My second AR 3's pair, fully restored

[Sonnar]

In my opinion, AR 3 is the best speaker AR ever made. So last fall I bought a second pair, my first was in 2009 spring. Clean pots, replaced caps with new Mundorfs, replaced mortite and resealed woofers with Permatex, new Saran grille cloth and " 3 " logos ( thank you, JKent ! ). The venerable Marantz model 33 and the powerful but velvety Soundcraftsmen LA2502 drives it in excellent way. Cheers from Rome, Italy.

[dxho]

Very nice. I haven't heard the 3. I have two pair of the 3a.

[Sonnar]

AR 3 was the original Villchur's AR , while AR 3a is an evolution made by Roy Allison. Which one sounds better? I have also AR 3a, and I'm not able to answer. They sounds very similar, but at the same time they' re absolutely different. AR 3 has a mid/high range that reminds me of electrostatic speakers, so transparent and neutral.

[Steve F]

Hi Adriano,

Thank you for posting these pictures. I like the way these look more than your other pair, since these have the more traditional "3" grille cloth. Looking forward to hearing them on my next visit!

Steve F.

[Sonnar]

Thank You Steve , you' ll be welcome!

[JKent]

In my opinion, AR 3 is the best speaker AR ever made. So last fall I bought a second pair, my first was in 2009 spring. Clean pots, replaced caps with new Mundorfs, replaced mortite and resealed woofers with Permatex, new Saran grille cloth and " 3 " logos ( thank you, JKent ! ). The venerable Marantz model 33 and the powerful but velvety Soundcraftsmen LA2502 drives it in excellent way. Cheers from Rome, Italy.

Hi Adriano

I was very happy to be able to deliver those parts in person to you in the Eternal City. Unfortunately our schedule was so full I could not listen to your sound system or spend as much time as I would have liked discussing vintage audio, cars, Italian food, etc. Maybe next time!

ciao from New Jersey, USA,

Kent

[Sonnar]

Thank you, Kent, I hope to see You soon! Adriano

[ar_pro]

Very cool speakers, Adriano.

Don't know if these AR-3 test reports are anywhere on this site:

[Sonnar]

Thank You, I have the original 1968 number of Stereo Review with Julian Hirsch 's test on AR 3a , but I' ve found very interesting the AR 3 test by Larry Zide. " Twenty watts sufficed " makes me laugh, because I spent a life searching the correct amplification to AR 3 / 3a .

[alkermes]

Thank You, I have the original 1968 number of Stereo Review with Julian Hirsch 's test on AR 3a , but I' ve found very interesting the AR 3 test by Larry Zide. " Twenty watts sufficed " makes me laugh, because I spent a life searching the correct amplification to AR 3 / 3a .

I hope you can share with us the answer to your search! More than twenty ;-)?

[Sonnar]

If I were very rich, I 'll say Swiss Physics or FM Acoustics. But I can' t afford these very expensive audio components, so I ' ve started a search in vintage amps. I use a Marantz preamp model 33, to me it's the best sounding SS preamp by Marantz ( I have also the model 7t ). A Crown ( Amcron in Europe ) PSA 2 , with its high current capability and stability also on 2 ohms capacitive or inductive loads drives my AR 3 and 3a in excellent way. My last acquisition is a Soundcraftsmen LA 2502 power amp, 1982, MOSFET , excellent sounding amp, rated 125 w per channel on 8 ohms , in Julian Hirsch's '82 test delivers an impressive 210 watt on 4 ohms and 340 on 2 ohms and, more important, very stable on every kind of load. I paid only 350 euros here in Italy, but in the U.S. prices are considerably lower. Cheers, Adriano