JBL AR-3a

Correction first: the AR-3a was not a JBL product. Acoustic Research, Inc. made it, and it appears in no JBL catalog or period JBL literature. If a JBL-branded AR-3a exists, it has left no trace in the sources available to this archive. What follows is the documented history of the Acoustic Research AR-3a, which is likely the model actually being sought.

The AR-3a was a 3-way sealed acoustic suspension loudspeaker introduced around 1967. It succeeded the AR-3 and sat at the top of AR's line until the AR-3a Improved. It used a 12-inch woofer with a treated cloth surround, plus dome midrange and tweeter drivers - a setup credited with popularizing dome drivers in consumer speakers. The crossover was a Butterworth 12 dB/octave design with points at 575 Hz and 5 kHz. Nominal impedance was 8 ohms, sensitivity was rated at 86 dB/W/m, and frequency response ran from 30 Hz to 20 kHz. Each cabinet measured 14" W × 25" H × 11.5" D and weighed 48 lbs.

The AR-3a was a reference speaker in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and the record shows it. Audio (September 1970, p.69) reported that four Japanese music critics rated the AR-3a best among fifty domestic and imported speakers. It saw professional use too. Composer/arranger Don Ellis ran a pair in his studio alongside an AR turntable, an AR amplifier, and a JBL 630 amplifier, as noted in High Fidelity (January 1970, p.11). Heathkit offered the AS-103, a kit version that used the three AR-3a drivers in a sealed enclosure, advertised in High Fidelity (June 1971, p.99).

No original retail price is documented. On the current market, examples typically list between $500 and $1,200 depending on condition. Common problems are deteriorated woofer surrounds and dried-out crossover capacitors, which dull the high frequencies. Recapping is the standard fix.

Known specifications: