Just picked up a pair of AR 58s’

[Masonavenut]

Thought I’d post these as there’s not much out there on them. They seem to be in great shape. Got them from another car guy in the area. He swore to me they work great (I know, eye roll). I haven’t had a chance to hook them up yet as this has been a car work weekend. I plan to set them on my Forte IIs for now just to listen to them. If I can find some stands I’d rather do that. Think I might be able to fit one more pair of speak’s into the living room without my wife losing it.
As I understand it the 58s was pretty much the last quality gasp in the 3 architecture. Be happy to hear any smarts y’all have on these. They seem to be tough to find info on so far.
Anyway here they are.

 

[StimpyWan]

Nice job. Great speakers. I love mine. I hope you'll feel the same about yours?

To me, the AR58S speakers are very dynamic. Maybe not Klipsch dynamic, but good for non horn loaded speakers. They're very open too. The AR dome midrange is a very revealing driver. Deserving of good electronics. The best of all, is the bass. The AR 12 woofer is a nice sounding woofer, capable of deep bass, with fast response and good timbre. Very little bass overhang, or vocal chestiness. A well designed woofer. A pair of AR58S speakers can do about any musical genre justice. Mine aren't going anywhere!

 

[Drugolf]

A very good speaker of that format. Actually you are a few days late on this thread: http://audiokarma.org/forums/index.php?threads/ar58s-yes-or-no.816860/

 

[Masonavenut]

Thanks Drugolf I missed that.
And thank you StimpyWan for your experience. I like your Conan/ Frezzetta sig pic. Drugolfs ain’t bad either.
I’m really stoked to listen to these.
Would you think they would like tubes or ss to power them?

 

[GD70]

Thanks Drugolf I missed that.
And thank you StimpyWan for your experience. I like your Conan/ Frezzetta sig pic. Drugolfs ain’t bad either.
I’m really stoked to listen to these.
Would you think they would like tubes or ss to power them?

Very nice speakers and I'm sure you'll like them, a lot!
I have found AR speakers like power, the more the better. Tubes will sound very nice, but SS power will bring them to a different level.
Let us know how they sound.
Glenn

 

[Masonavenut]

Awesome
Thank you all for your experience.
I’ll let you know how they sound.

 

[Drugolf]

Yeah, AR = Solid State umph.
Gonna be a great all-around speaker for you.

 

[StimpyWan]

AR's using tubes has been discussed at the Classic Speaker Pages forum. In fact, the AR-3's, at AR's demo room in Grand Central Station, used 2 Dynaco Mark III tube amps for power. This system was basically used more or less as a P.A. set up, to attract attention to the demo room. Here's a picture, of the speakers.

 

[Nat]

Yours look much better than my dump finds. But the comments are correct - the more (serious) power, the more you will like them.

 

[Masonavenut]

Holy crap. I wasn’t expecting these to be so nice.
I did a little wood restoring. Nothing big just a little sanding to smooth ‘em up and some Howard’s.
They are pretty amazing for a small package. Imaging is crazy.
This video is 1/3 volume on a 2325 Marantz.
YES I’ve got a buzz I’m tracking down. Has something to do with my DAC.
The point is the speakers themselves. They are friggin’ great.
I’ve been listening all day to SRV and Steely so thought I’d throw on something a little different for you.
Ryan’s one of my closet favorites because I did a shoot with him many years ago in Jamaica for a show called Music in High Places.
If you haven’t seen it you should check it out (YouTube). We took a bunch of acts all over the world and made ‘em play acoustic in some cool places.
It’s worth a look/listen. BTW natural sound. No sound editing at all.
Anyway here they are. I’m not gonna put them in the listen thread until I track down my buzz.

 

[Masonavenut]

Oh my imaging comment.
I had them spaced out farther before this video.
They were just outside my Fortes.

 

[Grenadeslio]

Listening to mine as I type this. At this minute a little Neil Young "This Note's for You".

