Acoustic Research AR - 2, Loudspeaker Pair, Lacquered - Walnut, SN B 20253 - B 20254
Item History & Price
| Reference Number: Avaluer:7116039 | Model: AR-2 |
| Custom Bundle: No | Modified Item: No |
| MPN: Acoustic Research Model AR-2 | Country/Region of Manufacture: United States |
| Brand: Acoustic Research |
Acoustic Research AR-2, LoudspeakerPair, Lacquered-Walnut, SN B20253-B20254, Highly Collectible and Quite Rare in this finish1958Serial Numbers:B 20253B 20254_____________________ AR-2, Lacquered-Walnut Cabinets, SNs B 20253 and B 20254, 1958This pair of AcousticResearch AR-2 speakers is in excellent electro-mechanical condition, verygood-to-excellent physical condition. Thespeakers have excellent sound. Thewoofers produce clean, deep bass with no audible distortion, ...even at moderatelyhigh listening levels, and the tweeters are also fine. The level-control potentiometers are theearlier Allen-Bradley type that are not susceptible to the corrosion issue thatplagued the later AR speakers with loss-contact, drop-outs and so forth. These speakers do not have any of thatproblem, and the controls work for most of the control range without any issuesexcept for very slight drop outs at certain positions. These speakers also have oil-filled surplusmil-spec crossover capacitors, so the crossover values are not susceptible to variation or change. It is remarkable that these speakers, over 60years old, sound as though they were brand new and just out of the box. The sound ischaracteristically AR-2, which is to say that the bass is extremely solid, clean and clear, and the treble is well-defined and smooth without anyharshness. There is no sign ofdried-out woofer skiver, as this would result in loss of bass output. "Bright"they are not, of course, but this was always a characteristic of this speakerwith its smooth, laid-back treble quality. "Quality" of the treble was considered more important than"quantity, " so the speaker's high end was sacrificed slightly inorder to have a smooth, uniform output across the entire midrange and lowertreble. The AR-2 actually"images" extremely well, too, insofar as the tweeters don't havequite the dispersion the later "dome" AR speakers exhibit, but the ARfamily resemblance is definitely there. Themost beautiful thing about these speakers is the cabinet finish itself. These were finished (on three sides).The cabinets onthese AR-2s are generally in excellent condition. They are finished in a beautiful lacquered-walnut, with nearly the equal of a lacquered-walnut steinway piano. Lacquered walnut—as with korina finish—was AR'smost expensive cabinet option and finish at $102.00 each in 1958 (thistranslates into $928.00/each in 2019). AR's cabinet-makersand finishers at the time made the lacquer finishes smooth and flawless, andone must see this finish up close to appreciate the beautiful finish that wasapplied. There are a few small, incidental nicks and scratches, but very few. One side of the cabinet is finished in clear-lacquer-over-pine surface, as the earliest AR-2s and AR-2a speakers were veneer finished on three sidesonly. The reason for this was the factthat the two 5-inch tweeters were horizontally mounted, and for best sound, thespeaker needed to be placed horizontallyon a bookshelf or a table. It wastherefore decided that there was no need to have expensive veneer on all sidessince the speaker's bottom would not show, and this could help keep the cost ofthe speaker in a reasonable range. The grills arerelatively clean and very original in appearance, tight and straight, but onegrill has a tear in it where a child or someone apparently pushed in on thegrill material, causing a slight tear. Someoneaccomplished with a needle and thread could easily pull this back together tomake it nearly as good as new. This isthe only thing that detracts from the originality of these speakers. The grills have never been removed from thesespeakers, and there is no reason to do so. The logos are bright and new in appearance and do not reflect anyoxidation.These speakers havebeen stored in air-conditioned, low-humidity space for the past 25-30 years, and there has been very little deterioration over time. The AR-2 General Description:The AR-2, introduced in 1957, was the second speaker developed by Acoustic Research tobecome the first low-cost speaker to use the patented acoustic-suspension design. When introduced, it was felt that the AR-2could