AR's 50th Anniversary

[tysontom]

>One minor correction to the timeline: The AR-8 was not

>introduced in 1970; it was introduced just after the 4xa, in

>the 1973 timeframe. High Fidelity Magazine’s test report of

>the 8 was dated 1/74....

>

Thanks, SteveF, for bringing this correction to my attention. I have duly made the change, along with adding some other new items. A revised list will follow. Incidentally, the AR-8 was actually so insiginificant in the grand scheme of things I was tempted to drop it off the list altogether. But you are correct about the timeframe.

>Also, ported speakers are more expensive to manufacture than

>sealed boxes, not less expensive. There are the additional

>manufacturing steps of routing the cabinet panel for the port

>flange, installing the port tube, and sealing around the

>flange. Often, depending on the system’s tuning and length of

>the tube itself, there needs to be internal support for the

>tube, to prevent it from rattling or falling off. Then also,

>there is the assembly labor to do all of this.

I see what you are saying here, and you are probably correct, all things being equal in today's light. I guess I was thinking about the magnitude of the AR-3, AR-3a or similar sealed speakers with their expensive drivers, long voice coils, heavy molded cones, fiberglass cabinet fill, extensively braced cabinets, expensive driver-sealing techniques and labor-intensive construction and testing of the old days, and it looked far more expensive to build than say a comparable Electro-Voice Regency bass-reflex or Jensen Flexair reflex system or the like, with basically raw drivers and crossover stuffed into a vented enclosure. In today's world, things are obviously very different: even the acoustic-suspension systems are by necessity cheaply built and mass-produced.

>

>I’ll continue to enjoy my 3a’s and I’ll continue to enjoy

>swapping tales of old speakers with my valued compatriots on

>this forum, but I recognize the nature of both changing

>markets and buyers’ attitudes. It’s not something to be sad

>about. It’s simply something to acknowledge the existence of.

>

Oh yes, change is inevitable, and we must all embrace it and move forward. Everything changes, nothing stays the same, but it doesn't mean we have to like it.

--Tom Tyson

[tysontom]

Okay, here is my "revised" AR 50th Anniversary chronology for the first twenty years. SteveF and others, please take the period from 1973 or so and move forward with it up to the point of "total insignificance," today's AR.

Acoustic Research 50th Anniversary

August 10, 2004 marks the 50th anniversary of Acoustic Research, the date in 1954 in which it was incorporated. The company was co-founded in the summer of that year by Edgar Villchur and his student at NYU, the late Henry Kloss. Villchur was president, patent-holder and director of research; Kloss was vice president and plant/production manger.

Following are a few product introductions and milestone dates during the first twenty years of AR from 1954 through the end of the “Classic AR” period:

• 1954 Villchur files for acoustic-suspension patent on March 15, 1954

• 1954 AR is co-founded by Edgar Villchur and Henry Kloss

• 1954 AR is incorporated on August 10, 1954

• 1954 AR introduces the AR-1 and AR-1W at the October New York Audio Fair

• 1954 *Audio* publishes disclosure article by Villchur on the acoustic-suspension loudspeaker system used in AR-1 and subsequent models

• 1955 AR ships first AR-1 production units early in year

• 1956 Patent on acoustic-suspension loudspeaker is granted on December 25, 1956

• 1956 New York Audio League conducts AR-1/Aeolian-Skinner live-vs.-recorded Organ concerts at St. Marks Episcopal Church, Mt. Kisco, NY

• 1956 AR co-founder Henry Kloss departs company

• 1957 AR introduces the AR-2

• 1958 AR introduces the AR-3 at the October New York High Fidelity Music Show

• 1958 *Audio* publishes disclosure article by Villchur on the dome tweeters used in the AR-3

• 1959 AR begins production on AR-3 and ships first units (footnote: the Smithsonian Institution places the AR-3 on permanent display on September 13, 1993, in The National Museum of American History)

• 1959 AR conducts series of live-vs.-recorded concerts (AR-3s) with Fine Arts Quartet that totals more than 75 concerts conducted in five different cities

• 1959 AR opens the AR Music Room in Grand Central Terminal, NYC

• 1959 AR introduces the AR-2a; AR sales increased 217% during this year

• 1959 AR introduction the AR-3t and AR-3st

• 1960 AR opens the AR Music Room on Brattle Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts

• 1961 AR extends the speaker guarantee from one year to a five-year *Full* guarantee that includes shipping to and from factory (retroactive to products bought back to 1956)

• 1962 AR introduces the AR-TA Turntable

• 1962 *Audio* publishes disclosure article by Villchur in *Audio* on AR Turntable

• 1963 AR conducts live-vs.-recorded concerts with guitarist Gustavo Lopez

• 1962 Patent on AR dome tweeter diaphragm support system is granted on May 8, 1962

• 1963 AR introduces the AR-XA, two-speed turntable

• 1963 AR begins publishing books *Reproduction of Sound* and *High Fidelity Systems*

• 1964 AR introduces the AR-4, AR-2x and AR-2ax

• 1965 AR introduces the AR-4x

• 1966 AR conducts live-vs.-recorded demonstrations with the 1910 Nickelodeon (AR-3s and AR-4xs) at New York High Fidelity Music Show

• 1966 AR adopts Johnny Walker Black Label as standard “adult” beverage of choice

• 1966 AR achieves a remarkable 32.20% loudspeaker commercial-market share during thirty-year period of 1960-1990, highest ever by one manufacturer during this period.

• 1967 Teledyne, Inc., a large aerospace conglomerate, acquires AR on June 20th,

• 1967 AR introduces the AR-3a

• 1967 AR introduces the AR Amplifier

• 1967 AR extends the Turntable warranty from one to three years

• 1968 AR introduces the AR-5

• 1969 AR opens manufacturing plant in Amersfoort, Holland

• 1969 AR introduces the AR Receiver

• 1970 AR introduces the AR-Deutsch-Grammophone GmbH Contemporary Music Project

• 1970 AR introduces the AR-6

• 1970 AR introduces the AR-2x and AR-2ax new versions

• 1970 AR introduces the AR Tuner

• 1971 AR introduces the AR-LST

• 1971 AR opens manufacturing plant in Bedfordshire, England

• 1973 AR introduces the AR-7

• 1973 AR introduces the AR-4xa

• 1973 AR introduces the AR-8

• 1973 AR Closes the Music Room on Brattle Street, Cambridge, Masachusetts

• 1974 AR introduces the AR-LST-2

• 1974 AR introduces the AR-XB Turntable

• 1974 AR closes the Music Room in Grand Central Terminal, NYC

--Tom Tyson

[Guest SteveG]

Great Thread. Hope all will be here for the 100th.

Tom, I was surprised tom see that the XA turntable followed the XA by only 1 year. And there is an article listed in the timeline between the 2 on turntables. Can you elaborate a bit on what changes were made between the TA and XA?? And also on what the article said??

Thanks

SteveG

[tysontom]

>Great Thread. Hope all will be here for the 100th.

>

>Tom, I was surprised tom see that the XA turntable followed

>the XA by only 1 year. And there is an article listed in the

>timeline between the 2 on turntables. Can you elaborate a bit

>on what changes were made between the TA and XA?? And also on

>what the article said??

>

>Thanks

>

>SteveG

Steve,

The original AR TA (which is what I think you meant above), was a single-speed, two-motor turntable with the stamped-steel "T-Bar" assembly. The XA was the two-speed version of that turntable. Each of the earliest turntables had an enamel-painted gray top plate and some the earliest models had a solid-walnut wood base; later XAs, which came later in the 1960s, came with the new single motor and a cast-aluminum "T-Bar," and had a new rubberized-paint top plate (which deteriorates like urethane foam) and a veneered-walnut base. The turntable disclosure article, "A New Turntable-Arm Design," written by Villchur and published in the September and October, 1962, issues of *Audio,* describe in detail the engineering, design and measurement standards of this classic turntable, but not necessarily model variances. This is a brilliantly written disclosure article -- in the usual Villchur fashion -- and is a true reference article in the design of record-playing turntables.

--Tom Tyson

[ninohernes]

I have an AR-XB that I really like! I was going to get an XA, but I wanted a cue lever. Its really a great table! I assume that the XA and the XB are the same, except for the cue lever.

