jason4300 Posted February 20, 2017 Report Share Posted February 20, 2017 Bought my first set in 99, a pair of 318PS towers and matching center, back when AR was closing/being sold/whatever and everything AR was on extreme clearance online. Paid a little over $200 for all three speakers new and shipped to my door. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ligs Posted February 20, 2017 Report Share Posted February 20, 2017 Had AR4x, 2ax, 3a,11, 9, ,18, 1MS and HiRes AR15. Used AR 8', 12", 1.5"dome, and 4" in many DIY projects. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sonnar Posted February 22, 2017 Report Share Posted February 22, 2017 1960. Behind my mother reading the newspaper are an AR-2 on the top shelf and an Heathkit FM 3A tuner on the left side of the picture. 1960 was the year of my birth , 57 years of AR speakers in my life. Adriano Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
samberger0357 Posted February 22, 2017 Report Share Posted February 22, 2017 That's great. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frankmarsi Posted February 22, 2017 Author Report Share Posted February 22, 2017 So, speaking in owner-ship time, how long have you actually owned AR speakers? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sonnar Posted February 22, 2017 Report Share Posted February 22, 2017 Ciao Frank. 1976 . I was a fifteen years old boy with his own little stereo system , I had a pair of Dynaco A 10 but I was unsatisfied . In 1976 my father bought a pair of B&W DM 6 and gave me his AR 10 Pi and his AR amplifier that I still have. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frankmarsi Posted February 22, 2017 Author Report Share Posted February 22, 2017 Eh, paisano, thank you for being forth coming. It's always good to start young with almost anything. For me, as I've said on these pages before, I first heard AR-4'somethings in my dentist's office in 1964-65. I was extremely impressed and from that moment on I never lost that impression and promised myself that I had to someday learn more about them when age and funds permitted. In1966, I built three speaker cabinets of different sizes and design. Using only street-found raw speakers in neighborhood garbage (from discarded radios and TVs), I knew nothing about cross-overs let alone how to configure one, so, my attempts were certainly less than stellar. By 1967, I subscribed to the big-three Hi-Fi magazines, along with any electronics booklets/advertising I could find and studied the info that was available to me. As my speaker story goes, I couldn't afford AR's until after serving my country in the US NAVY during the Nam era and had to wait until I started college and utilize part of my- G.I. benefit funds to purchase my first set of AR-3a's in 1972. I paid $196. for each. I still have them but, haven't played them as since 1990 the LST's have dominated my musical pleasures to a point of fanaticism and out right addiction. I did hook them up one last time in 2005 or so along with a second pair and double PL400's amplifiers but, I found that in this fashion they couldn't come close to the LST's and they sounded too bass dominant and that's ironic being a former electric bass player (still have my Fender Bassman Amp I bought in 1968). The mid bass and lower mid-range out did the treble and consequently their sound in this fashion sounded too thick and sonically dull. Whereas, the LST's opened-up a whole new world of realism in listening for me. I was only able to help the 3a's along with the addition of the 'Micro-Statics' but, even then the LST's ruled my listening preferences entirely. Truly, I was spoiled and still am to a point where I'm not totally enamored with my AR-9's. Yes, the 9's are great sounding speakers and demonstrably have carried on the AR legacy honorably but, I'm still focused on the LST's as my speaker of strong personal choice. Maybe someday I'll use the 3a's as reinforcement speakers in a large video orientated set-up along with my AR-9's, or I may sell them. It's just a good feeling to know that I own three pairs while thinking back to a time when I could only dream about owning a single pair. I better get back to my listening in the living room of "Dvorak's" Symphony Number 9, on the "Telarc" label. It has killer sonics on the LST's and is very satisfying to listen to. Here's a sampling Sonnar of some jazz. Filmed as I'm seated about 14 feet away from the speakers. Pardon the camera shake, I didn't realize the anti-shake wasn't on. Also, unless ones' CPU speakers are of decent quality and size, this won't sound as it should to the viewer or as it does in my living room. I can post more if anyone cares to hear. Jazz, rock, classical. FM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavidDru Posted February 23, 2017 Report Share Posted February 23, 2017 Not very. