frankmarsi Posted February 15, 2017 Report Share Posted February 15, 2017 2-15-17 How Long Have You Owned AR Speakers? Impressions? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nefertem Posted February 16, 2017 Report Share Posted February 16, 2017 Hi Frank i bought my AR93 at Lechmere in Weymouth Massachusetts in the late 80s I had the original drivers up until 2000 and they are Frankenstein speakers now but i think that they sound better overall Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michiganpat Posted February 16, 2017 Report Share Posted February 16, 2017 I've owned my 312HOs since 98, and my 18's since 99....my uncle bought the 18's new in '77 since then I've picked up some Holographic imaging M5's, 2ax's, rock partners, and 58S's.....never should have sold the M5s Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
der Posted February 16, 2017 Report Share Posted February 16, 2017 I bought my AR3a in March of 1969. 48 years ago next month. I replaced the midranges approximately 27 years ago with factory units. The crossovers were recapped 2 years ago and the level controls cleaned up a couple of times. (Last time was 2 years ago) I bought new frames with grill cloth a few years back. They look like new to this day. Not a scratch anywhere. I listen to them everyday that I am home. The tweeters still have good output. Probably better than my 70 year old ears can detect. Still love them. I remember well the day I brought them home. der Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AR surround Posted February 16, 2017 Report Share Posted February 16, 2017 My long history with AR: My bought my first pair of speakers, the AR5, in 1972. They now belong to my cousin. I added a pair of AR7's in 1973 to make a Dynaquad system with the AR5's. They eventually went to a friend, but he made the mistake of throwing them away when the surrounds rotted. Ugh! Another friend lent me his pair of AR3a's sometime later for a couple of months. They seemed difficult to drive with my Dyanaco Stereo 80 amp. In August of 1978 came the AR9's which I still own. We've had a very long relationship indeed. As an expatriate working in Holland in 1980, I had a pair of AR90's. I chose not to ship them back to the US, sold them and regretted it. Fortunately, Larry Lagace gave me a chance to "relive history" as he put it and got me a replacement pair in 2006. Finally, I picked up a pair of AR48s speakers for $75 on ebay. I occasionally use one as a center channel speaker. The AR9's, AR90's and AR48s are currently utilized in a surround sound system. I recently recapped both the AR9's and AR90's and doing some tweeking to get the sound right. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stimpy Posted February 16, 2017 Report Share Posted February 16, 2017 I worked for a Teledyne company, from the late 70s, until the mid 80s. So, I got to order my AR90s directly from the AR factory. I believe that was early 1981. I still have 'em, and still enjoy them on a daily basis. I also had a pair of TSW410s, but they got trashed in a move. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dxho Posted February 16, 2017 Report Share Posted February 16, 2017 I've owned one or more pairs of AR speakers since the mid 80s. My main ones now are AR-3a. Impressions? I'm not necessarily attached to a brand, but I am to a sound. And AR is the closest I've gotten to it within reasonable means. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff_C Posted February 16, 2017 Report Share Posted February 16, 2017 I bought my first pair of speakers in 1974 or 1975. They were AR-6 bought jointly with my sister, and she took them with her from the family home a couple of years later when she married. I replaced them in January 1977 with AR-16 and I've had them ever since. The big bummer for me is that they were in storage with foam-rot from September 1993 to December 2013. I did not realise they could be fixed but thankfully had been reluctant to discard them. I came across this forum and re-foamed and re-capped them. I was happily using recently bought Revel Performa M22 when the AR-16 got fixed, but they were relegated so the AR-16 once again became my main listening speaker of choice. The fact that I bought the AR-6 jointly with my sister gives some clues about my financial position at that time. It would have been a lot more difficult to have afforded decent hifi on my own while still at high school. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bacatja Posted February 16, 2017 Report Share Posted February 16, 2017 I bought my 1st stereo in 1980, A pair of AR 94s Denon DP30 L Turntable n Stanton 681 eee Cartridge n stylus & a Technics SU- V6 Class A amp, Rocked the whole neighbourhood, I listened to ARs Bose ect, kept coming back to the ARs, I now own several pairs of ARs from the smallest AR 1MS to AR 9- AR 90 - AR 94- x 2, x AR - 12 x 2, AR Partners, ect, And love powering them with my Hafler DH 500,s, I will forever be an Teledyne Acoustic Research Fan ?? Brett Australia ?? ???? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djcheung Posted February 16, 2017 Report Share Posted February 16, 2017 I like Brett, bought my first pair of ARUK1 (European version AR94S I thnk) in 1980. Being a student then, the only thing I could afford and they were on sale and the last pair in the shop. And it was like that for the next 30 years. Due to other commitments, didn't listen too much of them until one day, I walked into a HiFi shop demoing a pair of B&W 804. I thought they sounded ok and I was ready to upgrade. But then I thought, hang on a minute, the ARUK1 sounds much better than that. So I went home started listening to the AR seriously. And that stopped me spending some serious money on the B&W. Hooked on ebay at the beginning of 2013 and bought my 2nd pair of AR - AR9.. Ever since I have purchased a number of AR speakers but scare to say how many pairs! They include AR3a, AR6, AR7 .....some of the holographic series........and the infamous Limited Model 3. And bought some very new AR S40i-Surround speakers from the new manufacturer(Still yet to test). Trying now to thin out the collection as I can't spend enough time on all of them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AR surround Posted February 16, 2017 Report Share Posted February 16, 2017 32 minutes ago, djcheung said: ...Ever since I have purchased a number of AR speakers but scare to say how many pairs! They include AR3a, AR6, AR7 .....some of the holographic series........and the infamous Limited Model 3. And bought some very new AR S40i-Surround speakers from the new manufacturer(Still yet to test)... Oh come now. We are all dying to see you entire list of AR speakers! LOL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djcheung Posted February 16, 2017 Report Share Posted February 16, 2017 Ok, here goes the list . AR3a, AR3a Improved, AR-MST, 2 x AR6, 2 x AR7, 2 x AR18S, 2 x AR8bx, 2 x AR18bx, 2 x AR8LS, AR2ax, AR4xa, AR48S, AR58S, AR5,AR20B, Redbox, AR112, AR14, MC1, M.5, M1, M4, 2 x M5, AR9, Limited Model 3, 2 x AR2C, 4 x AR4C, AR162, AR15, 2 x AR94, AR925, 2 X ARUK1, AR93, S40i-s Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AR surround Posted February 16, 2017 Report Share Posted February 16, 2017 1 hour ago, djcheung said: Ok, here goes the list . AR3a, AR3a Improved, AR-MST, 2 x AR6, 2 x AR7, 2 x AR18S, 2 x AR8bx, 2 x AR18bx, 2 x AR8LS, AR2ax, AR4xa, AR48S, AR58S, AR5,AR20B, Redbox, AR112, AR14, MC1, M.5, M1, M4, 2 x M5, AR9, Limited Model 3, 2 x AR2C, 4 x AR4C, AR162, AR15, 2 x AR94, AR925, 2 X ARUK1, AR93, S40i-s Very impressive list. Now perhaps you should go for a pair of AR-LST's and AR90's. When my wife tells me that I have too many speakers, I'll just refer her to your collection. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djcheung Posted February 16, 2017 Report Share Posted February 16, 2017 Funny enough that I was watching a pair of AR-LST and AR90 but decided they were too expensive. Just think about how to find replacement tweeters if a few of them are not working 100% particularly in the UK ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
samberger0357 Posted February 16, 2017 Report Share Posted February 16, 2017 Not long enough, unfortunately. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ar_pro Posted February 16, 2017 Report Share Posted February 16, 2017 This is fun! Purchased new: AR-2ax in 1970, AR-3a in 1975, and AR-9 in 1979. Purchased in used condition over the years: AR-1 (3), AR-2 (2), AR-3 (4), AR-3a (6), AR-4 variants (8), AR-9 (6), AR-11 (4), AR-12 (2), AR-90 (4), AR-91 (6) Glaringly omitted are the AR-LST and AR-5! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ra.ra Posted February 16, 2017 Report Share Posted February 16, 2017 First pair speakers: 1971, new AR-4x, $63 ea., oiled walnut (still have them! ). Most recent speakers: 2016, used AR-7, $20 ea., oiled "walnut" (stained birch). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onplane Posted February 16, 2017 Report Share Posted February 16, 2017 New AR-4x's either 1967 or 1968. Sold in 1969. New AR-3a's 1969 and still have. Bi-amped approximately 8 years ago and still bi-amped today. New TSW-610's I believe around 1989/1990 and still have. Bi-amped 2016. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sphotoz Posted February 17, 2017 Report Share Posted February 17, 2017 I have owned and used the same pair of AR-5's for the past 43 years. I use them on a daily basis, they are hooked to my AVR, so they are pretty much always on. The only pair of speakers I have ever owned. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