On a side note, its too bad that Mr. Villchur is not a member of this forum, it would be wonderful to have him here to celebrate with us, and it would be wonderful for him to know that we appreciate his wonderful loudspeakers! Also, we must not forget Mr. Kloss, it is unfortunate that Mr. Kloss passed away.

[Guest molecules]

One of my greatest audio experiences was visiting my friend's older brother and his roomates who had a McIntosh system playing "Gimme Shelter" thru AR speakers. I had never heard anything like it. (It was at Harvard dorm some time between '69 and '73, I remember there was rioting in Harvard Square that weekend.)

I have always dreamed of that system, while able to afford "only" a Sansui/KLH 38 system, then Advents. (At least I had an AR turntable !)

I would bet even my fairly expensive modern system is likley only marginally better, and I have never had as great a pleasure as listening to the Rolling Stones on that AR system thru the night.

Happy 50th AR

Dave

[Guest rickcee]

I'm gonna add my .00002 cents worth

1. Modern Hi Fi Electronics are in general, much cheaper today, me thinks - a common 100 w / ch Aud/vid reciever can easily be had for $250. - I think my first ' real' stereo reciever in early '70s was about $230. - a 15 w. ch. pioneer. Now, I much prefer the look and 'feel' of that vintage, but actual performance ? Well, actually, I have a late '70s Sansui 30 w ch reciever and it's FM works much better than my NAD a-V reciever, using exact same antenna

2. Speakers are different - typical $100. pair AR 6 / Dyna 25 / EPI 100 were to me and still are Excell. todays version would be Polk or Paradigm, probably $400. pr. with vinyl finish. maybe ( ? ) slightly better sound. The $20 thousand systems - I have trouble even seriously considering them.

otherwise, I agree - modern society has gone from Audio to Video to Computers as 'entertainment' - and the basic sound of decent TV's now is barelly adequate, was below poor back in the day.

it's all fer fun anyway. Rick

[Steve F]

Tom T. mentions, “Incidentally, the AR-8 was actually so insignificant in the grand scheme of things I was tempted to drop it off the list altogether.”

True, the 8 was the only truly forgettable, outright failure from AR’s Classic period. However, its failure is PRECISELY what makes it fascinating from an historical standpoint. As I wrote in a thread back around May of 03:

"The AR-8 has always held a special, if dubious, place in the succession of AR speakers. It was arguably the very last of the original “classic” line. It followed the AR-7 by about a year, being introduced in the late ‘73/early ’74 timeframe. Roy Allison had, of course, departed AR in late 1972; I’m not sure who did the 8. It certainly wasn’t one of Roy’s designs!

The 8 marked the beginning of AR’s marketing “dark period” from 1973-1975. AR struggled horribly during this time, completely blindsided and unprepared for the college-age baby-boomer stereo buying spree that took place on campuses across the country from 1968-1977…

And poor AR missed the party even though it was held on their home turf of Boston-Cambridge. Stuck in their hopelessly outdated mode of advertising and marketing stogy old speakers to middle-aged engineers, AR watched helplessly as Advent and EPI zoomed past them with timely, modern products marketed and aimed at the younger audience—college kids, not 50 year-old GE engineers—and advertised those products with a hip, relaxed, with-it attitude. Were AR speakers good products? You bet. But did AR blow a once in a lifetime opportunity with misdirected marketing? You bet.

So there was the AR-8, the quintessential symbol of AR’s confusion and marketing ineptitude. It was introduced with the worst advertising tagline in the history of the high-fidelity industry: “The first accurate speaker for rock music.” In the body copy of the ad, AR went on to say, to virtually ADMIT, that their past speakers were lacking in highs, even though rock music lovers have “long appreciated the deep, strong bass of AR speakers.” They then proceeded to say that the “increase” position of the AR-8’s tweeter level control would produce the “more exaggerated, sharper, harder high frequencies” appropriate for rock music…What happened to AR’s legendary musical accuracy? What a confused message. It appealed to no one. The 8 didn’t sound particularly good, it looked just like a vinyl-wrapped 2ax, it was no match for the Large Advent, it wasn’t profitable for the dealer to sell—it was a forgettable failure. But the 8 is interesting in historical retrospect for precisely those reasons."

