Early AR1 History: What was Twenty FIVE Thorndike St?

[Guest shogold]

This is in reference to the discussion a few months back about early AR logos on back labels and how they changed when AR moved from Auburn to Thorndike st in 1956. I have some interest in this because I am researching the history of my dad's old AR-1s. Of the two speakers, his newer one is pretty straightforward and Tom tells me it's from 1957 or 58. It has the Trajan logo on the back and bears the 24 Thorndike address. But the older one has no logo, only a typewritten AR-1 like the Auburn St. productions, but the address seems to read 25 Thorndike St. Does this make sense to anyone? Some other differences: No patent # 2 million etc. on label, the grill is dark reddish brown instead of ivory and it hasn't held up well over the years (though this may have more to do with my family history than with AR history!). It also has the 7-post style. The serial number is 1671. Hope this info is helpful to you historians, but it may raise more questions than it answers. If any of you have any info about this address and its place in AR history, I'd be interested. Thanks!

Shoshanna

[Guest SteveG]

I have a single AR 1U that sounds very much like your older unit. The label on back is the same, with Typed AR1U and typed serial number (mine is later at 5525 and Tom would probably be able to say which year this means. Otherwise my label is like yours. No trajan logo or patent number. And it is the 7-post setup.

In my case the 1U designation is for unfinished pine and it came with the dark reddish brown grill cloth you have also. Would be interesting to know if your older unit is also unfinished. Tom probably knows under what circumstances AR used the darker cloth. My other AR 1-series speaker is just an AR 1W (woofer only) and this is in a blonce birch lacquered cabinet with the light colored grill cloth.

Interesting history. Hope more info will be forthcoming. Is Tom listening?

SteveG

[Andy]

Oh where oh where is Tom Tyson, he will have many details on early AR. He owns an AR-1 with a serial number of 00006 which dates it to about Sept. 1954! This topic has been discussed on the forum before, until we hear from our friend Tom try searching past posts.

If I recall, the Auburn st. address is before mid 1955. 1956 makes sense as a date on your older AR-1 since production was very very low in 1955, something like only 500 units ? ? Tom ?

Andy

[Guest shogold]

Steve,

Thanks for the info. I think you're right about the U because mine is finished and doesn't have a U. The finish looks a little different than the newer one, though. What's the address on yours, also 25 Thorndike?

I think the patent was obtained in 1956 which makes me wonder if ours are from before then. Hopefully Tom can shed some light

Shoshanna

[Guest SteveG]

Shoshanna,

Actually it is 24 Thorndike. Assume you too. Or does yours really say 25 Thorndike? (Might this have changed?? Our serial numbers are pretty far apart so would guess that they may not be from same time, yours earlier. Unless they reserved some higher numbers for the unfinoshed models labeled 1U, like mine.

But I am intrigued as I think Tom told me when I got this they put the darker cloth on the unfinished pine, like mine. So I am wondering what veneer and finish yours is?? Remember a lot of the unfinished got stained to look like walnut, but of course the grain in the wood is entirely different so it is easy to see. Can you say or describe the finish and wood of your 2 speakers, bth the older and newer one?

By the way, when I first powered the 1 up I was very impressed with the higher range driver. Quite good for a 2-way system. But at $1,000 those drivers do seem a little overpriced!!

Thanks

Steve

[Guest shogold]

Yeah, I'm pretty sure it says 25, that's what puzzles me. As for the finish and the wood it looks like laquered walnut to me. Also, it wasn't like my dad to try to refinish things himself. Here are some pics - what does it look like to you?

AS for the drivers, I really can't comment. This was in the family for ages and hasn't been used for about 15 years or more. I don't even know how to reconnect the wires. But I remember sitting next to these speakers as a kid, practically putting my ear next to it, and just soaking in the music.

Thanks for your input

Shoshanna

[Guest SteveG]

Shoshanna,

VERY interesting. I have quite a few AR speakers and every one says 24 Thorndike. Including both my 1U (with identical label to yours except for the serial number and the address with 24 instead of 25.) This is strange because yours clearly says 25 and it is printed. Generally odd and even numbers ate across the street from each other. So I would guess this was not a valid address, the 25. So maybe you have a misprint. In coins that would make it more valuable, but I am not sure that will matter here. Tom will be able to set us straight on this I am sure.

