AR9LSI Adventures

[Bruce6152]

Hello to all that may read this “short story” about my AR9LSI adventure and wish to weigh in with a comment or possibly even make an offer to purchase:

I am a “newbie” to the Classic Speaker pages, located about as far away as one can get from New England, that being in Perth, Western Australia.

Anyway, in my quest for acquiring a classic pair of AR9LS(I) speakers, which are not easy to come by in Australia, I have very recently purchased a really nice pair of the timber veneer AR-9LSI's, in the USA, near Chicago. The same pair that were on eBay.

They are in need of what has now been confirmed as a fairly straight forward restoration, i.e. new surround kits and new bass chamber kits. All of the tweeters, drivers and crossovers have been tested and given a “thumbs up”. Obviously, it would be good to do the caps as well, but that can possibly wait.

For some time prior to this purchase, I had been researching how to buy and ship some large or largish AR speakers from the USA to Western Australia and this opportunity seemed to be as good as I was probably going to get.

The seller was situated close enough to Chicago for me to have the speakers delivered to Deltronics, a longstanding and reputable audio repair shop in Chicago, who would in turn do the restoration work, pack them up and deliver as two packages to my shipper's warehouse, also close by in Chicago. The shipper will then have them strapped together and shrink wrapped onto a pallet and off they go by ocean freight to Western Australia.

Understandably, no matter what, shipping such large speakers from the USA to Western Australia is a pretty expensive/extravagant exercise.

The upside of all of this for me is that it would be like ticking something off of one's "bucket list" and then, in the long run, getting to enjoy the same experience over and over again! Besides, being a great conversation piece as well! Although, my wife might kill me if she ever finds out the full cost.

Now, the downside and reality of the situation. The shipping cost has doubled and I am still struggling with how the speakers should be packed up to minimize damage during shipping. Even though they will be insured, the point of the exercise is to get them home in one piece. BTW, using timber for packing is not an option because of import regulations.

In any event, I think I have my head around the packing. Two large 60x24x22" wardrobe cartons with 3” of Polyethylene foam planks all round the bubble wrapped speaker cabinets, which are then strapped together and shrink wrapped onto a shipping pallet.

Now reality also kicks in properly, I have been flip-flopping on a day to day basis since last Friday as to whether I should push on with this project or try to re-sell the AR9LSI’s in the USA and look harder in Australia?

So, before I actually push on with the restoration (which will start later on this week), I am just putting it out there to see if anyone local would be interested in taking this project over now that they can be certain that the tweeters, drivers and crossovers are all in good condition. Similarly, the cabinets are very good, save for a few minor scratches and the grilles are intact.

Although I don't really want to abandon the project, it probably would be the most sensible thing for me to do, if I was presented with that option, by way of a realistic offer from someone local?

To date I have paid $650 for the AR9LSI’s, $100 for a detailed repair assessment and around $175 for the surrounds and bass chamber kits, which are due in Chicago any day now.

So, if anyone is seriously interested enough and prepared to cover my costs to date, or very close to that figure, I would probably let them go. But it would have to happen very quickly, within the next 24 hours or so. Otherwise, I just push on as planned.

Cheers

Bruce in Western Australia

[briodo]

Welcome to the forum and I personally want to share that the speakers you purchased represent the very best AR offered at that time in the 1980's,

While I can't solve your question of "how much to invest", I can tell you that I have spent 40+ hours restoring a pair of AR9LSi's that could be twins with the one you purchased.  They suffered from finish failure (polyurethane peeling) to foam surround and crossover rebuild needs.  No matter what anyone says, the cabinets are where the work is required if restoring to like new.  And yours look very nice compared to what I started with.

The AR9LSi sounds fantastic and while I have never compared them directly with my AR9's, represent the same room filling capacity with the right amplifier.  I'm a big fan of Crown XLS series amps and my XLS2002 runs these with ease.

You did not show pics of the screens, and that's where the challenge lies for this speaker due to the complex design of the frame.  Mine need to be redone and these are the only speakers I own that give me a pause due to the depth of the frame requiring stretching beyond my knowledge and google searches. 

