AR-3A Amp Pairing

I recently inherited a pair of AR-3A speakers in excellent condition, but I have no idea what to use to power them. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

I would love to know the ideal amp (money is no object) as a future goal, but for now if there are any affordable amps that would pair nicely with them, that would be great.

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Pretty sweet pair of speakers, I mean you can look for some vintage audio research power and preamps, that would be pretty sweet imo, would pair really nicely together

Assuming you are in the us and not opposed to buying used? Also money is no object is a strong phrase lol, what type of budget would you actually want to aim for

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Yeah, I’m in US and wouldn’t mind buying used.

I’m curious what the best would be, but I’m not really looking to spend more than $300 right now.

I’m pretty new to the audio world, so I don’t really know where to start. I had watched a couple Zeos reviews for headphones and speakers a while back (ended up with a DAC, amp, headphone stack that I like), so I figured I’d be in good hands if I went to his reddit.

Ah well nvm about my idea lol, but we can get something that would be pretty nice and drive them well

Just curious, what do you have at the moment?

At my PC I have a Schiit Modi + Magni that runs to a pair of Micca PB42X and a Polk Audio PSW10. And for headphones I switch between the AKG K7XX, Hifiman HE-4XX, and Mitchell & Johnson MJ2.

What about some nice 80s Japanese Integrated Amps?
Technics SU-V8 comes to mind, one of the best of its era and a lot of current to keep the 12” under control. There are some great Luxman Lux out there too.

Also a good pick for higher end, although at 300 I think going with a power amp that he could control from his magni might be worthwhile

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I’m pretty open to anything.

I don’t have a lot of space near the PC so I was thinking of a new setup for it in the living room (only thing playing music there is a google home mini).

Also, if you think it’s best to run from the gear I currently have, that’s fine too.

I’ll check out the Technics SU-V8 and Luxman Lux :+1:

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There are a lot of great old Marantz too but they don’t seem as reliable to me.
Accuphase would be God tier with this kind of Amps
Just post some local offerings.

English transistor amps from this era don’t really like 4 ohms. But Quads and stuff are cool too.

Ah ok gotcha, perhaps an emotiva a150 + a topping e30? Although not sure if you plan to use the google home as the dac

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I would say a solid class a/b power amp would be a solid pick here mainly because it can drive them well and provide a clean signal for a good price. Ideally I would want the ar-3a on a nice tube setup or perhaps an accuphase as you say but that’s going to cost too much atm for a good example

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Is it worth saving up for a much nicer amp? It would be nice to run the ar-3a’s at their full potential instead of trying to run them on a budget. And I didn’t expect to have them so I wouldn’t be bummed out if I can’t use them yet.

I mean if you can save for a bit you could look for a nice deal on some higher end gear to get more out of them, but the emotiva is still pretty solid. I do think that ideally for these speakers you would be spending around the 1.5k range for the most bang for the buck way to drive them imo

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Sounds good. Thanks for all the advice, I’ve got some direction now :smile:

I’ll update here when I do something with them!

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There is a Pioneer SX-3700 on ebay for $275 today. It has been recapped, cleaned and lights replaced with LED’s. That would make those AR’s sing. Vintage options like that would be great but only if they have been recapped. Emotiva is a great option for newer gear also.

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So I just received a Sony 6060F tuner that was powering the speakers before I got them.

I guess it’s a little off topic now, but is it worth using the Sony? Also it’s pretty old; does it need restoration for the internals? It looks like excellent condition on the outside.

I believe that unit would be from the early 70’s so it would be a good idea to have a tech look at it. Check out a place called Skylabs in DeMoines IA. They have a FB page and do great work.
They would do a great resto job on the speakers also.

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