stupidhead Posted November 5, 2014 Report Share Posted November 5, 2014 So tomorrow I am road tripping 100 miles to view and hopefully come home with a set of 3s. I am very excited at the prospect and am psyched that the set appears to be in very good aesthetic condition.My wife Diane is coming along for the ride and to be part of the decision making process. I am very lucky that she is supportive of this "hobby" and grateful that our musical tastes and interest in sound reproduction are similar.I will post pics once these are in my posession, and did I mention they will have a set of vintage AR stands. Wahoo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
der Posted November 5, 2014 Report Share Posted November 5, 2014 Great! Hope it works out for you.der Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
owlsplace Posted November 6, 2014 Report Share Posted November 6, 2014 Love it, enjoy... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sonnar Posted November 6, 2014 Report Share Posted November 6, 2014 Congratulations! Very nice pair in excellent conditions, enjoy it ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavidDru Posted November 6, 2014 Report Share Posted November 6, 2014 Is it tomorrow yet. Damn you keeping us waiting like this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stupidhead Posted November 6, 2014 Author Report Share Posted November 6, 2014 Thanx folks for the encouragement, and yes I have a set of 3s home now! So I guess the first order of business here is the WAF piece. So we arrive at the determined local meeting place, a slight drizzle and a nice young man seller. Diane is waiting in the Tacoma's cab and I view first hand the booty. I am satisfied and we start unloading from his car. Diane comes out to see the first one as I am placing it on the tailgate and I hear "those are pretty" and she is right. The WAF is certainly a go. I have taken a few pics to post here and yes I have hooked them up and tested. More on that later...So here is a quick view at the cabsand there really isn't any need to show more as these things are in excellent condition. It probably has something to do with these..which appear to be original, and in fact documentation of the mounting of these brackets was in an envelope with a bunch of other documentation including a couple of era brochures. I will scan and post for the library if these are not already there.There was also these...that I know a Howards treatment will make beautiful again.and I couldn't leave these behind for $50 more could I?a nice set of 4x' which are also in very good condition, all the corners are tight and cloth surrounds intact. So you may have noticed a slight dip in the top of the grilles on the 3s towards the middle and after getting the frames off my suspicions were confirmed.Thankfully there is no cabinet damage from whoever did this! The grilles actually came away quite easily from the middles and flexing the frames a bit popped the 40 year old glue on top and bottom edges. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavidDru Posted November 7, 2014 Report Share Posted November 7, 2014 SWEET! 4's and stands to boot! Congrats.Yes, I did see the "peek-a-boo' grille frame bend. Somebody wanted to take a peek. So if the 3's have the brackets, I suppose the stands were for the 4's? Whatever, who cares, great stuff.Enjoy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stupidhead Posted November 7, 2014 Author Report Share Posted November 7, 2014 now with the grilles off I get my first look at the driverswhich appear to be exactly as they were on the birthday of these beauties. I really like the appearance of these mids.......so my impressions.I hooked each one up separately to my Marantz 2325 and they sounded terrible. I am really excited. Where do I begin! There was a rattle from the woofer when given a little juice, I believe these are known for having glue issues, but I also think they are fixable.I will document my progress in a new thread and I will be grateful for any and all insights from those more knowledgeable than I.I enjoy the unique things you find in and on ARs from production days. They give off a vibe of content craftsmen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
der Posted November 7, 2014 Report Share Posted November 7, 2014 Awesome - that's all I can say. Congratulations!der Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
owlsplace Posted November 7, 2014 Report Share Posted November 7, 2014 Ah the glory of it all... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ra.ra Posted November 7, 2014 Report Share Posted November 7, 2014 Those appear to be two very well-maintained pairs of speakers (and stands). Very nice. Take your time with the restoration process, even tho' it looks like all is good already. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sonnar Posted November 7, 2014 Report Share Posted November 7, 2014 Lucky man! A pair of marvelous AR 3 and an audio enthusiast wife. Mine doesn't understand why I need 4 pairs of AR speakers and a pair of Altec Valencias to listen some music, but she 's very tolerant . My daughters uses a docking station for iPhone to listen their music. What a pity. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavidDru Posted November 8, 2014 Report Share Posted November 8, 2014 Lucky man! A pair of marvelous AR 3 and an audio enthusiast wife. Mine doesn't understand why I need 4 pairs of AR speakers and a pair of Altec Valencias to listen some music, but she 's very tolerant . My daughters uses a docking station for iPhone to listen their music. What a pity.Now I think we can understand it when the wife looks at us like we are whacky when we bring home monsters like the Valencia's. Thats the only time mine did! once I got my pair into the house, even I thought I was crazy.Plus, it sounds like daughters in Italy are just like daughters in the US. Iphones and docking stations......when they aren't texting anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lakecat Posted November 8, 2014 Report Share Posted November 8, 2014 Wow!..those are some of the cleanest 3's I have seen. Great find....... