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AR4ax Vintage Speakers...Thoughts?

TheWolf82

TheWolf82

Active Member
Hi everyone,

Have an opportunity to pick up a pair of AR4ax speakers. The guy has had them for sale locally for a at least a month and he still hasn’t sold them. From what I understand, these are a must for my style and a perfect fit for my collection. Currently running KLH Model Sixes in my main setup and newly acquired Dynaco A25’s in another. I’m also on a kick of collecting Henry Kloss products particularly. I could probably get these for 80 bucks. Any thoughts? Good price? Any better than my Model Sixes?. Thanks!!!
 

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In good shape, it has the sweet sound you seem to enjoy, but it's an 8" woofer,
so it won't dig as deep as the Dynas or KLHs
 
Agree with RxDx - - this speaker model should be consistent with your listening preferences - - all are great classic speaker models.

One nitpick point: there is no such thing as an AR-4ax model. There is an AR-4xa (8-inch, two-way), and then there is the AR-2ax (10" woofer, three-way).

One other point: when looking at that rear label enlarged, it appears these are AR-4x speakers, and not the later 4xa model. Still, 80 bones is a fine price for a pair in good condition. Keep us posted.
 
Pretty good speaker. I think it was the best sounding AR of its time and a significantly better sounding speaker than the 3, 2AX and such. Better tonal balance, better clarity. More life.
 
If you like KLH 6s and Dynaco 25s they should fit right in. I don't listen to box speakers much anymore, but when I do it's either my KLH 6s or Wharfedale W70Ds.
 
I refurbed a set for my daughter over a year ago. Very nice sounding speaker. I'd buy it, but it would supplement my KLH Sixes. It would not replace them. +1 for what RxDx said.
 
I bought a pair with similar felt pads on the sides. I found the felt difficult to remove. I plan on refinishing anyway, so not an issue. Just to keep in mind, still seems like a good deal.
 
Thanks for all the info and opinions. It’s much appreciated. I’ve had no experience with acoustic research speakers yet so I think I’m gonna grab them. They definitely will not replace my model sixes. I don’t think anything can replace those LOL. Any speaker I’ve picked up hasn’t lit a candle to them in terms of what I want from a speaker.
 
ra.ra said:
Agree with RxDx - - this speaker model should be consistent with your listening preferences - - all are great classic speaker models.

One nitpick point: there is no such thing as an AR-4ax model. There is an AR-4xa (8-inch, two-way), and then there is the AR-2ax (10" woofer, three-way).

One other point: when looking at that rear label enlarged, it appears these are AR-4x speakers, and not the later 4xa model. Still, 80 bones is a fine price for a pair in good condition. Keep us posted.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the info...I’ll post back by this weekend once I grab em..
 
I ran stacked a25's and 4ax's. They really sounded good.
The a25's had better midrange, and the 4ax's had a little better bass extension.
 
TheWolf82 said:
Hi everyone,

Have an opportunity to pick up a pair of AR4ax speakers. The guy has had them for sale locally for a at least a month and he still hasn’t sold them. From what I understand, these are a must for my style and a perfect fit for my collection. Currently running KLH Model Sixes in my main setup and newly acquired Dynaco A25’s in another. I’m also on a kick of collecting Henry Kloss products particularly. I could probably get these for 80 bucks. Any thoughts? Good price? Any better than my Model Sixes?. Thanks!!!
Click to expand...
$80 is a very good deal. I sold mine (in slightly better shape) for over twice that.

They're all pretty close in terms of performance. As with the Sixes and A25s, it's more of a preference. I've had all 3 and they're all great. The A25s won for me, only by a slight margin.

The adjustment pots on ARs are the weak point. They'll likely need to be cleaned or replaced at some point.
 
TheWolf82 said:
Hi everyone,

Have an opportunity to pick up a pair of AR4ax speakers. The guy has had them for sale locally for a at least a month and he still hasn’t sold them. From what I understand, these are a must for my style and a perfect fit for my collection. Currently running KLH Model Sixes in my main setup and newly acquired Dynaco A25’s in another. I’m also on a kick of collecting Henry Kloss products particularly. I could probably get these for 80 bucks. Any thoughts? Good price? Any better than my Model Sixes?. Thanks!!!
Click to expand...

So what is the verdict.
Did you buy them,
 
The (big) Advent Speaker sounds better the AR4(a)x coz it has 10" woofers. Both are two-way, but the Advent sounds clearer at the top end coz its so-nicknamed "fried egg" tweeter was engineered to be more efficient than the woofer.
 
I bought mine several years ago when everyone in Madison, WI was focused on a nearby UW football game, so no competitive local buyers.

These are very good for a small area, and one thing that may need to be tidied up is the dial in the back that modifies the treble output (if anyone knows the real name and function, please clarify) was, and still a touchy thing, and sometimes removes the high frequency output.

Clean it up better than I did for more consistency and/or stability.
 
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