As far as the post-1974 timeline, there are not that many memorable events and introductions, certainly not like the Classic 1954-1974 era. Most of the essential product family time spans are detailed on the AR page of this site, as I gave to Mark a few years ago. I certainly do not consider it to be an important or valuable exercise to pinpoint the exact year that the “B” models became “BX” models.

However, there were a few things worth noting post-1974:

· 1975 the ADD/Truth in Listening Series debuts with the intro of the 10 Pi, 11 and MST/1

· 1976—The balance of the ADD models, first the 16, followed by the 12, 14, 15, 17, and 18. (The 16 is discontinued in 1976.)

· 1976—the Neil Grover Live vs. Recorded performance at Summer CES in Chicago. The 10Pi is a star, and no other speaker company has the guts to try anything like it.

· 1978—the original 9 is introduced. AR reclaims its position of loudspeaker pre-eminence.

· 1979 the balance of the Verticals are introduced, the 90, 91, and 92.

· 1980—the 93 and 94, the industry’s first “sock” speakers.

· 1982—The 9LS is introduced, and with it, the Dual Dome mid-high driver

· 1985—The Magic speaker is introduced, a technical tour-de-force, but a commercial ball and chain.

· 1985—The Connoisseur Series is introduced. Good looking, high performance products.

· 1987—The TSW Series debuts, giving AR an excellent “me-too” line of competent speakers.

· 1993—AR abandons its Canton MA facility, closing the book on the original New England speaker industry

Except for Ken Kantor’s superbly done retro series (the 303, 302, etc.) in 1995, to my mind the TSW’s were the last product range that had any relationship at all to the original products. To their credit, AR even mentioned the 3a in the intro lit of the TSW-610 (“…a descendent of the famed 3a unit…”), although AR’s notion that a 25-year old potential TSW-610 customer in 1987 had any knowledge or recognition of what the 3a was from 20 years earlier is amusingly naive.

Steve F.

[tysontom]

With the help of SteveF's contribution on the second period of AR history and milestones, I have once again updated the the 50th Anniversary product and milestones list:

This list is getting longer and longer....

Acoustic Research 50th Anniversary

Rev. A.06_12Aug04

Following are product introductions and milestone dates during the first twenty years of AR from 1954 through the end of the “Classic AR” period:

• 1954 Villchur files for acoustic-suspension patent on March 15, 1954.

• 1954 AR is co-founded by Edgar Villchur and Henry Kloss. Villchur owns 51% of stock, is president, patent-holder (consigned to AR), director of product development and promotion; Kloss becomes head of production design and operations.

• 1954 AR is incorporated on August 10, 1954.

• 1954 AR introduces the AR-1 and AR-1W at the October New York Audio Fair.

• 1954 *Audio* publishes disclosure article by Villchur on the acoustic-suspension loudspeaker system used in AR-1 and subsequent models.

• 1954 AR has sales of $0 and net loss of $4,059.

• 1955 AR ships first AR-1 production units in the spring.

• 1955 AR has sales of $56,773 and a net income of $1,587.

• 1956 AR moves from one-story loft to four-story factory building at 24 Thorndike Street in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Employment increases during this time from six to about fifty workers.

• 1956 Patent on acoustic-suspension loudspeaker is granted on December 25, 1956.

• 1956 New York Audio League conducts AR-1/Aeolian-Skinner live-vs.-recorded Organ concerts at St. Marks Episcopal Church, Mt. Kisco, NY.

• 1956 AR has sales of $383,258 and a net income of $26,418.

• 1956 Crisis develops between Kloss and Villchur over irreconcilable policy issues.

• 1957 AR co-founder Henry Kloss and associates (Malcolm Low and Anton Hofman) depart AR in February 1957 after stock interests are purchased by Villchur and group of associates with Abe Hoffman, company vice president and treasurer. Harry Rubinstein becomes plant manager in January, 1957.

• 1956 AR introduces the AR-2 in the fall.

• 1957 AR ships first AR-2 in March, losing money on the first 1500 units.

• 1957 AR hires Emmanuel (Manny) Maier as first purchasing agent.

