AR3 vs AR3a

[audio]

I'm thinking of picking up another pair of smaller speakers for a second system and I am curious about the AR3a. The older AR3 has a larger magnet. Can anyone comment on the differences between the two in terms of which is a better sounding speaker?

[namretsam]

The 3a has a better tweeter but even with that these speakers will still have almost nothing over 8k. Although some here might think that is a asset. Also the crossovers will need all the caps replaced. If they haven't been already.
I have had a lot of these different vintage speakers around the house but usually more because they look cool than sound great. But most of them, if cared after, do sound good. You would probably be happier with a clean pair of wood- cabinet (and rebuilt) Large Advents. I feel they split the difference between the old and new world. At least they go up to a least 12 k.....

[Angel]

Hog-poo poo. Our AR3a's have been tested up to 17k in the tweeter section. There is a slight dip in the 8kc range which is probably throwing you off here.

The AR3a is a wonderful speaker but very prone to blow-ups. They can not be played too loud. And, ironically, they needs gobs of power to work correctly. 75 watts at least I think.

[indy mike]

Ah, the speakers (acoustic suspension) that caused the horsepower wars for amplifiers...

[Shakey]

I've owned a few pairs of the Large Advents as did many of my friends back in their day. Some of my friends owned AR's and one still does, which model I am not sure, they needed the surrounds to be replaced like Advents seem to.

But... I recently purchashed some Dynaco A-25's, for a second system and will never look for Advents after hearing these. They don't seem to need too much power either.

I remember having problems with the voice coils in the Advents, overheating then swelling and causing a scraping sound until they were repaired/replaced.

I also owned the KLH 17's I think and they had problems with the tweeters and sometimes the woofer burning out.

I really like the A-25's and they don't seem to be prone to the problems these others seem to plagued by.

[JohnnyK]

Go here for information on the AR3/AR3a speakers:
http://www.arsenal.net/speakers/ar/classic/ar-3/ar3.htm

I have a pair of AR3a speakers that I purchased in 1974. The foam on the woofers have been replaced, the L-pads have been replaced, the tweeters and midrange drivers have been replaced with Dynaudio drivers and the caps in the crossovers have been replaced.

These are very power hungry speakers. If you clip your amp you will damage the tweeters. Motown used to use AR3a speaker to mix their music in the 1960's. They had boxes of replacement drives on hand to replace damaged drivers. One day they set one of the woofers on fire.

Keep in mind that these speakers were designed in the late 1950's and that their crossovers are pretty primitive.

I have disconnected the tweeters and midrange drivers and I use the AR3a speakers as subwoofers. They are driven by NHT subwoofer amps.