AR-3a loudspeakers - $500

[dingus]

i'm acting as a broker for a recently retired acquaintance who wants to sell his AR-3a's. they are functionally perfect (he's an electronics instructor and knows his way around a loudspeaker), pots are clean and noise free, surrounds intact without signs of deterioration. cosmetically they have some fairly minor water stains on the tops, but are otherwise in good shape. local to the Seattle area is preferred, but shipping is always a possibility.

 

[jaetee]

I've never heard these...

Always been curious about A/R. These seem to have quite the reputation.

I am pretty sure there is a pair available at the local flea market for $100. They might be AR-4's...

 

[orange]

I got mine for $20 at a local auction and sold them dirt cheap a few years ago, one thing I wonder why I did. They are neally nice sounding, although I've never seen them without a cover.

I don't get the prices they seem to fetch lately though. $200 seems more likely and it's not because I'm cheap.

 

[dingus]

I got mine for $20 at a local auction and sold them dirt cheap a few years ago, one thing I wonder why I did. They are neally nice sounding, although I've never seen them without a cover.

I don't get the prices they seem to fetch lately though. $200 seems more likely and it's not because I'm cheap.

live and learn....

$500 seems to be the norm for a decent pair in these parts.

 

[orange]

live and learn....

$500 seems to be the norm for a decent pair in these parts.

I'm glad then to have had the last 32 years of my life to be cheap I guess. Hope he makes his payments on whatever he's selling them to cover, I'm still 51 and change in the hole on the power and that's what the TT was for. Our CL is not very helpful.

 

[Gepetto]

The AR-3's are the real keepers...Acoustic Research did what every other successful company does, they let the beancounters in. The 3a's you would think would be new and improved but really they were not. They moved to foam surrounds which do not have the same compliance as the original cloth surrounds on the 3's, thus a more constricted throw. Plus most 3a's you see have been refoamed because early foam surrounds rotted out so quickly.

If you see a nice pair of 3's for a reasonable price, snatch them while you can. Fewer and fewer out there and prices keep going up. The 3's were the studio standard everywhere back in the late 60s.

They are very heavy (1" thick ply construction) so they are difficult to ship.

 

[dingus]

The AR-3's are the real keepers...Acoustic Research did what every other successful company does, they let the beancounters in. The 3a's you would think would be new and improved but really they were not. They moved to foam surrounds which do not have the same compliance as the original cloth surrounds on the 3's, thus a more constricted throw. Plus most 3a's you see have been refoamed because early foam surrounds rotted out so quickly.

If you see a nice pair of 3's for a reasonable price, snatch them while you can. Fewer and fewer out there and prices keep going up. The 3's were the studio standard everywhere back in the late 60s.

They are very heavy (1" thick ply construction) so they are difficult to ship.

the AR-3 was the first (and is quite possibly still the only) loudspeaker put on display at the Smithsonian, and for good reason. that said i think the preference for the 3 over the 3a, and vice-versa, is about equally divided. if i am not mistaken, the 3 tweeter was not as robust as the 3a, which makes them harder to find in functional condition.

 

[dingus]

these are have sold!

 

[nakdoc]

I have a consignment pair of AR 3 s. The cabinets were red maple but 3 sides were painted beige. Grilles are rough. Yes the 3a had a better tweeter. I did not know the 3a had a foam surround. Bummer.

 

[Gepetto]

Yeah unfortunately most AR-3s are rough at this point in their life.