JeffS Posted August 17, 2008 Report Share Posted August 17, 2008 For those interested in the AR-1, there is a current auction on eBay for a pair with serial numbers 0018 and 0196. I believe 0018 would be the second earliest known model, and 0196 could be the fourth or fifth earliest (Tom Tyson's 0006 being the earliest).http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...A:IT&ih=001JeffS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
genek Posted August 17, 2008 Report Share Posted August 17, 2008 For those interested in the AR-1, there is a current auction on eBay for a pair with serial numbers 0018 and 0196. I believe 0018 would be the second earliest known model, and 0196 could be the fourth or fifth earliest (Tom Tyson's 0006 being the earliest).There are actually *two* pairs up right now, from different sellers. There's also somebody relatively local to me advertising a pair with intact woofers and crossovers but without the Altec 755a's. I don't think I've ever seen this many of this model offered for sale at the same time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tysontom Posted August 17, 2008 Report Share Posted August 17, 2008 For those interested in the AR-1, there is a current auction on eBay for a pair with serial numbers 0018 and 0196. I believe 0018 would be the second earliest known model, and 0196 could be the fourth or fifth earliest (Tom Tyson's 0006 being the earliest).http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...A:IT&ih=001The big difference seems to be that the 0018 pictured in the eBay auction appears to be in better overall condition than my #0006. I guess what is happening is that many of the really old AR speakers are beginning to surface now that the value is getting so high -- ironically due to the 8-inch Altec 755A. Note that the label on the back of #0018 is also hand-written. That is most likely Henry Kloss' handwriting.Well, it probably won't be long before something earlier than 0006 will come along!--Tom Tyson Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
genek Posted August 17, 2008 Report Share Posted August 17, 2008 I guess what is happening is that many of the really old AR speakers are beginning to surface now that the value is getting so high -- ironically due to the 8-inch Altec 755A.Tom, you may be the only person here who knows based on actual listening, do those 755a's actually live up to their seemingly insane market value, or is it strictly a matter of rarity? Offhand, I can't imagine that an 8" cone driver whose top end peters out at 13khz could compare in response or dispersion to any of AR's later tweeter choices, and used as a HF driver even if its low end was remarkable you'd probably never hear it connected to the AR's crossover? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeffS Posted August 19, 2008 Author Report Share Posted August 19, 2008 The big difference seems to be that the 0018 pictured in the eBay auction appears to be in better overall condition than my #0006. I guess what is happening is that many of the really old AR speakers are beginning to surface now that the value is getting so high -- ironically due to the 8-inch Altec 755A. Note that the label on the back of #0018 is also hand-written. That is most likely Henry Kloss' handwriting.Well, it probably won't be long before something earlier than 0006 will come along!--Tom TysonTom,Actually, speaking strictly of eBay, few very early AR-1's come up for sale. I've been tracking AR-1's on eBay for about a year and a half now, and these are the first with serial #'s under 1000 (that I've seen).I think the significance of #0018 is that it is the earliest surviving complete unit. The seller was good enough to email me some additional photos, and they show it to have a reddish grill with gold thread, along with the badge. Unfortunately, they removed the grill and the masonite to take pictures of the 755A.#0196 is interesting in that it has a blonde (birch?) cabinet along with the marvelous black with white swirls grill cloth. It also adds a 3-post (input?) connection at the bottom rear, along with a 7-post crossover connection at the center rear.I'm thinking that someone very close to the company must have owned these. #0018 is not a production unit, and the seller claims that the original owner purchased the second unit for stereo. That system "upgrade" came just a few months later and if it's true that the production serial #'s started at 0100, the second unit would be the 96th production AR-1.It's a very interesting pair, but as you say, the value of the 755A has risen such that it is probably what will drive the sale of these speakers. Hopefully the buyer chooses to keep the units whole.JeffS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tysontom Posted August 19, 2008 Report Share Posted August 19, 2008 Tom,Actually, speaking strictly of eBay, few very early AR-1's come up for sale. I've been tracking AR-1's on eBay for about a year and a half now, and these are the first with serial #'s under 1000 (that I've seen).I think the significance of #0018 is that it is the earliest surviving complete unit. The seller was good enough to email me some additional photos, and they show it to have a reddish grill with gold thread, along with the badge. Unfortunately, they removed the grill and the masonite to take pictures of the 755A.#0196 is interesting in that it has a blonde (birch?) cabinet along with the marvelous black with white swirls grill cloth. It also adds a 3-post (input?) connection at the bottom rear, along with a 7-post crossover connection at the center rear.I'm thinking that someone very close to the company must have owned these. #0018 is not a production unit, and the seller claims that the original owner purchased the second unit for stereo. That system "upgrade" came just a few months later and if it's true that the production serial #'s started at 0100, the second unit would be the 96th production AR-1.It's a very interesting pair, but as you say, the value of the 755A has risen such that it is probably what will drive the sale of these speakers. Hopefully the buyer chooses to keep the units whole.JeffSJeff,No, #0018 isn't the earliest-surviving complete AR-1. The AR-1 I have, which is #0006, came off of eBay. It is not in as good condition as the 0018 appears to be, but it works perfectly! The person selling the speaker a few years ago could not read the hand-written, pencil-drawn label, and obviously did not know what it was, and listed it as an "AK-1," and few other people realized what it was. I knew immediately that it was one of the early prototypes from AR built in the fall of 1954, and I bid on it (the starting bid was $50), and I put a very high reserve on it, but it never got above $50. Once the bidding ended, I shipped out a special AR box-within-a-box via FedEx with a prepaid return label, and withing a week I had it safely back with me. The very early AR-1s were prototypes and used as show demonstrators, but I don't know at what point they actually became "production" versions shipped to dealers. The blond birch AR-1 (or it might be a Korina version) was not rare after the initial production version were built (all of the first ones were mahogany). Light-colored cabinets were very popular in the 1950s, and AR began shipping birch and Korina cabinets in 1955. I have a birch AR-1 which also has an early serial number, probably built around the time of that 0100 unit.--Tom Tyson Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
genek Posted August 21, 2008 Report Share Posted August 21, 2008 The local seller whose speakers have no 755a's in them wants $100 and says if nobody buys them they're going to Goodwill. I'm trying to get more info as to cabinet finish, condition, ser #'s, etc., and will post if I can get it out of him in case somebody wants to buy them or start lurking at his local Goodwill. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeffS Posted August 22, 2008 Author Report Share Posted August 22, 2008 There are actually *two* pairs up right now, from different sellers. There's also somebody relatively local to me advertising a pair with intact woofers and crossovers but without the Altec 755a's. I don't think I've ever seen this many of this model offered for sale at the same time.Genek,And they just keep coming.Another interesting pair has appeared on eBay. The seller has an AR-1 and an AR-1W. He states that they were owned by his dad. The serial numbers are 8444 and 122xx, yet they both have the same cabinet finish (it looks like korina), and they both have an AR-1 label even though #122xx is clearly an AR-1W.Who knows, maybe a pair of AR-1x's will show up next (I haven't seen one of those on eBay in a long time).Jeff S Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
genek Posted August 22, 2008 Report Share Posted August 22, 2008 And they just keep coming.Another interesting pair has appeared on eBay. The seller has an AR-1 and an AR-1W. He states that they were owned by his dad. The serial numbers are 8444 and 122xx, yet they both have the same cabinet finish (it looks like korina), and they both have an AR-1 label even though #122xx is clearly an AR-1W.Who knows, maybe a pair of AR-1x's will show up next (I haven't seen one of those on eBay in a long time).No, but a pair of AR-1W's just went up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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