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sonnar Posted February 23, 2017 Report Share Posted February 23, 2017 Very nice, Frank , and excellent sound ! I 'm interested in hearing more , in particular classical music because LST offers a very wide , precise and powerful image with big orchestral ensemble. I 've found a beautiful pair of LST not far from my hometown , priced at 1490 euros , but I have a small room , too small for the LST radiation angle . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frankmarsi Posted February 24, 2017 Author Report Share Posted February 24, 2017 19 hours ago, DavidDru said: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnfalc Posted March 4, 2017 Report Share Posted March 4, 2017 First pair of 3a's in the very early 1970's. Have always had multiple pairs since then. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GD70 Posted March 5, 2017 Report Share Posted March 5, 2017 I found my first AR's, 4x's in a CL listing about 4 years ago All original and virtually mint. Next were AR3's about 3 years ago in my local SA, then LST-2's shortly after that CL listing, followed by 2a's two years ago at a yard sale, than lastly another set of 3's about 5 months ago at a GW. Sold the 2A's, still have the others. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GD70 Posted March 5, 2017 Report Share Posted March 5, 2017 On 2/22/2017 at 2:35 PM, Sonnar said: 1960. Behind my mother reading the newspaper are an AR-2 on the top shelf and an Heathkit FM 3A tuner on the left side of the picture. 1960 was the year of my birth , 57 years of AR speakers in my life. Adriano That's a great photo! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sonnar Posted March 5, 2017 Report Share Posted March 5, 2017 Thanks GD70! Here is my father in 1960 with the same AR-2, and 1966, behind mommy is an AR Xa turntable . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
der Posted March 5, 2017 Report Share Posted March 5, 2017 I love the pictures Sonnar. Thanks for sharing them. der Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frankmarsi Posted March 5, 2017 Author Report Share Posted March 5, 2017 This is for "Sonnar". When I play this music the animals come to my back yard to listen and frolic........... I can leave these videos up for today. FM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sonnar Posted March 5, 2017 Report Share Posted March 5, 2017 10 hours ago, GD70 said: That's a great photo! 1 hour ago, der said: I love the pictures Sonnar. Thanks for sharing them. der Thanks , on the shelf in december '66 picture You can see also a Dynatuner and a Marantz 7c preamp - the golden years of audio. Now we have unbelievable technology , however it was real hi-fi. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sonnar Posted March 5, 2017 Report Share Posted March 5, 2017 6 hours ago, frankmarsi said: This is for "Sonnar". When I play this music the animals come to my back yard to listen and frolic........... I can leave these videos up for today. FM Thanks Frank! Excellent sound and music , and I love the double LST and all the turntables. Lucky man, You live in a house with a very large garden and You can use the full high power of Phase Linear. My late Christmas gift to myself was this Crown power amp, one of the last AB class, made in USA ( now they're class-D made in China ) 1,5 Kw on 4 ohms , 2,1 Kw on 2 ohms - explosive dynamic and very nice sound , probably the best bass I 've ever heard from my AR speakers - but I live in an flat in the near center of Rome , so I can' t play at very loud levels because of the neighbourhood. Ciao, Adriano Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frankmarsi Posted March 5, 2017 Author Report Share Posted March 5, 2017 Thanks for the complements Adriano. Sure, I'm lucky in some ways, but you live in Rome, the mother of the world! I've got to get there with-in the next couple of years and then go see the town where my parents came from in the hills of Potenza. You are correct in your words about the bass quality as it requires many watts to sound as it should realistically speaking with inefficient speakers. Basic electronic theory indicates to move a cone as much as necessary to produce a realistic sounding bass, many clean watts are the key component. Starving a speaker of power in listening is not in my hand book of musical enjoyment. Regarding your Crown amplifier, obviously I too prefer older equipment of high power made in the USA. Most cartridges and many turntables are seemingly only made in Europe and Japan. The VPI tables are made right here in NJ but, I feel they are crazily over-priced and generally speaking, if I did buy one, I wouldn't enjoy their uni-pivot arm, though many folks do especially with certain cartridges. My future