johnjhazel
PhxJohn
I have AR 3a's now. They were 'restored' and I plan to have them 'corrected'. Please tell me about the III's vs the AR 3a's. Don't hesitate to be frank.
Rectilinear III speakers - price in 1973
- Thread starter Snade
- Start date
I have AR 3a's now. They were 'restored' and I plan to have them 'corrected'. Please tell me about the III's vs the AR 3a's. Don't hesitate to be frank.
hornbostel
Well-Known Member
That woofer looks EXACTLY like the woofers in my AR4x's, except larger.
The Highboys are a special speaker. I went to HS and college with Snade and we went to the "big boy" room at "Good Vibes" in Champaign often. They had the Rec IIIs there as well as Klipschorns. While it was many years ago, I remember liking the Rec IIIs but we were always in hurry to hear the Corner Horns.
Since then, the Rec IIIs have become one of my very favorite speakers. While Kirk has more recent experience with both, his impressions of the AR3a vs the Rec IIIs is not surprising to me. I've had a fantasy of doing Double Rec IIIs just to hear a veritable wall of sound.
Since then, the Rec IIIs have become one of my very favorite speakers. While Kirk has more recent experience with both, his impressions of the AR3a vs the Rec IIIs is not surprising to me. I've had a fantasy of doing Double Rec IIIs just to hear a veritable wall of sound.
My AR-3a had the Hi-Vi tweeters ( originals were dead when I got them) with the associated crossover mod, as well as new capacitors. Basically, I did the complete restore as documented over at classicspeakerpages.com.
The Highboys had new film capacitors, air wound inductors and braided Cat5 wires replacing the original wire. Both speakers were used on short (10”) stands. Amp used in both case was a MacCormack DNA 1.0 deluxe (~300wpc into 4 ohms). Preamp was a Audible Illusions Modulus
I found the Rectilinears to be much more open sounding, with a better tonal balance from top to bottom. I found the AR-3a to be relatively dark sounding, even with the mid and tweeter pots turned up. Massive amounts of bass, maybe even too much bass. I understand the tonal balance was by design, informed by where Villchur liked to sit in Symphony Hall but it just didn’t work for me. I actually preferred the AR-48 that I restored for a friend to the 3a, but the 3a cabinets are soooo much nicer.
The Highboys make me smile. The 3a, not so much.
Obviously a lot of people would differ, but that’s what my brain hears, via my ears.
As a side note, I’ve heard Snade’s Highboys at Robie’s house, driven by some old McIntosh tubed receiver. Sounded wonderful there, too.
johnjhazel
PhxJohn
I would agree with your assessment. I love the bass of the AR 3a's, but it is heavy. I don't like the HiVi tweeters. They sound too 'tizzy' to me. They were chosen because they sound okay and were a 'drop in'. They are not as smooth and don't have the dispersion of the 3/4" domes. The rebuilt 3/4" domes were not available when I got my AR 3a's. I can't wait to get my AR 3a's corrected. Not because of the HiVi's but because of the missing resistors. They sound horrible. I was trying to be discrete about who configured them that way but it is right there in my equipment list. Oh well. Only a fool would argue that the Rectilinear speaker is anything but fine.
Did you do the crossover mod (as recommended by Roy C) for the HiVi tweeter?
johnjhazel
PhxJohn
It has the inductor but the recommended resistors were not added. I am going to have the L-pads replaced with the correct pots and replace the HiVi Q1R's with rebuilt AR 3/4" domes. I am in touch with Roy frequently.
johnjhazel
PhxJohn
In case you did not read my earlier posts, I think my 3a's sound horrible without the necessary resistors when replacing the pots with L-pads. Nasty sounding.
I have that wall of sound you are referring to. Double Rec III's that are double stacked.
Attachments
Rec III woofer measurements:
