Topic: Acoustic Research Speakers

[Lord Foo]

ACOUSTIC RESEARCH SPEAKERS

"Acoustic Research was founded in 1954 by Mr. Ed Villchur. AR is one of the oldest and most recognized names in audio and is responsible for many innovations that have become standards in the industry today. The development of the AR-1, the world's first acoustic suspension speaker system, allowed AR to become the first loudspeaker manufacturer to offer high performance at affordable prices."

http://www.classicspeakerpages.net/ar/history/history.htm
http://www.classicspeakerpages.net/ar/history/history2.htm

I am an ardent fan of the AR speakers. I have an AR90 and an AR18 and will probably acquire another  pair or more before I die. If you have a pair/pairs of vintage AR speakers you're a lucky person.

Please post your AR speakers here...if you have pictures please share.

AR90



SYSTEM TYPE Floor-standing columnar acoustic suspension 4 way system with 5 drive units (including side-firing woofers) and AR Acoustic Blanket.
DRIVE UNITS Two 250mm (10") acoustic suspension woofers. One 200mm (8") acoustic suspension lower midrange driver in its own sub-enclosure. One 38mm liquid-cooled dome upper midrange driver with semi-horn. One 19mm liquid-cooled dome highrange driver.
VOLTAGE SENSITIVITY 2.83 volts produces 90dB SPL at 1 metre on axis.
EFFICIENCY 1 watt produces 87dB SPL at 1 metre on axis.
POWER REOUIREMENT 15 watts pPr channel minimum.
POWER HANDLING ABILITY May be used with amplifiers capable of delivering up to 300 watts continuous power per channel, being driven into clipping no more than 10% of the time on normal speech and music source material in non-commercial applications.
SYSTEM FREQUENCY RESPONSE -3dB (half power) points at 32Hz and at 25000Hz.
SYSTEM LOW FREQUENCY PERFORMANCE -3dB at 32Hz with an effective Q at resonance of 0.8.
IMPEDANCE 4 ohms nominal (3.2 ohms minimum).
CONTROLS Three 3-position switches for lower midrange, upper-midrange and highrange level control
CROSSOVER NETWORK Woofers have a modified half section network for improved impedance characteristics and optimal network to driver matching. Lower midrange has quarter section lower slope network and half section upper slope. Upper midrange has half section networks coupled with an impedance equalizing network. Highrange has full section network. Only the best components are used. air-core, chokes wound with solid copper conductor, high grade bipolar electrolytic - capacitors, non-inductive high power ceramic.resistors :
CROSSOVER FREQUENCIES 200Hz, 1200Hz, 7000Hz.
CABINET INTERNAL VOLUME 90 litres (3.18 cu. ft).
CABINET DIMENSIONS 1102 x 368 x 386mm deep including grille panels.
CABINET FINISH Oiled walnut veneer.
WEIGHT Packed in carton 41kg (90 Ibs.) Unpacked 34kg (75 Ibs.)


AR18



SYSTEM TYPE Bookshelf acoustic suspension 2 way system with drive units in a vertical array.
DRIVE UNITS 200mm (8") acoustic suspension woofer. 32mm (1.25 ") liquid-cooled cone highrange driver.
VOLTAGE SENSITIVITY 2.83 volts produces 88dB SPL at 1 metre on axis.
EFFICIENCY 1 watt produces 88dB SPL at 1 metre on axis.
POWER REQUIREMENT 15 watts per channel minimum.
POWER HANDLING ABILITY May be used with amplifiers capable of delivering up to 100 watts continuous power per channel being driven into clipping no more than 10% of the time on normal speech and music source material in non-commercial applications.
SYSTEM FREQUENCY RESPONSE -3dB (half power) points at 62Hz and at 22000Hz.
SYSTEM LOW FREQUENCY PERFORMANCE -3dB at 62Hz with an effective Q at resonance of 1.0
IMPEDANCE 6 ohms nominal (5.5 ohms minimum).
CROSSOVER NETWORK Woofer has a 12dB/octave mechanical crossover. Highrange has a first order electrical network plus mechanical slope to give a total of 18dB/octave.
CROSSOVER FREQUENCY 2000Hz.
CABINET INTERNAL VOLUME 9.86 litres (0.35 cu. ft.)
CABINET DIMENSIONS
419 x 244 x 167mm deep (16.5 x 9.6 x 6" deep).
CABINET FINISH Walnut grain vinyl veneer.
WEIGHT Packed in carton (2 speakers): 12kg (26 Ibs). Unpacked (1 speaker)- 5kg (11 ibs).


I am now using the ar90 and ar18 as the fronts and surrounds for a QUAD system powered by a Sansui QRX9001.
Needless to say, I am very happy with the results.

regards,
Foo

[oweidah]

great speakers lordfoo. wish u chance upon an ar-2ax or ar-3a  and compare them with the new breed of speakers

[Lord Foo]

Do you have an AR3a sir or experience with one?

