Acoustic Research AR 25
Not much is documented about the Acoustic Research AR 25, and a naming collision makes it messier. The fact sheet has no specifications, production years or design details for this model. The record does show that High Fidelity (March 1980, p.46) reviewed a speaker system called the AR-25. It had a vinyl-veneer cabinet measuring 11¾ by 21½ inches on the front and 8 inches deep, sold for $110, and carried Teledyne Acoustic Research's full five-year warranty on parts and labor.
The same model number turns up much earlier in Acoustic Research's history. In Audio (March 1966, p.52) and again in Audio (August 1966, p.83), the AR-25 is listed not as a standalone product but as a component within the AR-2 series. The AR-2ax is described as "AR-25 plus super-tweeter," with the AR-2x (a new model of the AR-2) shown alongside. This suggests the AR-25 designation originally referred to a driver or a variant within the AR-2 family in the mid-1960s, not the later 1980 budget speaker with the same name. Whether the 1980 AR-25 reviewed by High Fidelity shares any engineering lineage with that earlier AR-2-series unit is not documented.
Here is what can be stated with reasonable confidence, given the sparse record:
- A speaker system sold as the AR-25 was reviewed in March 1980 at $110, in a vinyl-veneer cabinet.
- Its front dimensions were 11¾ by 21½ inches, depth 8 inches.
- It carried a five-year full warranty from Teledyne Acoustic Research.
- An earlier, likely unrelated use of "AR-25" appears in 1966 as a reference point for the AR-2ax (described as AR-25 plus super-tweeter).
Beyond these fragments, almost nothing else is recorded about either AR 25. The 1980 model appears to have been an entry-level offering in Teledyne-era AR's lineup, but its driver complement, crossover and performance measurements are not preserved in the available archive.
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