I've been wrestling with a pair of AR3a's for some time. Aside from their bass reach, I've always thought they were overrated. There were all kinds of interference effects because of the
haphazard driver layout, and the crossover didn't amount to much. I always thought they had kind of a gooey coloration with a general lack of transparency.
I agree. In fact, the list of "vintage" speakers that I was ever impressed with is very short, and none of the ARs were ever on it. My list would include:
- Quad ESL63 - an amazing accomplishment, if you could afford them and put up with their idiosyncrasies.
- Other ancient electrostatics, like the KLH 9 and the Acoustat, ditto on the caveats, especially their lack of ability to play loudly.
- Apogees, any of them, but particularly the Apogee Scintilla. They still compare well to most modern speakers.
- ADS L1530 and L1590. IMHO, in their day (the 1980s), the best-sounding box speakers I had heard in that decade.
Modern speakers blow old speakers away, IMO. I've never understood the fascination with vintage speakers. It reminds me of people who are fascinated by stock 1960s muscle cars - I don't get it.