Which speakers are these? I think these are Acoustic research but don't know the exact model.

[salmanzulfiqar]

 

[Al ears]

Welcome to the forum.What makes you think they are Acoustic Research?
These would normally be labelled AR somewhere in most cases.
Why do you need to know?

 

[GSV Ethics Gradient]

They aren't AR18BXs - I had a pair and the front baffle wasn't recessed. But the drivers look very similar.

Al - IIRC the label at the top will identify them as an AR model.

 

[salmanzulfiqar]

Welcome to the forum.What makes you think they are Acoustic Research?
These would normally be labelled AR somewhere in most cases.
Why do you need to know?

Thanks! A friend told me these were for sale but didn't tell me the exact model as he didn't know. Wanted to do some research on the speaker. He just knew these are AR speakers.

 

[salmanzulfiqar]

Thanks! A friend told me these were for sale but didn't tell me the exact model as he didn't know. Wanted to do some research on the speaker. He just knew these are AR speakers.

I wanted to confirm that these are legit and not a DIY copy.

 

[salmanzulfiqar]

They aren't AR18BXs - I had a pair and the front baffle wasn't recessed. But the drivers look very similar.

Al - IIRC the label at the top will identify them as an AR model.

How was the sound of the AR18s? I might go audition these ones soon.

 

[salmanzulfiqar]

Confirmed that these are AR22bx.

 

[My2Cents]

Confirmed that these are AR22bx.

How did you come to that conclusion?
I've never seen 22bx's with deep set baffles like that.
It looks like someone took the original speakers and enclosed them into another box.

 

[salmanzulfiqar]

How did you come to that conclusion?
I've never seen 22bx's with deep set baffles like that.
It looks like someone took the original speakers and enclosed them into another box.

The seller communicated this. You're right, the deep baffle does look suspect.

 

[salmanzulfiqar]

The seller communicated this. You're right, the deep baffle does look suspect.

The veneers are also mismatched.

 

[salmanzulfiqar]

How did you come to that conclusion?
I've never seen 22bx's with deep set baffles like that.
It looks like someone took the original speakers and enclosed them into another box.

Have you had the chance to hear the AR22bx's?

 

[nopiano]

How did you come to that conclusion?
I've never seen 22bx's with deep set baffles like that.
It looks like someone took the original speakers and enclosed them into another box.

Good spot, it’s certainly a huge bezel/surround. Will be awful for the dispersion but obviously the colour mattered. It takes all sorts, I guess?!

Never heard these later models but have fond memories of the original 1970s models, and the later AR18 series that was a best budget buy.

 

[My2Cents]

No I have not heard them. The 22bx was released in 1988 just before AR was sold to Jenson. They did not look like that.
Many AR's around this time were manufactured by Teledyne in the UK (and other non USA locations) and incorporated plastic coned woofers (which these appear to be)... some even had ported cabinets!
The 22bx was not really a classic AR speaker.

The 'Classic' AR's have the cream weave speaker cloth and lots of big paper stickers on the back which state exactly what they are (along with instructions on how to use them). They also have lots of tape and stuff on the front baffle, often including tape covering the wiring to the tweeters. They all suffered from foam surround rot and any that still exist in working order will have had the foam woofer surrounds replaced... many have had the woofers replaced with non original drivers.
These things look very 'iffy'. If you can't get to see them in person I would avoid.

 

[Al ears]

How did you come to that conclusion?
I've never seen 22bx's with deep set baffles like that.
It looks like someone took the original speakers and enclosed them into another box.

That's what I thought....

 

[Al ears]

The veneers are also mismatched.

Personally I would avoid as well......

 

[Al ears]

They aren't AR18BXs - I had a pair and the front baffle wasn't recessed. But the drivers look very similar.

Al - IIRC the label at the top will identify them as an AR model.

Which label?
There should be a big one on the back and AR logo somewhere on them. Cannot see that here.
They don't look kosher....

 

[GSV Ethics Gradient]

Which label?

There's a gold label above the tweeters.

 

[GSV Ethics Gradient]

How was the sound of the AR18s? I might go audition these ones soon.

Haven't owned them for decades, and never had decent kit powering them so my opinion isn't worth a lot here I'm afraid. They were very well thought-of, which is why I bought them. Lawks, that must be the best part of 40 years ago...

 

[GSV Ethics Gradient]

It looks like someone took the original speakers and enclosed them into another box.

The holes the grilles are not entirely visible, so you're right.

 

[Al ears]

There's a gold label above the tweeters.

Difficult to make out but not where AR would have put one.

 

[My2Cents]

They do indeed look like these AR22bx's pictured below and the label looks correct (1988 model possibly made in the UK or the Netherlands).
However, with what you stated about the grill attachment holes being partly covered, it definitely seems like someone has enclosed the entire speakers into a second home made 'cabinet around a cabinet' that encloses the original speakers.
I'm looking at what looks like the home made speaker stands that he/she has them on and so perhaps the same person made those speaker stands too?

 

[GSV Ethics Gradient]

Difficult to make out but not where AR would have put one.

I'm pretty sure that's where they were on mine 18s - but the amount of time elapsed makes me stop short of saying it's definitely the case!

 

[GSV Ethics Gradient]

Here we go:



I'd forgotten about the rectangular tweeter mount - so clearly best not to trust my memory entirely. I do wonder what they would sound like hooked up to good kit.

 

[nopiano]

Here we go:

View attachment 6417

I'd forgotten about the rectangular tweeter mount - so clearly best not to trust my memory entirely. I do wonder what they would sound like hooked up to good kit.

That’s curious, because the previous picture doesn’t show that. Maybe it’s a waveguide and the circular tweeter lies beneath? Or one is a mark 2 model maybe?

 

[GSV Ethics Gradient]

That’s curious, because the previous picture doesn’t show that. Maybe it’s a waveguide and the circular tweeter lies beneath? Or one is a mark 2 model maybe?

Apparently previous picture is a 22, not an 18.