• 1957 AR sales skyrocket to $973,262 with net income of $37,160.

• 1958 USAF uses 30 AR-1s to accurately reproduce sound of jet engines for testing.

• 1958 AR displays prototype AR-3 at the Chicago Hi-Fi Show.

• 1958 AR officially introduces the AR-3 on October 3 at New York High Fidelity Music Show. The AR-3 considered by all the “hit” of the famous October hifi show. By November AR had received over 500 firm orders for the “hit of the show,” AR-3.

• 1958 *Consumer Reports,* 11/20/58 issue, check-rates both AR-1 and AR-2 as best-in-class.

• 1958 *Audio* publishes disclosure article by Villchur on the dome tweeters used in the AR-3.

• 1959 Roy Allison begins at AR as assistant to the president.

• 1959 AR begins production on AR-3 and ships first units (footnote: the Smithsonian Institution places the AR-3 on permanent display on September 13, 1993, in The National Museum of American History).

• 1959 AR begins series of live-vs.-recorded concerts (AR-3s) with Fine Arts Quartet that totals more than 75 concerts conducted in five different cities.

• 1959 AR opens the AR Music Room in Grand Central Terminal, NYC.

• 1959 AR introduces the AR-2a; AR sales increased 217% during this year.

• 1959 AR introduction the AR-3t and AR-3st.

• 1960 AR opens the AR Music Room on Brattle Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts.

• 1961 Roy Allison becomes AR plant manager; Harry Rubinstein departs to return to teaching.

• 1961 AR extends the speaker guarantee from one year to a five-year *Full* guarantee. that includes shipping to and from factory (retroactive to products bought back to 1956).

• 1962 AR introduces the AR-TA Turntable.

• 1962 *Audio* publishes disclosure article by Villchur in *Audio* on AR Turntable.

• 1963 AR begins live-vs.-recorded concerts with guitarist Gustavo Lopez.

• 1962 Patent on AR dome tweeter diaphragm support system is granted on May 8, 1962.

• 1962 AR conducts live-vs.-recorded music with AR-3/Fine Arts Quartet at Chicago’s World’s Fair of Music and Sound.

• 1963 AR introduces the AR-XA, two-speed turntable.

• 1963 AR begins publishing books *Reproduction of Sound* and *High Fidelity Systems.*

• 1964 AR introduces the AR-4, AR-2x and AR-2ax.

• 1965 AR introduces the AR-4x.

• 1965 AR opens a music room in the Better Living Center at the New York World’s Fair, featuring live-vs.-recorded session with guitarist Gustavo Lopez.

• 1966 AR conducts live-vs.-recorded demonstrations with the 1910 Nickelodeon (AR-3s and AR-4xs) at New York High Fidelity Music Show.

• 1966 AR adopts Johnny Walker Black Label as standard “adult” beverage of choice.

• 1966 AR achieves a remarkable 32.20% loudspeaker commercial-market share during thirty-year period of 1960-1990, highest ever by one manufacturer during this period.

• 1967 Teledyne, Inc., a large aerospace conglomerate, acquires AR on June 20th.

• 1967 AR introduces the AR-3a.

• 1967 AR introduces the AR Amplifier.

• 1967 AR extends the Turntable warranty from one to three years.

• 1968 AR introduces the AR-5.

• 1969 AR opens manufacturing plant in Amersfoort, Holland.

• 1969 AR introduces the AR Receiver.

• 1970 AR introduces the AR-Deutsch-Grammophone GmbH Contemporary Music Project.

• 1970 AR introduces the AR-6.

• 1970 AR introduces the AR-2x and AR-2ax new versions.

• 1970 AR introduces the AR Tuner.

• 1971 Introduction of the AR-LST.

• 1971 AR opens manufacturing plant in Bedfordshire, England.

• 1973 AR introduces the AR-7.

• 1973 AR introduces the AR-4xa.

• 1973 AR introduces the AR-8.

• 1973 AR Closes the Music Room on Brattle Street, Cambridge, Masachusetts.

• 1973 AR phases out electronic products to concentrate on loudspeakers and turntables.

• 1974 AR introduces the AR-LST-2.

