Clear and detailed sound. Well constructed box. Absolutely no distortion at high volumes.

A little bass shy.

I purchased the 15s at Etronics and, unlike the previous poster, this product, as all of the other purchases I''ve made at Etronics, was in perfect condition. I live near their store and would rather purchase from them than any other electronics outlet in Manhattan. They also have a 30 day money back guarantee so if you don''t like the product or it is defective you can return it. These are very good speakers which really sound much more expensive than the $200 I spent on them. They are slightly lacking in bass but since I generally listen to classical and opera this is hardly a problem. The detail and definition of the sound they produce is quite good. I was disappointed when I first played the 15s as they didn''t sound open but that has changed since I got them 8 months ago. The sound also improved when I hooked them to a 150 watt amp as opposed to a Yamaha receiver; better bass and definition with the more powerful amp along with smoother and less bright highs. With the proper power source and adequate break in the AR 15s are probably competitive with most speakers two and three times more expensive. An absolute best buy.

Similar Products Used:

Polk, Klipsch, B&W.

pair. Maybe I''m a conspiracy theorist, regardless I don''t trust anyone, and if you read this, and you''re smart, you at the very least will not trust etronics for speakers. The fact that the grills were in perfect shape means that somebody placed the grill over the obviously damaged woofer. This is not the kind of damage that occurs in shipping.

This is not a review of the product, it''s a review of the merchant. So I now have 3/4 of my AR15s working perfectly and am eagerly awaiting my last 1/4--the woofer.

I''m sure these speakers sound great once they are broken in...blah blah blah. I advise anyone looking to purchase these speakers NOT TO BUY THEM FROM ETRONICS!!! The first pair they sent me, the speaker cabinet was scratched (no big deal really). I then removed the grill (which happened to be in perfect condition), and the woofer appeared to be dented from the inside, out. I didn''t bother checking the other speaker; I just sent them back. I got my second pair a week or so later. Both cabinets were in good shape. I removed one grill and Presto! Perfect conditioned speaker. Tested and works perfectly. At this point I felt slightly better about my purchase...that is until I removed the grill from the second speaker. The woofer cone was completely inside-out. UNREAL what this speaker looked like. It was punctured many times (and the cone is made of some tough material). My judgement leads me to believe that this was malicious intent. I''ve never seen a woofer in that shape. So I decided I''m done with etronics. Sent woofer to AR w/copy of sales receipt in exchange for a new one (an extra $12 I didn''t want to spend, but whatever). Before I made any rash assumptions about the tweeter, I tested it before I sent out the woofer (just in case). I plug it in, and sure enough: NO SOUND. It looked undamaged though, so I reached in to see if the wires were attached. The clips were on the tweeter, but the wire was not connected to the tips. So I remove the foam cover from around the tweeter, remove the tweeter, connect the proper wires to the proper clips, test next to my working speaker and both sounded equally as good. Then I had to spend another $8 at hardware store on some spray adhesive that works on foam and wood, etc. So $200 is now up to $220, and its been at least two weeks since I originally ordered the speakers. My theory about etronics warehouse workers: Damaged speakers come back, they either get trashed or workers can take them home. Worker figures out scheme to take a speaker out of box, remove grill, damage a component with the expectation of Joe Consumer to send his speakers back to Etronics warehouse. Worker knows what he''s looking for, also scamming UPS too by the way, finds the box, removes the one good speaker and takes it home. Does the same thing again in the attempt to receive the second perfect-conditioned speaker to match the

good sound production from low to high not challenged by my loud music preference much better than speakers included in most sub satellite packages

like all bookshelve size speakers need help from a sub for true bass

Bottom line the AR-15 speaker has satisfied by expectations. I use these as a part of my home theater set up (but I listen to music much more than watch movies) and they deliver very good clean sound at all volumes. On my Onkyo 696 receiver there is a setting called "direct" where all sound processing is eliminated and the source is heard in true stereo. The AR-15s sound great and this is w/o the support of their AR-2C center, two more AR-15 rear channel or their JBL sub. This is a true test of these speakers as a stand alone component of the described system. The AR-15''s work well in my system as part of the the whole and I would recommend them to anyone.

Nice size, great low bass for the size. Excellent vocals for a 2-way speaker. High frequency is one of the best I have heard. Sweet crisp and clean, and not harsh. Way under priced.

Vinyl finish, These speakers should be real wood veneer for their sound.

These speakers sound really good! Very natural sounding. Real and the imaging is incredible. A steal for the price compared to other brands that are much higher in price. I can't believe the price. $399 a pair. Wow! AR pushes Magalloy material for the woofer and titanium tweeter with a space age diamond hardened surface. Cool and it works for the sound. I am hearing stuff I have never heard before on my cd's, detail in the background and sweet bass. I pushed the bass boost button on my receiver to help the bass and wow! the sound out of these speakers grew to sound like a large speaker and not boomy bass but tight clean and solid bass. I am leaving the bass boost button in. Most times when I have used the bass boost on other small speakers they get mushy and boomy to the point were they muddy up the vocals. Not these speakers. A great speaker! for the money, pleasant nice and I really like their sound.