Some good SS power really makes these shine, connecting the Belles to the Kenny really was an eye opener, and I liked the Kenny a lot with these (or so I thought lol).



This is the interior of the amp now pulling preamp duty the Belles is so much better, as you can see the true dual mono design of the Kenny is no slouch.

 

[Masonavenut]

I turned it up earlier and they just came alive.
Great speaker.
Hmm I can have a 600 Kenny anytime I want it. Guess I’ll be making a call.
Love your stuff.

 

[Grenadeslio]

I turned it up earlier and they just came alive.
Great speaker.
Hmm I can have a 600 Kenny anytime I want it. Guess I’ll be making a call.
Love your stuff.

This is just my "pretty system" to appease the little lady lol, it's in the main living rm. We just moved here so still need to make some changes, IE make room for the TT, mount the TV on the wall, etc.

 

[Masonavenut]

Get out of my head.
Exactly what I intend to do. Tubes going on the wall.
Hate bending down for the tt.
Love your setup and appreciate the wife stuff. We are sympatico.

 

[GD70]

AR's using tubes has been discussed at the Classic Speaker Pages forum. In fact, the AR-3's, at AR's demo room in Grand Central Station, used 2 Dynaco Mark III tube amps for power. This system was basically used as a P.A. set up, to attract attention to the demo room. Here's a picture, of the speakers.

Love this old photo. I've seen it before. For a point of reference, this is on the opposite side of the current Apple Store.
Thanks for posting this!
Glenn

 

[Nat]

The booth was still there in the early seventies when I used to pass through Grand Central on my way to and fro college. I remember going in once, but I don't remember much about the insides, but I do have a strong memory of reading a Ted Jordan explanation of his drivers in one of the windows outside the booth after it no longer was open - don't know if it had closed, or whether it was just after hours. Somehow I doubt that an active AR demo room would have a Jordan placard outside. But I remember the role of the Teflon balls in the voice coil.
I do hope that my memory is not utter nonsense, dreamed at some point and then remembered as fact.

 

[Darren James]

Good speakers..... but watch out AR 9 owners will pretend to want your speakers, only to buy them and, dare I say........... steal the parts out of them... leaving the poor 58's broken and lonely in the corner.... So watch out!!....

these were mine as they were on their way home to me.... only to be cannibalized..... beware!!
.

IMG_20180701_110406137

• Darren James
• Jul 1, 2018

 

[Masonavenut]

Thanks but they aren’t going anywhere. They are a nice compliment to my Fortes.
The stands I ordered arrived today and they fit perfect in my room. Wife seal of approval also.
Getting them up higher helped them sound even better.
BTW
Here’s a vid for one song of that show with Ryan I was talking about. This was 2001.

 

[Masonavenut]

Well I got that hideous buzz fixed. As I thought it was a DAC problem. I don’t know the particulars as far as the technical whys and what fors but here’s the deal. I had one of the cheaper Schiit DACs, the Modi 2 Uber. Evidently there is no protection from junk getting in there as far as loose signals in the room. As you can see from the pics it’s pretty close to my DirecTV receiver. I tried ground lifters everywhere and there was no change.
Enter my friend with lots and lots of gear. He is loaning me a pretty expensive Schiit DAC, the Gungnir with the Multibit upgrade. As soon as I put that in line, poof, no more buzz. I am now also with the better DAC able to take advantage of the full capability of the computers output. Adjusted the computer output to 24 bit/192 kHz and could not believe my ears. The instruments were separate and distinct and sounded really great. It’s to bad you can’t hear in the vid I posted.
Anyway, very happy and my wallet will be a lot lighter.
The video here is through my Fortes for a few minutes then I change to the 58s’ and back to the Fortes. The 58s stand up to the Fortes very well but are a hair thinner. They need a little more power to help them out. It’s tough to hear on this little vid but I think you can hear it a bit.
And no I didn’t dress for you all.