Yes the darker grill cloth you have is as on my ufinisher pine 1U. From your pic I eally could not tell what wood you have. The finish does not look at all original to me. It looks like it might have multiple coats of what we used to call varnish stain. The bit of grain I could see looked not necessarily like walnut. The dark heavy varnish would not be inconsistent with an unfinished speaker that got coated by your dad or someone else. If you would send a pic or two of the sides of the speaker taking care to not get just glare or very dark we might be able to tell.

You say the back has the 7 binding posts in the circular depression? And does it have 3 in an oblong depression?? If so read the instructions on the back label and follow them explicitly for hookup. Let me know if you have trouble because it took ne a while with tom's help. Steve

[tysontom]

>This is in reference to the discussion a few months back

>about early AR logos on back labels and how they changed when

>AR moved from Auburn to Thorndike st in 1956. I have some

>interest in this because I am researching the history of my

>dad's old AR-1s. Of the two speakers, his newer one is pretty

>straightforward and Tom tells me it's from 1957 or 58. It has

>the Trajan logo on the back and bears the 24 Thorndike

>address. But the older one has no logo, only a typewritten

>AR-1 like the Auburn St. productions, but the address seems to

>read 25 Thorndike St. Does this make sense to anyone? Some

>other differences: No patent # 2 million etc. on label, the

>grill is dark reddish brown instead of ivory and it hasn't

>held up well over the years (though this may have more to do

>with my family history than with AR history!). It also has

>the 7-post style. The serial number is 1671. Hope this info

>is helpful to you historians, but it may raise more questions

>than it answers. If any of you have any info about this

>address and its place in AR history, I'd be interested.

>Thanks!

>Shoshanna

This AR-1 (with SN1671) would have been made in ealy 1955. Although AR began as a company in the summer of 1954, and displayed the first AR-1s at the New York Audio Fair in October, 1954, production did not begin until early 1955. I believe the 25 Thorndike Street is one of the buildings across the street from the main building that was used by AR for storage and for final shipment, etc. I am pretty certain that this speaker was built and assembled at 24 Thorndike Street insofar as the pre-fab, testing and final assembly was done in stages at 24 Thorndike Street. AR had a truck in which speakers were shuttled back and forth across Thorndike street for these purposes.

Speaker SN1671 is also significant in that it would have been one of the first speakers to be made at the Thorndike location. As a reference, AR-1, SN1274, was made at 23 Mount Auburn Street loft just prior to moving to Thorndike. Possibly the label on the SN1671 was one of the earliest printed at the Thorndike Street location.

I am not sure when AR began printing the patent inscription on the speaker labels, but a/s patent was actually granted in 1956. I think it is safe to say that sometime in 1955 or 1956. The dark grill was used primarily on the AR-1 Unfinished Pine cabinets, but this was later changed. The earliest AR-1s had the dark-colored fabric grill with gold swirl pattern, but then changed to the nylon-seran material with the gold thread, sometime after the move to Thorndike Street. The gold thread was then discontinued in the AR-1, AR-1W, AR-3 a year or two later, and the grill material was a pure ivory-white material (which would yellow over time).

--Tom Tyson

[Guest shogold]

>Shoshanna,

>VERY interesting. I have quite a few AR speakers and every

>one says 24 Thorndike. Including both my 1U (with identical

>label to yours except for the serial number and the address

>with 24 instead of 25.) This is strange because yours clearly

>says 25 and it is printed. Generally odd and even numbers ate

>across the street from each other. So I would guess this was

>not a valid address, the 25. So maybe you have a misprint.

>In coins that would make it more valuable, but I am not sure

>that will matter here. Tom will be able to set us straight on

>this I am sure.

>

>Yes the darker grill cloth you have is as on my ufinisher pine

>1U. From your pic I eally could not tell what wood you have.

>The finish does not look at all original to me. It looks like

>it might have multiple coats of what we used to call varnish

>stain. The bit of grain I could see looked not necessarily

>like walnut. The dark heavy varnish would not be inconsistent

>with an unfinished speaker that got coated by your dad or

>someone else. If you would send a pic or two of the sides of

>the speaker taking care to not get just glare or very dark we

>might be able to tell.

