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Ar 4x

alteclipsch

alteclipsch

Super Member
As if I need more speakers, but I'm intrigued by a pair of AR 4X I'm going to audition this afternoon. They look a bit like my KLH model 32s (roughly the same size, two-way, 8", etc) but they also have a brilliance control.

Any thoughts as to how the two compare or other comments on their quality? I think they're from the 1960s or 1970s.
 
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Quality wise, they are very well made. The Tweeter level pot is notorious for corrosion and it may not even work without a good gleaning. The tweeter may not be working because of the pot. My pots work fairly well, though there are a few dead spots. You'll need to experiment to see if these are an issue.

The caps are another thing to consider replacing.
I haven't replaced mine as they sound very nice as they are. I'm sure at some point I will need to replace them, but for now, they are untouched originals.

They can take a good amount of power and the bass will surprise you. A lot of sound out of these little speakers.

I have not heard the 32's, but compared to a set of KLH 17's I had, they were fairly close, bet the 17's being slightly larger had an edge bass wise, a little larger sound stage.

Glenn
Glenn
 
GD70 said:
Quality wise, they are very well made. The Tweeter level pot is notorious for corrosion and it may not even work without a good gleaning. The tweeter may not be working because of the pot. My pots work fairly well, though there are a few dead spots. You'll need to experiment to see if these are an issue.

The caps are another thing to consider replacing.
I haven't replaced mine as they sound very nice as they are. I'm sure at some point I will need to replace them, but for now, they are untouched originals.

They can take a good amount of power and the bass will surprise you. A lot of sound out of these little speakers.

I have not heard the 32's, but compared to a set of KLH 17's I had, they were fairly close, bet the 17's being slightly larger had an edge bass wise, a little larger sound stage.

Glenn
Glenn
Click to expand...

I almost never replace caps, but with my AR-4x speakers, the caps had changed in value from 20mfd to 36mfd, which drops the cross-over frequency by quite a bit, so I replaced them. If you start wamping on them, there could be trouble.......

Wayner
 
I always liked AR speakers. In the 70's I had a small pair of AR7's. I switched to the Large Advent Utility speakers. They were excellent speakers.
 
I bought them and they're nice; I lowballed just a bit because I couldn't test them. Clean cabinets with few scratches; no cone or surround damage, one control is frozen, I didn't force it. I'll disassemble, clean/lube, coat the surrounds (they need it) and try them. Next week.
 
Excellent thread, I will be watching that one a few times! I did hook them up to my amplifier at low volume. Both woofers sound fine, one tweeter is good with sketchy pot, the other tweeter is silent with frozen pot. These are somewhat heavier than my KLH 32s and close to the same size. Looks like some fun work ahead but I'll make them sing. Perfect size for our 14 x 15 sunroom.
 
My AR4x speakers were bought new around 1968. I finally replaced the tweeter pots and they are with my granddaughter these days. A solid performer with an excellent character.
 
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