SICA Altoparlanti reissues of the AR speakers possible?

[owlsplace]

From Wikipedia article:

"Jensen Loudspeakers ceased production of their products in the late 1960s. The speakers remained heavily sought-after as replacements for amplifiers originally manufactured with Jensen speakers. Following that demand, SICA Altoparlanti began reproducing "reissues" of the Jensen speakers in 1996. These speakers are designed to be as close as possible to their original design.^[1]

In 2008, SICA Altoparlanti began producing new speaker designs under the Jensen name. These speakers and the Jensen reissues are distributed in the United States by CE Distribution.^[2]"

Seems to me if anyone would be interested in reproducing classic AR drivers it would be this company. Anyone have any contacts in Italy?

Some interesting history here. Jensen was a Danish immigrant who along with a partner developed the first loudspeaker in 1915 -- the Magnavox.

There is a SICA site up in English with this tidbit of info:

"In 1929, Jensen Company manufactured 60% of all speakers being made for independent radio producers."

http://www.sica.it/en/products.html?page=shop.browse&category_id=19&parentCategory=2

Roger

[ar_pro]

This has been discussed before, with not very much in the way of a result.

Of the important AR speaker designs, the most in-demand replacements would be for tweeters used in the AR-3a, and the AR-3, followed by midrange units for the same.

The AR 12" woofer in its various iterations is extremely robust, and there are plenty on the used market, so any demand for a new replacement would be low.

Most of the inflated secondary value for vintage AR designs is off-shore, and generally based upon intact & unmodified speakers, or parts candidates - again, with an eye toward originality.

There'd be virtually no demand for a modern replacement driver in this collector/enthusiast context.

So the market for replacement mids & tweeters would most likely be limited to folks who are trying to keep old systems going for their own use, who also have a modicum of technical/repair skills, and who would not balk at putting a 2015 driver into their 1969 box.

I'd suggest that this is a very small universe of individuals, and through several humorous first-hand experiences, a tight-fisted one; almost certainly not the sort of buyer that someone undertaking the re-engineering, manufacture & marketing of 50 year-old drivers would salivate over.

That said, maybe if everyone here wrote a nice letter to Parts Express, new AR tweeters could someday join the replacement Bose 901, Radio Shack Mach One, ESS Heil and CTS drivers that appear in their catalog!

[RoyC]

I completely agree with ar_pro. We're living in an ever diminishing bubble, which is occupied by lots of DIY guys and folks unwilling to spend much on new parts...regardless of how "authentic" they may be in nature.

Actually, oem parts were available until relatively recently through AB Tech Services (former AR service center in MA), which closed its doors this year. The quality and availablity of a number of AR replacement parts was quite high until about 10 years ago. Larry/"Vintage AR" visited with the former owner during the last days, and discussed the costs and difficulty of having oem type parts manufactured. Larry was told sales were very poor for these items during the last 15 years or so.

Jensen is now primarily thought of as a live sound reinforcement speaker brand. Musicians are still buying these speakers, along with various types of tube equipment. It is the only reason a company like SICA Altoparlanti exists. Big old home audio speakers are still departing homes faster than entering.

Roy

[owlsplace]

Parts Express may be the best recourse. They would still need to locate a manufacturer willing to tool up for a small run.

Kinda disagree on the current AR-3 values. Generally an item produced in that time frame cost ten times as much in today's dollars = $2500. Add in the rarity, etc. and I can see valuations much higher.

The only thing holding the prices down is limited demand. The current generation is traveling light whereas I thought my AR-5s were light 45 years ago.

If you like these speakers you should probably buy an extra pair for parts.

Roger

[ar_pro]

Parts Express may be the best recourse. They would still need to locate a manufacturer willing to tool up for a small run.

Yes, that's the point. That's why it won't happen (hence, the smiley ).

It's generally a mistake to conflate original retail price with a future value - there are many loudspeakers from that era that have virtually no value in any current market.

Having regarded the initial spike in price for the AR-3 and then the AR-3a in the 1990s, I can guarantee that it was almost entirely driven by the Asian market; and even at this late date, that market continues to strongly impact current valuation.

If you have any doubt about this, try e-Baying an AR-3a with the auction limited to American buyers only, and see what happens to its "value".

Roy is right, it's a teeny-tiny market for these things, with usually well-heeled "specialists" wanting & collecting originality (for whatever purpose), and generally-grayer and less-monied "enthusiasts" trying to keep half-century old electronics functioning well past their reasonable drop-dead date.

So what's an "enthusiast" to do?

I'd suggest yard sales, Craigslist, and prayer.

Pray for the strength to not flip that $25 pair of AR-3's that you find in some dead guy's basement. Just say no!

[owlsplace]

Parts Express may be the best recourse. They would still need to locate a manufacturer willing to tool up for a small run.

Yes, that's the point. That's why it won't happen (hence, the smiley ).

It's generally a mistake to conflate original retail price with a future value - there are many loudspeakers from that era that have virtually no value in any current market.

Having regarded the initial spike in price for the AR-3 and then the AR-3a in the 1990s, I can guarantee that it was almost entirely driven by the Asian market; and even at this late date, that market continues to strongly impact current valuation.

If you have any doubt about this, try e-Baying an AR-3a with the auction limited to American buyers only, and see what happens to its "value".

Roy is right, it's a teeny-tiny market for these things, with usually well-heeled "specialists" wanting & collecting originality (for whatever purpose), and generally-grayer and less-monied "enthusiasts" trying to keep half-century old electronics functioning well past their reasonable drop-dead date.

So what's an "enthusiast" to do?

I'd suggest yard sales, Craigslist, and prayer.

Pray for the strength to not flip that $25 pair of AR-3's that you find in some dead guy's basement. Just say no!

With you on that which is why we are all here crooning over each others finds and commiserating over rebuild problems.

I mean we are putting a lot of energy into these dinosaurs that an ever-diminishing number will appreciate after we are gone not to mention all the leisure hours spent listening to them