>

>You say the back has the 7 binding posts in the circular

>depression? And does it have 3 in an oblong depression?? If so

>read the instructions on the back label and follow them

>explicitly for hookup. Let me know if you have trouble

>because it took ne a while with tom's help. Steve

thanks, Steve. I won't be "visiting" the speakers again for a few days (they're in another house) but from what I remember it doesn't have the 3 posts. I'll try to take a better picture of the wood finish next time.

[Guest shogold]

>>This is in reference to the discussion a few months back

>>about early AR logos on back labels and how they changed

>when

>>AR moved from Auburn to Thorndike st in 1956. I have

>some

>>interest in this because I am researching the history of

>my

>>dad's old AR-1s. Of the two speakers, his newer one is

>pretty

>>straightforward and Tom tells me it's from 1957 or 58. It

>has

>>the Trajan logo on the back and bears the 24 Thorndike

>>address. But the older one has no logo, only a

>typewritten

>>AR-1 like the Auburn St. productions, but the address

>seems to

>>read 25 Thorndike St. Does this make sense to anyone?

>Some

>>other differences: No patent # 2 million etc. on label,

>the

>>grill is dark reddish brown instead of ivory and it

>hasn't

>>held up well over the years (though this may have more to

>do

>>with my family history than with AR history!). It also

>has

>>the 7-post style. The serial number is 1671. Hope this

>info

>>is helpful to you historians, but it may raise more

>questions

>>than it answers. If any of you have any info about this

>>address and its place in AR history, I'd be interested.

>>Thanks!

>>Shoshanna

>

>This AR-1 (with SN1671) would have been made in ealy 1955.

>Although AR began as a company in the summer of 1954, and

>displayed the first AR-1s at the New York Audio Fair in

>October, 1954, production did not begin until early 1955. I

>believe the 25 Thorndike Street is one of the buildings across

>the street from the main building that was used by AR for

>storage and for final shipment, etc. I am pretty certain that

>this speaker was built and assembled at 24 Thorndike Street

>insofar as the pre-fab, testing and final assembly was done in

>stages at 24 Thorndike Street. AR had a truck in which

>speakers were shuttled back and forth across Thorndike street

>for these purposes.

>

>Speaker SN1671 is also significant in that it would have been

>one of the first speakers to be made at the Thorndike

>location. As a reference, AR-1, SN1274, was made at 23 Mount

>Auburn Street loft just prior to moving to Thorndike.

>Possibly the label on the SN1671 was one of the earliest

>printed at the Thorndike Street location.

>

>I am not sure when AR began printing the patent inscription on

>the speaker labels, but a/s patent was actually granted in

>1956. I think it is safe to say that sometime in 1955 or

>1956. The dark grill was used primarily on the AR-1

>Unfinished Pine cabinets, but this was later changed. The

>earliest AR-1s had the dark-colored fabric grill with gold

>swirl pattern, but then changed to the nylon-seran material

>with the gold thread, sometime after the move to Thorndike

>Street. The gold thread was then discontinued in the AR-1,

>AR-1W, AR-3 a year or two later, and the grill material was a

>pure ivory-white material (which would yellow over time).

>

>--Tom Tyson

>

>

Dear Tom,

Wow, how DO you know all this stuff? Thanks for the interesting history -- I never would've thought of the storage across the street. By the way I just found a bunch of "High Fidelity" magazines from the early 50s down in the basement, so I guess my dad really had his ear to the ground when these first came out. But why would he buy just one at a time? Is that what people did then? The cover of the first issue of High Fidelity shows a home audio system and it looks like just one big speaker. Pardon my ignorance, but I just don't know this. (I'm part of the Walkman generation, and my kids are ipod-ers!)

About the grill fabric - do I understand from this that the darker grill is a less durable fabric? On a more mercenary note, in selling this speaker should I just take off the grill to display the insides since it's so shabby anyway? Or does the old grill have inherent value? Just wondering.

Thanks again for the info. I'm learning a lot from this forum, not only about these old speakers but also about my father, and that's priceless.

