Acoustic Research AR3 AR-3 speakers & stands

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Source eBay

For sale is a set of Acoustic Research AR-3 speakers. These have been in my family since they were bought new in probably 1962 or 1963. They were my great uncles and I remember him having these in his home back when I was a child. When he passed away in the late 70's they came to my mom. She downsized about 10 or 15 years ago or so and then they came to me. I need to downsize so I must sell them. They have very close serial numbers of C37598 and C37579. I believe that these are over 40 years old. The cabinets are in amazing shape. The edges and the corners are square and the finish is fantastic. I have taken pictures of all sides, including the bottoms, and you can see t really are only 1 or 2 scratches. On the bottom of one I can see a small chip that's as big as a pencil eraser but that's about it. T is also a bit of roughness on the top of one of them like some slight water damage from a drink or something but you can't see anything and can only barely feel it in a small spot on top. I should add I have NOT polished these with any oils or wood waxes or any other wood finish products before taking the pictures. These are untouched and exactly how they look. All the drivers work and the woofers have a type of impregnated cloth that will not rot out like the foam surrounds. 40+ years old and the surrounds are perfect. The bass is amazing and the sound is smooth. These would be a great compliment to any tube system. I had used them on a Fisher 500 for awhile and the sound was great. The grills are in nice shape and are of some wax covered material or something. It's not just plain cloth but is somewhat stiff and seems more durable than plain cloth. As with most vintage AR speakers, the controls on the back for the mids and highs are scratchy and you need to fiddle with them a bit to get them to work. I have seen replacement pots sold on ebay or you can clean these with deoxit or whatever. I never used them much to adjust the highs and mids. Once I got them set, I left them. If the winner wants the stands I can include them for another $50 plus shipping and they will both be in one box. As for shipping, I'd rather have local pickup on these since they are very heavy and would be expensive to ship. However, if the buyer wants them shipped, I will pack and ship them via UPS or Fed-EX and will include insurance. Insurance costs $1 for each $100 of value. I would need to send in separate boxes (Each probably 20 X 20 X 30 or so) and would need to buy the boxes and some thick hard foam for all 6 sides so a $30 per speaker fee will be added for the cost of the boxes, foam peanuts, and hard foam pieces for all 6 sides. Since I do not have them packed or weighed I have no data to enter in the auction to calculate shipping. I put in an estimate for weight and size so the ebay thing should be close but please do not send payment until I send an invoice. Again, the shipping estimate is per speaker. You would need to double it for the pair. Again, local pickup is fine and free. I am about halfway between Chicago and Milwaukee right off the route 94 expressway. If you think you will be in the Chicago or Milwaukee area in the next few weeks, I'll hold them for you. Please email me with questions. I need to clarify something about shipping. I will ONLY ship to the US and maybe Canada. I will not ship these outside of the US or Canada. Shipping costs to the US will he high as these will be in big boxes and are really heavy. Shipping to Canada will also be high. If you have a shipping firm or a freight forwarder in the US you want to use, I will ship to your freight forwarder in the US and they can ship to your foreign destination. However, the insurance on the shipment is only good from my location to your freight forwarder. For insurance and shipping costs between your forwarder and your overseas destination, you will need to work that out with your freight forwarder. ... read more

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