• 1974 AR introduces the AR-XB Turntable.

• 1974 AR closes the Music Room in Grand Central Terminal, NYC – end of classic period.

Second period in AR history, beginning with the Advanced Development Division years:

• 1975 AR introduces new line, “Advanced Development Division.”

• 1975 AR introduces AR-10Pi, AR-11 and AR-MST/1

• 1976 AR introduces additional models in ADD, AR-16, then AR-12, 14, 15, 17.

• 1976 AR conducts the AR-10Pi – drummer Neil Grover live-vs.recorded concert at Summer CES in Chicago.

• 1978 AR introduces AR-9 “Vertical” loudspeaker; reclaims lost market share.

• 1979 AR introduces AR-90, AR-91 and AR-92.

• 1980 AR introduces AR-93 and AR-94

• 1982 AR introduces “improved” AR-9, the Lambda-tweeter, dual-dome AR-9Ls.

• 1985 AR introduces Ken Kantor’s remarkable “Magic” loudspeaker.

• 1985 AR introduces the high-performance and handsome Connoisseur Series.

• 1987 AR introduces the TSW series

• 1993 AR acquired by International Jensen, Inc., and moved from Canton, Massachusetts to Benicia, California with NHT.

--Tom Tyson

[Guest Bret]

It's hard to pick a stopping-point, isn't it? You could consider everything up to and including the 3a to be "AR" or you can skip ahead a little while and get the LST-2 in there, or you can skip ahead a little while more and include the 3a Improved and the 10pi/11, or you can skip ahead some more and include the 9 or go forward to the 90, or go forward to the MGC-1, or skip some more and include the 303. . .

That list (thanks Tom and Steve) makes it look as though after 1967 there were periods that AR tried, hard, to go back to their orignal mission, but the day-to-day operations and goals changed with Teledyne's purchase - except for the projects on the ADD team's agenda created right-around that event.

I think we've mentioned this before, it looks like AR was a victim of their own success. I mean, we're still listening happily to things that were built 25-40 years ago. I suppose AR should have made replacement drivers impossible to get after the 5-year warranty period or insisted that only entire systems would be repaired including freight at the owner's expense. Their new owners could still be making good money (not great, but good) repairing 40 year-old speaker systems.

Bret

[tysontom]

>It's hard to pick a stopping-point, isn't it? You could

>consider everything up to and including the 3a to be "AR" or

>you can skip ahead a little while and get the LST-2 in there,

>or you can skip ahead a little while more and include the 3a

>Improved and the 10pi/11, or you can skip ahead some more and

>include the 9 or go forward to the 90, or go forward to the

>MGC-1, or skip some more and include the 303. . .

>

Well, there was really no "stopping point," as such. I carried it up to the end of the "AR Classic" period, as it is sometimes called. I could have stopped it at the end of the "pre-Teledyne" period, etc. But as it happens, I did not have enough detailed information readily available to go through the intervening years after 1973 in the same degree of detail that I had for the earlier period. That's where SteveF comes in: he has a great deal of knowlege about AR History after the beginning of the Advanced Development Division period (AR-10Pi, AR-11, etc.). I therefore hope that Steve and others will continue to recall details on the era after ADD and so forth, right up to the presnt period.

>That list (thanks Tom and Steve) makes it look as though after

>1967 there were periods that AR tried, hard, to go back to

>their orignal mission, but the day-to-day operations and goals

>changed with Teledyne's purchase - except for the projects on

>the ADD team's agenda created right-around that event.

>

Bret, I think that the most innovative and productive period at AR was naturally during the first thirteen years; e.g., acoustic suspension, dome tweeters and the turntable. However, Roy Allison's work at AR is close behind Ed Villchur's accomplishments. Roy contributed very much in such ways as the AR-4x, AR-3a, AR-5, AR-6, AR-LST and so forth, so this development after 1967 (under Teledyne) was indeed a productive period. By 1972 Roy Allison and other officers of the "Old Guard" at AR had departed, and the compass at AR was all over the map. Teledyne was putting increasing pressure on the bottom line, and there was a succession of new presidents, directors of research and so forth -- changes that continued for several years during those turbulent years. AR continued to make money, but the profit margins were shrinking as the company lost its way. It should also be said, of course, that there were other great engineers, including Ken Kantor, Tim Holl and others at AR that contributed to the development of new products well after this early period.