I saw an AR3a improved recently. It was being sold at 5,000. What do u think?  The grill was colored white? probably not original.

regards,
Foo

[oweidah]

owned an ar3a (1980/81) ganda! my friend also had ar10pi o ar11 o ar14 yata? ka-grupo ng ar18 mo. may nabasa ako product brochure / catalog nyan. pang hataw heard it with fischer tube int. amp and technics tt playing rollingstones ledzep etc.
observe ko lang ar as with bose jbls? cone edge/foam surround weakness nya.
ar3a - yes if i remember rite dirty? white cloth cover ung susungkitin mo para maalis.
           ganda ng tunog esp dome midrange!     
have u checked with the resident guru sandawa?

[old_age]

my first 5.1 HT set-up had a pair of AR308HO (Hi Output Series) for the front, ARCS23HO for the center, AR208HO for the surround and AR S10 for the subwoofer.  It was a great sounding HT set-up paired with a Pioneer 606 - the first expensive Dolby Digital receiver from Pioneer in the Phil. then.

what i missed about the ARs, especially the HO series, is that even if you pump up the volume, the sound is still clear, smooth and realistic.  I like also the design of its cone... in fact, it was the first speaker that i saw with a no dust-cap at all during that time.

I'm not surprised that Lordfoo's ARs are still performing despite the age coz mine are also still doing fine in a good friend's house....everytime i miss its sound, i just go to his place in Cainta and watch a movie or two.

btw, did you know that it was AR which innovate the speaker design a few decades back?  AR is the pioneer in the acoustic suspension (sealed type) speaker design and the rest followed suit.

AR is forever...

[oweidah]

AR3A for 5k? hows the condition of the enclosure and woofer cone edge/surrounds? also check ung pinag-screwhan ng woofer, baka nagpupulbos na? ung tweeter- outside wires resolderd? (baka rewind na?) eto yung model na pahalang/pahiga ang placement kaya yung tatak sa grill pahiga din. eto yung speaker na pwede floorstander at literally placed sa bookshelves ng mga amerkano maski 3way at 12"woofer! but watever condition acoustic research CLASSIC yan! baka ma-remedyohan pa! 

[Lord Foo]

I hope its still there.

Hmm. AR rocks when I played Led Zeppelin tracks!!!
I gotta try it with Allman Brothers Band.

[oweidah]

btw. audio video hifi grandprix awards 1979 - AR9 / 1980 - AR93 winners speaker of the year.
ABB - sweet melissa, midnight rider? live @ fillmore east.  i forgot their best track.....

[Lord Foo]

Re: the AR93..

The guy who sold me the Sansui QRX9001 used an AR93 when he demoed the unit to me. I admired the sound of his speakers and he told me he is also selling the ARs. If interested you can contact him at  09219691109.


Re: AR3aimproved, Sir Sandawa, di ba you've had experienced with this model? How did you find it? Is it collectible?

regards,
Foo

[southpeak]

sir lord foo, pwede ba kahit hindi vintage? here are mine. the AR HC6 home theatre speakers.
when i started my HT set up, these are the once i paired with marantz receiver. maganda sir. i've been a fan ever since 

http://www.hometheatersound.com/equipment/acousticresearch_hc6.htm

[Lord Foo]

sir,

I auditioned those HT speakers sa Ali Mall 2 years back. Piano finish di ba? Fantastic speakers. Did you get the sub also?

Foo

[elvenears]

mga sir ok ba ang subs nila?!?!nung wala pa kasi akong speakers infatuated na ako sa subs nila ang ganda kasing tignan eh...pero now ive learned na looks are not all...ok ba tong mga to?

[sandawa]

Re: the AR93..

The guy who sold me the Sansui QRX9001 used an AR93 when he demoed the unit to me. I admired the sound of his speakers and he told me he is also selling the ARs. If interested you can contact him at  09219691109.


Re: AR3aimproved, Sir Sandawa, di ba you've had experienced with this model? How did you find it? Is it collectible?

regards,
Foo

sir foo,

AR3a used to be the best i've heard among my early speakers but it was beaten by my JBL Century, when it was at its prime. however, your AR90 is better than the 3a, i think. still, maraming patataubin yang 3a sa mga new production speakers - lalo na sa bass response. it used to be the reference speaker of Seiji Ozawa, the legendary conductor and Miles Davis, the jazz demigod. these speakers were even preferred in many acoustically challenging churches in the US. (oweidah, another audio hobby oldtimer, is my contemporary and he even visited our house in Diliman back in mid-80s.)

i had several ARs in the '80s and definitely my first love among the speakers i owned when i was starting. these include 3a, 10pi, 18, 25, and 28. i was dreaming of AR9 back then but never owned one. the AR's tweeters are very sensitive to distortion, most of the used speakers sold during the '80s had busted tweeters. good thing may replacements pa dito nuon. the surrounds of woofers of lower models easily rot but the old upscale models have cloth surrounds, so no problem. i was told back then that AR's Mr. Villchur licensed a local assembler which was based in Dapitan in La Loma.

