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lst-2's


Guest dogmeninreno

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Yes, the LST-2 drivers were 8-ohm, like the AR-5. The 10" woofer was also the same as the AR-5. I had LST-2's from 1980-1988, and I found them to be extraordinarily satisfying speakers--open, well-balanced, and spacious.

There exists a train of thought that the AR-5's tonal balance was actually a little better than the 3a, because of, not in spite of, its less prominent bass. The 5 simply sounded less "thick" than the 3a to many people, and it was a truly great speaker. If you could live without the full power and weight of the 32Hz low C organ tone in the opening passages of "2001: A Space Odyssey," the 5 was tough to beat.

The LST-2 may have been a slightly more difficult load for an amplifier than the 5 due to its use of the 3-position autotransformer, but its impedance was higher than the 3a.

Note--Early versions of the LST-2's literature show a 6-position autotransformer. This is an error, brought about by the demands of Sales departments needing new lit to show the dealers before the product is actually finalized by Marketing. I know this first-hand, having been there many times myself. The LST-2 always had a 3-position autotransformer, never a 6.

In any event, the LST-2 may have been less well-known than some of its more prominent siblings, but true AR aficionados know full well its incredible performance and musicality.

Steve F.

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>If you could live without the full power and weight of the 32Hz low C organ tone in the opening passages of "2001: A Space Odyssey," <

Anything but that. WAY too much sacrifice!

Bret

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I agree: the LST-2 (later referred to as "LST/2") was a great speaker, and I think there were fewer LST-2s than the LST. One specific advantage was the placement of a midrange/tweeter on each panel, and the absence of two midrange drivers close to each other as in the LST. The LST-2 thus had a somewhat more "forward" sound than the LST, and then only suffered that 1/3 octave of bass sacrifice. It did not have the great power of the LST, but the differences were not that significant.

I once set up a "stacked" set of LST-2s for a friend, and the sound was really quite awesome! Having the two speakers close together actually elevates the bass down to resonance by about 3 dB due to mutual-radiation impedance, and sound was even more spacious and powerful that you would think -- not unlike the famous stacked Advents.

In the early 1970s, *Stereo Review* Technical Editor, Larry Klein (one of the most knowledgeable audio writers during the golden years of high fidelity), wrote about an experience he had with AR-LSTs (not the LST-2s). Amphiphon Records (Solar), in conjunction with AR, produced a series of 4-channel, first-generation magnetic tapes of the highest quality. These 30-ips 4-track tapes were produced by Mitchell Cotter using a proprietary analog tape-recording system with better-than 90-dB S/N ratio, without the use of Dolby or dbx noise-reducing devices, and reproduced through a four-channel playback system consisting of a pair of stacked AR-LSTs in *each* corner, with each LST being driven by one channel of four Phase Linear 400 amplifiers. The comments that Larry Klein made were, "...With the master tape running and my ear pressed practically against a grill cloth, there is *nothing* to be heard. Then the pianist hits the opening chords of Prokofiev's Tocatta, Opus 11, and it's REAL! You would swear that the artist, Natalie Ryshna, is seated at her Bechstein concert grand located right there! The dynamics, the acoustics -- everything -- were as close to perfect reality as any recording I have ever heard...."

--Tom Tyson

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Guest SteveG

Tom, Now you are giving us incentive to get 8 LST's together, if only we can find that tape. Or maybe 10 LSTs with a SACD. That might be interesting.

SteveG

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