Opinion of AR3a's

warlocks1

I just hooked up a pair of Acoustic Research AR3a's. I am really impressed with these speakers! I don't like the binding post. 12 gauge wire will not fit on the post. The sound was beautiful. I compared them with the Polk RTA15tl's. They aren't very efficient speakers. I really had to crank the amps to get the same level as the Polks. You really need to have a lot of power to really drive these. I was using Carver TFM15's bridged at 280 watts. Once you really drove them, they sang. The tweeter is the smoothest I have ever heard. The bass was exceptional. The midrange was good, but was definitely inferior to the Polks. I asked my 10 year old daughter which speaker she preferred. She said the Polk had more sound, but the sound was "scratchy" compared to the AR3a's. I have to agree. At lower levels the Polks killed it, but when you cranked the music, the Polks were a little more fatiguing than the AR's. I will keep the Polks in my main system. I haven't decided what I will do with do with the AR's, but I really enjoyed listening to them. They would be great in a nice 2 channel rig. Does anyone else have an opinion on these classic speakers? Thanks, Jeff

George Grand

You have to be kidding? While that speaker was being manufactured, it is safe to say that a large percentage of the competition, spent a large percentage of advertising money, on the following statements:

1. Is as good as the AR-3a.

2. Is better than the AR-3a

3. Not quite as good as the AR-3a, but a little cheaper.

4. Catch my drift?

There's one in the Smithsonian Institute. It's EASILY become over the years, the most heralded and sought after loudspeaker of all time. See if people talk about your Polk's, or offer you MORE than they retailed for, 40 years from now.

When I went to the AR 40th anniversary party (next year, '04 is the 50th anniversary, no party though) a guy named Tom Tyson had a cutaway AR-3a. It was on display, and being driven. The 12" woofer was silently pumping away to a 5Hz signal.

If you can find them mint, god bless you. Also, the AR-11 was kind of the final version of the AR-3a. Kind of like a "super" 3a.

Keep those dude. They're history.

George Grand (of the Jersey Grand's)

warlocks1

Thanks for the info. Do you know any of the specs? The guy had them in his basement and they were covered in layers of dust. I offered him $50.00 and he was thrilled. I cleaned them up with wood oil and the cabinets are perfect. What beautiful wood! He refoamed the woofers years ago and they look to be in good shape. I need to find a pair of the logos for the grills and they will look brand new. I just have to find somewhere to use them. Thanks again, Jeff

dorokusai

War - Nice indeed, after reading the GG post, it sounds even better. I like your choice of demo critic

I think that gets dropped into the hat of great finds, wouldn't you say? $50 sheesh.

warlocks1

I will try to post some photos tomorrow. I have never seen speakers like these.
Actually, I use my daughter often when trying new equipment. She has a very musical ear and has no bias. She doesn't know what is supposed to be good or what they cost so I trust her opinion.

dorokusai

War - I meant that in the nicest possible way, I agree, a clean ear is the best ear....well as long as there is no crayon stuck in it I guess..

Photos would be great!

F1nut

Alright, since you're keeping the RTA 15TL's, I'll give the AR-3a's a real good home and they will never gather dust.

dorokusai

F1 would be a good Dad, he walks behind me with a broom when I stop over. :P

F1nut

Well, if you'd take your damn shoes off like I do at your place, then I wouldn't have to sweep up behind you.

dorokusai

Oh you SOB...I know where you live! That's it, I am coming armed on my next visit!

Tour2ma

Warlocks,

Congrats on a great find... Mint 3a's go for $400 to $500 on ebay. Great old speaker. I've got a pair here in need of a little TLC and a mint pair awaiting pick-up in Wisconsin...

Badges and pins pop up on ebay every once in a while.

Pretty much all you'd ever want to know about them, and more than a few other vintage classics, can be found here:
http://www.arsenal.net/speakers/index.htm
Follow links to the 3a section for spec's, reviews and all. Even includes this pic of the cutaway GG referred to.

Tour2ma

GG,
If you're still looking in, would you mind commenting on the AR LST's over in this thread:
http://clubpolk.polkaudio.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=12424

warlocks1

can someone explain how to attach photos? Thanks

ken brydson

Just click browse, find and double click where your photo is, i.e desktop, or whatever and click submit. DO NOT preview reply or the attachment won't work.

warlocks1

Here are a couple photos

warlocks1

another

warlocks1

side and tops

VR3

Henry Kloss design? Screams one anyways. Looks like a great pair of speakers! Congrats on your find. The wood finish on them things are beautiful!!!

Tour2ma

Very sweet, wl, very sweet indeed...

Here's what you are looking for to finsih them off... This pair sold for $43 on ebay, just a little less than you paid for the speakers... Oh, and the seller was Tom Tyson...

