AR speakers

[spartanmanor]

Lets say you came accross a set of AR speakers that just have the AR emblem on the front and are early models any idea what they are. Could they be AR-1's? These would be from the late 50's early 60's.

 

[ManFromPorlock]

Any paperwork glued to the backs? How many drivers, if you can get the grills off?

 

[spartanmanor]

My guess is that they are not AR-1's

They are half way accross the country.

 

[Aage]

Well, the original AR-4s had only the AR logo, and the AR-3 had the logo plus a separate pin that said simply "3".

To me, the picture doesn't look like either, judging by the size and grill-cloth. Too small for 3s, wrong cloth (which could have been changed) for the 4s.

 

[jpdylon]

They are AR-2.

They have one 10" woofer, and two midranges angled together. They were meant to be used in conjunction with a janzen tweeter array, sa these have poor high frequency reproduction. However bass and mids should be kickass

 

[lukiedog]

Most of the AR-2s I have seen have had bad tweeters (or midranges, whatever you want to call the non-woofer driver), you can pretty much bet they're not fully operational. Sound pretty crappy anyway, IMO.

 

[mhardy6647]

That big square cutout makes me think AR-2's, too.

Actually you could make a decent pair of subwoofers for music out of those.

 

[Eunomians]

Had a pair of AR-2's I regret selling them despite the fact that they were very poor in the highs dept. They were indeed supposed to be used with the AR add-on tweeter box (very very rare nowadays - wish I had a pair) or with some sorta electrostatic add-on tweeter array. They do have some pretty fierce bass though. Like I said, I should've kept them. Mine were in mint condition asthetically.

 

[mhardy6647]

The electrostatic add-on was a "Realistic" product from good old Radio Shack (still Boston-HQ'd back in the early 1960's).

 

[ozmoid]

Didn't AR make an upgrade kit for these? Included the resin dome tweeter and a new crossover, IIRC. Made an AR-2a?

 

[JoZmo]

I do believe I have a pair of those in my speaker infirmary. There is problem with one of them where certain low frequencies produce a rumble like a jack hammer sound and they're pretty fugly looking.
But I do remember being really impressed with the low end and mids as others have attested to.

 

[EddyR]

I also have a pair AR-2's like those . My mid-tweet were bad and I found a replacement that works well. It is a small 2.5 inch Pioneer that is rated at 40 watts and will handle the low crossover frequency OK. At less than $10 for a pair they are a good buy. I had two in each box at first but found that one did the job. Here is the link to Parts Express and the speaker.
http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?&Partnumber=270-034
Ed

 

[Nat]

They look like 2s -- the model number was a pin that was stuck in the grill, and seems to have gone missing. I had a unmatched pair -- a 2 and a 2a (the owner had bought the first for a mono system, and then went stereo). They came with the Radio Shack electrostatics so the lack of a dome tweeter on one wasn't that big an issue. I think that they are a little better in the high end then they are getting credit for, but its worth noting that they were expected to be used sideways, so the cross firing tweeters would disperse across the room rather than up and down as they would in the more modern upright orientation.
I got the kit that made them into 2xs, and while my memory is that they sounded more accurate with the new midrange, a bit of the fun factor went.

 

[Bogie]

I've got a pair of AR-7s... Woofs are pretty et up... Anyone know where I can either find replacements, or the parameters so I can get close?

 

[jpdylon]

I've got a pair of AR-7s... Woofs are pretty et up... Anyone know where I can either find replacements, or the parameters so I can get close?

Look on the 'bay. If you can't find 7 woofers, the woofers from the ar-18s will work fine. The 18s were a reincarnation of the 7s during the teledyne years. I believe the AR-6 also used the same woofer as the 7, but in a larger cabinet.