>I think we've mentioned this before, it looks like AR was a

>victim of their own success. I mean, we're still listening

>happily to things that were built 25-40 years ago. I suppose

>AR should have made replacement drivers impossible to get

>after the 5-year warranty period or insisted that only entire

>systems would be repaired including freight at the owner's

>expense. Their new owners could still be making good money

>(not great, but good) repairing 40 year-old speaker systems.

Isn't it a remarkable testimonial to AR's engineering and development work that people today still enjoy those products so much! Quite frankly, not many companies can make that sort of claim, so it says a lot about the company's philosophy during those early years. AR made very few design compromises, except with respect to cost on the less-expensive products, on their products. There also was a no-nonsense mentality at the company during those years, a more-or-less non-commercial way of doing business that would never fly today. It was an off-shoot of Edgar Villchur's way of thinking: he was not a businessman, he was a researcher and scientist. While he was at AR his goal was to further the science of the accurate reproduction of sound, not just to make money. Ironically, when you build a better mousetrap, people will build a path to your door.

--Tom Tyson

[Guest Bret]

>Roy contributed very much in such ways as the AR-4x, AR-3a, AR-5, AR-6, AR-LST and so forth, so this development after 1967 (under Teledyne) was indeed a productive period<

Absolutely, and while I failed to mention that I was going to toast Mr. Allison's health, too, I realized my error before it was too late and so celebrated his substantial (I would even call them pivotal) contributions the evening of the 10th. To leave Roy Allison out of the picture is to commit a near-mortal sin and I repent my earlier omission.

Tim, Ken, Victor, too. . . I mean, WOW.

Bret

[soundminded]

To me the history of AR is not just the history of a company or of the people in it but at its heart, it was the history of a concept. The concept began with AR1 and ended with AR9, the ultimate expression of Vilcher's original loudspeaker design. The crux of the concept was to make it possible to put a practical affordable super accurate high quality sound reproducer in the average person's home. Kind of like the Henry Ford of high fidelity. All of the non loudspeaker products from the amplifiers, turntables etc. were in the service of that end equaling much more expensive products in performance and quality but at far lower prices than competitors. The less expensive loudspeakers in each era were designed to give consumers on a very limited budget as much of the benefit of that idea as their money could afford.

I don't think the demise of AR as a pre-emminent company occurred because of marketing failure or not having the right product in the right place at the right time. I think it occurred because there came a point when the market truely no longer valued this type of product and was looking for something entirely different. Basically, for a variety of reasons, fulfilling its intended purpose was no longer wanted.

[tysontom]

>To me the history of AR is not just the history of a company

>or of the people in it but at its heart, it was the history of

>a concept.

The roots of the AR success came from the concept of thinking about, identifying and defining a problem. Villchur did not sit around dreaming about how to make a nice little speaker and go into the speaker business, what he did was to focus on a *problem* that was common with speakers in the early days -- non-linear distortion. Villchur used to say that speaker designers were constantly trying to "untie the Gordian knot," but what he did was to "cut" the knot with the acoustic-suspension woofer. He realized that the mechanical suspensions on existing speakers would bind and become non-linear, especially on long excursions reproducing low bass notes, and this could result in high harmonic distortion at the lowest frequencies. Designers of the day attempted to loosen the suspensions (e.g., Jensen "Flexair" woofers), but this just lowered the power-handling ability of these woofers, and it did little to improve low bass response and distortion. Horn speakers (Klipsches, Patricians, Imperials, etc.) and multi-driver infinite-baffle speakers (a good example would be the big Bozak Concert Grand) helped eliminate this problem, but these speakers were the size of refrigerators, "walk-in style" in some extreme cases.

After Villchur bagan to understand and define this problem of suspension non-linearity in woofers, the concept of using air in the sealed enclosure as a linear restoring force came to him one day. At first he didn't think it would work, but after building a prototype of the woofer, and comparing it to an identical woofer mounted in an infinite baffle, he realized that he had helped solve the problem of low-bass distortion in woofers. The relatively small size of the acoustic-suspension enclosure is necessary for proper performance of the speaker, so it was an incidental benefit, especially with the advent of stereo sound in the late 50s, necessitating two speakers.

