Strong defined bass, excellent midrange, laid back highs.

Some people don't care for the low extension of the tweets.

I really got lucky to find these speakers because there are not a lot of high-fi shops that carry them. I auditioned Paradigm and Klipsh and all I got out of them was BRIGHT!, BRIGHT!, BRIGHT!. I got my 312's mail order and had no idea what to expect, I knew AR was a good name but other than that I got them because they looked great in cherry.
After listening to them for two years, first as a stereo pair and now with 308's in the rear and a CS25HO center in a home theater set up, I am one lucky man. Movie soundtracks tend to have a lot of ear piercing highs and the 312's tone them down to a tolerable level while still maintaining detailed highs, something my infinity's cannot claim. I'm running them with a relatively bright amp, the Yamaha DSP-A1 and it is a great match.
The 5 1/4 midranges are absolutely sweeet and image perfectly with the tweets. The 12's when bi-wired or bi-amped are tight and hit pretty low. The bottom end mixes well with my Definitive Tech 15" and my Energy 8".
I'm giving these speakers a five for home theater performance mainly, probably a four for music only. They are a great deal for the money and if I had it to do over again, I would duplicate my system exactly.

Similar Products Used:

Infinity, Niles

Can produce good sound if done properly

Needs to be Biamped, internal wiring is low end

These are nice speakers if you can biamp them. I have found the low end weak and the mids somewhat hollow if biwire. Turning up the lower level input amplication (if your amp allows) will elliminate some of the problems of hollowness. Your interconnects, amp and preamp will make a large difference in the sound. I wouldn't pick anything that is to clinical or harsh, use a warm amp/preamp combo. Overall, they are OK, then again I only paid $250 for the pair. For the retail price, you can do much better.

Clearness of its high's and its ability to reproduce life like sounds

Lacks a little in the midds

These speaks have an ability to produce concert proformances with remarkable realizm.The highs are great.No matter what the choice of music.I've found that the best test for speakers is M. Jackson,because his music is so accurate and precise. A nother favorite is Acoustic solo's.The bass wasn't muddy or flat,its sharp and deep.I listened to some Infinity O3's that I though were the greatest thing that could produce music "just a little bit better than the 312's", but could not take the high levels of power that the AR 312's could and did not have nowhere near the bass output. I've listened to several speakers that were close but for the money the 312's still couldn't be beat.

I feel a more in-depth review of these speakers is in itsplace. Sadly this will skew the statistics a bit, but
they will never make the Hall of Fame anyway.

The 312HOs are large tower speakers with a refreshingly
handsome design, executed in high-quality veneer (or at least
a very convinving lookalike, I don't quite remember). They
are three-way systems with a d'Appolito configuration at the
front and a large woofer firing sidewards. Efficiency is
very high, which makes them easy to drive by cheap Japanese
amplification and tube amps alike.

I tried them in a large room, well off the walls. I know this
room very well, and have heard a large selection of speakers
in it before, ranging from cheap B&W DM-100s up to Wilsons.
I don't remember the electronics, but most probably the amplifier
was either the Krell KAV-300 or a full-blown Cyrus system.

Bass was boomy and ill-defined. The midrance was heavily
coloured, even unbearably so if what you want is a true and
natural sound. Even my girlfriend (who once said that the
Linn Kans 'are not bad, given their size' ;-) spontaneously
commented on the unnatural sound.

So, I stand with my verdict, and I hope AR put some additional
engineering efforts into these speakers.

Can be musical if biamped. Biwiring won't get you any further.

lacks in the mid-range section

Just shifted to audio and was left with these pair of speakers. I got a pair of XA-50s and hooked them up with my Musical Fidelity XA 100R to experiment on biamping. The result was unbelievable, over-all sound was richer, bass was well managed and acoustics sounded crisper. If you're not satisifed with the 312s then try my advice and it'll bring your speakers to a different league.

Similar Products Used:

B&W, Tannoy, Mission

very strong

none

i have been using the 312 for more than a year now,not giving them any break,music and films,and they just wany more and more.im using the yamaha 2095 amp,and its prety strong,so that tese two are good copples.i think its one of the best speaker in town

Sweet tweet, strong base, good midrange, high sensitivity.

None.

I'm adding this to my review of 9/00 to tell everyone who owns these (312,310,CS25,308) to take off the grilles. The lack of high-end extension was mainly the grilles fault, not the sweet, sweet tweeter. Detail, which was good before has become excellent.
I would also recommend giving the 312's as much power as you can. I upgraded from the Yamaha DSP-A1 to the WONDERFUL Denon AVR-5800. This amps power (170w) has given new life to the 12's. The Denon is also very detailed and really makes the AR HO series shine. I gave them a four before on music but now the Denon has brought that up to a five, and movies are now five+. For the money these speakers cannot be beaten!

Similar Products Used:

Niles, Infinity.

I auditioned the 312 HOs and the 308s for a fifty/fifty audio/home theater use. I was impressed with their depth of sound which covered the whole spectrum and which was very warm. They especially have a natural sound for home theater listening. I got different results depending on how I wired them. Bi-wiring on my Denon 3200 produced a noticeably better sound. In the end, I went with the less expensive 308s. I got the pair for $500 via mail order.
The 308s are three-way speakers which have a woofer on the side. I have noticed that how close the speakers are to the wall effects the woofer and may cause a booming effect such as described by Werner (above). Placed properly, though, and coupled with a sub-woofer with the crossover set pretty low, they truely are fine. Well worth the money and much superior to most of what is out there in the price range.

I actually do not like the terms audiophile and stereophile. I am a musician; I play the Violin,Piano, Clarinet, Coronet, Guitar. I love music not machines. The AR 312HO's faithfully reproduce music and that is why I have them. In response to Werner: Sir, the composition of rooms ( building materials, size, windows, appointments, etc. often adversely effect the sound of musical instruments. It is very diffecult to find the "perfect" chamber in which to perform; for which reason placement is important as well as various types of baffles. For example: Plaster over hollow core walls will make bass "boomy" bounce highs and distort them. Hard wood floors and fine hardwood paneled walls can play havoc on the bass. If musical instruments can be effected this way; it stands to reason machines which reproduce their sounds also would be. I have found situations where simply changing instruments i.e. same type but different unit would solve the problem. Perhaps your room and the 312's are tuned for disaster when brought together. Other speakers with subtle differences though not necessarilary better might sound great. I find it diffecult to trash a particular speaker because when I told an associate how pleased I was with my 312's he felt he had to bring his Wilsons over and show me the error of my ways. To his chagrin the Wilsons (very fine and beautiful speakers)sounded practically identical in an A,B comparison. I hope you find speakers which are voice matched to your room and good listening.

I love the Ar-308's They provide much more of a clear and dynamic sound in both the size and price range. They are especially great with my DTS/Dolby Digital home theater system.