canman Posted November 29, 2016 Report Share Posted November 29, 2016 Just got my rehabbed AR3's hooked up to my Mcintosh 2505 amp with C-26 pre-amp and Thorens TD-160 TT. I had never heard AR3s before and I am just amazed by these. The clarity and sound quality is just amazing. Hearing things from certain records I had never heard before. I see why everyone loved the AR3 years ago. I need to clean finish up a little and figure out the grills that keep wanting to pop out at the top. They are the original material with the gold cloth/stripe in it. Will send some photos to share soon. Thanks everyone! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavidDru Posted November 29, 2016 Report Share Posted November 29, 2016 Great! Please do post some photos. Congrats. I bet that is one smooth sounding system. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GD70 Posted November 29, 2016 Report Share Posted November 29, 2016 The 3's are sublime. You have some nice hardware behind yours! And yes, we love pics! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RoyC Posted November 29, 2016 Report Share Posted November 29, 2016 16 hours ago, canman said: Just got my rehabbed AR3's hooked up to my Mcintosh 2505 amp with C-26 pre-amp and Thorens TD-160 TT. I had never heard AR3s before and I am just amazed by these. The clarity and sound quality is just amazing. Hearing things from certain records I had never heard before. I see why everyone loved the AR3 years ago. I need to clean finish up a little and figure out the grills that keep wanting to pop out at the top. They are the original material with the gold cloth/stripe in it. Will send some photos to share soon. Thanks everyone! Thanks, Mark...very glad your project was successful. I'm always happy to provide assistance, parts, and the occasional repair, but in the end the outcome was in your hands. I believe the highest quality AR restorations are being completed by CSP forum members. Roy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
canman Posted December 17, 2016 Author Report Share Posted December 17, 2016 Here are a few photos of completed AR3's. I need one AR badge but almost complete. After holidays I will make a set of AR replica speaker stands. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GD70 Posted December 17, 2016 Report Share Posted December 17, 2016 Beautiful! I just finished restoring a pair, and made new grill frames from 1/4 inch MDF. The New Saran arrived a few days ago and hope to finish them this weekend. Those original plastic frames didn't hold up well and I think the MFD will do a better job staying flat and warp free. Thanks to Roy for rebuilding my mids as well! Glenn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
canman Posted December 17, 2016 Author Report Share Posted December 17, 2016 Anxious to see your when finished Glenn. I kept mine original but as you can see, I am fighting the proverbial grill warp. My saran is nice so keeping it original for now. Fun stuff...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GD70 Posted December 17, 2016 Report Share Posted December 17, 2016 I'll post pics as I progress. The Saran is laying flat weighted down for now as it was rolled up for shipping. BTW, what work did Roy do on yours? Glenn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
canman Posted December 17, 2016 Author Report Share Posted December 17, 2016 Roy redid my mid-range. The other speaker works but I can tell a difference between Roy's work and original. So I will probably talk with Roy and about him redoing the other mid. He does quality work and super great guy . Keep posting photos of your work, always fun to learn from others and compare notes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RoyC Posted December 18, 2016 Report Share Posted December 18, 2016 Lookin' good, Mark...and thanks again to you and Glenn for the kind words. When the AR-3 midrange work is successful, the renewed output can be a real eye (ear?) opener. Just be aware that they still have the same old fragile aluminum voice coil, so be careful with the volume level. Roy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
canman Posted December 18, 2016 Author Report Share Posted December 18, 2016 Roy, so my amp is rated at about 60 watts rms so if I never get the volume above say 50% of max, do you think that is safe? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RoyC Posted December 18, 2016 Report Share Posted December 18, 2016 5 hours ago, canman said: Roy, so my amp is rated at about 60 watts rms so if I never get the volume above say 50% of max, do you think that is safe? You can't determine the amount of output your amp is providing by the position of the volume control. It varies a great deal from one device to another. There is really no way of knowing what will do in these mids at this point. Just don't let any teenagers throw a party with them. Roy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JKent Posted December 18, 2016 Report Share Posted December 18, 2016 On 12/17/2016 at 7:51 AM, canman said: I need one AR badge but almost complete. I have nice reproductions and tarnished originals. PM me if interested. -Kent Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GD70 Posted December 20, 2016 Report Share Posted December 20, 2016 On December 17, 2016 at 7:51 AM, canman said: Here are a few photos of completed AR3's. I need one AR badge but almost complete. After holidays I will make a set of AR replica speaker stands. Hey can an! I have a question regarding the original Saran on your grills. I know the Saran folds over the top and bottom of the frames, but does it also fold or wrap around the sides to the back too? It appears to in your photos, but the one original frame that came with mine is not wrapped around the sides. Thanks, Glenn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
canman Posted December 20, 2016 Author Report Share Posted December 20, 2016 Will get some closeups of back and post in a little bit. I assume mine are original since it uses the masonite frames and the speakers were "virgin" before I worked on mids and new caps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
canman Posted December 21, 2016 Author Report Share Posted December 21, 2016 Below are photos of my original Masonite frames with saran grill material on AR3's. Hope this helps some.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GD70 Posted December 22, 2016 Report Share Posted December 22, 2016 Thanks for the pics, but now I'm confused. I thought the 3's frames were plastic, the Masonite frames were on the 3a's? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
canman Posted December 22, 2016 Author Report Share Posted December 22, 2016 69923 69935. These are my speaker numbers and data was supplied to my by Tom T., who really knows his stuff on AR3s and AR3-A's. My speakers had not been opened and frame was attached with hot glue. According to Tom, they are Serial number 69923-69935 were definitely manufactured by Acoustic Research at the 24 Thorndike Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts factory in May-July 1972. It sounds like summarizing the post below my particular AR3s were at end of production run and actually feature many things from AR3A model but have AR3 drivers. I should have thought of this when ending the photos of my grills but this post might help you anyway as a great deal of data included below. Best of luck Glen and keep us posted on your project! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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