Heath AS-2 by AR

[Andy]

Looking for a few details on the AR-2 sold under the Heath name AS-2. I found what looks to be a early example, All marine plywood, early type terminals w/ wire connector on back. My guess is that they date to 1958-60 ? ?

[tysontom]

>Looking for a few details on the AR-2 sold under the Heath

>name AS-2. I found what looks to be a early example, All

>marine plywood, early type terminals w/ wire connector on

>back. My guess is that they date to 1958-60 ? ?

The AS-2 was an AR-2 sold in the late 50s, early 60s, in kit form by Heathkit. Heathkit used a different cabinet maker, I believe, but all components were supplied by AR to Heath, and then the speaker was sold as a kit version of the same speaker. The cabinet grill-cloth molding and grill cloth itself were different for the standard AR-2, but the end result conformed to specifications by AR, and sounded exactly like the factory version. Incidentally, the early AR-2s also used marine plywood for their cabinets, which was common practice for the day.

Health offered several other speakers available in kit form, from the ARs (even an AR-3a version) to some Jensens and even Altec-Lansing speaker kits.

--Tom Tyson

[dynaco_dan]

>>Looking for a few details on the AR-2 sold under the Heath

>>name AS-2. I found what looks to be a early example, All

>>marine plywood, early type terminals w/ wire connector on

>>back. My guess is that they date to 1958-60 ? ?

>

>The AS-2 was an AR-2 sold in the late 50s, early 60s, in kit

>form by Heathkit. Heathkit used a different cabinet maker, I

>believe, but all components were supplied by AR to Heath, and

>then the speaker was sold as a kit version of the same

>speaker. The cabinet grill-cloth molding and grill cloth

>itself were different for the standard AR-2, but the end

>result conformed to specifications by AR, and sounded exactly

>like the factory version. Incidentally, the early AR-2s also

>used marine plywood for their cabinets, which was common

>practice for the day.

>

>Health offered several other speakers available in kit form,

>from the ARs (even an AR-3a version) to some Jensens and even

>Altec-Lansing speaker kits.

>

>--Tom Tyson

Hi there

I know this is an older topic but here's my 2 1/2 cents worth.

The Heath name should draw Heathkit owners to this topic.

The model was actualy the AS-102, I believe, and the AR-3A kit was the AS-103 (I have an original manual).

I bought the manual from Heathkit, here in Vancouver, as I didn't own AR-3A's at that time.

It gave me a wishbook to drool over.

FYI the AS-103 used a chassis mounted fuseholder.

An o'ring was used to seal the twist-on cap, so as to not to compromise the cabinet seal, (Heath thought of every little detail), and used a 3 amp fast blow fuse.

[tysontom]

>

>Hi there

>

>I know this is an older topic but here's my 2 1/2 cents

>worth.

>

>The Heath name should draw Heathkit owners to this topic.

>

>The model was actualy the AS-102, I believe, and the AR-3A kit

>was the AS-103 (I have an original manual).

>

You're right, there was an AS-102. Earlier, however, in 1959, Heath first offered the AR-2 in a kit known as the AS-2. There were variants, such as AS-2B, AS-2M and AS-2U as shown in the ad above. The price of $79.95 was not bad!

http://www.classicspeakerpages.net/dc/user_files/626.jpg

--Tom Tyson

[rrcrain]

I'm a Heathkit owner, but this product seriously predates me since I was in diapers when these speakers came out! i'm in early the process of checking out a pair of Heathkit Cabinet speakers my dad assembled in the early 60's or very late 50's and can only imagine what I'll find when I finally manage to get the cabinet opened. The back of the cabinets are held in place by wood screws and the ancient varnish has partially glued the recessed back into the cabinet leaving nothing to grab hold of.

My best idea so far is to remove all of the screws and then insert several oversize wood screws and use them as a "handle" to work out the back. Any other suggestions out there?

[dynaco_dan]

>I'm a Heathkit owner, but this product seriously predates me

>since I was in diapers when these speakers came out! i'm in

>early the process of checking out a pair of Heathkit Cabinet

>speakers my dad assembled in the early 60's or very late 50's

>and can only imagine what I'll find when I finally manage to

>get the cabinet opened. The back of the cabinets are held in

>place by wood screws and the ancient varnish has partially

>glued the recessed back into the cabinet leaving nothing to

>grab hold of.

>

>My best idea so far is to remove all of the screws and then

>insert several oversize wood screws and use them as a "handle"

>to work out the back. Any other suggestions out there?

