AR 5 Euro model serial numbers

[Razor313]

Hello all, I have a pair of AR5s, euro models. The serial numbers are HK 4814 and HK 5631. When I restored them I saw that the woofers were stamped 3-16-1972 (for 4814) and 11-11-1972 (for 5631). Is it safe to assume that they were manufactured in 1972?

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[Lasminit2]

Well, this is a very late reply, but I just purchased a pair of European model AR-5's. Their S/N's are: HL 09949 and 09950. I haven't opened them up yet, but I will be refoaming them soon, and they sound so good that I am curious to see if they might have been recapped. One speaker does have a bad tweeter (it's not the rheostats...the tweeter is really dead). The working drivers all have functional rheostats that have some dropouts.

Razor,

I suspect that going by the dates on the drivers is fairly safe with the exception that European examples were built from drivers brought over from the states, so transit and stockpiling could make an 11-11-1972 woofer wind up in a speaker rolling off the line several months later. Still, you know when your woofers were made, and that certainly puts you in the ballpark of production.

European AR-5's seem to be pretty rare, and I am really impressed so far: excited about getting 'em as nice as possible. Luckily, the cabs and grills are very nice. Keepers, I think!

[Razor313]

Thanks for the reply Lasminit. Yes that would be what I would have thought since I understand that all the parts were shipped to Europe and assembled there for the European market. I restored mine using the info from this site. I did refoam the woofers and replaced the caps. The rheo's were OK after taking them apart and cleaning them. All the info for the restore was available here on the site. I am very pleased with the sound. My system used a Latino ST 120 tube amp with a VTA SP9 pre and PH12 phono. The TT is an AR XA restored with a technics tone arm, new hurst motor and a Denon DL 110 cart. My AR5's came from Florida via ebay. I believe the AR5s are sleepers vs the way more expensive AR3a. My mids and tweets were OK, and didn't need replacement. Good luck with your restore.

[ra.ra]

I've got a few pairs of 'classic' AR speakers, but no AR-5's just yet. Perhaps a bit odd among AR enthusiasts, but I am actually more interested in the AR-5's than I am in obtaining a pair of AR-3a's. I've been chasing a few pair recently, and just missed out on this pair of Euro 5's by a couple hours (see attachment) - - - I never actually saw the equipment but I think this might have been a great deal.

Lasminit's date assessment sounds very reasonable - the dates on the woofs are for the woofs only, not necessarily the entire speaker assembly. Information available on this site suggests that AR-5's were in production between 1969 and 1976, but it is not clear if that was for US production only or if it also applied to Euro production. I am curious to know whether there were any differences between US and Euro AR-5 models except for the thin front frame profile on the Euro version. Also, I have seen pics of Euro AR's of this vintage with both the dark brown grille cloth and also the more typical off-white linen found on US models.