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What is this AR speaker?


Guest greg928gts

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Guest matty g

Greg;

If I'm not mistaken, that appears to be a fine example of an AR2. It was followed by the AR2a, which added the famous dome tweeter to the drivers you have there. The dual tweeters became the midranges on the 2a and the dome handled the highs. The driver placement was changed slightly to allow room for the new tweeter. Looks like it's in nice condition.

Matt

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Matt is correct......that's an AR2 (in very fine shape). I picked one up awhile ago (serial #230 in unfinished pine) and was so impressed by the sound I had to find another for a pair. I was fortunate to find another one and am even more impressed when they are used as a stereo pair. They don't have the sparkle at the top end that other AR's exhibit, but the mids are wonderful......and of course the bass is all AR! Enjoy. :D

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According to Henry Kloss, "The AR-2 was a $96. speaker rather then a $185. speaker as in the AR-1. The idea of using electrical tailoring of the frequeny response, which is a key ingredient in any speaker I've done since, was first done on the AR-2. By electrical compensation, you could get the high end of a low-cost, full-range dynamic speaker. You could get just the right amount of high frequencies for the rather low-efficiency low end. "

If I remember, the early AR-2's had a aluminum carrier for the 4 inch drivers, later replaced by one made of plastic. The earliest AR-2's should date to mid-late 1957. I've always liked the entire AR-2 through 2-ax line-up. Folks will pay $500. or more for the 3, 3a speakers, but you can find some nice 2, 2a's for less then $100. a pair....a great early classic which will be less exspensive to repair down the road !

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Guest greg928gts

Thanks for the information. I suspected it was an AR-2 based on some reading I did here.

It doesn't seem to be in very good shape to me. The cabinet is rough and the midrange cones are very warped. The woofer is fine. I'll be selling it on ebay.

Greg

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Guest matty g

The cabinet

>is rough and the midrange cones are very warped.

Hi Greg -

The midrange/tweeters appear warped due to the fiberglass pie wedges stuffed behind them. AR did this to dampen the speaker cone's vibration. They also doped the edge with a rubberized coating. The warping is a common occurence for those drivers, though I'm not sure if it has any effect on the driver's performance. Who knows how early on the cone warping appeared - could have happened shortly after leaving the factory.

Matt

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