Hi,
while at a friends house, I Spotted a pair of 'Acoustic Research AR-7' bookshelf speakers. Doing a bit of googling, I was surprised to discover that these are supposedly quite good speakers, praised for flat frequency response and revealing sound. I am wondering how much speakers have developed since the 70's, since if they really are good, revealing speakers, then I would like to use them in a recording studio as monitors, but if 'good' means anything between 120-14kHz by 70s standards, then I might not bother. 🙂 Does anyone know anything about these speakers? And would an old pair be likely in need of £££ of restoration?
Thanks
while at a friends house, I Spotted a pair of 'Acoustic Research AR-7' bookshelf speakers. Doing a bit of googling, I was surprised to discover that these are supposedly quite good speakers, praised for flat frequency response and revealing sound. I am wondering how much speakers have developed since the 70's, since if they really are good, revealing speakers, then I would like to use them in a recording studio as monitors, but if 'good' means anything between 120-14kHz by 70s standards, then I might not bother. 🙂 Does anyone know anything about these speakers? And would an old pair be likely in need of £££ of restoration?
Thanks
http://www.classicspeakerpages.net/IP.Board/index.php?act=attach&type=post&id=4119
http://www.derekspratt.com/PDFs/Personal/Audio/AR-7 Speaker Brochure - 1975.pdf
They probably aren't that efficient by modern standards, & maybe can't handle high levels of extended monitoring...
http://www.derekspratt.com/PDFs/Personal/Audio/AR-7 Speaker Brochure - 1975.pdf
They probably aren't that efficient by modern standards, & maybe can't handle high levels of extended monitoring...
As far as I am concerned nothing old in audio is as good as what is new. The technology has advanced by leaps and bounds and todays better speakers (and electronics) far outshine those of old. There are those who will disagree with this as there is always the "nostalgia" crowd. I love old Ferrarris and Corvettes, they are classic, but can they compare in performance with a moderen one - hardly, not even close. Its ridiculous to believe that after decades we haven't learned a thing or two.
I had one paire bought on 1970's. Very good at that time, but heath make some trouble to suspention material and they are now wasted.
Ignorance is bliss hey? Chris, mediocre at best compared to modern speakers at the same relative price point.
Never owned a pair but I've listened to them.
Ditto any of the local clones from Interdyn
https://www.diyaudio.com/community/...eas-drivers-and-crossover-combination.392191/
I've done quite a few rebuilds of the Interdyn clones for mates.
A bit like comparing a model T Ford to a GT 40 and we've gone well beyond the GT40 in the last 40 years
Seriously, do you know WHO are you talking to? 😱
Hint: besides a long and distinguished Career , he also wrote "the Book", go figure:
Bibliographic information
| Title | Audio Transducers |
| Authors | Earl Geddes, Lidia W. Lee |
| Edition | illustrated |
| Publisher | GedLee, 2002 |
| Original from | the University of Virginia |
| Digitized | 5 Sep 2008 |
| ISBN | 097220850X, 9780972208505 |
| Length | 304 pages |
Sadly no, technology has gone backwards, and one does not have to write a book to know it, in fact writing a book just confirms he or she has not properly discovered the foundations of good audio correctly., which of course should be revisited to republish corrections.
And so, why is it that people, even the younger generation, are so attracted to "vintage" things.
A 25 year old, for instance, weened on earbuds and MP3's, suddenly find themselves awe-struck and drawn to a 1960's or 1970's piece of equipment.... or a set of "real" speakers?
And the on-going "fad" of the "vinyl resurgence" has seemingly came out of the grave to rear its analog head again.
Sadly, this recent series of events has been marred by many cheap knockoff products which can't hold a candle to yesterday's stunning quality, simplicity, and worksmanship, not to mention style.
Today, we've got "digitally enhanced", "encoded", and all sorts of complex workarounds to be able to please the masses.
The bottom line is..... humans hear in analog, sounds are fundamentally in analog, and processing that original sound in order to add convenience to it takes away from what us "old folks" used to immensely enjoy with complete satisfaction before.
