Acoustic Research AR-98LS Refurb!!!!!!

[Brad Muller]

Left with a pair of speakers far longer than expected and a ticked off wife, I decided to refurbish this pair of AR-98LS speaker cabinets. Here are the results of a few hours and a grand total of $45.00. All woofers were re-edged, new cloth, and about 8 hours in the refinishing of the cabinets. They were once ugly G.W. speakers, but they're looking up a bit now. They sound fantastic to say the least.:yes: Brad

 

[jpdylon]

woah, 45 bucks?

You stole em. Enjoy!

 

[dc270]

AR, JBL, old Altec, EPI and a few others had the nicest wood cabinetry anywhere. With a bit of work it DOES restore well with great sound to boot! Nice work, the wife ought to be proud to show them off now!
DC

 

[veloceleste]

Great job! Enjoy and consider the LSi crossover upgrade if you find the midrange too prominent on the speakers. Check at classicspeakerpages.net for information. I upgraded my 9LS's to 9LSi with the addition of two resistors and it made a noticable difference, smoothing out the midrange considerably.

 

[thedelihaus]

Very cool.

And glad to hear you like the sound.

My 9LSis arrive today. They'll need a refoam, and possibly some work on a driver or two, but I look forward to hearing them as well.

 

[Brad Muller]

They are pretty incredible to listen to. Seriously though, I'm lucky that I even have these sweet things. With no exceptions they were set to leave the next day. Then a couple of days later. Now, who knows, even my wife loves them. Brad

 

[wank]

They look really nice.
I've got the AR-9LS as my mains. I love them - they really do sound great.
If only I could get my act together and do something about the black front...

One thing I noticed when I was planning a recap on the crossovers, is that the wiring could probably be upgraded, and the quick disconnect spades changed to soldered connections. My mids dropped out a couple of times when one lead disconnected just from being moved across the room.

How tall are those anyway?

 

[Dan ʕ•ᴥ•ʔ]

They really look nice Brad.

 

[RaymondLeggs]

I like the way the speakers look! How do they sound? :scratch2:

 

[Brad Muller]

Off hand, I'd say they have a sound that reminds me of a Polk Monitor 7 with a bit more bass response. Unlike the monitor 7's, these can really handle the watts. :yes: Brad

 

[eastbrown]

I just picked up a pair of AR-98ls for 50.00. I say they are 8 out of 10. But does anybody know what the switch in the back is for.... It says floor or shelf. TY

 

[michiganpat]

wow...$45? LUCKY I thought I got a good deal with my 58S's for $150....I'm jealous....

should be able to find new grille cloth pretty reasonably and redo them pretty easily, too, if theyr'e kinda shabby...

 

[Markoneswift]

Nice job, I reconditioned some AR90s recently and l I love them. Your 98s look sweet.

 

[StimpyWan]

I just picked up a pair of AR-98ls for 50.00. I say they are 8 out of 10. But does anybody know what the switch in the back is for.... It says floor or shelf. TY

The Shelf/Floor switch adjusts the level of the lower midrange. The Shelf position runs straight through the crossover to the lower mid. The Floor position switches in an additional 1.5 Ohm resistor, to reduce the output of the lower mid, due to the boundary re-enforcement that the lower mid gains, when the speaker is placed directly on the floor. The 1.5 Ohm resistor amounts to a roughly -3.0 dB drop in output. Less midbass boom if the speaker is on the floor, with the Floor switch engaged.

 

[GD70]

They look practically new! Very nice work on the cabs.
I pride myself on restoring bargain and free speakers. So much fun, and the rewards that come with it.

Glenn

 

[Nexusmusic]

Hey guys!

Great to stumbled on to an AR thread ;-) Would like to know if the AR 70LS Teledyn Acoustic Research are worth grabbing or not to bother at all ??

 

[StimpyWan]

Hey guys!

Great to stumbled on to an AR thread ;-) Would like to know if the AR 70LS Teledyn Acoustic Research are worth grabbing or not to bother at all ??

AR70LS? I've never heard them, or heard of that particular model But, they look worthy; a 10" 2-way, I think? I'd say, "buy 'em", if the price is decent?

 

[Nexusmusic]

AR70LS? I've never heard them, or heard of that particular model But, they look worthy; a 10" 2-way, I think? I'd say, "buy 'em", if the price is decent?

Hi @StimpyWan
Thanks for your reply. Yes those are the ones. I personally don't have any experience with AR speakers, just discovering them etc.. and I'm falling in love with comments about the brand etc.., already put my hands on AR TSW-310 and these 70Ls are listed by the owner at 100$ CAN. I could get them at lower price but again, even though the price is reasonable and its AR, but I don't want to just through money in the window just for the look of it. I already got an input about the AR TSW-310 and heard some on youtube and I'm kinda loving what I'm hearing

So I just don;t know about these 70Ls

 

[StimpyWan]

Nothing wrong with AR. At their peak, AR claimed a third of the loudspeaker market! Not many brands of any type can say that!

Personally, I still own AR-90's (bought new), AR-1MS mini speakers, and AR58S 3-ways. A modern, large bookshelf, very similar to the AR-91's. All great, and all updated and recapped. Well, the caps for the 58's have been ordered, and should be here tomorrow.

 

[StimpyWan]

Hi @StimpyWan
Thanks for your reply. Yes those are the ones. I personally don't have any experience with AR speakers, just discovering them etc.. and I'm falling in love with comments about the brand etc.., already put my hands on AR TSW-310 and these 70Ls are listed by the owner at 100$ CAN. I could get them at lower price but again, even though the price is reasonable and its AR, but I don't want to just through money in the window just for the look of it. I already got an input about the AR TSW-310 and heard some on youtube and I'm kinda loving what I'm hearing

So I just don;t know about these 70Ls

Oh yea, check out this YouTube channel. Lot's of very good music, played through many, many different AR speakers. Often A/B'd too. So, while YouTube, it does give an idea of the different sound qualities for the various AR series!

Back to topic, after finding my AR-58S speakers, I'd love to find a pair of 98LS or 9LS speakers. That would be nice, as the AR 12" woofers are awesome.