Shoshanna

[Guest tgw]

Many audiophiles purchased their first speaker for their monaural sytem and then added a similar second speaker for stereo. As I recall stereo equipment and records became available in late 1957 or early 1958.

[tysontom]

>Many audiophiles purchased their first speaker for their

>monaural sytem and then added a similar second speaker for

>stereo. As I recall stereo equipment and records became

>available in late 1957 or early 1958.

I believe this is precisely the reason your dad bought just one AR-1 at first and then added a second in the late 1950s. The fact that your dad had an AR-1 to begin with, and so early in AR history, meant that he was very serious and knowledgeable about accurate sound reproduction; when stereo became a reality, it was only natural to add a second AR-1.

The only encore to your dad's knowledge and foward-thinking would be for you to restore and keep those speakers as a part of your family's history! That may not be a practical solution, however, since these artifacts continue upward in value.

--Tom Tyson

[dynaco_dan]

Hi there;

Just a very brief comment.

Do not attempt to remove the grille cloth.

With such a special speaker, one does not want to alter anything significantly.

It is amazing, all the information comes up, that is so interesting to read about, Tom is the man.

[Guest SteveG]

Wonderful discussion. Tom always comes through. I had thought that 25 would be across the street but Tom actually knew the history and the specifics of the buildings and theire functions. Wow.

So Tom. Shoshanna's AR1 # 1600 more or less had the address 25 Thorndike. Do you think that was from the start of Thorndike, from sometime between 1200 and 1600? And did this address persist for some time? My AR1U at about 5500 has the same label as Shoshanna's but with 24 Thorndike.

On the grill cloth, it is interesting that they may have used darker from essentially the beginning. Was this really the case? I do not recall exactly whether your special AR1 #00006 came with cloth at all. I know it has none now, but may have when you got it. Can you refresh us?

Back to Shoshanna's AR1, it is so true that you do not want to mess with it unnecessarily. you may be able to gently tuck the cloth back into the lip on the speaker face to straighten and taut it up. But do not tear or mess it up. Would be great for u to keep and enjoy it. Your dad would like that. Let us know if you are being challenged on figuring out how to hook it up to an amp. It is not obvious, and even with Tom's help it took a while to inderstand that all you have to do is follow the label instructions carefully and literally. Let us know iy you have trouble.

And Shoshanna, if you do decide to sell please let the lunatic devotees to these speakers have a first crack. I would fear in the wrong hands this speaker might be pulled apart for parts. That would be a terrible shame.

SteveG

[ar_pro]

Let's face it, fellows...the Altec driver is why the AR-1 pulls a high price on eBay. If auctioned, these speakers will almost certainly be destroyed for that driver.

On the McIntosh forum, there's frequently talk of guys vowing to leave their beloved & famously long-lived Mac equipment to the children, in the hope that the kids will appreciate and cherish it as they did...ha, ha, ha.

[Guest shogold]

>Wonderful discussion. Tom always comes through. I had

>thought that 25 would be across the street but Tom actually

>knew the history and the specifics of the buildings and theire

>functions. Wow.

>

>So Tom. Shoshanna's AR1 # 1600 more or less had the address

>25 Thorndike. Do you think that was from the start of

>Thorndike, from sometime between 1200 and 1600? And did this

>address persist for some time? My AR1U at about 5500 has the

>same label as Shoshanna's but with 24 Thorndike.

>

>On the grill cloth, it is interesting that they may have used

>darker from essentially the beginning. Was this really the

>case? I do not recall exactly whether your special AR1 #00006

>came with cloth at all. I know it has none now, but may have

>when you got it. Can you refresh us?

>

>Back to Shoshanna's AR1, it is so true that you do not want to

>mess with it unnecessarily. you may be able to gently tuck

>the cloth back into the lip on the speaker face to straighten

>and taut it up. But do not tear or mess it up. Would be

>great for u to keep and enjoy it. Your dad would like that.

>Let us know if you are being challenged on figuring out how to

>hook it up to an amp. It is not obvious, and even with Tom's

>help it took a while to inderstand that all you have to do is

>follow the label instructions carefully and literally. Let us

>know iy you have trouble.