Two true-believers patting each other´s back and thinking "the whole World agrees with us" 😉
I bet 100 Million modern Audio devices are sold for a couple dozen "Vintage" ones.
Simple to check, just count how many "vintage" shops are in a City, say New York or LA, and how many selling modern stuff.
Same online.
And how many monthly units does each one sell.
Then count the grand total sales.
Old nostalgic guys might , basically fuzzy fond memories.
Side by side: no contest.
Those old systems were king of the Jungle ... in 1970 that is.
Doubt they reach 1% , if that many.
Just the Spotify App ,each of which is used to stream hundreds of songs,
Or to come back to the original post, check on EBay how many AR speakers have been actually sold in the last year.
Compare that to earbud sales 😉
Or even modern speakers.
A few people, maybe 5% (or 2% ... or 1% ...or less)
I bet 100 Million modern Audio devices are sold for a couple dozen "Vintage" ones.
Simple to check, just count how many "vintage" shops are in a City, say New York or LA, and how many selling modern stuff.
Same online.
And how many monthly units does each one sell.
Then count the grand total sales.
Show them ... I never saw any.
Old nostalgic guys might , basically fuzzy fond memories.
Side by side: no contest.
Those old systems were king of the Jungle ... in 1970 that is.
Compare vinyl sales to I-Tunes downloads, Spotify subscriptions, etc.
Doubt they reach 1% , if that many.
Just the Spotify App ,each of which is used to stream hundreds of songs,
Or to come back to the original post, check on EBay how many AR speakers have been actually sold in the last year.
Compare that to earbud sales 😉
Or even modern speakers.
AR held 1/3rd market share of all speakers sold in the USA, something which has never been repeated by any manufacturer, and likely never will be. .
Perhaps; but that college dorm market niche was very much a US market and no longer exists as it used to.
Nostalgia doesn't sound as good as it used to.
I used to love my IMF Compacts too but I've learnt a lot since the 1970s.
CU L8R
Nostalgia doesn't sound as good as it used to.
I used to love my IMF Compacts too but I've learnt a lot since the 1970s.
CU L8R
No if you read and understand the history, AR did things very different, with making available Listening rooms so anyone interested could hear their product. what you try to diminish as "college dorm market " they also had musicians including orchestral conductors reviewing their products, and endorsing their products..... because they are so good. As example Miles Davis
http://edgarvillchur.com
You're basing old vs new on sales, percentages, mass popularity, of which I can agree with.
And that's a result of marketing of course.
So naturally, when new products are shoved at the public, with some products in effect forced at the masses, those sales figures are going to jump.
Digital TV forced society to buy digital sets, converters, and to ease the pain, was touted as wonderful too.
Similarly, aggressive marketing happened when Stereo was first introduced in 1958, Color TV in the 1960's, and Quadraphonic Sound appeared in the 1970s.
And people, like sheep, are drawn to it.
But all that made people forget past wonders, past products, and here we are at digital zombie-land.
What model Iphone is the latest and greatest these days, with zombies waiting for their next "fix", standing in lines overnight outside the store for that new model.
Tell me that's a normal human behavior - like drug addicts waiting for their supplier.
I've never seen so many people dependent on that device, and at the same time, devoid of what is going on around them.
The bottom line is all about "control".... keeping the masses "fed" and dependent.
However, your single-digit percentages, while tiny, are part of another society that realizes that there's another world out there, and choose to enjoy the clouds in the sky, instead of gluing their eyeballs and minds to a digital virtual world.
Because no matter who wants to argue the point, it's just not normal living, it's not something so wonderful, it's virtual.
I have a proposition for all the knowledgeable AR-7 owners to ship and give away for free 1 pair of this product in good working order to anyone interested in evaluating/owning these. As a result donors may hope for endorsement by the grateful hifi enthusiasts who are yet to become as wise as their fellow more experienced brothers.