Jump to content

AR 94 Si - are they worth restoring ?


Guest studio by the pond

Recommended Posts

Guest studio by the pond

I bought a pair of AR 94 Si speakers at Goodwill yesterday and

brought them home to check out. Both played , one tweeter out,

and something was obviously wrong.

I pulled the basses off and rolled up the grille cloth and discovered that all 4 woofers need new surrounds. I have a local shop that

can do this for about $20 per woofer.

I need to find another tweeter for the one unit and am wondering

if this system is worth investing over $100 in repairs. I've

seen very little mention of this model AR speaker system and I've

never seen or heard one before. The enclosure is very well built,

but I'm surprised at the lightness of the woofers and tweeters.

I have three AR systems - AR 2, AR 2AX and AR 4x.

I also have several JBL systems - 4320s, L-100s, 4310s, 4411s

Two pairs of Advents - "the smaller Advent" and the "New Advent"

Two pairs of KLH - one pair being the small # 24 on my TV.

My favorite system is "The smaller Advent", however I haven't

hooked up the "New Advents" yet. I'll bet they are great.

Your opinion on the AR 94 Si would be appreciated. It's not like

I "NEED" another set of speakers, but finding these at Goodwill

was pretty neat - - - especially @ $4.95 each - - - -

Should I keep them and repair them, part them out ?

Lee Hazen (leehazen@aol.com)

Hendersonville, TN

Link to comment
Share on other sites

>I bought a pair of AR 94 Si speakers at Goodwill yesterday

>and

>brought them home to check out. Both played , one tweeter

>out,

>and something was obviously wrong.

>

>I pulled the basses off and rolled up the grille cloth and

>discovered that all 4 woofers need new surrounds. I have a

>local shop that

>can do this for about $20 per woofer.

>

>I need to find another tweeter for the one unit and am

>wondering

>if this system is worth investing over $100 in repairs. I've

>seen very little mention of this model AR speaker system and

>I've

>never seen or heard one before. The enclosure is very well

>built,

>but I'm surprised at the lightness of the woofers and

>tweeters.

>

>I have three AR systems - AR 2, AR 2AX and AR 4x.

>

>I also have several JBL systems - 4320s, L-100s, 4310s, 4411s

>

>Two pairs of Advents - "the smaller Advent" and the "New

>Advent"

>Two pairs of KLH - one pair being the small # 24 on my TV.

>

>My favorite system is "The smaller Advent", however I haven't

>hooked up the "New Advents" yet. I'll bet they are great.

>

>Your opinion on the AR 94 Si would be appreciated. It's not

>like

>I "NEED" another set of speakers, but finding these at

>Goodwill

>was pretty neat - - - especially @ $4.95 each - - - -

>

>Should I keep them and repair them, part them out ?

>

>Lee Hazen (leehazen@aol.com)

>Hendersonville, TN

>

>

Hi Lee;

Did that include the taxes? lol

Looking in our AR library at the AR chronological list I see that that they sold 1980 - 82 for $220.00 US each.

If you print that out you can get an idea of around what other speakers were worth then as well.

It would appear that you got a steal, assuming that the taxes were included, otherwise you overpaid. lol

Wait for others to read your topic and reply.

Good luck and please keep us posted on your progress.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Lee,

I have a pair of AR-94Sx's. I am not familiar with the AR-94Si but I assume it is similar. Actually I wonder how many versions of the AR-94 there were! The version described in the library has a different crossover than the pair I have, and I assume your pair has another variation.

Don't worry about the woofers, these speakers can produce a great deal of very satisfying bass. The midrange balance is so-so (probably why AR kept messing with the crossover:-)) and the highs are fine...just my two cents. They have worked well for me for video sound, the tall cabinets being a plus for that application.

They are worth $100 to bring them back to life if the cloth and tops are in good shape. I would not break the bank restoring this model however.

Roy

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...