Possible AR score?

So I'm looking at one of the local sites seeing if anything interesting is for sale. Of course I have to look at the "Big, heavy speakers" post to see what that's all about. I look at the first picture and see "Acoustic Research" and "Sunfire Technology" on the back of them. So need less to say I call the guy and am on my way to look at them. I should say "on my way to get them" since he isn't asking very much for them. I look at these and the are the AR P315 HO's. I check out the drivers to see if they are damaged, they look fine but he has no way to actually test them...that's why he is asking so little for them (he took them on a trade for a tire?).

So as we start to load these 100 lb beasts into my truck, I notice a hole in the side of the cabinet. It looks like the right height for a door knob to have gone through. He is so apologetic for wasting my time on a damaged, broken speaker that he asks me to help him take them to the curb as he is just going to throw them away.I say I will still take them and he agreed....but refused to take any money for them so into the truck the went.

So now it's time to figure out whether they work or not. I am just going to do a quick patch of the whole for now. The woofer foam on one looks like it just came unglued from the back. The foam is in great condition. Can I just glue that back into place for now until after I see if these actually work? I have never re-foamed before.

I hope these work out an that I ended up with a score.

IIRC, Cary Christie, of Infinity fame, free-lanced designed that line of speakers, for Acoustic Research. Along with Christie, Bob Carver designed the sub-bass system. And as the HO markings suggest, they were high-output, high efficiency speakers. They were supposed to have been decent. I know Crutchfield, here in Charlottesville, carried them at the time of release, but I can't remember if I ever heard them in their showroom! :scratch2:

Get 'em fixed up. They should be worth the effort.

The last AR before they went 100% speakers that look like lamps.

Carver's Sunfire Technology was also used in a subwoofer made by Advent. The SFT logo looks identical. I own one of the Advent subs that I bought new probably 20 years ago. Surprisingly it has been a solid and steady performer all these years. Considering the somewhat sketchy reputation of some of the actual Sunfire subs I've always felt pretty lucky.

This is all to say that chances may be that the amps in your speakers may work quite well for you. Keep us posted.

cubdog

A hell of a haul. I believe these were pretty good speakers.

I'd pull the woofer for the surround repair. While it's out I'd also push out the damaged cab and try to get it back to original position as best as possible, then back it with a piece of 1/4 ply or similar larger than the hole inside.

There was a thread recently about these speakers and recapping the amp.

Glenn

Sadly not up to the quality/sound of their forfathers the original AR9's.
Ive seen these before and they came much later after the been counters started to sharpen their pencils produceing a much inferior product.
I cant see these weighing 100 lbs either,my original 9's weighed around 110 lbs and were taller and wider than these with more drivers..

hunter

Somebody must have barged in like Kramer from Seinfeld to have put a hole in that cabinet with a doorknob!

You will be very pleased with those. The tweeters are very sweet. Those are the same tweeters used on the HiRes powered speakers like the AR1/AR3/AR5 HiRes. Those mid bass units are also very capable by themselves.

The subwoofer amps were licensed to AR by Carver, but they are not true Sunfire amps. They also tend to overheat, so check to make sure they are working properly.

Those woofers look different from other AR powered towers I have seen. Open them up and check the numbers on the back. An AR woofer from that era should start with a 1-. So, "1-11-022-1" etc... If the number varies to far from that format, those are replacements.

Are those the ones from that awesome craigslist ad?

Good score, next time let him pay you to take his stuff.

I've got the non-powered little brothers, the 312HO's...and they are heavy, an honest 70+lbs....they're fantastic speakers, I love them....

for free you got a score....if the amps are working, then jackpot!

but I'm not sure about the woofer. the woofer on my 312's is a smooth poly cone with inverted dustcap. I'm not sure those 15's are original....but they're crossed over low, ~100hz, so if they aren't, these might work OK, or you might be able to source a different driver that will work with that volume cabinet.

Those woofers look like radio shack replacements to me.

cubdog said:

Carver's Sunfire Technology was also used in a subwoofer made by Advent. The SFT logo looks identical. I own one of the Advent subs that I bought new probably 20 years ago. Surprisingly it has been a solid and steady performer all these years. Considering the somewhat sketchy reputation of some of the actual Sunfire subs I've always felt pretty lucky.

This is all to say that chances may be that the amps in your speakers may work quite well for you. Keep us posted.

cubdog

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AR also had a series of subwoofers with Sunfire plate amps built into them. I own one of them, the ARS300 (300wrms), and there was also the ARS500 (500 wrms). Mine has a single, dual coil, downward facing woofer, but the cabinet is ported with 2 rather large ports facing downward from the front at a 45° angle.

It is a nice sub.

Wayner

Looking forward to listening impressions, there's a pair of smaller ones that pop up from time to time around here ...

baco99 said:

Those woofers look like radio shack replacements to me.

Click to expand...

The two woofers in front are original looking, typical of the AR "HO" series. The large side woofer may be a passive radiator if I recall correctly.

'ner

WaynerN said:

AR also had a series of subwoofers with Sunfire plate amps built into them. I own one of them, the ARS300 (300wrms), and there was also the ARS500 (500 wrms). Mine has a single, dual coil, downward facing woofer, but the cabinet is ported with 2 rather large ports facing downward from the front at a 45° angle.

It is a nice sub.

Wayner

Click to expand...

I could be mistaken, but the 15" version might share the woofer with the 315HOs

nope, it's an active woofer....that's what the sunfire amp drives on this model

tyella said:

Somebody must have barged in like Kramer from Seinfeld to have put a hole in that cabinet with a doorknob!

Click to expand...

Or a significant other with a major league arm and no control.

WaynerN said:

The two woofers in front are original looking, typical of the AR "HO" series. The large side woofer may be a passive radiator if I recall correctly.

'ner

Click to expand...

the two mid-bass drivers on the front in the MTM arrangement are the originals for sure, as are the tweeters. The side firing woofers are 15" and should be a smooth paper cone with a graphite impregnated coating on the cone. They shouldn't have ridges like the ones pictured. And those 15" are not PRs, they are driven by 200w "Sunfire" amps on-board.

I have had a chance to check these out and I have one fully functional and absolutely incredible sounding speaker...and one with a hole in the cabinet and no bass whatsoever!!!:tears: The mid's and tweeter work and they sound amazing. And the bass....even with only one woofer working, these things go deep with authority. I can't wait to get the other one re-glued and the amp sorted out.

As for the woofers being original or not....I don't know. They fit perfectly in the recessed cut-out and the plastic cover/trim ring looks like it was designed for it. There are no numbers on it at all. They do have the inverted dust-cap like the originals. Here are some pics. They do have a bit of weight to them though.

As for me saying they weighed 100 lbs and someone saying there was no way....well he was right. depending on what specs you read...they are between 84-95 lbs. Still the heaviest speakers I own thats for sure

i take back what i said, those are probably the originals. replacement woofers would not have had that bucking magnet installed like that.

interesting that the cone is ribbed (for her pleasure). most of the time, they were not. That was a trick that Audiovox/Recoton usually saved for the Advent or Jensen lines.

But the magnet and basket look identical to the 15s that they used on the AR1 HiRes. It's probably the same 4" voice coil too.