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AR speakers made in Great Britain

Chris

Chris

pfm Member
Anyone know which AR speakers were "engineered in Great Britain", presumably by Teledyne. That´s what the 1960s style Union Flag label says on the back of a pair I have come across here in Tenerife. Not a clue as to model number. Can I assume the grilles can be prized off with the back of a knife blade or something similar, supposing the four corner pegs have "self-welded" to the baffle.
Of course, I am assuming that engineered means the same as made. Maybe not.
 
As I recall it was mostly the 'BX' series, so 8BX, 18BX, 28BX, 35BX, 44BX, 55BX and 66BX. Brochure here - https://www.vintageshifi.com/repert...php?pdf=Acoustic-Research-AR-LSM-Brochure.pdf

The later 'Spirit' 112/132/142/152/162 models may also have been made here.

Decent speakers and well worth grabbing if they're a good price - the grilles should just pull off. Very prone to foam rot, though and many of the bigger three ways especially seem to suffer from replacement non-original drivers because of this. There's currently a pair of very tempting-looking 55BX's on eBay but not one of the six drivers on the pair are originals!
 
Thanks Craig, thou art a veritable mine of information. Can you cook as well ?

Beobloke. Cheers, The grilles on these cover virtually the whole of the front baffle i.e. you can´t see any wood other than a thin strip at the bottom with the AR Logo centred as opposed to offset towards the right.
 
The UK ones aren’t ARs in any real sense. They appeared in the late ‘80s and were ported boxes designed by a UK designer with plastic bass-mids IIRC. The real ones are all Ed Villchur’s ‘Acoustic Suspension’ infinite baffle designs with paper cones. Great speakers if working as intended, which most aren’t these days.
 
Chris said:
Thanks Craig, thou art a veritable mine of information. Can you cook as well ?
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You should be thanking/complimenting Adam (aka Beobloke), Chris. No doubt he typed all those model designations in off the top of his head.

I could cook, however, I've always managed to end up with partners who do better. I thought the previous one of 23 years a superb chef, however, the current model puts the old one to shame. Gourmet savant, she is, what I like to call 'a keeper', if only she can manage to stand me over the long haul (we're only 10+ years in so far and she hasn't stuck me with a Henckels yet, so that's good).
 
Nothing like an AR thread to spark interest. That´s why I didn´t know whether to say "made" or "engineered" in the UK. These speakers say "engineered by Acoustic Research UK". but I remembered seeing boxes (AR 18 etc) which definitely referred to Teledyne Acoustic Research on the back label which simulated metal rather than a tacky stick on pink coloured Union flag. I´ll have a good look at the weekend.
 
Tony L said:
The UK ones aren’t ARs in any real sense. They appeared in the late ‘80s and were ported boxes designed by a UK designer with plastic bass-mids IIRC. The real ones are all Ed Villchur’s ‘Acoustic Suspension’ infinite baffle designs with paper cones. Great speakers if working as intended, which most aren’t these days.
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All of the BX series are acoustic suspension designs - see the specifications on the last page of the brochure I linked to above. I'm pretty sure the Spirit series are too.
 
Craig B said:
You should be thanking/complimenting Adam (aka Beobloke), Chris. No doubt he typed all those model designations in off the top of his head.
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I genuinely did, although it appears I missed out the 33BX, dammit!

Christ, I need to get out more...
 
Beobloke said:
All of the BX series are acoustic suspension designs - see the specifications on the last page of the brochure I linked to above. I'm pretty sure the Spirit series are too.
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I’m likely getting confused. One of my friends is a real AR fan right back from the ‘70s and always speaks of the UK ones as being awful. He really doesn’t like them at all! His current stash is a pair of 3a, 6, 4, and I think a original pair of 18s, plus the dead donor stuff that all AR fans seem to have by now. He’s on the lookout for a pair of 11s, which I’d very much like to hear.

PS Way back in the early ‘80s I remember borrowing another friend’s pair of AR14s and absolutely loving them. I remember playing Donald Fagen’s Nightfly through them and being stunned by the bass. Just so tight deep and agile. I suspect that was the first time I’d heard a light and fairly large paper cone bass unit in a sealed box. One of those audio events that stuck in my mind forever.
 
Tony L said:
a light and fairly large paper cone bass unit in a sealed box
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Are there any manufacturers today making similar sealed box speakers with large paper coned bass units?

My first speakers, bought in 1978 with the proceeds of a large scratch card win, were the original AR18s and I loved them.
 
hermit said:
Are there any manufacturers today making similar sealed box speakers with large paper coned bass units?
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You have to look hard to find sealed these days, even most of the Audio Note speakers which are descended from Snell have ports now. Very few sealed boxes now once you get beyond LS3/5A sized mini-monitors. A huge shame. Lots of great vintage speakers though. My AR-loving friend graduated to Gale 401s which have a lot of the ‘AR thing’ to them being a sealed box with two 8” paper bass units. Another speaker that takes some serious restoration, but when working correctly are superb.
 
I never got round to building Rob Holt’s AR 22 tributes despite having acquired the BMRs and a pair of original AR 8 inch woofers torefoam. Some day…….
 
hermit said:
Are there any manufacturers today making similar sealed box speakers with large paper coned bass units?
Click to expand...
Not current, of course, but I couldn't bring myself to actually sell my Heybrook HB3s with 10" SEAS drivers, which I now use in my loft system. The bass doesn't go as low as my Tannoys, but it's so tight! Ideal for using just next to/above my neighbours' bed room.
 
I should have added that my first speakers were AR4x bought from an american on assignment in the UK who was returning home. I suspect they were better than I thought since the rest of my system was mediocre at the time.

Thinking that the speakers were the weakest link I changed them for a (bargain) pair of B&W DM2as which didn't really sound much better.

Forty odd years later, and hopefully a little wiser, I hankered after hearing what the DM2s could have done on a better system and picked up a nice pair locally for a good price and they're very good.

I enquired about the effects of tilting the DM2s upwards as B&W suggested many years ago using their custom made low plinths and, among comments from another user, I got a reply from Craig B with dimensions that he'd worked out geometrically from the B&W brochure images!
 
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