dreams might include larger Bryston amps made in Canada but, that's about it. One can go crazy buying and buying components if money allows but, there came a time when I was feeling content with what I have after putting so many years and effort into reaching the goal I have, especially after dreaming of the equipment I do have for some many of my younger years. Actually, my system presently is pretty much well situated and I don't foresee any changes other than phono cartridges. If I bought into other turntables, they would be the vintage Technics SP10MK 2's, and they too are crazy in cost. Yet, I still find a way to frequent used record stores and it's almost a problem for me now. When one thinks about locating, cleaning, and listening, there is actually not enough time to do this in. I'm extremely happy with vintage AR speakers and Phase Linear amps and have been using these two brand names for 45 years. Well, the AR-3a speakers came first in 1972 and the PL-400 amp came in 1974 because I learned early on that AR's were power hungry and I just love the frequency extension of those old Phase Linears. I've heard other amps and they just don't have what I feel is important to me; realism of musical playback. For me, music seems to be the only on-going variable these days and I feel I may have reached the high point with over 6500 vinyl records of classical, rock, and jazz. P.S. I forgot to mention something very new to me in the last couple of months and that's ultra-sonic record cleaning. I bought a simple almost DIY rotating spindle along with a popular sonic vat and the results have been very good, though I still do have reservations in comparison to the brush and vacuum method I've been using for ten years now. After ultra-sonically cleaning over 500 disks, I'm still not sure which I prefer. Generally speaking, it depends on the condition of the used vinyl disk. Neither of these machines are miracle workers and one must understand that before purchasing. P.S. II Adriano, I must inform you that the violinist playing is one of my favorite and world renown from Italy, Salvatore Accardo. He along with Itzak Perlman and Isaac Stern are also my favorites. Personally, I have more Isaac Stern than any other violinist as I believe he was very popular for a longer amount of time. He also happens to be one of the greatest violinists. He's diverse and probably did more recordings than any other I'm familiar with. P.S. III, I sure wish other members would video their systems to show how and what they're listening to but, for some reason that doesn't seem to occur here, why? As long as no one else does, I'll only show mine for a day or two, then I remove it. FM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GD70 Posted March 11, 2017 Report Share Posted March 11, 2017 Great photos! Thank you for sharing them with us! A wonderful peak back into another era. Cheers, Glenn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arken Posted May 10, 2018 Report Share Posted May 10, 2018 I know this thread is a bit old but I will throw in my 2 cents. It all started with a pair of ar11's that I got for cheap on ebay. Unfortunately not realizing that the tweeters were not original. Even with that I knew I liked the sound. After replacing both tweeters with original's and having both woofers done I realized I really liked the sound. That made me buy a pair of 90's and a pair of ar3a's and another pair of 11's (was originally going to use for parts) but wound up finding all the parts for both sets. My wife is going to shoot me!! Over the years I have had many different speakers DCM, Klipsch , ........ I love the history behind AR and all the stories that come with that history. I would love to hear the ar3's and the lst's , One day......... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sphotoz Posted May 11, 2018 Report Share Posted May 11, 2018 My 17 year old wife, our puppy, and our brand new AR-5 speaker. 03/74 Our AR-5's have been used on a daily basis since 1974. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
der Posted May 12, 2018 Report Share Posted May 12, 2018 Since 1969. AR3a - still in use in my main system. AR4x - 1970 - still in use in my second system. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jessiAV Posted May 12, 2018 Report Share Posted May 12, 2018 Saved my AR4x's from destruction in early 2014 and refinished their poor little water stained cabinets. They were replaced last year with later 2ax's that were in lovely nick (even the grills), needing only new woofer surrounds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John K Posted May 12, 2018 Report Share Posted May 12, 2018 Brought my first pair of AR's in 1979 ...... AR10 Pi's. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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