Clear dialogue sloping side for beneath tv positioning

not musical at all distortion present when using as a music channel

Got married, had to purchase my center and rear surrounds on a budget so I went with this AR model. The sloping top allowed me to flip the center speaker so the drivers are angled up, since my speaker is placed below the TV. The sound quality for movies is decent, dialogue is clear, does not have good music quality though. Don't ever try to use it as a musical speaker, lot's of distortion even at moderate levels when playing anything with bass. ie, classical, rock, jazz, R&B. Overall I am pleased with the quality/value but if you can afford something better, don't think this speaker is a bargain, you get what you pay for.

Similar Products Used:

None

Great sound stage when using similar speakers. Good voice reproduction.

Can you believe they sloped the top?

I like this speaker!! Dialogue is clear and crisp voices seem to pop out. It did harsh before broken, as stated in the other posts, but once it had time to break in it sounds fine. It sounded much better after I used th EZ SET feature on my H/K receiver. I'm using it with AR PS318's up front and PS2062's in the rear. All of these speakers match perfect!! I love Acoustic Research!!

Durable construction, Binding posts, Rubber surrounds on the woofers.

Lack of internal dampening material, but that can be fixed.

I bought this center to match the 4 AR 2052's that I purchased at the same time. I got all 5 for $19 a piece for a total of $95 not including shipping. I was dissapointed at first with the center. It seemed to not have the mid range and the bass was loose. I thought the 2052's and the 25 center should sound better. I took one of the 2052's apart and was surprised to find just a 2"x4" piece of fiberglass attached to the back of the speaker behind the woofer. I went to the store and bought a $4 bag of poly fiberfill and stuffed each speaker about 2/3's full. I hooked them back up to my Denon receiver and I can honestly say that was the best $4 I have ever spent. The midrange came in and the bass tightened up. They all sounded like completely different speakers. If you can find this speaker cheap enough and aren't afraid to do some mods on it, then you can come away with a pretty good sounding speaker for not a lot of money. The center and the 2052's got better in both movies and music in my opinion after I worked on them.

drivers,finish, build quality,binding post In rear. great mids and highs(with tweaking)

bright, a little edgey limited bass.

Decent speaker, I have It paired with 315 HO''s up front. I don''t use It for music so I can''t really tell you how It sounds music wise. But for movies It''s excellent It started off a bit bright and edgey, but my Yammaha reciever offers two things that greatly enhanced this speaker 1)setting the center to small so all the bass Is routed to the subs. 2)The reciever offers a ajustable EQ for the center channel. If your equipment offers similar tweaks for a center channel, this speaker Is definetly a sound inexpensive alternative to a high priced driver.

The grill is very attractive and so it the "wood" finish. Price!

Lower frequencies? A bit harsh. Poor for music.

Decent speaker for cheap, but the top surface is sloped, so dont expect to set anything on it. It has not broken in yet as it seems a bit bright and unrefined. As I got it for 39 bucks, I cant complain, but I am a little disappointed. It seems harsh to the ear and lacking in lower frequencies >= 300 HZ If you just need a cheap center channel, go to Ubid, but dont expect much from this one. Hopefully it will warm up as it is broken in. I use it as my rear center channel with a Denon 2802 AV amp, Wharfdale 7.2 surrounds (19$ on Ubid), Bohlender Graebener 420DX Radia fronts

Similar Products Used:

Bohlender Graebener Radia X1

Great reproduction in Voice.

Not loud enough sometimes however this might be due to the AR S-40 main speakers. 2dB on the receiver fixed this.

The small size and weight work well on or below the TV. The sound is not overly bright and the Dialogue comes alive in Movies.

Similar Products Used:

none never had a center channel