Which AR speaker is that?

[tansu]

Hello to all,
I have been told that those speakers in the photos are on sale. Seller not sure about the model and me neither. Could you tell me which AR is that? 3 or 3a? or another.
Thanks

 

[RxDx]

AR-3

 

[tansu]

Thanks a lot

 

[tansu]

By the way, I will go and see them since they are ar-3's. Any recommendations to pay attention on the speakers? They look pretty tired

 

[RxDx]

Common problems are adjustment pots, old capacitors, or mid-range drivers that
work poorly or not at all. No mid or upper range sound could be any, some, or all
of those issues. Used drivers are occasionally available at auction, and there's
someone at classicspeakerpages.net who can sometimes fix them.

 

[tansu]

Thanks again, I will pay attention to those.

 

[mhardy6647]

FWIW, those look to be in pretty good physical condition to me...

 

[tansu]

BTW sorry for the thread title, it must have been a typo and can not change it.

 

[tyella]

Report back if you get them!

 

[tansu]

Report back if you get them!

Surely I will post them here if I get them, but they are a little bit expensive for the economic conditions of my country. I will have to think about that

 

[StimpyWan]

They look in decent shape, except the dome mids. I don't think they should be exposed like they are. They should be covered, normally with damping material, and a mesh cover (see below). Regardless, I'd buy 'em as-is.

Good luck.

 

[GD70]

If the price is right, I'd buy those in an instant!
Where are you located?
I found my 2nd pair of 3's at a thrift store and look pretty much the same. The wire mesh and damping material were gone like yours. I believe this was an attempt to improve the mids output. The mid domes have a sealer, the white material around the base of the cone, that becomes rock hard not allowing the if dome to move. This greatly effects the output, making it quite low to none at all. Fortunately, they can be repaired and can sound very close to new. I had mine rebuilt, and the difference is astonishing.
As mentioned, the pots are notorious for corroding which blocks the signal to the mids and tweeters, causing no sound to come from them. Sometimes by spinning the knobs back and forth a lot, you find a sweet spot where the driver comes to life.
The caps should also be replaced unless these are very early 3's with the oil can caps, which usually are good.
Once these are restored, they are a great sounding speaker even by today's standards.
If you can grab these, do it!
Glenn

 

[tansu]

Hi,
I am in Turkey, istanbul. Seller asks 2k USD for them. Which is like 3000 Turkish Lira 1 year ago but now 7000 Turkish Lira. Thats why it became more and more expensive. I will go and see them, and after that I will decide. Those 3's are one of the most wanted speaker by me..

 

[GD70]

Hi,
I am in Turkey, istanbul. Seller asks 2k USD for them. Which is like 3000 Turkish Lira 1 year ago but now 7000 Turkish Lira. Thats why it became more and more expensive. I will go and see them, and after that I will decide. Those 3's are one of the most wanted speaker by me..

2K US is a good amount of money, and now more than double, for that price, they should be in overall excellent condition, but knowing they will need restoration, (new caps, pot cleaning or replacement, and probable mids needing rebuilding) may give you some bargaining power.
Keep us posted.
Glenn

 

[tansu]

Hello again,
We made a deal with the seller. I will pay cash 300 USD of it and for the rest I will give him some other equipment. Some cash some barter. So as soon as possible I will go and pick them up. I will update when I install them to my system. Thanks for everything.

 

[GD70]

Hello again,
We made a deal with the seller. I will pay cash 300 USD of it and for the rest I will give him some other equipment. Some cash some barter. So as soon as possible I will go and pick them up. I will update when I install them to my system. Thanks for everything.

That's a pretty good deal. Look forward to your listening impressions.
Glenn

 

[toxcrusadr]

Anyone want to get together a shipment of vintage AR stuff and haul it to Turkey? We could live like kings!

Kidding!

 

[tansu]

Anyone want to get together a shipment of vintage AR stuff and haul it to Turkey? We could live like kings!

Kidding!

That's not specifically for AR's Any other vintage audio equipment will do the same

 

[tansu]

I've just picked them up.
First of all, my cat loved them. He took a peaceful manner with them. That is good.
Only amp I have here is a sansui au-555, which is 20watts per channel I guess. So these first impressions may change later. I heard they need a more powerful amplification. I will borrow a quad 303 from a friend and try with it.
Sound is very clear and detailed at low volume, absolutely better than my full range Soviet Lomo setup.. But as I increase the volume, low frequencies getting hard times. This is because of amp I guess. I also have a sansui sm-30 (avatar) I also will try that.
My number one speaker was quad esl 57 but they are two times expensive than ar3, so until I get them AR3 seems to be my number one
I will write again when I install quad 303 and sansui sm-30
Thanks again for the help, here are some photos from my home.

 

[GD70]

I've just picked them up.
First of all, my cat loved them. He took a peaceful manner with them. That is good.
Only amp I have here is a sansui au-555, which is 20watts per channel I guess. So these first impressions may change later. I heard they need a more powerful amplification. I will borrow a quad 303 from a friend and try with it.
Sound is very clear and detailed at low volume, absolutely better than my full range Soviet Lomo setup.. But as I increase the volume, low frequencies getting hard times. This is because of amp I guess. I also have a sansui sm-30 (avatar) I also will try that.
My number one speaker was quad esl 57 but they are two times expensive than ar3, so until I get them AR3 seems to be my number one
I will write again when I install quad 303 and sansui sm-30
Thanks again for the help, here are some photos from my home.

They look to be in good shape. These like power! Start at 100 wpc. The 3’s are known for serious deep, smooth bass. A low power amp will not push them.