In 1973 Dr Sybe Bakker of Stellenbosch purchased an AU amplifier, a Dynaco tuner, an XA turntable, and a pair of AR3a speakers – the ultimate vintage hi-fi system. This purchase was most probably made from the same Cape Town hi-fi shop where I was spending some time a few years later, listening but unable to buy.
Apart from listening to serious music, Dr Bakker's family also learned to treat his components with serious respect, pretty much like he was the only one to push the buttons and turn the dials. Sybe Junior recalls in September 2009, “The system was the absolute ‘Holy Grail’ in the house I grew up in. As kids we were never even allowed near it. It was my father’s pride and joy and I clearly remember many evenings in which we would gather around the system and listen to music for hours”. When Bakker Senior passed away a year or two before the turn of the Millennium, no-one even for a single moment contemplated the possibility of upsetting the status quo. Everything was to remain as it was, the AR's would stay in Bakker domain for at least another decade.
But yet, there were changes. The Golden Age of hi-fi has passed, vinyl was "dead", the new high-tech playback medium was the convenient and data-rich compact disc, and on paper the specifications of classic AR equipment looked sadly out of place compared to Year 2000 electronics; so the only reason Sybe's prized Acoustic Research components survived another decade, was because it was put into storage by his son. So, with no-one flicking any power switches, it just sat there quietly, no sweet sound spilling through the room. That was until August 2009 when my ad for AR equipment appeared on the Gumtree web site.
Sybe Junior saw the ad, and contacted me within a day or two, but I suppose it must have been something of a reflex action, because he appeared nowhere close to parting with the set. “Not sure what your interest is and I’m not certain I want to sell…” he wrote. My reply was to outline the historic importance of the set, and I advised him against selling, to rather restore and enjoy it in all its glory. I would never be able to live with the thought that I scored a bargain by taking advantage of someone not aware of the value of his inheritance. I got no response to my mail, so I assumed that Sybe had decided to follow my advice. Yes, it felt good to have “saved” the iconic hi-fi set of the 20th Century, but I’ll be lying if I say I wasn’t just a bit sad - I could have owned the Best. How cool would it be to again hear that same machinery which set me off on the AR road thirty-four years ago!
But then, most unexpectedly, just about one month later, Sybe puts in another appearance, and this time he turns my world upside down. He wrote, “I've spent a lot of time thinking about the matter and I've, reluctantly in many ways, decided that I cannot ever, due to my lifestyle, do the equipment the justice it deserves.” I was to take ownership, evaluate the set, and pay him whatever I thought it was worth, and with the clear distinction that out of respect for the man who originally owned the equipment, there would be no haggling. The one and only condition would be that the set be cared for and appreciated. It took me a full day to recover, reading his memo over and over. How can anyone not be humbled by such events?
Sybe took a week or two to gather all the pieces and documentation - being guarantees and original brochures. It was a simply stunning find not often encountered by anyone anytime. The first week of October 2009 Sybe dropped everything off at my place of work. It was the greatest day in my AR life - finally, thirty-five later, I again touched those legendary products with which Edgar Villchur changed the course of audio history!
[Individual reports for the Bakker components can be read under their respective headings]
The original layout as offered for international sales, and as purchased by Sybe Bakker in 1973. Bakker's components was a mix of late 1960's and early 1970's stock, because the amp was from the Sixties, and the turntable was manufactured in 1970. In 1970 the AR Tuner of course replaced the Dynaco FM3 shown here bottom left. Bakker's set did include the wooden display unit and walnut case covering the amp, but these unfortunately did not survive.