>

>And Shoshanna, if you do decide to sell please let the lunatic

>devotees to these speakers have a first crack. I would fear

>in the wrong hands this speaker might be pulled apart for

>parts. That would be a terrible shame.

>

>SteveG

Steve and AR pro, I gotta think about this.

AR pro, you're right - I think most next generation people like me are not going to appreciate these classic speakers as much as you folks are and as unpleasant as it is it's worth sitting down and thinking about what you want to happen to your gear when you're gone. Tom's decision to donate his early ARs is one very laudable idea. You can always gift things during your lifetime or in your will to fellow "lunatic devotees" rather than family members if that's important to you. You also would want your stuff to be appreciated and used and not guilt your kids into having it lie around their houses gathering dust. I think your loved ones will understand and if you put it in writing there's no arguing with it. (or at least no arguing without hiring a lawyer) For us, my father wrote down that he wanted us to sell his things and move on and that's helped guide me throughout the whole estate settling process.

I just want to add one more thing, that I think regardless of where your stuff ends up, there's a valuable legacy for you to leave your kids, and that's the lesson of what the music means to you, why you love your classic audio gear, about the appreciation of beauty and art and the importance of sitting down and listening. I read the discussion a little while ago about the differences in generations and music appreciation and it really made sense to me. Hopefully you've conveyed this in one way or another to your kids all along but it doesn't hurt to write it down and leave it where they can find it. I know it has helped me to read my father's comments about what things he enjoyed in his lifetime and that's going to stay with me regardless of where his audio equipment goes.

Steve, your suggestion is interesting, I've got to sleep on it. G'nite.

Shoshanna

[tysontom]

>Wonderful discussion. Tom always comes through. I had

>thought that 25 would be across the street but Tom actually

>knew the history and the specifics of the buildings and theire

>functions. Wow.

>

>So Tom. Shoshanna's AR1 # 1600 more or less had the address

>25 Thorndike. Do you think that was from the start of

>Thorndike, from sometime between 1200 and 1600? And did this

>address persist for some time? My AR1U at about 5500 has the

>same label as Shoshanna's but with 24 Thorndike.

>

>On the grill cloth, it is interesting that they may have used

>darker from essentially the beginning. Was this really the

>case? I do not recall exactly whether your special AR1 #00006

>came with cloth at all. I know it has none now, but may have

>when you got it. Can you refresh us?

Steve,

Thanks for your comments. I don't have definitive information on the building across the street from 24 Thorndike, but there may have been some assembly done there as well as storage and shipment. I also believe there was a second anechoic chamber over there from what I have heard, so some testing would have been performed there as well as the main location. I do know that the main building (see my poor-quality image attached) was four floors of office, design, pre-fab, testing and assembly. Having 25 Thorndike on the label is probably quite rare, and I have no idea how many speakers were designated with this address, but certainly very few. I also believe that there were as many as four buildings being used by AR at one point or another. LSTs were built in another building other than 24 Thorndike Street, I believe.

http://www.classicspeakerpages.net/dc/user_files/2193.jpg

Acoustic Research 24 Thorndike Street Location 1960s Image

AR-1, SN 0006, did not have a grill or logo plate. The attached image was taken right after I received the speaker from California.

http://www.classicspeakerpages.net/dc/user_files/2195.jpg

AR-1, SN 0006, Lacquered African Mahogany finish

This image is AR-1, SN 0074, that belonged to *Audio* for their test report, and given to me by Ed Canby before he died. It is going to be donated to a museum in the future. Note the swirly, dark-colored grill cloth and the larger-than-usual AR logo brass plate. It is about 1/4-inch larger all around the the standard logo we're used to seeing.

http://www.classicspeakerpages.net/dc/user_files/2196.jpg

AR-1, SN 0074, Lacquered-Korina finish

--Tom Tyson

[mluong303]

" Having 25 Thorndike on the label is probably quite rare, and I have no idea how many speakers were designated with this address, but certainly very few. "

Tom,

It might have been a misprint on the Label but the speaker was already sold and delivered before AR discovered the mistake?!

