The AR15 was made in the late 70s and used what was known as an acoustic suspension design. This basically means that the speaker doesn’t have a tuned bass port so is an air tight (mostly) enclosure.
The problem with this speaker was one of the binding posts had rusted solid so you couldn’t clamp the speaker cable to it. Due to its rusted up nature it was difficult to remove!
A few magic tools had the old binding posts removed and new banana posts fitted.
So, what do these old AR15 speakers sound like? Very good, I had some of the smaller AR18s back when they were new and they were excellent. Like the AR18, these AR15s use an 8″ woofer but in a bigger cabinet.
If you’re looking to buy old AR speakers the foam around the edge of the woofer falls apart over the years so check before you buy. They can be repaired or alternative woofers fitted.
The bottom left image shows part of the crossover network fitted to the inside back panel. All the glue was put there by AR, presumably to stop it rattling with the bass as they don’t seem to have used a PCB.
If you need some HiFi / audio equipment repaired or checking over please contact me for a quote.