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stupidhead Posted November 9, 2014 Author Report Share Posted November 9, 2014 Thanx folks and yes I am lucky, and thankful for it. I am just kind of landing after this acquisition. I will go slow with these and do whatever I need to do to get them back to spec or better if possible. I don't know how concerned I should be about the rattle I heard from these (individually either) when I hooked these up. I have taken a cursory look at the spider on one and the glue line at the cone seems quite solid and no obvious breeches, and the same on the outside edge at the frame? Also there is a greenish powder on a couple magnet areas? Copper? This journey will undoubtedly be another learning experience and I look forward to it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ra.ra Posted November 9, 2014 Report Share Posted November 9, 2014 Only a guess here, but the woofer "rattle" just may be a partially broken/aged adhesive connection between the metal basket and the masonite ring which connects to either the spider or the surround. Whenever this joint comes loose, the in-out motion of the woofer creates a slapping sound, however small the movement. If so, a relatively easy fix. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iso Posted November 11, 2014 Report Share Posted November 11, 2014 Thanx folks for the encouragement, and yes I have a set of 3s home now! So I guess the first order of business here is the WAF piece. So we arrive at the determined local meeting place, a slight drizzle and a nice young man seller. Diane is waiting in the Tacoma's cab and I view first hand the booty. I am satisfied and we start unloading from his car. Diane comes out to see the first one as I am placing it on the tailgate and I hear "those are pretty" and she is right. The WAF is certainly a go. I have taken a few pics to post here and yes I have hooked them up and tested.Truly nice looking speakers... and nice wife too... give my regards. Wife with SloBlo fuse is must if you have hobby like this.Best RegardsKimmo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stupidhead Posted November 11, 2014 Author Report Share Posted November 11, 2014 Thanx Kimmo et al. Of all the things in my life, I am most grateful for her. For reference here is a pic from last year's Colorado trip to see Furthur at Red Rocks.and just for kicks, here is a pic of me with the rest of the posse that joined us for the trip. Diane takes good pics as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sonnar Posted November 11, 2014 Report Share Posted November 11, 2014 Nice pics and nice people. You have a very positive and open character, it's one of the best quality I 've ever found in American people. Back to speakers, do You still detect a " rattle " from the woofer? If so, be careful with power. Probably it's a disalignement of the voice coil, easy to fix by a good speaker technician. And about beer, here are me and my daughters in Hofbrauhaus in Munich, Germany, last Christmas . Excellent beer and bretzels, try it! ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stupidhead Posted November 13, 2014 Author Report Share Posted November 13, 2014 Good looking daughters, and enjoying beer together is one of our favorite things to do with our daughters as well.As for the speakers, I have not dug in any more on these, but have more closely inspected them and have not been able to identify a problem area on the spider, surround, ring or anywhere. I have a couple projects to do before I dig into these so it will have to wait for now! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sonnar Posted November 13, 2014 Report Share Posted November 13, 2014 A very beautiful collection of AR speakers, congratulations! I have also some project , one is to upgrade a pair of original '58 AR 2. They have an excellent alnico woofer, but very poor mid-highs with its dual-cones combo. My idea is replacing the dual poor cones with a modern dome tweeter crossed at 1,6 or 1,8 Khz, just like an Advent 5002. The problem, of course, is to individuate the right tweeter ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
owlsplace Posted November 14, 2014 Report Share Posted November 14, 2014 Good looking daughters, and enjoying beer together is one of our favorite things to do with our daughters as well.As for the speakers, I have not dug in any more on these, but have more closely inspected them and have not been able to identify a problem area on the spider, surround, ring or anywhere. I have a couple projects to do before I dig into these so it will have to wait for now!SH, ah, 4x's in unfinished pine ...Adrianno, great sweater -- looks like Peruvian alpaca ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sonnar Posted November 14, 2014 Report Share Posted November 14, 2014 Yes Roger, it 's peruvian alpaca, Munich in December is a very cold city , not to mention Berlin! I visit Germany very often, searching for some excellent vintage West Germany cameras, like Zeiss Ikon Contarex and its fabulous Carl Zeiss lenses, or Leicas rangefinder cameras. Next time, I 'll be there in search of a Studer A68 CD player ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stupidhead Posted November 14, 2014 Author Report Share Posted November 14, 2014 Yes Roger et al, unfinished pine and a quandary for sure. I was gifted that set by an AK acquaintance and am entertaining ideas of what to do with them. Of course I speak of the cabs and putting some sort of finish to them. I am wide open for suggestions. My initial thought was a piano black type finish but I am not geared up for that here at the house and to have someone do it for me would likely be stupid money. They are in good enough shape to warrant some sort of finish effort, I am just not sure what?Input is welcome! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sonnar Posted November 14, 2014 Report Share Posted November 14, 2014 Mahogany , so beautiful, red, warm, elegant. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.