der Posted February 17, 2017 Report Share Posted February 17, 2017 I failed to mention the AR4X that I bought in 1970, a a year after the 3a. I still own and listen to them in my second system. der Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JKent Posted February 17, 2017 Report Share Posted February 17, 2017 Bought my AR-4x's in 1970 and enjoyed them for decades. Never moved up to bigger ARs until I joined this forum and learned about re-capping, where to get the right linen, etc. Then I got hooked! I've bought, restored and sold 2ax (2 pair), 4x (but kept mine), 7, 94. I have some 2a's in a corner, 91s and 3s that I listen to. -Kent Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Henry Posted February 18, 2017 Report Share Posted February 18, 2017 EHi, I just got a AR-2ax pair recently in SF Bay Area. Used pair with S/Ns 1758 & 1858 One of the original grill cloth was gone so I just wonder if anyone has extra (original) grill cloth that matches AR-2ax original cloth please let me know so I can get the grill back in decent shape. Another question wrt tinsel wires on both tweeters these wires were short. Please give me advise how to fix/reconnect the tinsel wires on both tweeters. I tried to do soldering one of them and could not make it connected. In the mean time, i'm thinking about crimping to make these wires longer but I'm afraid that if crimping does not work then these wires will be even shorter and it might be harder to fix later on. Any ideas and suggestions to fix these wires are very much appreciated. Thanks, Henry . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
valkyrie Posted February 18, 2017 Report Share Posted February 18, 2017 Got my first AR-2ax in 1975. Then an AR-10pi in 1979. Those were both lost to the ravages of time (wife and thieves). Got back to AR in 2003 with a set of AR-5. Never did get them to work "right". Then in 2008 I bought some AR-9s - almost tossed them as they sounded lousy. But when I rebuilt the crossover and rewired them they became fantastic speakers which I still proudly own to this day. Wonderful speaker. Based on some commentary from a member of this board; "what was the best AR three-way speaker?", I bought a set of AR-91 about two months ago. A pair in great shape off the bay - and those speakers really impress me. I am going to do some measurements shortly on the 91s and post the results on here. The 91s and a Marantz 2252 form my "second system". Very pleased with the sound - the 91s displaced a set of AR-2ax that I had been using in my "second system (garage)" (refoamed and replaced crossover). The AR-2ax are for sale. Great shape with original boxes if anybody is interested. $200. PM me if you are interested. Couple of years back I helped a friend rebuild a set of AR-3s - including getting the midrange drivers rebuilt by "vintage AR". A very nice speaker - but things have changed in the last 50 or so years. By comparison the 91 is a brighter speaker - more clarity and a "tilted up" midrange and treble. I really enjoy the AR sound - obviously. AR has brought the joy of music to my life for many years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JKent Posted February 18, 2017 Report Share Posted February 18, 2017 1 hour ago, Henry said: Any ideas and suggestions to fix these wires are very much appreciated. Hi Henry Welcome to CSP! You've come to the right place. I'd suggest you first download and read the AR 3a restoration guide http://www.classicspeakerpages.net/library/acoustic_research/original_models_1954-1974/original_models_schematicss/restoring_the_ar-3a/ Your 2ax's are essentially slightly smaller versions of the 3a and they are excellent speakers--well worth restoring. -Kent Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Henry Posted February 18, 2017 Report Share Posted February 18, 2017 Thanks pretty much, Kent I already read through the guide couple times and will do again to try figuring out how to reconnect the tinsel wires to make them (2) longer. I enjoy listening music with these 2ax speakers now even though I'm not sure how these tweeters will handle over time. Henry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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