Henry Kloss was Mr. Villchur's associate in AR, which was responsible for the acoustic suspension technology. Mr. Kloss of course should also be credited for various speaker brands such as KLH, Kloss, Advent and Cambridge Soundworks. i've visited Cambridge Soundworks' facility near Boston, in mid -90s while on a study trip and even bought a 3-piece Soundworks set at the company's Harvard Square store.

[southpeak]

sir,

I auditioned those HT speakers sa Ali Mall 2 years back. Piano finish di ba? Fantastic speakers. Did you get the sub also?

Foo

yes sir, its in piano finish. i got mine from festival mall in filinvest and yes, the sub came with the set. unfortunately, its now gathering dust for the moment. di na kasya sa av room and i'm more into stereo right now. but its really a great set of speakers. no complaints. 

[southpeak]

mga sir ok ba ang subs nila?!?!nung wala pa kasi akong speakers infatuated na ako sa subs nila ang ganda kasing tignan eh...pero now ive learned na looks are not all...ok ba tong mga to?

hi elvenears,

siguro naipayo na sa iyo ng ilang beses ito, but i still think its the best way of getting what you want. audition.
yes, i like their sub. maybe one of the reason is its sound is in proportion to the other set of speakers being one brand. nasa tamang timpla eka nga. but those are my ears. you might want velodyne, mordaunt short, yamaha, etc..
bottom line is still your ears in proportion to your budget. syiempre ok din kung pogi yung sub. 
so, good luck on your audition and may your hunt be fruitful.. 

my two centavos 

[ccc]

...  unfortunately, its now gathering dust for the moment. di na kasya sa av room xxx

Will be glad to help you out  ....

 .... by installing it in my place

[bb3]

here's my take on this old classic:
http://bb3blog.wordpress.com/2013/11/06/acoustic-research-ar3a-a-review-in-song/

[sandawa]

Boy, it feels good visiting your blog. In my case na burnout na yata ako -- after 20 years of economic news reporting and 10 years of weekly business column.

Anyway, I miss my ARs too, especially the 3a and the 10pi. Ang hirap na makakuha dito ng good-condition upscale vintage ARs. I remember a Bulletin classified ad on a 10pi in late '80s. Got it early morning on the day the ad came out. The box was redone, very shiny and I was impressed. I got suspicious though when I saw a distinctive mark at the back of one box. I realized it was a 10pi I previously owned and sold at a much lower price.

Here's the last AR (TSW-610 middle in the series released in late '80s I think) I have here in Davao. Looks good but does not sound as good as the vintage ones.

[bb3]

Boy, it feels good visiting your blog. In my case na burnout na yata ako -- after 20 years of economic news reporting and 10 years of weekly business column.

Anyway, I miss my ARs too, especially the 3a and the 10pi. Ang hirap na makakuha dito ng good-condition upscale vintage ARs. I remember a Bulletin classified ad on a 10pi in late '80s. Got it early morning on the day the ad came out. The box was redone, very shiny and I was impressed. I got suspicious though when I saw a distinctive mark at the back of one box. I realized it was a 10pi I previously owned and sold at a much lower price.

Here's the last AR (TSW-610 middle in the series released in late '80s I think) I have here in Davao. Looks good but does not sound as good as the vintage ones.

Thanks nani,
burnout? Yup, I know how you feel. Retiring, after 20+ years in the printing industry, it would be too soon if ever i see a roll of newsprint or a can of ink again.
Writing for me is less stress only because I dont have deadlines to meet unlike you.
I have to be careful though posting in this here world wide web.
Ang daming marurunong!
Pinutakti yung post ko sa AK when I inadvertently posted a wrong pic!

Nice 80's AR speak. i didnt know they still had that flat edge on the woof up to the 80s.

[dana]

wow, AR3a.
i can only console myself having the KLH5. at least BFF sila si Henry Kloss and Ed Vilchur, may pedigree pa rin at least.
what's keeping Sir  Lord Foo busy these days...long time no hear 

[Lord Foo]

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[Lord Foo]

Fyi...my ar90 got wet during the ondoy floods...the casing got wet at the bottom...
I thought it was over but the damage crept slowly upwards and in a few months the whole casing disintegrated i to fiber.

My brod replaced the casing with plywood...but the speakers are as good as gome even though i still play them once in a while

[sandawa]

Foo, pagawa ka ng bagong box, exact dimensions, sa legitimate furniture shop. Medyo mahal nga lang pero sayang yan. Mahirap nang kumuha ng good condition original AR speakers ngayon.

[irmscher]

Practically grew up on ARs too. My dad used to be a distributor for Teledyne - the company that used to own AR before the brand was sold to Recoton. We had an AR3a, TSW-610 exactly like the one posted by Sandawa, then lastly a pair of AR Powered Partners for the boys' bedroom. Love their sound as well, especially when mated to a powerful amp.

[qguy]

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