Sonnar Posted July 5, 2014 Report Share Posted July 5, 2014 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dxho Posted July 5, 2014 Report Share Posted July 5, 2014 Very nice. I haven't heard the 3. I have two pair of the 3a. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sonnar Posted July 5, 2014 Author Report Share Posted July 5, 2014 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve F Posted July 6, 2014 Report Share Posted July 6, 2014 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sonnar Posted July 6, 2014 Author Report Share Posted July 6, 2014 Thank You Steve , you' ll be welcome! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JKent Posted July 16, 2014 Report Share Posted July 16, 2014 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 AdrianoI 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sonnar Posted July 16, 2014 Author Report Share Posted July 16, 2014 Thank you, Kent, I hope to see You soon! Adriano Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ar_pro Posted July 16, 2014 Report Share Posted July 16, 2014 Very cool speakers, Adriano.Don't know if these AR-3 test reports are anywhere on this site: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sonnar Posted July 17, 2014 Author Report Share Posted July 17, 2014 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 . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alkermes Posted July 28, 2014 Report Share Posted July 28, 2014 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 ;-)? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sonnar Posted July 29, 2014 Author Report Share Posted July 29, 2014 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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