357 said:

They look nice and fairly unmolested....

Of course it would be fun and exciting to find a pair of AR-1's, and if working properly, I'm sure they would sound great. But still, the primary interest these days with the AR-1 is about collectibility and, as ar_pro has noted, the cult-like obsession with the Altec drivers. With this pair, from a collectible standpoint, I would have three concerns right off-the-bat:

  1. the significant damage and subsequent repair of the Altec driver.
  2. the mystery blue wires which confirm cabinet violations and suggest circuitry revisions.
  3. the uncertainty of cabinet finishes - - these "look" like maybe a mahogany color, but one cabinet rear shows possible evidence of after-market finish (stain). Also, it appears that one cabinet may have sides fabricated from plywood while the other is probably Novaply. Perhaps this indicates one cabinet might be pine and the other birch?
Link to comment
Share on other sites

From the listing:

$2300 firm. You have to look the pictures . this speakers plays but need to move the nubs back and forth to get them to play.I can don't know if all parts are originals.Thanks.

ra.ra is right - that one 755A looks patched. And what's going on with that one woofer bolt?

I'd love to find a pair of unmolested AR-1's that weren't ridiculously priced, and go the supertweeter route with a nice ribbon, or Heil-type driver. What a fun project that would be!

000.jpg

001.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Also wondering about the square cutouts for the Altec drivers. I am not very familiar with the AR-1 speaker, but I have never seen square cutouts behind the Altecs before. Almost looks like the cabinets are open as there appears to be damping material showing behind the drivers in the cutout corners. Does not look quite right to me, but again, I am not that familiar with all of the model changes for the AR-1speaker. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On ‎2‎/‎28‎/‎2019 at 11:12 PM, ar_pro said:

I'd love to find a pair of unmolested AR-1's that weren't ridiculously priced, and go the supertweeter route with a nice ribbon, or Heil-type driver. What a fun project that would be!

I agree. I'd even be happy with just one if it looked like the one in the photo (from ebay). I'd set it up and use it with a mono FM tuner.

front edit.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 9 months later...

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...