A good amp to drive my AR3a's

[Dr Tinear]

My trombone teacher in the 1970s used a Dynaco ST-400 power amp to drive his AR 3a speakers. The combination sounded very good to me.

 

[RolandA]

I should think a NAIM amp might be a good match for the speakers, if you have to have them.. They need a strong amp to control the bass, and it wants to be as bright as possible because the speakers are definitely dull in terms of overall balance.

 

[Drugolf]

My trombone teacher in the 1970s used a Dynaco ST-400 power amp to drive his AR 3a speakers. The combination sounded very good to me.

Ooh, thats the amp I have so when I am done restoring my pair of AR 3's I was hoping it would marry up with them well.

 

[pb8888]

the integrated amplifier that I would consider a close match for the original AR amplifier would be the Rogue Sphinx amplifier selling for around $1,200.

I listened to a Rogue Sphinx last week connected to a good tt. It was disappointing. The classical vinyl I listened to had no projection- sounded like I was in the back row. The same with the Rotel 1570. My conclusion was that the phono stage in these new amps isn't as good as the vintage ones. (I have a Pioneer sa-9100) So you will probably need an outboard phono pre-amp if you listen to vinyl.

 

[Lorenzo47]

Dull is not an adjective I've heard used to describe the AR3a before but we all have different tastes. If not, there would only be one brand available.

I do have a separate phono stage. My current receiver's phono stage went bad about a year ago.

 

[pb8888]

I have AR5 and AR4x and listen a lot with Grado headphones. After listening to several new integrated amps I'm going to try the Music Hall a70.2 Haven't heard it yet.) 125 watts at 8ohms. If its phono stage doesn't do it, I'll use my TubeBox II.

 

[davidro]

Something tells me a lot of people won't believe it but I've had the best result with my implementation of TPA3116. Something like $17 shipped new.

 

[FONSguy]

Crown DC300a.

 

[biggguy]

One combination NOT to use

I absolutely do not recommend a Marantz 2270- been there, done that, got the t-shirt- an absolutely lifeless, dead sounding combo (and the 2270 I used had been restored- the guy I sold it to loves it dearly!)- in fact, there has been articles written about what a bad match it is!

 

[audiojones]

I absolutely do not recommend a Marantz 2270- been there, done that, got the t-shirt- an absolutely lifeless, dead sounding combo (and the 2270 I used had been restored- the guy I sold it to loves it dearly!)- in fact, there has been articles written about what a bad match it is!

Completely agree. Tried it with several different examples of the 2270 all in perfect order and none of them could handle bass heavy passages without breaking up and running out of steam. They all worked very well on 8 ohm systems like the AR2ax, but not the 4 ohm AR3a.

 

[grateful]

I ran mine with A Dynaco ST410. Excellent driver for the 3A.

 

[centsless]

I have my refinished 3a's hooked up to a recapped 9090. It is a match made in heaven.

 

[hifitommy]

once again i recommend an amp with high current capability such as an adcom of 125wpc or greater and also the hafler 500, a monster of an amp with great sound.

most receivers of less than 100wpc won't cut it.

 

[Squonk67]

Powering mine with an Aragon 8008 that I purchased new in the mid 1990s. Running the Aragon through a Fisher 400 CX-2. When listening to my digital end, I can't turn the volume much past 3!

 

[fred soop]

Harman Kardon Citation 24 at 100 watts per channel is working well with AR-3A speakers. The Citation 22 is essentially identical but is 200 watts per channel. While my Citation 24 is made in Japan, I have seen some 22s and a 21 preamp on eBay that were marked as made in USA.

The Citation 12 is a very solid amplifier though the circuit design is dated by todays standards.

Another option would be the Load Invariant amplifier from the Signal Transfer Company. This amplifier is designed by expert Douglas Self, however it is British, not USA.