AR3a late model

[Illf8ed]

I’m driving a bit tomorrow to look at some late model AR3a speakers.  Asking price is $550.  The mids and tweeters appearantly are working.  The woofers…one with broken surround the other is completely missing.  Local prices for these are in th $800 to $1200 range.  What do you think of the price?   Cabinets are an 8/10 from the photos.  The mids and tweeters are the same as in my LST-2s and the backside labels are the Teledyne type.

[Aadams]

Just my two cents...that missing woofer will be difficult to replace with an original.  "For Sale" examples are scarce so you could be waiting a while.  My opinion is you are looking at a collection of parts in which the only items with immediate realizable value are the working mids and the derelict woofer, if it works.  The tweeters are shot and need rebuilding.   It would be a worthy project if the cabinets are sound, with no joint damage.  I would give $350 max but start lower.  Its already costing you fifty cents a mile to take a look. 

Good luck

Adams

[Illf8ed]

That’s probably what I was looking for when posting….thanks.  I told the seller I’m going to pass.  By the way those LST-2 get better each time I listen to them.  Gotta give them a bit more volume though.

[ar_pro]

Any photos to share?

At a time when people are asking very high prices, it might be interesting to see what a pair of $550 AR-3a speakers looks like.

 

[genek]

A later model 3a would have the same back wired mids and tweeters as an LST2, and the woofer would be interchangeable with many later 12" ARs and not all that hard to replace. It might even have Compulytic caps that don't need replacing. If I was in the market for a pair and the cabs looked good I wouldn't exclude without checking them out.

[RoyC]

3 hours ago, genek said:

A later model 3a would have the same back wired mids and tweeters as an LST2,

LST2 tweeters and mids have the same 8 ohm drivers as the AR-5, and would not be appropriate for any iteration of the 3a. The tweeters and mids of the 3a are 4 ohm drivers and are interchangeable with the LST. Both the 4 and 8 ohm versions were back-wired in later years.

Roy

[genek]

Oops.  Thanks for catching that.

[Illf8ed]

These that I passed on were on eBay in San Francisco.  I don’t see the ad any longer.  There are a pair of AR11 closer to me listed for $380 which have all the same drivers as the 3a advertised.   I just sold a pair of 10pi, so not really excited about the 11s.   Think I will just cool my enthusiasm and sit here listening to the LST-2s with Santana’s first album playing.  

[Ronan]

20 hours ago, ar_pro said:

Any photos to share?

At a time when people are asking very high prices, it might be interesting to see what a pair of $550 AR-3a speakers looks like.

 

Read over this thread last night and still have the browsing link in my laptop Firefox history... here is some saving pictures and the Link for the AR3A late model..

https://sfbay.craigslist.org/sfc/ele/d/san-francisco-acoustic-research/7396748899.html

 

[Illf8ed]

That’s the ad and it’s still up.  I was debating on these, but my current set of speakers is probably better sounding than these even when the AR3a are restored.   I drove a long distance to pick up a set of Belle Klipsch about a week ago and came back empty handed, so a bit shy about more speakers now.  

[ar_pro]

It could be a fun project, but as Adams mentioned, in addition to the standard required fixes you'd need to have the tweeters re-done, and source a matching woofer. With a $550 starting point, things would quickly become expensive.

[Aadams]

On 10/23/2021 at 10:34 AM, Illf8ed said:

but my current set of speakers is probably better sounding than these even when the AR3a are restored.

In 1974 the AR3a selling price was around $500/pair.  An AR5 was around $400/pair with the LST2 and LST, around $800 and $1200/pair respectively.  In today's CPI adjusted dollars that would yield price tiers of $2000 for the AR5, $2500 for the 3a, $4000 for the LST2 and $6000 for the LST. Intuition would suggest higher price equates to better sound but AR's published measurement profiles showed they were all nearly identical in the way they sounded.  The only difference is ease of setup, bass extension and power handling.  I think LSTs would be easier to setup optimally, compared to the 3a with the 5 being easiest of all.

[Illf8ed]

Regarding the tweeters, why do you assume they need rebuilding?  None of them in my LST-2 worked which is why I had them rebuilt.

[Illf8ed]

6 hours ago, Aadams said:

In 1974 the AR3a selling price was around $500/pair.  An AR5 was around $400/pair with the LST2 and LST, around $800 and $1200/pair respectively.  In today's CPI adjusted dollars that would yield price tiers of $2000 for the AR5, $2500 for the 3a, $4000 for the LST2 and $6000 for the LST. Intuition would suggest higher price equates to better sound but AR's published measurement profiles showed they were all almost identical in the way they sounded.  The only difference is ease of setup, bass extension and power handling.  I think LSTs would be easier to setup optimally, compared to the 3a with the 5 being easiest of all.

I’m jumping around here, but how should my LST-2s be set up in a 13’x13’ room?windows on two adjacent walls behind and right, hardwood floors with an area rug in the middle,  8’ ceiling.  I have them 30” from the back wall and centered 7’ apart now.

[Aadams]

45 minutes ago, Illf8ed said:

why do you assume they need rebuilding?

My first AR3as were a coddled, one owner pair built in 1974. They needed refurbishing  but everything was in place and working.  The tweeters passed the cardboard tube test and being the only ones I had ever heard I assumed they were ok.  Same with a pair of AR5s I later picked up.  One of the AR5 tweeters failed about the same time Chris began rebuilding tweeters so I sent the pair to him.  When they were reinstalled I heard the difference between the original 3a pair and the new rebuilt pair in the 5s and sent the 3a pair for rebuild. Same with another set of 3as I acquired with working tweeters. The output of the old orange dot tweeters degrade with time.    The chances of them operating correctly in their original form is near nil in my experience.

[Illf8ed]

Got you.  Yes the six Chris rebuilt for me in the LST-2 sound really good.  Yet another reason to pass on those late model AR3 in San Francisco.   Chris charges $65 each plus shipping in the tweeters and I did find an AR 200003 woofer on eBay for $100.  At these costs I would do it only if I wanted to keep them.  

[Illf8ed]

By the way I’m in a selling binge.  In the last month sold ESS amt1b, Dual 721 turntable and Teac 450 cassette.  Still have a Teac A-2300SD up for sale, while keeping Teac A-5500 and A-6300.  Down to three sets of speakers that I’m keeping.

[Aadams]

22 hours ago, Illf8ed said:

I have them 30” from the back wall and centered 7’ apart now.

All AR ever stated was to achieve flatest bass response the cabinet should be placed "with its back against the middle of a wall",  equidistant from boundaries such as floors, ceilings  and intersecting walls.  If you have a pair you would position them symmetrically with regard to boundaries, at least that is the way I take it.