AR AR-2s

concealer404

Well...

I just got a pair of these for free.

One of the woofers needs to be refoamed, but all drivers are working, and the cabinets are rough looking, but solid.

From what i've been able to find, they were made around 1958?

Anyone know anything about these? They aren't the AR-2a or AR-2ax. Just regular old AR-2.

Have weird binding posts.... 3 of them, actually, with a strap between two. Says to remove the strap if you want to use woofers only.

I'll get pics up before i go to bed.

concealer404

I failed on pictures last night... forgot and passed out. They'll be up when i get home.

Question, though:

The posts aren't labeled + and -. They're labeled "1" and "2." How do i know which goes to which? Power go to 1, ground to 2?

They sounded kindof strange last night... didn't really sound out of phase to me, though.

mhardy6647

It really doesn't matter as long as you hook both up the same way :-) (unless you can hear absolute phase -- some can, apparently).

I believe the hot side is strapped and the other is gound.
Check the AR library and resources at www.classicspeakerpages.net

The original AR-2 has no tweeter as we would think of a tweeter; you probably knew that. Instead, it has a 'crossfiring' array of two 5" extended-range speakers and really doesn't have much HF extension. Adding a supertweeter is a good idea. In the days when it was new; that was often an electrostatic tweeter. I'm just sayin' :-)

EDIT: FWIW, I have a single AR-2 in the basement that I found at the dump. Probably going to donate it to the free table at the next NEARC antique radio fleamarket (www.nearc.org ).

concealer404

Hrmmm... maybe they aren't original AR-2s, then. I definitely have a tweeter. It's got a 10" woofer, a tweeter, and what looks like to be a small horn, but i haven't gone in and figured out what's in it yet.

And i think i hooked them up backwards, then... I'll swap and see if it makes a difference tonite.

I can't seem to find my particular model on that site. The paper on the back just says AR-2, but it definitely doesn't look like AR-2s on that site.

mhardy6647

An AR-2ax should have a cone MR with a piece of fiberglass over it and a small dome tweeter. An AR-2a has a dome tweeter and the crossed 5" drivers described before for MR. The AR-2x is a two-way with the MR of the 2ax used as a tweeter. If there's a "small horn" in yours; they're Frankenspeakers. Someone may have modified a pair of AR-2 speakers to try to get some treble out of 'em?

I cannot see the links below, but I hope (!) they're scans of catalog info that may be helpful/of interest.




The first scan is from 1961, the second from 1966. At least the AR-2x was in production into the 1970s.

concealer404

I think we'll have to wait until i get pictures.... what you're describing doesn't really sound like what i have.

Frankenspeakers are a definite possibility, though.

I appreciate the help, check back this evening if you don't mind me picking your brain some more.

mhardy6647

The AR-2ax in particular is a pretty decent speaker, and all of the AR-2 family have very respectable bass when suitably powered. So... if you have real AR-2 boxes and woofers, you might still have something.

They are the little brother to the 3 and 3a, though... they're not in the same league.

All of these vintage ARs may seem a bit "laid back" to modern ears.

(EDIT: for the record, I have a pair of AR-3 and a pair of 2ax as well; the latter dump finds. Also a pair of Teledyne-era AR-14 two ways, also dump finds).

Ricardo

Funny how they didn't use Hz for frequency, but Cycles Per Second.

mhardy6647

The SI unit is for frequency is 1 Hz (Hertz) = 1 cycle per second -- it didn't become common to use it in the US for audio stuff until the early 1970s, though.

concealer404

Mine definitely aren't anything from that scan. Pics are finally here.

As you can see.... they're pretty "special." They're pretty damn heavy for the size, all drivers are functioning, but i can't explain that little horn-like thing. Original sticker/instructions are on the back of one, shown in pictures.

vc69

Wow, I haven't seen any of those in so long I can't remember how they sound. I seem to remember they were good speakers. I also seem to remember them being power hungry. I definitely remember those angled grills. Wonder what purpose they served?

Edit: Is that a trim knob in the middle of the xover?

concealer404

vc69 wrote: »

Wow, I haven't seen any of those in so long I can't remember how they sound. I seem to remember they were good speakers. I also seem to remember them being power hungry. I definitely remember those angled grills. Wonder what purpose they served?

Edit: Is that a trim knob in the middle of the xover?

Yeah, it's for treble.

They sound strange to me... Not "bad," really... just strange. They sound like they're from a long bygone era (which they are) and everything just sounds... different. Hard to explain. Everything is clear on them, and the bass isn't bad, they just almost sound hollow for lack of a better word. I'm sure the crossovers need to be rebuilt.

I'm trying to figure out if they're worth restoring. The cabs don't look too great from the outside, but they're solid with no water damage or expanding anywhere, just damage to the veneer only. I could refinish them without too much hassle, but i'm worried about trying to find replacement woofers.

Do you know what they are? Obviously, the sheet says they're AR-2s, but i haven't been able to find a picture of anything like them yet.

mhardy6647

The "tweeter" module has been removed and replaced with those things...
AR sold an upgrade kit for the AR-2 to make it (IIRC) essentially into a 2ax, but this ain't it.

The angled grilles aren't original; they look like grilles of mid/late 1970s Marantz "HD series" speakers.

The crossover panel looks like no AR-2 or 2ax I've ever seen (not that I've seen that many).

Boys, it looks like we've got us a pair of Frankenspeakers. They probably won't have the vintage AR sound with a horn in there. They might sound fine, but nothing like a member of the AR-2 family ('cept under a couple of hundred Hz).

They probably sound hollow because neither of the added on drivers has much MR output, nor does the woofer.

concealer404

mhardy6647 wrote: »

The "tweeter" module has been removed and replaced with those things...
AR sold an upgrade kit for the AR-2 to make it (IIRC) essentially into a 2ax, but this ain't it.

The angled grilles aren't original; they look like grilles of mid/late 1970s Marantz "HD series" speakers.

The crossover panel looks like no AR-2 or 2ax I've ever seen (not that I've seen that many).

Boys, it looks like we've got us a pair of Frankenspeakers. They probably won't have the vintage AR sound with a horn in there. They might sound fine, but nothing like a member of the AR-2 family ('cept under a couple of hundred Hz).

They probably sound hollow because neither of the added on drivers has much MR output, nor does the woofer.

Well that's the wierd thing... i think the crossover panel looks right. It matches the instructions on the sheet of paper on the back.

Looks like i should take these apart and see what's in them, huh?

I'll do some surgery tonite and post some pics. Maybe there will be decent tweets back there or something. That would be fun.

mhardy6647

The XO panel might be original and yours might be significantly older or newer than the single AR-2 at Casa Hardy.

The dome driver is making me think of the 1970s-90s era Radio Shack "hard dome" tweeter -- but I could be dead wrong about that.

The little horn is not ringing a bell at all...

concealer404

mhardy6647 wrote: »

The XO panel might be original and yours might be significantly older or newer than the single AR-2 at Casa Hardy.

The dome driver is making me think of the 1970s-90s era Radio Shack "hard dome" tweeter -- but I could be dead wrong about that.

The little horn is not ringing a bell at all...

With how "messed up" they are, are these even really worth messing with do you think? I'd be interested in restoring them back to original if the parts can be found for decently cheap.

Do you think i could find out about when they were made by the serial number?

mhardy6647

concealer404 wrote: »

With how "messed up" they are, are these even really worth messing with do you think? I'd be interested in restoring them back to original if the parts can be found for decently cheap.

Do you think i could find out about when they were made by the serial number?

1) Well... something worthwhile could be done with them; they're nice boxes (and nice woofers, too, actually) and the price was right! So... maybe. Take a look at the "Econowave" thread at AK; these might be great candidates, actually!

2) There is probably a database of S/Ns at www.classicspeakerpages.net and/or information on the forums or elsewhere there. I do suspect those are very early ones; I can post a photo of my single AR-2 anon (I don't remember if it has the information sheet on the back any more or not).

mhardy6647

If they were ordinary AR-2s, this wouldn't be a bad thing to do to them. :-)

concealer404

^haha, i agree. Strangely, there is a pair of super tweets for sale on CL near me. I'm still undecided what i'm going to do with these...

For the life of me, i can't seem to find my flathead, so i can't even dismantle these things right now. Infuriating.

But i was almost thinking about making a set of "sleeper" speakers. Leave them looking terrible, but behind the grills, put some decent modern components and see what happens.