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Acoustic Research AR-5

Tim Wilmot

Tim Wilmot

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Excuse the crappy photo. Just picked up a nice cheap pair of old Acoustic Research AR-5s. Have been reading up around the web and they seem to be well regarded. These ones are working, but in need of TLC. They will be the subject of a long and carefully considered restoration. For now I am enjoying listening to what 10" woofers in a sealed cabinet can do.

Any info and suggestions would be welcome.
 
At a minimum, use rope caulk for a better seal for the acoustic suspension woofer, clean the grill cloths with a good vacuuming and then apply a 3:1 mixture of water to hydrogen peroxide using a spray bottle with a "mist" setting, apply a light, even application of the mixture to the grilles.

You can lightly sand the cabs with #000 steel wool to smooth and clean them and remove some of the lesser scratches and then use something like Howard's Restor-a-finish to freshen them up and cover some further scratches, and finish off with a coat of Danish Oil or Tung Oil and a good buff with a past wax, and they will look almost new.

Fantastic speakers, btw.
 
Thanks very much for the info. I will have to come to the cosmetic side of things later I think. For now I am focusing on the innards.

The level control pots are shot, unsurprisingly, and replacement 15 Ohm rheostats are not common and priced accordingly! I will assume that the caps in the crossover need replacing as well. The tweeters are non-original replacements and the woofers are at least reconed and probably replacements too. Second hand original drivers are pricey, hard to come by in the UK, and probably out of spec. The 'factory' replacements have an ambivalent reputation from what I can gather.

All in all, I can see why they're not more popular on the second hand market, there's a lot to keep casual buyers away. But even in this state they sound rather good; good enough that the prospect of a sympathetically restored pair is very tempting indeed. These are proper speakers.

And as an aside, I have an ever increasing respect for Edgar Villchur with everything I read about him.
 
I had a pair of these, and ultimately the AR 3a (x?) improved. i also had some of the smaller speakers (AR 2?). they were, i think, the best 'affordable' speakers made in the States during that period.

You might want to look on US eBay, where these, and spares, are more common.

Be aware of the potentially high charges for importing stuff from the USA - but even so it might well be cheaper/quicker/more authentic at the end of the day.

Skyebridge
 
ARs of this vintage seem to polarise people, some love the sound and some loathe it. I find my AR-2axs very pleasant to listen to. Depending on the replacement tweeters and your preference they may be an upgrade.

The pots can often be cleaned or replaced with an alternative.
 
Thanks all.

I had a little dig around in the cabinet at the weekend so here are some more pics...

Replacement tweeters: Tandy/Radio Shack
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Replacement woofers: Also Tandy/Radio Shack
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Back panel serials and testing signatures:
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Bottom of one cabinet... some work to do here
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There are no gaskets at all for the woofers and tweeters. The tweeters are mounted with what looks to be a combination of araldite and putty. I'm amazed they sound as good as they do! But clearly I have work to do. I had a chat with Wembley Loudspeakers, but they are snowed under and can't even look at them until the new year. As the speakers are in a working state this isn't a major problem; it gives me more time to research the refurb. And source a couple of woofers.

My main motivation for buying these was trying to find a resonably priced pair of speakers with reasonable bass output that would happily go against a wall. Moved house in the summer and having to pull the speakers out into the room to get something like a flat response won't work in this room, aesthetically or practically. As even wrecked Tannoys go for £500 these days, if I spend that refurbing these I'll be better off, I reckon.
 
I have had 2 x AR4xs, AR6s, AR16s, AR2xs. At the time, they were any audiophile's dream.
I really can't compare them to anything modern. I presently have a pair of AR4x (the second one) for vinyl duties, and they still sound ok even though the quality of the build finish is, by today's standards, well below a serious DIY project.

AR speakers - until the 16 and the Teledyne era, first half of 1970s - were ideally thought to be engulfed in a large library, evenly surrounded by compacted books; they were thought to perform from a hemisphere. They were voiced for a flat response in free air, so placing them for proper sound is not easy...

Best wishes with them,

Max
 
Hi Tim
Classic Speaker Pages is a site you should visit. There you will find experts on AR speakers and lots of information on refurbishing them
Having said that I think they are more knowledgeable about the US manufactured speakers than the European versions
Best wishes for Xmas and the New year
John
 
Maxbertola said:
They were voiced for a flat response in free air, so placing them for proper sound is not easy...
Click to expand...

Hi Max, please tell me more! My room is very awkward and my understanding was that these would be a relatively unfussy solution...

docstocker said:
Hi Tim
Classic Speaker Pages is a site you should visit. There you will find experts on AR speakers and lots of information on refurbishing them
Having said that I think they are more knowledgeable about the US manufactured speakers than the European versions
Best wishes for Xmas and the New year
John
Click to expand...

Hi John, many thanks. I have been lurking there a bit and soaking up the information on offer. It's a wonderful forum. I will probably post there with some questions in the new year once Xmas is out of the way.

Yank said:
With the replacement drivers they're not really AR7s anymore.
Click to expand...

This is true, I accept. But what is one to do about it? I would restore it back to original spec in a heartbeat, but even unmolested original tweeters are likely to be out of spec by now and no precise equivalent is made. All I can do from here is choose the quality of my compromise.



They're now playing some My Bloody Valentine/Nina Simone/Allegri very nicely, having been unceremoniously shoved into corners out of the way for the Xmas tree. They still sound pretty good.
 
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