If you are looking for this speaker and/or tweeter, odds are you know how special and rare these are. However, in case you don’t know much about these vintage marvels, here’s a little information. The Model AR-1 was unveiled at the September, 1954, New York Audio Fair. It consisted of a 12-inch woofer designed and built by AR. High frequencies were handled by the 755A, an 8-inch full range driver of Western Electric design, produced by Altec. Both units were in a sealed. /4-inch thick plywood cabinet filled with fiberglass. The size was just under two cubic feet with dimensions of 25″ x 14″ x 11, noticeably smaller than other high performance loudspeakers. It weighed in at about 50 lbs. A Model AR-1W (a woofer only speaker) was also produced and was intended to be used with a separate high frequency unit such as the Janszen Model 1-30 electrostatic tweeter. Most impressive was the fact that the Models AR-1 and AR-1W could reproduce frequencies down to 32 cycles per second with very low distortion, something the large mechanical suspension speakers could not do. Among the features of AR woofers built through the late 1960s were a cast aluminum speaker frame, an Alnico magnet, and a treated cloth cone surround for a free suspension. The woofer has an amazing 1.4 inch or so travel and produces really low distortion fundamental frequencies down as low as 20 Hz about 6 db down. This will outperform the vast bulk of the subwoofers made today and runs just fine on a 60W amplifier. This speaker and tweeter work great and produce gorgeous sound. Janszen Model 1-30 – SN 5676 – 7″ H – 23″ W – 9 D. AR-1W – SN 9703 – 14″ H – 25″ W – 11.5 D. The information contained herein is what I have gathered from reputable sources online and from speaking with audiophiles and experts in this field. Feel free to ask questions. I will answer them to the best of my ability. The item “Acoustic Research AR-1W Speaker with Janszen Model 1-30 Electrostatic Tweeter” is in sale since Wednesday, February 10, 2016. This item is in the category “Consumer Electronics\Vintage Electronics\Vintage Audio & Video\Vintage Speakers”. The seller is “bertmack” and is located in Boulder, Colorado. This item can be shipped worldwide.
- Brand: Acoustic Research
- Model: AR-1W
- Country/Region of Manufacture: United States