AR-1w serial numbers

[JeffS]

Hello,

This is my first post to this excellent forum of AR information.

I have recently acquired an AR-1w from an eBay auction.Is there any way to tell the year of manufacture from the serial number? It is 4140. It has a blond cabinet, and if i peer through the grille with a flashlight, the woofer is a smooth cone with a flat dustcap and pleated (possibly orange) surround.

[charger3834]

That is a pretty early number. To date it exactly, I would have to know how many were produced each year.

1955-1959 would be a good guess. Tom Tyson should be able to pin that down better.

[tysontom]

>Hello,

>This is my first post to this excellent forum of AR

>information.

>I have recently acquired an AR-1w from an eBay auction.Is

>there any way to tell the year of manufacture from the serial

>number? It is 4140. It has a blond cabinet, and if i peer

>through the grille with a flashlight, the woofer is a smooth

>cone with a flat dustcap and pleated (possibly orange)

>surround.

>

I think your AR-1W would be a late-1954 or early-1955 model. The blond cabinet means it is either a blond-birch or Korina finish. The pleated surround, a Henry Kloss design, and flat dust cap were used on the first AR-1's, but changed to half-round configuration (inventor Edgar Villchur's original design) shortly after your speaker was made. The cast-aluminum frame on the early ones was also thicker, and showed the early hand-made qualities of these first speakers. These earliest AR-1's and AR-1W's (or AR-1U if it had the unfinished-pine cabinet) were rugged, and have held up well.

--Tom Tyson

[JeffS]

Thank you for your reply, Tom.

That's older than I had suspected at first.

I had read your excellent posting on the history of the AR 12" woofer, and after discovering the pleated surround on this unit I was prompted to inquire about the serial numbers.

Of course, I had to hear music through it, so I set it up side-by-side with a 2ax mid/high assembly, and powered it with a 30 watt amp. I have to say that with the proper mid and high assembly this speaker can be very listenable!(I'll have to watch for 3T on eBay). I'm tempted to give it a little more power, but due to its' age I don't want to risk damage to the surround.

As a side note: Since my son is also interested in older AR equipment, he was the second highest bidder on the AK-1 auction on eBay a couple of months ago. I believe you won that piece. I keep telling him "If you only bid a couple of more dollars...", but I don't think he would have outbid you. What a piece! Do you plan on giving it to a museum at some point?

[tysontom]

>Thank you for your reply, Tom.

>That's older than I had suspected at first.

>I had read your excellent posting on the history of the AR 12"

>woofer, and after discovering the pleated surround on this

>unit I was prompted to inquire about the serial numbers.

>Of course, I had to hear music through it, so I set it up

>side-by-side with a 2ax mid/high assembly, and powered it with

>a 30 watt amp. I have to say that with the proper mid and high

>assembly this speaker can be very listenable!(I'll have to

>watch for 3T on eBay). I'm tempted to give it a little more

>power, but due to its' age I don't want to risk damage to the

>surround.

>As a side note: Since my son is also interested in older AR

>equipment, he was the second highest bidder on the AK-1

>auction on eBay a couple of months ago. I believe you won that

>piece. I keep telling him "If you only bid a couple of more

>dollars...", but I don't think he would have outbid you. What

>a piece! Do you plan on giving it to a museum at some point?

The earliest pleated-surround models were really quite rugged. The pleated surround was not quite as compliant as the half-round surround, but it supported and centered the cone better. Unless the glue comes loose from the outer edge, the speaker is unlikely to give trouble.

The "AK-1" was actually an AR-1, of course, but the owner could not read the hand-printed label on the back. I'm sorry that I outbid your son, but you can inform him that although that AR-1 is obviously very rare, it is not in great condition. It would not be the best choice as a player. The Altec 755A midrange/tweeter has a tear in the cone, and the woofer has a rattle in it. There is distortion. Eventually I will have to take it apart to see what's going on with the woofer -- I suspect the inner suspension has come loose. I did get it to donate to a museum at some point.

--Tom Tyson