Minh Luong

http://www.classicspeakerpages.net/dc/user_files/2198.jpg

[JeffS]

I have another piece to this AR-1 puzzle. I purchased an AR-1W on eBay a few years ago. It's #4140 in a blonde lacquered cabinet with a pleated surround woofer. The address is 24 Thorndike St.

Anyhow, since then I've had an occasional interest in AR-1's that sell on eBay. Looking through my pictures I found that I had saved a couple of eBay auction pictures where the seller had posted a clear picture of the label. SN# 1953 was auctioned on eBay and the label reads 25 Thorndike St.

So, at least 282 units came with that address on the label.

When my son was living in Boston a couple of years ago, within walking distance of Cambridge, I walked over to the old factory and took a shot.

It doesn't look like it has changed much.

Jeff S.

http://www.classicspeakerpages.net/dc/user_files/2199.jpg

http://www.classicspeakerpages.net/dc/user_files/2201.jpg

[Andy]

Well I thought I was thorough about spotting detail differences in the speakers I buy. I never noticed that my AR-1W no.3903 has the 25 Thorndike St. address. (early label, no trojan AR script)

I'm thinking of starting a log of early AR speakers with details about each example along with it's serial number. I did this a couple of years ago with the KLH Model Thirteen stereophonic adapter, logging in over 100 examples. Very interesting things can be learned about production changes of an item and when they occured.

Andy

[tysontom]

>I have another piece to this AR-1 puzzle. I purchased an

>AR-1W on eBay a few years ago. It's #4140 in a blonde

>lacquered cabinet with a pleated surround woofer. The address

>is 24 Thorndike St.

>Anyhow, since then I've had an occasional interest in AR-1's

>that sell on eBay. Looking through my pictures I found that I

>had saved a couple of eBay auction pictures where the seller

>had posted a clear picture of the label. SN# 1953 was

>auctioned on eBay and the label reads 25 Thorndike St.

>So, at least 282 units came with that address on the label.

>When my son was living in Boston a couple of years ago, within

>walking distance of Cambridge, I walked over to the old

>factory and took a shot.

>It doesn't look like it has changed much.

>

>Jeff S.

>

Jeff,

Thanks for that great picture of 24 Thorndike Street! I thought that perhaps the 25 Thorndike Street thing was a mistake, but clearly that is not the case at all. Ed Villchur once told me that there was some assembly and testing done across the street, and that turntables were also assembled there, so perhaps it was used as a shipping address for a period of time.

--Tom Tyson

[Guest SteveG]

Like Jeff S, I have a blonde (Birch) lacquered 1w with pleated woofer surround. It is # 9105, so they must have retained the pleated surround for some time. Tom, do you know how long they used the pleated surround?

By the way. I don't know about others, but this is about the best thread ever. Really getting back to the beginning. What a great group of researchers and communicators.

SteveG

[Guest shogold]

>Like Jeff S, I have a blonde (Birch) lacquered 1w with

>pleated woofer surround. It is # 9105, so they must have

>retained the pleated surround for some time. Tom, do you know

>how long they used the pleated surround?

>

>By the way. I don't know about others, but this is about the

>best thread ever. Really getting back to the beginning. What

>a great group of researchers and communicators.

>

>SteveG

Thanks everyone for more information than I ever imagined. I knew I came to the right place for AR history.

Shoshanna

[JeffS]

>Well I thought I was thorough about spotting detail

>differences in the speakers I buy. I never noticed that my

>AR-1W no.3903 has the 25 Thorndike St. address. (early label,

>no trojan AR script)

>

>I'm thinking of starting a log of early AR speakers with

>details about each example along with it's serial number. I

>did this a couple of years ago with the KLH Model Thirteen

>stereophonic adapter, logging in over 100 examples. Very

>interesting things can be learned about production changes of

>an item and when they occured.

>

>Andy

Andy,

I've started a log with the AR-1.

Tom stated in a previous post that somewhere around 20K units of the AR-1 were manufactured. The highest serial number I've seen so far is 20104 (on an AR-1X) which supports Tom's data. I'm assuming that includes all flavors and that one set of serial numbers covers them all. It would be nice to be able to reference a serial number to the year of manufacture, but that looks like guesswork at best.

Jeff S.