I paid $150 for them 8 years ago, and they go for $500 and above now, indicating they are not going to lose their value.  They will fill your music room with authentic AR sound featuring bass authority which very few speakers are able to duplicate.

I wish you luck with your decision.

[kurt45]

Howdy! That's a nice AR9LS Bruce! I myself is researching about AR9LS. My boss is giving one for me and he said it needs some repair.

[Bruce6152]

Hi All,

Just in case anyone is interested, I thought I would provide a belated update on my AR9LSI adventures (original post).

Well, the story has a really good ending (from where I sit anyway):

The speakers were restored to full working condition by Deltronics in Chicago and then packed up for shipping, as described in the original post. They made it safely by road across to LA and then by ship all the way to Perth, Western Australia. I am very grateful to the work and help provided by Mike and his team at Deltronics.

I am extremely pleased with the outcome. The AR9LSI's might have been relatively expensive, however they look and sound terrific. I am running them with Kenwood L1000 gear (M/C & D), which I sourced and shipped over from Europe. I also have a completely re-built Kenwood Basic M2/MC amp and pre-amp.

In response to briodo's comments about the AR9LSI screens/covers. Mine came in good condition, but I prefer to leave them off any way, mainly because I think they look better with all of the timber veneer exposed.

Best regards

Bruce in Western Australia 

[metalmark]

Hey Bruce,
congrats for going through with getting the speakers refurbed and shipping them to the other side of the planet.
To here in Perth.
That's Dedication!
I have a pair of the AR9LS  (not as Pretty as yours)
Mine need the 2 10" inner bass drivers replaced / repaired..
So they are not in operation as yet!
Hope you are enjoying yours!
Cheers (Mark From Perth)
 

[Aadams]

3 hours ago, Bruce6152 said:

The speakers were restored to full working condition by Deltronics in Chicago and then packed up for shipping, as described in the original post. They made it safely by road across to LA and then by ship all the way to Perth, Western Australia

Normally I wouldn't glom on but I remember this thread and thinking the speakers would  probably be parted out in the US.  Congratulations on your commitment and determination to see it through.  Nice pair of speakers. It would be difficult to find a better all round speaker, new or used. 

 

[nfmisso]

13 hours ago, Bruce6152 said:

<snip> I am running them with Kenwood L1000 gear (M/C & D), which I sourced and shipped over from Europe. I also have a completely re-built Kenwood Basic M2/MC amp and pre-amp.<snip>

Hi Bruce;

Be careful with the L1000 amp, from what little I could find it is only rated to drive 8 ohm loads.  If it gets unhappy, it could send out some high frequency distortion that will fry your mid/tweeter.  Tthe AR9ls is rated to have 3.2 ohm min impedance, and it is NOT an amplifier friendly load.   I also think that you want much more power.

Nigel

[Stimpy]

Congratulations on finally getting the mighty AS9LSi's home!  An epic journey, and I applaud your tenacity.  Well done.

Also, if convenient, I'd love to see some updated pictures, showing the finished speakers.  If you know, I'd love to hear the details of the Deltronics rehab work.  Plus, did they recap with NPE's or polypropylene capacitors?  And finally, I hope you are enjoying the new toys?

[harry398]

Congrads on getting one of the BEST AR speakers ever made.

also, I think the kenwood m2a that you asked me about is a great choice to power them.

I Now have my AR9LSI to near perfection.  It took me a while, but I think I am there.   BASS MONSTERS.

[AR55]

Congratulations on finally receiving your AR 9Lsi speakers.  I have auditioned many speakers over the years and have found very few that can outperform a 9Lsi.  A good number of those cost in excess of $10,000 a pair. 

As far as power goes, the 9Lsi’s are not as power hungry as many think.  They definitely need an amp that is stable with 4 ohms loads, but the speakers can be driven to fairly high levels with surprisingly moderate power.  My 9Lsi’s are located in a 16-ft x 24-ft room and even with demanding music my amp's meters seldom show peaks close to 100 wpc.  Yes, there are recordings out there that allow the 9Lsi’s to shake the house and briefly push the amp close to its full rated power of 270 wpc, but those recordings almost always come with warning labels.