Hi there

Thank you TomT for correcting my error.

My guess is each variant was an AR-2, 2A and maybe 2X.

My guess is the AS-102 was a later AR-2AX equivalent, maybe.

The AS-103 manual that I have, was very nicely done, typical of Heath.

I have a car body puller for pulling autobody dents out, it has a replaceable screw on the end.

You insert the screw into a small hole in the metal and quickly slide the heavy weight towards you and it usually pulls a lot of metal with it.

It may be of use for this enclosure's rear panel removal, if you use a wood screw.

You should now have the cabinet laying face down on cardboard and a blanket.

Another thought, if you have a piece of steel flat bar, channel or angle iron, or similar maybe 6" to 12" wider than the enclosure.

Lay it across the narrow edge across the cabinet, flush with one edge of rear panel, not the cabinet, mark center of hole on each side of rear panel on bar.

Drill holes to accomodate heavier wood screws, lay piece back on cabinet and tighten both screws into the rear panel only.

With the rear panel facing up you have the bar fastened to the rear panel only with these heavy screws, which are only long enough to penetrate the bar thickness and maybe 5/8" max into the rear panel.

You should be able to lift the bar that is overhanging the cabinet, the cabinet will lift up on one side.

If this sounds right, you should be able to hit the bar near its end with a hammer and not the cabinet.

This may be enough to start the panel moving.

You may, or may not need to do the other end as well.

I believe that once it starts to move it will come out.

Another idea may be to, lay the cabinet on it's side and remove the woofer, using a mallet and 2 x 2, knock the back out through this opening.

Good luck.

[rrcrain]

I could only wish the woofers were removable! These are a pair of what I suppose would be called console speakers with legs and non removable grills. If i'm super lucky, the surrounds will be paper and undamaged. As for fusing, it wouldn't hurt, but I'm not sure if a 3 watt amp could damage them. Amazingly, three watts into these speakers is more than enough.

[dynaco_dan]

>I could only wish the woofers were removable! These are a

>pair of what I suppose would be called console speakers with

>legs and non removable grills. If i'm super lucky, the

>surrounds will be paper and undamaged. As for fusing, it

>wouldn't hurt, but I'm not sure if a 3 watt amp could damage

>them. Amazingly, three watts into these speakers is more than

>enough.

Hi again

Actually, if your 3 watt amp is solid state you have more chance of damaging them than not.

I you have it too loud it will surely be clipping full time.

The woofers may be removable but from inside maybe rather than from the front.

I am guessing this from the fact that the back is not glued in like most enclosures.

On these you might find they are screwed into the speaker opening on the inside.

A fast blow 1 amp fuse in a open style fuseholder, would give you plenty of protection.

Because of their age, they are very much more likely clothe surrounds, not foam.

I am certain that these ar AR-2 speakers with the dual tweeters.

Unfortunatedly, I cannot get a good printout of the photo Tom posted, to see if it had the recommended rating.

Consider about 15 - 20 watts minimum per speaker.

AR fusing informatiion sheet will have a slow blow fuse size recommended for these.

[rrcrain]

I will, and the amp is an early 60's vintage tube amp, still with it's original tubes to boot!

[dynaco_dan]

>Thank you TomT for correcting my error.

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My guess is each variant was an AR-2, 2A and maybe 2X.

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I was wrong on this guess, see my additional write-up below.

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I now do not believe that there was a later AR-2A or AR-2AX or AR-2X equivalent kit made by Heath.

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My guess is the AS-102 was a later AR-2AX equivalent, maybe.

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I was wrong here also, I believe.

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UPDATE 20061027

Hi there;

The Heath AS-2 used a 15 ohm 20% 4 watt control for the dual tweeters.

There was Heath AS-2M $79.95 (Mahogany) finished, AS-2B $79.95 (Birch) finished and AS-2U $69.95 (Birch) un-finished cabinets.

Shipping weight was 32 pounds, net weight was 28 pounds, cabinet was made of 3/4" furniture grade plywood.

My information is dated 9/11/59.

A sample that I have has 3 sides which have about 12 ply plywood, which I believe was marine grade, and the other bottom side regular plywood.

Crossover was an L-C network, crossover @ 1,000 hz, freq response +/-5db 40 - 15,000, 20 - 40 watts RMS, and 90 degree horizontal dispersion.

The dual tweeters were modified by adding pre-cut 1/4 circle pieces of fibreglass into the rear of each of the 4 tweeter openings.

