AR 4x

[Guest Walt Lonner]

Advice invited. I have a pair of AR 4x speakers. Have had them for about 38 years and they seem to be in good shape. How truly "classic" are they and would it be wise to keep them? If I wanted to sell them, what would be a fair price.

Thanks.

Walt

[Andy]

The 4x was AR's economy speaker selling for about $65. each back in the 60's. A very nice speaker which sounds better then anything else in it's price range. Today people pay about $50. -$100. a pair. If you like them, might as well keep them....they're considered a classic.

[Guest Walt Lonner]

>The 4x was AR's economy speaker selling for about $65. each

>back in the 60's. A very nice speaker which sounds better then

>anything else in it's price range. Today people pay about

>$50. -$100. a pair. If you like them, might as well keep

>them....they're considered a classic.

Thanks for the feedback. I like them but storage space is a problem.

I replaced them with much smaller but more or less acceptable speakers, mainly for visual aesthetic reasons.

[JKent]

>Thanks for the feedback. I like them but storage space is a

>problem.

>I replaced them with much smaller but more or less acceptable

>speakers, mainly for visual aesthetic reasons.

That's pretty much what everyone did. Prices for these on ebay are a little disappointing, considering the quality, and they are heavy so S/H adds to the cost but not the profit. Check out ebay and see.

I am in the process of fixing up my AR 4x's. They were the smallest of that era, and therefore not TOO objectionable in terms of WAF (Wife Acceptance Factor) ;-)

They are 2-way designs. I plan to augment them with a subwoofer in my home theater setup. Just waiting for some new capacitors to arrive--not necessary, but I love to tinker. I did have to replace the grille cloth (a common problem) and the tweeter level controls (even more common, but you can easily fix the old ones if yours are cruddy with oxidation).

See if you can use them. Otherwise perhaps ebay is the way to go. Some audiophile will be thrilled to have them.

[Guest tgw]

I use three AR-4x's in my home theater set up (L,R,C) augmented by a self powered 12" sub woofer with the cross over set at 40 HZ. I notice that for some recordings the sub woofer is not activated indicating that some recordings do not even require a sub. But movies do and the AR-4x's or actually any speaker even AR-3's are not meant to reproduce the LFE (low frequency effects) of modern movie soundtracks.

I have wondered if I should replace my left and right AR-4x's with AR-2ax's to provide a bit more bass when listening to music, but the sub woofer seems to provide sufficient bass extension making speakers with woofers larger than 8 inches unnecessary.

For those seeking out speakers to provide high quality audio either for multi channel home theater use or simply for stereo music listening, purchasing some classic AR's on eBay will get you great sound and a very reasonable price. You may need to clean the potentiometers, replace the grills, and refinish the cabinets as I have done, but you can't touch the quality of what you wind up with by purchasing new speakers at anything near the price you would pay, including the shipping charges.

[Guest tdeutsch]

Let's not be too pessimistic with the price advice we give this fellow. I know I have seen (within the past 6 months) pairs of AR-4x speakers go for at least $250 on e-bay. I remember being floored by the price, so it might have been even higher.

If you have owned yours for 38 years, you probably have never opened them, the papers are still on the back, etc. That adds to the value, from what I've been able to tell. $100 might be for a pair that has been fooled with by "unknown persons." Am I wrong?

As for the asthetics, I find that modern speakers look like pieces of electronic equipment (which they are) whereas the old AR's with their nice walnut boxes, plain styling and neutral tweed cloth blend in much better. Plus, the AR-4x are small enough you can tuck them on an end table. Stick them against a wall or corner, feed them enough clean watts and find happiness.

[tysontom]

>Let's not be too pessimistic with the price advice we give

>this fellow. I know I have seen (within the past 6 months)

>pairs of AR-4x speakers go for at least $250 on e-bay. I

>remember being floored by the price, so it might have been

>even higher.

>If you have owned yours for 38 years, you probably have never

>opened them, the papers are still on the back, etc. That adds

>to the value, from what I've been able to tell. $100 might be

>for a pair that has been fooled with by "unknown

>persons." Am I wrong?

Several months ago a pair of AR-4s sold for $1,000 or slightly more. The speakers apparently had been in the original cartons for many years and appeared to have been unused or at least appeared to be in mint condition. AR-4xs are usually more desirable than the earlier AR-4, but there were far-fewer AR-4s manufactured.

--Tom Tyson

[soundminded]

>Advice invited. I have a pair of AR 4x speakers. Have had

>them for about 38 years and they seem to be in good shape.

>How truly "classic" are they and would it be wise to

>keep them? If I wanted to sell them, what would be a fair

>price.

>

>Thanks.

>

>Walt

AR4x is the archeotypical 8" 2 way acoustic suspension bookshelf loudspeaker system. They did remarkably well immitating a 1905 Nickelodeon at the NYC trade show, not quite the equal of AR3 but surprisingly good, especially considering their cost and size.

Loudspeakers in their vein were Snell type K and Audio Note type K, both I think much more expensive, especially the A/N model. It would be interesting to hear a comparison betwen them.

If I were you, I'd hold on to these speakers. You probably won't get anything more than a token sum of about $100 or so which is barely lunch money by today's standards. I don't think you will be able to replace them with anything of comparable performance at anywhere near the price. If you can't use them now, store them in a conditioned space. Because of their small size, there is usually someplace for them in a home, even if it's only in a child's bedroom.

[Guest Walt Lonner]

Last week I posted an "advice requested" message regarding my 38-year-old AR 4x speakers. I received seven replies, all helpful and with different slices of information and insight. I have decided to keep them, at least for a while longer. Desptite being fairly small, they are still fairly noticeable on a white beam in a kitchen that is mainly white. I've always appreciated listening to them. We don't need really high quality speakers in the kitchen -- not with cooktop fans running, pots and plates clanging, and the phone ringing. So this is a community "thank you" for such interesting and informed advice. The possible replacement speakers sounded tinny, with little bass.

BTW, they have been in use, in one way or another, all these years. Never in storage, but always out of the sun. The "certificates" are still on the back, the tweed grille cover is still intact (with two long pencil lines our 36-year-old daughter drew on them when she was three).

Thanks again.