Similar Products Used:

NHT 1.5's, Monitor Audio 2-way,

Size, sound, price, construction.

Missing that special "something" on the high end.

This is an extremely well designed little speaker. If you place them close to the wall, you'll find that they generate an amazingly mature low end, especially when you look at how small they are. You pretty much have to _try_ to make these sound muddy- there's not a tremendous earth shaking output, but in my small apartment, they fill the room up with plenty of bass.

Aside from the usual gripe about the grills, the cabinets are very well put together. Probably heavier wood than necessary, even- but it only contributes to the speaker's well-defined low end. Finish is nice.

I'm not head over heels about the tweeters. Diamond coated plasma whatever, bla bla bla. They just don't sound that great. Imaging is excellent, but they're missing that sparkle that I love in a speaker. A nice set of 1" titanium domes in there to liven things up, and I'd love this speaker. I'll just have to settle for EQ...

Overall a good buy. Got them for about $250 total at netmarket.com.

Similar Products Used:

Lots

Extended highs, decent base, good build quality, bi-wire/bi-amp.

It's a bookshelf... Need a sub, but there's no other way in this size yet.

For the price netmarket is asking ($229 + shipping and maybe tax) these are definitely a good choice. I ordered mine a couple of days ago and will post a follow-up review soon. They seem to be flat-out the best bookshelf that J&R has on their shelves. Just walk by a couple of Infinitie-s or Bose-s and compare. Knock on them with your knuckles and hear the thin cardboard sound that comes out. Knock on the AR15-s or an NHT or a more expensive ($800 +) speaker and compare: the build of these is much better resulting in cleaner sound. The two sets of gold plated binding posts give you flexibility to hook up and improve the sound (hopefully...). For the price under $250 --> 5 stars. Overall: 3, because they simply ar not a full-range speaker. As someone else said here, if you like "slam" and rap/hip-hop/party music, you'll need a subwoofer. In this case you might be better-off with a big floor standing DCM, Cervin Vega or JVC. Same money, "more" sound (not necessarily accurate, but more...)

clarity;musicality;sharp high end.

Like most decent sounding speakers it makes good recordings sound better and bad reconrdings sound worse.

The 15's make drums sound like drums and guitars sound like guitars. Put on Riviera Paradise from Stevie Ray Vaughan's In Step and you'll hear what I mean. For a speaker of this size at this price the sound is very realistic. The bass is tight, unlike most speakers at this price, and the highs are crisp (maybe a little too bright, but just a little). Just don't expect it to rock the floors in a HT setup.

Let me put this all in perspective by adding that I am currently using these speakers in my office with a JVC head unit and a sony cdp-c260z cd player, i.e. these speakers are not getting a very good input. They still do a remarkable job of creating detailed music though. There is a noticeable difference between these and my B&W Naut 801's I have at home, but that system is in a whole different class than this and it would be unfair to compare the two.

For some people used to more mass consumer oriented products at this price it might not be the best choice. What I'm saying here is that some people have come to like the muddy, boomy bass from the lower end of the audio world. This speaker will not satisfy those people. Buy a big speaker from Carwin Vega or someone like that if you want lots of boom.

For recreating music from a small package these speakers are great.

Similar Products Used:

NHT 1.5's, a variety of Tannoy studio monitors, and some others.

Build,looks,sound & ballsy binding posts!

Nothing at this price.

YO X! If you love the NHT's so darn much,tell us all why
you bought the AR's ???

Similar Products Used:

Dangnear every thing

great base, well build and very clear sound

none that i can tell

i was very suprise at the great sound from such small cabinets at 205 dollars a pair they are a steal

Similar Products Used:

polk10c jbls26

Clarity, detail

can get overwhelming with certain types of music at high volumes.

first of all I want to bring up the quality of drivers, enclosure, and conections used on these spkrs. At this price incredible value.

This review is based on the fact that these speakers are used to their max potential. ie. bi-wired w/ 12 gauge high quality spkr wire, high quality interconnects and yamaha rxv-992 receiver. That said i can honestly say that these things are amazing. The level of detail and clarity is spine tingling. vocals are very accurate. i can listen to these spkrs for hours on end with no ear fatuige. this is extremely important for me. in a large room with a sub these little jems can fill the whole room with a breath taking soundstage. the only time that there size is noticeably limiting is when you have them very loud with distortion guitars going and screaming vocals and the whole deal craziness that happens when the song is peaking.


For dd movies there are exceptional. As mains or surround they bring the action a step closer. However again i must stress the due to there size a powered sub is highly recomend, and a must if you love very loud music.

All in all loud or quiet these speakers will give anyone a great run for there money in value and performence. highly recomended.