They were; Fiberglass batt 1/4 circle, 2" radius and 1" thick each piece.

This would have been also done at the AR factory for the AR-2 series produced speakers with the dual cone tweeters.

Maybe there was too much backpressure from the 1" thickness, I've seen numerous rippled tweeter cone surfaces these last few months.

Heath, as well as AR, used a sheet of Kimpack behind the woofers to keep the wires and insulation away from the woofers cone, to prevent buzzes and pressure.

At a later time period AR glued a plastic screening over the woofers openings to prevent the insulation and wire from touching the cones.

At least on some 12" woofer samples I have seen, not necessarily on the 10" or 8" woofers.

This may have been a cost cutting measure, in my opinion.

In my opinion, it is a plastic fly screen equivalent, functional over fanciness, glued to the woofers housing and should be considered non-resonant.

Heath provided a roll of 4 strips of calking to seal around the shaft of the pot, and the driver openings.

I have much more to add to this topic, when I am feeling better.

In appreciation of an AR-2 speaker from a friend several months ago, I have been trying to gather a few spare parts for it.

This has been an adventure that, I will also include at that time.

Until then.

[dynaco_dan]

UPDATE 20061028

Hi there;

>The Heath AS-2 used a 15 ohm 20% 4 watt control for the dual

>tweeters.

.

>There was Heath AS-2M $79.95 (Mahogany) finished, AS-2B $79.95

>(Birch) finished and AS-2U $69.95 (Birch) un-finished

>cabinets.

>

>Shipping weight was 32 pounds, net weight was 28 pounds,

>cabinet was made of 3/4" furniture grade plywood.

.

.

My information is dated 9/11/59 and is a Heath AS-2 owners manual.

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Crossover was an L-C network, crossover @ 1,000 hz, freq

response +/-5db 40 - 15,000, 20 - 40 watts RMS, and 90 degree

horizontal dispersion.

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I just was reading the AR-2 literature and AR-2's have a 2,000 hz crossover.

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I suspect that one of them is incorrect, which one though?

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Also AR-2A's, crossover to the mids, at 2,000 hz.

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It appears that Heath used the wrong figure of 1,000 hz.

[dynaco_dan]

Hi there;

This is a photo of the rear of one Heath AS-2 speaker.

Note the sides and top are marine grade plywod and the bottom is regular plywood.

Notice also the diagonal piece of wood in each corner.

This is the ebay photo I saved before it was shipped to me.

It arrived extremely well packaged and the cabinet had been taken well care of during it life in someone's home, except for being on a bare tile floor for the photo, better than a driveway at least.

The screw terminals are in the triangular pattern rather than the later inline pattern we are used to seeing.

This one even still has it's pot shaft knob.

In the original Heath manual, it was recommended that all of the inside joints be glued, AR did not supply the enclosures.

[dynaco_dan]

Hi again;

Last of the photos of the AS-2 speaker.

[dynaco_dan]

Hi there;

For those of you who like to have manuals for the hifi items you own, there is a resource that I have just recently found that you may want to check out for Heath or Heathkit.

A former employee of the former, Heath Company, Don, has an assortment of Heath owner manual copies available, at what I consider to be a fair asking price.

His service is certainly very prompt, courteous and very businesslike.

I have no connection with him or his business, I'm just a satisfied customer.

Don can be reached at:

www.D8aPro.com

[owlsplace]

Greetings dear friends ... yada, yada, yada ...

Saw this pair of AR-2s -- Heathkit version -- languishing on CL and wanted to make sure they were properly taken care of

I'm not wanting to trash these grills and for the life of me I can't see how they come off. A quick scan of the archives was of little benefit.

One of the Heathkit logos is missing otherwise they appear to be in fine shape.

Clueless in Reno

[stupidhead]

no help here but glad to see you on here Roger, is it me or have you been off line for a bit?

[owlsplace]

4 hours ago, stupidhead said:

no help here but glad to see you on here Roger, is it me or have you been off line for a bit?

Not surprisingly there seems to be a conspiracy to make me do more work these days -- life is short, art is long and "curiosity is the lust of the mind."

AR speakers are rare out here in the diaspora at any rate, but always room for more it seems. I enjoy seeing how well the old stuff has weathered over time and I find working on cabs to be therapeutic when the weather is nice enough to be outside. How's the remodel coming along ...

There is a gap on the lower edge of the grill on these, so I'm guessing that is the only entry point.

