[jazzcourier]

During my usual dog walk this morning i noticed an estate sale around the corner.My Border Collie Laddie and i spied some lp's.........yikes,some amazing stuff,original Jazz,RCA shaded dog classical,interesting pop stuff-30 years old.all in great shape.So i bought 57  for 60.00.There are two lps in there worth over 60.00 each! The music system was some jet trash but my eyes locked in on these floorstanding speakers......Hmmmm...AR 90 ? We rushed home and onto the internet we went....I was back there in 5 minutes with more cash....not sure what she would want for them....she said two for 50.00!!!!!!!!!!!!
Another 5 minutes and they are in the back of the trailblazer.I dollied the beasts into the den not sure what i was going to hear.Hooked them up to my second system-McIntosh MC 162 and C41 with a Jolida cd player.I was a little taken aback.............they sounded fabulous.The speakers i use on this system are some Sonus Faber Grand Piano's,nice speakers,i don't want to jump to any conclusions but this could be a horse race.
       Anyone familiar with these speakers? I see one pair today on Audiogon for 750.00 obo........Question...i have looked at the specs for these speakers online and viewed the manual.They are 4 ohm speakers...My amp is set for 8 ohms and it appears i can reset to bridged mono mode for a 4 ohm load.This is one amp,not monoblock configuration.Having never fussed with this setting and i would double the wattage i am curious if this is a smart move,and how will it effect the reproduction? Anyone heard these speakers and have any comments? Looks like production dates to 1979 on this pair.This was amazing luck and so close to my house! Thanks for looking!

[marvda1]

if you bridge the amp it would be a mono amp, you then need two of them for stereo.

[jazzcourier]

Thanks- That is what i figured and wanted to confirm with the intelligentsia.

[Ericus Rex]

How about some pics?     aa

[Nels Ferre]

Hi,

Nice Find!  That stuff never happens to me. 

A bit of clarification on your McIntosh MC-162. A nice amp, I owned one years ago. In stereo mode, your amplifier is rated at 100 watts per channel into 8 ohms. It is rated at 160 watts per channel into a 4 ohm load (like your "new" ARs.)  If I remember correctly, the meters on the amp are referenced for a 4 ohm load- I believe the 0 dB mark is also showing 160 watts.

The amplifier can be bridged mono for 350 watts into 8 ohms. Of course, you would need another identical amplifier. I am not sure if a 4 ohm load is OK of the amplifier is bridged. If you want to go this route, consider calling McIntosh and ask their advice.

Enjoy!
Nels

[jazzcourier]

For every one hundred estate/yard/tag sales i have stopped at there might be one great deal...You just have to keep looking.I am tempted to buy another McIntosh amp[used] to bridge these for these speakers.They sound that good! All praise to these "beastmasters" who will be off to Speaker City in Burbank for some re-foaming and a physical.30 years old and really have not been played for 14 years since the death of his owner.I went back today and bought a Yamaha receiver/amp,a Scott cd player and a Yamaha turntable with an Ortofon cart.30 bucks for those three items and they threw in a Yamaha cassette player on the deal.I bought the rest of the records for 20 bucks [about 150] and in the records i found a booklet listing every record this guy owned,the category and a complete schematic detailing his system and the connections.he had long lengths of rca's coupled together and spades attached to raw speaker wire with scotch tape.Somehow i missed the Beta tape player on this deal! I guess he died about a year after i moved into the neighborhood.
My wife is enjoying her new Yamaha/Scott with some Infinity bookshelf speakers[20 bucks]-8 " woofers and 1" tweeter, in her sewing room.Total cost -about 40 bucks-actual value-priceless!
Problem is she is already asking for an upgrade on the ic's and speaker cable.I'll just get the scotch tape..................

[Don_S]

For every one hundred estate/yard/tag sales i have stopped at there might be one great deal...You just have to keep looking.

Thanks for reminding me I need to update my will with instructions on how to sell my system.  I would roll over in my grave if my gear was sold in the driveway for pennies on the $$$.  My sister would not have a clue what things cost---and most likely would not believe me if I told her.   

[ecramer]

For every one hundred estate/yard/tag sales i have stopped at there might be one great deal...You just have to keep looking.

Thanks for reminding me I need to update my will with instructions on how to sell my system.  I would roll over in my grave if my gear was sold in the driveway for pennies on the $$$.  My sister would not have a clue what things cost---and most likely would not believe me if I told her.   

Lucky for me my brother is very tight and while  he has no interest in owning my system he knows it worth quite a bit and wouldn't yard sale it