Acoustic Research: power hungry?

I'm thinking of getting hold of old AR-5's. But my stereo amplifier is rather modest -- 30 watts per channel (tube). I'm guessing the AR-5's might just barely function under those circs? Any information/speculation?

 

AR-5's are fantastic speakers, but they are power hungry. 30 watts will get them up and running, but not at thier full capability. I have AR-3's, AR-2's and AR-4's, and I use them with 200 watts per channel, then they really sound nice and full. You will enjoy your 5's a lot as is, but to really experence them, you need some serious power. The vintage AR's produce a sound like no other. I truly belive that there is no loudspeaker on the market right now, that can beat a working pair of vintage AR-3's 3a's or 5's. The acoustic suspension woofer proudces tight, deep bass. The dome midrange and tweeters produce very smooth sound. The response of the system is nearly flat. Since the woofer in the AR-5 used a foam surround insted of a cloth one, you will probably have to have the surrounds replaced, unless they have allready been replaced by the previous owner. If you need to have them replaced, send them to Bill Miller at Millersound. He specializes in AR woofers, and he does an amazing job, his rates are very good as well. Here is his contact info.
Millersound
1422 Taylor Road
Lansdale PA 19446
Phone (215) 412-7700
Fax (215) 412-0542

 

I use AR-2's as monitors in my recording studio. They need at least 30 watts to sound nice. I use them with a 125 watt per channel Adcom, and they sound very nice.

 

Ben, All acoustic suspension speakers get big base out of small enclosures but at the cost of efficiency. So yes they need a lot of power. The growth of the acoustic suspension speaker industry (AR, KLH, etc.) was made possible in the early 60's by the parallel growth of the high power solid state amplifier industry. To answer your specific question you will need to get some specifications on the AR5.

 

I have all of the specs on all of the AR speakers, if anyone is interested. Also visit http://www.arsenal.net/speakers/ar/classic/classic.htm this is the AR section of the classic speaker pages. There is also a great fourm there.

 

Joe, & everybody, thanks for the helpful info. I don't hope to work them at their full capacity -- I listen at pretty moderate volumes, and bass doesn't obsess me. I'll bet they'd still be better than the recent Wharfedales I'm using now.

 

Yes, much much better!

 

They are good speakers for the 300 dollars or so I paid for them new.

I was in a record store in Cambridge, Mass. recently and they had some old, quite small AR speakers -- probably a 5 inch woofer ... enclosures no more than 20" high. What do you figure those were?

 

I have little AR-4x's that are that hight. They have an 8 inch woofer, and a 1 inch tweeter. I am bringing them to college with me. They sound really nice too. They have lower power handling, I would not go any higher than 100 watts. I power them with a 50 watt per channel Onkyo receiver.

 

AR's have always been referred to as ineffecient. But as Joe mentioned, they are tought to beat. I've had AR6's, 2a's and 3a's. My first hi-fi speakers were the AR-6's back in 1970. I still have a pair today. The 2a's belonged to my uncle, and were the first hi-fi speakers I heard back in the early 60's. I ended up inherited that gear, along with his nifty Sherwood tube integrated amp and tuner. Pretty cool stuff indeed!

Back them conventional wisdom amongst the uneducated was to get large speakers rather than small. I rejected this and bought the AR-6's. They didn't play loud and have lots of bass like most larger speakers, but when there was really bass on the program material, the speakers did an amazing job, depending on placement, of course.

Besides that, these speakers were very natural sounding without hype so common back in those days.

 

Thats a tough one. Its hard to compare them, because they all sound so good. I would have to say the AR-3a is my favorite of the AR 3 way speakers. The AR-2 is my favorite of the two ways. The AR-4x is my favorite small AR speaker.

 

3a's for sure, here. When I got my pair back in 72, with Marantz 2270 and Thorens TD-150 I though I had finally arrived in hi-fi land.

 

Yep - power hogs that drove the transistor amp power frenzy in the very late 60's and continuing today...

 

Joe, which Onkyo receiver?

 

Joe, I truly believe you must've listened to an awful lot of speakers to make a statement like that.

 

That will be fine, the AR-2ax is indeed 3 way, it is a bit more efficient than the AR-2. Its basicly an AR-5 with a higher crossover point. When I got my AR-2's, I was driving them with a 16 watt per channel Eico tube amp, and they sounded wonderful. You will really like the sound. AR said that the minimum power requirement for the AR-2 series was 15 watts. They also said that use of "modern day" power amps rated at 60-100 watts will not cause a problem with AR speaker systems. The AR speakers have very good power handling. The AR-9 was probably the most power hungry of all of the models, with its dual 12 inch acoustic suspension woofers. It had the ability to be vertically bi-amped. A popular setup is 400 watts for the top and 400 watts for the bottom, however, you can get away with around 100 watts non bi-amped.

Go for the AR-2ax's, you wont be sorry. Just be ready for the pots on the back to be a bit scratchy, exercise them, and then find the spot where they sound most natural to you. If the woofers rattle, dont worry, the spider has come lose, it is really easy to glue back down.

A bit about my AR-2's, they were my grandfathers. He purchased them in 1959. The AR-2 was AR's second model, introduced in 1958, and was the official loudspeaker of the Newport Jazz Festival. Louis Armstrong had a pair, and AR advertised with him quit a bit.

For manuals, specs and such, visit http://www.arsenal.net/speakers/ar/ar.htm this is a great AR resource




(My avatar is an AR-3)

 

The TX-8211. Its a great sounding little receiver. I drove my AR-2's with it for a while too.

 

I have indeed. The response of the AR speakers is like no other. The AR-9 is probably the greatest speaker ever made by anyone.

I have yet to hear tight, deep bass from a ported loudspeaker. Most loudspeakers today are ported, and the ones that are not, are plastic junk. AS enclosures must be wood.

 

The magnets on AR woofers are very large, they act like heatsinks. This contributes to thier high power handling. Another reason for thier great power handling is that they use aluminum voice coil formers, insted of paper. Most speaker companies were using paper formers at the time.

Here is a pic of the AR-3/3a woofer.

(can you tell Im an AR fan yet?? )

 

My very first system consisted of AR-5's powered by a Marantz 40 wpc receiver. They sounded great - and I had plenty of power as they were in a small room. In a larger room, you indeed would want more watts.

Kinda sorry I sold the things. Sure would be interesting to hear them again.

 

Exactly how many ported loudspeakers have you heard?

 

Too many to count. I just dont like the sound of ported speakers.