easily be compared with any speakersystem, even some that cost several times as much as the AR-2. The AR-2 had bass response that approachedthe AR-1, and gave up only about ⅓-octave in deep bass when compared to thelarger and more expensive AR-1 model. Thiswas accomplished at a retail price of less than one-half the cost of the AR-1. The AR-2 became aninstantaneous "best seller, " and Acoustic Research was on the way tobecoming one of the most important loudspeaker manufacturer s in the world bythe early 1960s. This speaker was also check-rated by Consumer Reports and placed in the topgroup of speakers tested at the time, surpassing both the KLH Four and the KLHSix in deep-bass extension and performance. AR-2 Technical Specifications:The AR-2 is asealed, acoustic-suspension system, 13.5" x 11" x 24" with a10-inch acoustic suspension woofer using a cast-aluminum frame and an Alnico-5ring magnet with a structure weight of 3.3 lbs. The system resonance frequency was 58 Hz, so the system was downapproximately 12 dB at 29 Hz, and 3 dB down at approximately 48-50 Hz., veryrespectable bass extension. Harmonicdistortion was very low at all frequencies, such that the AR-2 could cleanlyreproduce fundamental frequency tones that mostspeakers of the day were incapable of reproducing. At 30 Hz, an AR-2 produced less than 8%harmonic distortion with an input power of 10 watts rms (quite loud at asteady-state level). For the high-frequencysection, the system uses two 5-inch special cone-type tweeters, mounted at acast enclosure with horizontal angle to splay the output off-axis. The tweeters are treated with a butyl-rubberrim treatment, and fiberglass damping pads were inserted under the conesthemselves to dampen output and to keep the overall response very clean anduniform out to approximately 14-15 kHz, with drop-off in output beyond thatpoint.The crossover inthe AR-2 was a 2-way, LCR-type network with a crossover frequency of 2000 Hz. There was some built-in equalization designedinto the crossover for the tweeters to extend and smoothen the high-frequencyperformance of the 5-inch tweeters. Dispersionwas over a 90˚ horizontal angle, thus the need to mount the speakerhorizontally for best performance. Recommendedamplifier input power was a minimum of 20-40 watts rms. ©ARHPG Development 1999-2019 USPTO AllRights Reserved-COPYRIGHT NOTICE -
All content seen here, including HTML coding, photos, artwork and text contentis copyright protected as intellectual property and may not be used withoutwritten permission from its owner. A Note About Shipping:In the United States, shipment willbe by UPS Ground. These speakers can beshipped to practically any international location via United States PostalService Priority International or Priority International Express Mail. The shipping calculator can help determinethe shipping to nearly any country, but shipping is shown for only one speaker;the cost must be multiplied by two. For example, shipment to France, Germany and England would run approximately $158.00 USD per speaker plusinsurance. To South Korea, shipmentwould be by Priority Mail International, and the amount would be approximately$195.00 USD per speaker plus insurance. To Russia, shipping would run approximately $260.00 USD per speaker, plus insurance. These costs areexclusive of import-duty taxes and fees, which are the responsibility of thebuyer in all cases.
All content seen here, including HTML coding, photos, artwork and text contentis copyright protected as intellectual property and may not be used withoutwritten permission from its owner. A Note About Shipping:In the United States, shipment willbe by UPS Ground. These speakers can beshipped to practically any international location via United States PostalService Priority International or Priority International Express Mail. The shipping calculator can help determinethe shipping to nearly any country, but shipping is shown for only one speaker;the cost must be multiplied by two. For example, shipment to France, Germany and England would run approximately $158.00 USD per speaker plusinsurance. To South Korea, shipmentwould be by Priority Mail International, and the amount would be approximately$195.00 USD per speaker plus insurance. To Russia, shipping would run approximately $260.00 USD per speaker, plus insurance. These costs areexclusive of import-duty taxes and fees, which are the responsibility of thebuyer in all cases.