The success of AR in the beginning therefore came about for really non-commercial reasons. Villchur had solved a problem; and insofar as he could not sell his patent to other speaker companies, he had to go into business himself to produce it.

--Tom Tyson

[soundminded]

We'll never know if Edgar Vilcher had just stuck to making his woofer whether he would have continued to operate a commercially successful company. That was clearly not his intention. Yes the woofer was a breakthough because it was the first one to take full advantage of Newton's second law of motion instead of fighting it. He tried combining it with several commercially available tweeters including those from Western Electric, Altec, and JanZen but while these units remain historical curiousities, they never found acceptance in the general market IMO. It wasn't until the appearance of the completely AR manufactured AR2, AR3, and AR2a in rapid succession that Vilcher's products found their way into the audio shops across America and around the world. Vilcher's timing could hardly have been better. With the emergence of high fidelity vinyl phonograph recordings in the mid 1950s and the stereophonic vinyl disc in 1957, the need to have two wide range loudspeakers in a home caused the market for bookshelf speakers to explode. Only the largest homes owned by the wealthiest people could be equipped with a pair of enormous horn, folded horn, infinite baffle, or bass reflex speakers necessary to provide deep bass and no other systems had the combination of high end reach, dispersion, and lack of distortion or tonal accuracy of the dome midranges and tweeters in ARs then current models.

The main problem was power. It is hard for us to imagine today that a 25 or 30 watt RMS single channel high fidelity amplifier was a very expensive piece of equipment in light of the average incomes of most Americans in that day. This may explain the popularity of the kit building craze of the time. The need for two of them only made matters worse. The average offerings of the mainstream manufacturers like HH Scott, Fisher, Sherwood, Bogen, Pilot, and Harman Kardon really weren't up to it. Audiophiles who could not afford McIntosh or Marantz were left with the best offerings of the kit suppliers, pre-emminent was Dynaco with Eico, Heathkit, and yes Lafayette Radio also offering suitable models. The system of choice for AR3 was a pair of Dynaco MKIII amplifiers, and a PAS3X preamplifier, a Thorens turntable with an SME arm and a Shure V15 cartridge. The AR turntable was a kind of knockoff of the Thorens 2 piece platter design at less than half the price and with the arm thrown in, even better than that. The suspended subchasis isolating the platter from the main deck plate offered good acoustic isolation necessary to prevent acoustic feedback from the extended low freqeuncy gain of the AR3s. It also had the freedom from rumble necessary to enjoy the low end capability of the AR3. Empire was quick to plagerize the design in the 598 and 698 models. The replacement for the MKIII/PAS3X for Dynaco was the Stereo 120 power amp and Pat4 preamp. The stereo 120 was to prove somewhat unreliable and the PAT 4 although an excellent design in some respects was a disaster because of its poorly designed bass control which gave an enormous boost or cut with just the slightest turn and had no detent or defeat switch (I have 2 of them so I know.) The AR amplifier outperformed the 120/Pat4 in every conceivable respect, was very reliable, and compared to the factory assembled Dynaco units was about half the price. By the late 1960s you could assemble an all AR (except for the cartridge) state of the art sound system for well under $1000 and probably under $750 if you shopped at some of the better discount stores in the large cities. BTW, such a system properly operating would still give most current systems at anywhere near their price even accounting for inflation a run for their money in range and accuracy.

While the development of AR's woofer design really was one of constant refinement, the continual work on midrange and tweeter performance demonstrated just how important this aspect of their products and potential for improvement they felt there was. Looking back on it, AR wanted to be the market's one stop shopping source for high end, high accuracy audio equipment. And for a while at least, they were.

[mjs]

Hello All,

What happened to AR from 1974 to present day. Looking at the latest web site for the company the product range doesn't appear to be anything special. Do AR manufacture in the USA or is it all made in China?

I would love to hear some good news about the current status of Acoustic Research. I use a pair of AR98LS which I bought new in 1984. I just hope they last my life time.

Regards

Mark