George Grand

It's not a Henry Kloss design. The AR-3a was designed by a guy named Charlie McShane. I think Kloss may have even split and started KLH by the time the 3a was introduced. There was a 3, before the 3a. How's THIS for coincidence.....

August 1988, I'm operating for a week out of Hill AFB, Ogden, Utah, in a exercise called Gallant Eagle. Some clown gets a hard-on when they make up those names. Anyhow, one day we didn't have to fly, and the co-pilot and nav wanted to go fishing way up in the Wasatch Range. I don't need to outwit fish, and neither does the aircraft commander, Gerhard Augustus Leipfinger. The "Finger" owns a pair of AR-LST's, and is the original owner, having purchased them in 1972. He also sold me a pair of AR-5's that he had as rear speakers. I used them for a few years and then blew them up December 1989 trying to hear a 10K cycle tone. The next day I bought my first Polk's! Pair of brand new RTA 11t's for $290. Anyhow I'm offtrack here....

Me and The "Finger" decide to drop the nav and co off at some restaurant/fishing lodge place, 1 1/2 hours up in the freakin' mountains outside Salt Lake City. Big lake there too. Me and The "Finger" figure to eat lunch in Park City while these guys match wits with fish. Name of the town the lodge is in, is Heber City, and THAT was getting to me all the way up there. I knew I had heard of that place, but couldn't zero in on it. I get out at the lodge and go inside with the co and nav to see the particulars. It is a big, multi-level, rough-hewn type affair on the inside, but clean and quite formal in the restaurant. Then I HEARD the sound system. AWESOME! Then I started seeing all the little Phase Tech speakers around. This is really getting to me! What is THIS doing in the middle of the mountains in Utah. One of the employees sees me marvelling, and asks if I want to see the equipment closet. **** YEAH! STACKS of Fosgate amps and processors! The EXPENSIVE ones! Now I'm out of my mind, WHAT is this stuff doing up here in the north 40? Then the kid explains, "You see that big house up on the hill? Mr. Fosgate lives there. He also has a small shop downtown. You should see a movie in our movie theater." THAT WAS IT! HEBER CITY, UTAH. HOME OF FOSGATE!
We didn't have the time to see a movie, but me and The "Finger" did go to the shop. Jim Fosgate wasn't there that day, but a guy named Charlie McShane was. The guy that designed the AR-3a.


The "Finger" still has his LST's, driving them with one Carver M4.0t. I heard them again most recently, not more than a month ago. He also has the original , big, Carver Control Center pre-amp. The LST's are awesome, addressing wide-dispersion vs the other AR design target, flat response across the entire audio band. The LST was the culmination of the wide dispersion thing, and the AR-9 the end result of the other. AR afficionados will readily admit the two represent the pinnacle of Acoustic Research loudspeaker design. They would also almost universally agree, that the 3a however, might just be the most IMPORTANT loudspeaker ever.

There is also an AR LST II (smaller and 8 ohms instead of 4). I would LOVE to own LST's, or LST II's. But they don't compare to my AR-9's.

The 3a probably has flatter frequency response, not to mention easily deeper response, than most of what's out there today. It's not a tower, so it can't image as well as some stuff. But you can try putting that green felt stuff on the entire front baffle of the 3a's, with the holes cut out for woofs' mids, and tweets. The sticky on one side stuff from Home Depot. My AR-9's have a very thick layer of that stuff on the front baffle. It is gray not green, and about an inch thick. AR calls it the "Acoustic Blanket" and it helps these things to image like you can't believe. You'd swear there was a Carver Hologram Generator in this system, but there isn't. Try it on the 3a's.

Only Tom Tyson could keep those badges looking that good over all these years. I haven't spoken to him since May, and I need to.

George Grand (of the Jersey Grand's)

Tour2ma

Thanks Uncle George... as always a pleasure.

Say hello to Tom for me. I dropped a few bucks at a closet sale, more likely just a shelf or two, he held on ebay a couple months ago. Motors, twin and single, stylus guage, arm rest and more all came my way from him, but the prize was a clear headshell for the AR XA used for demos and never sold. All were pristine NOS or lightly used pieces. He even threw a NOS belt, dusted in talc of course, my way for being a good customer.

Haven't spoken to the man, but we traded a few e-mails. He was doing more than a little mentoring about the XA, e.g., Shell 10W non-detergent for the lube and silicon grease for the viscous damping. Not to mention a short dissertation on the wonders of double machined drive belts... A true gentleman and an AR lover of the highest order.

George Grand

He's just a damn good guy... for a bomber slug. He was a B-52 radar nav. I met him at the 40th anniversary party. He is a big guy, but a real gentleman. He has the most extensive collection of AR stuff I have ever seen.

George Grand (of the Jersey Grand's)