 

 

[ra.ra]

Roger, your suspicions are most likely correct. This page from the AS-2a assembly manual should give you sufficient clues for disassembly. You really should see the manual from this weblink - - it's a beautiful little step-by-step set of instructions for assembling the entire kit, including detailed parts lists and great little illustrations. 

http://www.vintage-radio.info/heathkit

[owlsplace]

Thanks, Robert ... loved those old Heathkits ... still have my FET vom I built back in '76!

Drivers look nice and I'm surprised how good they actually sound compared to my expectations ... add one of Carl's piezo tweeter arrays and never look back

Not bad for 60-year old tech with zero maintenance.

Sounds best with lounge/jazz with some treble boost, if a bit woolly. The treble roll-off matches my hearing since we are about the same age.

Added: After sitting here reading all afternoon with these playing Mozart I have to say these speakers are best playing long-hair music rather than the above mentioned lounge/jazz. I found myself dialing the treble boost back after listening for awhile. "Woolly" is not a good moniker, they are quite articulate. "Well-damped" would be a better way to describe the sound.

Roger

Here is a close-up of the fabric and logo for reference. The gold-strand doesn't show in the photo but it is there.

[ra.ra]

Roger, those drivers look just great - - I've never seen those dual tweeters with such perfect cones. And the cabinets with that Baltic birch plywood are very nice, too - -  if you can clean up that painted front trim, you'll have a great pair of blondies. It's interesting to see the backside of the grille frame showing the holes from all those little brass brads.

These are the speaker kits that were furnished with a homemade stethoscope (rubber tube) to test for air leaks when assembling. This recent thread featured one AS-2 speaker, upgraded to become AR-2x doppleganger.

http://audiokarma.org/forums/index.php?threads/todays-speaker-score-ar-2x.769838/

[ra.ra]

Hmmm........just wondering if you came across this old thread - - - same speaker model, blonde cabinets, identical grille cloth, northern Nevada.

 

[owlsplace]

That Heathkit manual is something of a treasure. The brads were steel on this speaker rather than brass -- no heads so once you lift up the grill it frees up.

Edit: Maybe not steel but bronze boat nails (the steel would be prone to rust staining of the fabric). They were brittle at any rate.

40 minutes ago, ra.ra said:

Hmmm........just wondering if you came across this old thread - - - same speaker model, blonde cabinets, identical grille cloth, northern Nevada.

 

I didn't find that thread. I wonder what happened to that pair? That cone could have been easily patched.

I'll remove the other grill and hook up a better amp today if I don't have any distractions.

The original caulking around the drivers is a bit on the stiff side but judging from the link it appears to separate easily.

Thanks for that one, Robert. I wasn't looking forward to removing the drivers but it may not be that big of a challenge.

Roger

 

[ra.ra]

59 minutes ago, owlsplace said:

That Heathkit manual is something of a treasure.

Yeah, I agree, that was fun to read. My favorite pics attached - - - apparently, there were separate manuals for the AS-2 and AS-2a, so just be sure you're wearing the right type of shirt when you work on your AS-2's. 

 

[owlsplace]

I always wear the right shirt, ha, ha ... Heath must have had a full-time illustrator they needed to keep busy or more likely they stopped selling the 2 when the 2a came out.

As far as amps go the Kenwood integrated I started with was limited. The Sonance 260 I replaced it with was still limited. The QSC ISA 280 opened up the sound nicely. Thank TomT and Adrianno for that one as I wouldn't have the 280 around otherwise. The 260 delivers 60W@8ohms while the 280 delivers 180W@8ohms. I think the Kenwood has a 20W amp which would have been available at the time the speakers were made. They would probably sound decent using a low-power tube amp but I'll leave that to someone else.

I may try piezo tweeter arrays with these for the fun of it as I need some for another project. The Sonance and QSC were acquired for an AR-5 project which may not happen at this point. The sound dropped out on the QSC amp a couple times already which is probably why I got it cheap. Intermittent problems are a pain to troubleshoot.

Roger

Added: The amp drop-out was caused by an old rca cord. Simple fix when I decided to bring the AR-3a/58's upstairs to run on the QSC amp -- nice pairing and an enjoyable afternoon of music -- perhaps more on the AS-2's at a later date -- I didn't see the point in A/B'ing this combo.

18May17: Removed the other grill. Drivers are just as nice. Construction is three sides of furniture grade plywood with the baffle, back and bottom (long side) from a lower grade ply. The brads holding the grill are brass-plated steel. These are being side-lined till I finish up the 58s.