AR 2A or AR 2AX. Which to buy & why.

I like your musical selections - - I tend to use acoustic jazz and female vocals for speaker evaluation, too. However, AR owners should know that Judy Collins can only be played thru AR-4x speakers! :p

Judy Collins 4x.jpg

Same driver was also used in the early version of the AR-2x, which is a two way speaker using the 10" alnico woofer.

AR-2x early.jpg
 
The gent with the AX's is holding them for me. I bought his TX8500 mkii about a year ago and wanted to buy them then but he wasn't ready to sell. We have remained in regular contact since then. I guess the only problem, if it is a problem, is he has 3 of them and I have to take all 3. He has had them since new and had them on shelves about 10 or 12 feet off the floor in a great room. They are physically in great condition. Still not sure if they are cloth version or foam. He was not available for me to come by this weekend so I'll have to wait another week. When I get them I will post pics. This thread has been very helpful and the deciding factor in my commiting to buy them. Thanks for all your help and information.

Anthony
 
Nice pic of Judy,I guess I'll have to put my Judy records in storage 'till I find some 4x's;). So,rara do you own all these oldAR's? Or are those pics off the web? It always amazes me that AR speakers look so ratty under the grill cloth,for such fine sounding speakers they sure didn't put much thought into cosmetics under the hood. Maybe they didn't think the grills would ever be removed.
 
That pic of Judy Collins showed up in AR's product catalogs from 1971 and years thereabout (as did also trumpeter Don Ellis with the AR-3a, and conductor Arthur Fiedler with the AR-5). Don, I do have a modest collection of vintage AR's, but most of the pics I've posted in this thread are pics and brochures I've filed from web research. When I conduct my own restorations, I pay significant attention to making improvements in the "under the hood" view, and it allows me to enjoy my speakers even more. AR-7's and AR-4's in pic shown.

new and improved.jpg
 
The gent with the AX's is holding them for me. I bought his TX8500 mkii about a year ago and wanted to buy them then but he wasn't ready to sell. We have remained in regular contact since then. I guess the only problem, if it is a problem, is he has 3 of them and I have to take all 3. He has had them since new and had them on shelves about 10 or 12 feet off the floor in a great room. They are physically in great condition. Still not sure if they are cloth version or foam. He was not available for me to come by this weekend so I'll have to wait another week. When I get them I will post pics. This thread has been very helpful and the deciding factor in my commiting to buy them. Thanks for all your help and information.

Anthony



If its an older gentlman in Crystal Lake. I'll say buyer beware. I got his ar4x's Was told he had them since new. I believed him (sucker). Nice cabinets but everything inside was mismatched. The woofers and tweeters were from 3 different versions of the ar4 to ar4xa. Had 1 ar4 woofer 1 ar4x woofer 1 ar4 tweeter and 1 ar4xa tweeter.

I would super check all the drivers to make sure they were the same.
 
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AR's were made to be listened to, not to see parts moving. Not sure when the "watch the woofer move" craze started.

I fully agree with this statement, and despite the detail attention paid to baffle board improvements, I always use my speakers with the original linen grille cloths in-place. Further, I like the grilles to look good as well, and have had very good success cleaning and lightening the effects of 50 years of atmospheric exposure on the plant-based fibers. Also, I will typically re-finish cabinet veneer surfaces, both for improved appearance and wood maintenance. None of these steps has any appreciable audible impact whatsoever, but they are all integral procedures in my restorations that give me satisfaction for living with these old relics. It's good to acknowledge one's own preferences and to add his/her own touch, but I ain't be doin' no woofer watching.
 
If its an older gentlman in Crystal Lake. I'll say buyer beware. I got his ar4x's Was told he had them since new. I believed him (sucker). Nice cabinets but everything inside was mismatched. The woofers and tweeters were from 3 different versions of the ar4 to ar4xa. Had 1 ar4 woofer 1 ar4x woofer 1 ar4 tweeter and 1 ar4xa tweeter.

I would super check all the drivers to make sure they were the same.

Shocking but I don't doubt your story. He is offering them at a good price but I certainly don't need to take that drive to find out what you have just told me..
I think I will just enjoy the Onkyo with the speakers I have and take a pass on the AR's. this is probably the most helpful info at this point. Thank You!
 
If its an older gentlman in Crystal Lake. I'll say buyer beware.

I'd go even further and say, "Buyer beware always." Still, in the description of the transaction described in post #26, there were two unfortunate events. The first was that the seller was either uninformed or intentionally deceptive; and the second was that the buyer did not sufficiently evaluate the goods before agreeing to go through with the purchase.

Impossible for me to say if this 2ax deal might be an attractive "buy" or not, but the OP already has history with this seller and states they are in "great condition" at a "good price". With components from three 2ax speakers available for potential compilation into a working "pair", this offering should still hold appeal to an interested and savvy buyer.
 
Don, I've been curious about that, too. As you probably already know, this 2ax midrange driver was also used as the tweeter in the earlier AR-4, and in both cases, was wired to a 6uF cap. The pic attached shows an early and rare application of this driver - - - this was possibly during the transition from the AR-4 to the AR-4x (around 1965) - - - and probably produced a bit more on-axis HF output with the center of the fiberglass damping removed.

View attachment 894436
Those tweeters look almost exactly like CTS phenolic ring tweeters. These were highly regarded as a mid level speaker and used in LOTs of speakers in the 1970's era.
 
I'd go even further and say, "Buyer beware always." Still, in the description of the transaction described in post #26, there were two unfortunate events. The first was that the seller was either uninformed or intentionally deceptive; and the second was that the buyer did not sufficiently evaluate the goods before agreeing to go through with the purchase.

Impossible for me to say if this 2ax deal might be an attractive "buy" or not, but the OP already has history with this seller and states they are in "great condition" at a "good price". With components from three 2ax speakers available for potential compilation into a working "pair", this offering should still hold appeal to an interested and savvy buyer.


The man from crystal lake said he had them from new. That being said older gentleman and maybe just didn't remember correctly. The grills were still glued on. I did not do due diligence and push the issue of removing the grills. (like I bought a used car without having the engine checked). So maybe the ar2ax he has may be good to go just really check them. Pull the grills even if glued on. Check to see if the drivers are a matched set..
 
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