None that I've seen.

Everything. Cheap Craftsmanship. Cheap Finish. Overall Poor
Sound Quality througout audible range of sound.

I'm not trying to step on any toes out there, but I 'd really like to know how anyone who's purchased these speakers and gives them good reviews can consider themselves an audiophile. Not only have I kicked myself in the balls for purchasing these speakers for their lack of acoustic value, I might as well have shoved $1500 up any availible hole and farted it out to an awaiting flame from my BIC lighter. This speaker begs to be run off an AWIA shelf system. Only then would it achieve the same high standard of quality. I think I achived more low end output when I kicked myself in the ass than this AR 500 watts of obviously underrated peak power in each subwoofer. Thank God above that I bought these for my son who only listens to rap and hip hop and has no chance of expecting any sound quality above 50 HZ. Apparantly you've all fallen prey to Audio Review magazine journalists who swing their unbiased opinions around like monkeys slinging come at each other in the treetops of South America. I'm sure if someone let me have their wife for a week or two to test for free I'd have nothing bad to say either. If you're looking for a good retail value for around $2000, please take a look at the DEF Tech BP 2002's, their sound quality speaks for themselves.

Similar Products Used:

NHT 3.3, NHT 2.9, NHT 2.5, Definitive Technology BP2002,
AR3, AR7.

Efficient

Too Efficient

I agree with John. I didnt purchase the AR1 speakers beacause I also thought that they could be pushed by my 1986 Fisher Price boom box. I own an elaborate system, I am am especially glad that the AR1 speakers are not part of it. The speakers have a decent sound, but not for the amount that you pay for them. I preparing to buy the Denon 5800, this puppy puts out 170-200 watts for 7 chanels. Hooking these AR1 speakers to this reciever would result in a $2000 pile of crap left for speakers. There is so many other speaker companies that offer more for the same price if not more.

Value

very directional sound.

Okay this is not a pair of Linn, B&W, or any other 10-20,000 dollar speakers. Another thing, how much of an audiophile type speaker do you expect for $1,500.00. These sound great, they don't sound awesome with music, but just great. Now if you use these as 70% ht, 30% music like myself, then you will be tickled pink. These rock for home theater use. I was impressed after they broke in, at first they sounded like crap. But if you match these with the AR2C (awesome cc), then you have the best wall of sound for under $2000.00. No need for an external sub. These dual 15 inchers sound incredible. So if you are a mercedes driving, 80 hour work week, anal as can be audiophile that spends more than $1,500 on things like speaker cable, then these are not you're speakers. But if you want a rocking home theater and are a regular joe like myself, then you'll adore these. Another problem, No decent rear channel speakers for AR, at least no dipole.

Denon AVR2800
SONY DVD
AR1
AR2C
MONITOR AUDIO SURROUNDS
ANALYSIS PLUS OVAL 12 SPEAKER CABLES

Similar Products Used:

ar328ps, monitor audio silver 5i.

Bass - a built-in world class sub.

mids are unnatural, highs are harsh, off-axis listening is very bad.

The point of this review is simple: You need to listen to these speakers before you buy them! I found the AR-1s to be extremely disappointing, and wish I had heard them before I ordered a pair.

The specs on these speakers are very impressive. On paper they seem to have a very flat frequency response, be very efficient, and have fantastic range for a speaker in this price range. The Sunfire amp is another shining star on the spec sheet. So how can you go wrong? Well, the specifications are very deceiving. I do not doubt that under the right test conditions these speakers match the published numbers, but they are virtually useless in real applications. These speakers attempt to combine audiophile speakers with HT capabilities, and they fail to satisfy either.
To enjoy any sound quality from these speakers you must sit exactly in the sweet spot. These speakers are physically huge, yet have on of the smallest sweet spots I have ever encountered. The problem with sitting in the sweet spot is the tweeter is very fatiguing. The high end is so sharp that I could not listen to them for more than 30 min. When you turn the volume down, or use an EQ to limit the highs you reveal the real weakness of these speakers...The Mids. The midrange in the all important 1K-3K range is nasty at best. There are some serious issues with the magnesium midranges. The sound coming from these drivers is simply “metallic”. For reproducing sounds that are metallic (a gun cocking, a phone ringing, a car crashing) they are great, but for vocals and wood, wind, string instruments they are awful. I could not stand to listen to them, and as you move off axis (by on a few degrees) all you can hear is the midrange the tweeter dies off so much that if you stand near the speaker (above the tweeter axis) you can not hear any highs at all.
(The AR2C does a much better job in the midrange. This is probably due to the change in x-over design, as the drivers are the same.)
Now for the good points…The appearance of these speakers is very respectable. They are not $10K speakers finished with exotic materials, but you can tell that they are not run-of-the-mill junk.
The bass from these units is amazing. Anyone who doubts the 500W power coming from the sunfire amps does not know anything about subwoofers. These are sealed enclosures! To get high spl bass down to 18Hz without a port requires serious power. The bass is tight, accurate, and “massive”. There are few dedicated subwoofers on the market that can compete with the AR-1s for the price they are offered for on the net. I was tempted to keep the AR-1s and just use them as subs. That is how good the bass is!
Sadly, the mids and high are so unnatural and uneven that I could not live with the speakers.
Less than one week after I received the speakers the tweeter on the left speaker completely stopped working. There has been at least one other post here with the same problem, so I was not surprised when it happened. That made the decision to return the pair an easy one.
Don’t waste your money on shipping charges. Listen to them first. It only takes a few minuets to love or hate these speakers.

Similar Products Used:

Definitive tech, Infinity, Polk

BASS! Looks.

Heavy and large. Stereo Music.

In reading the reviews below, I don't understand why most would assume that this gigantic set of speakers would produce anything close to audiophile level sound. I purchased these speakers exclusively for Home Theater.

I assumed that these speakers would not produce high quality mids and highs because of the very, very low cost...especially when you consider that these boxes house two 15" woofers driven by two 500 watt Bob Carver amps. As the reviewer before me, I too am dissappointed with the specs on this speaker. The sensitivity is not what they say. I would estimate it to be on par with about a 91db rating.

These speakers are fantastic HT speakers! I don't have the same issue as some with regard to the small sweet spot. In some cases this may be caused by a poor digital processor. The bass is incredible! I was looking at purchasing two Sunfire subs when I ran across these beast. I am glad I made this purchase.

For HT: Five Stars
BASS, BASS, BASS!
The AR2c does a fine job at producing natural sounding voices and mids for the center.
For stereoo music: 2 stars
Mids are tinny sounding...although this could be my CD player. The highs are okay, but nothing to brag about.

All in all, I am very satisfied.

Look, subwoofer (until it decides to blow on you).

midrange, tweeter, and about everything else

Well now that I am over the high of having bought a new set of speakers, and I'm able to now be able to sit back and really listen to these speakers, (I ignorantly wrote a review on these earlier and praised some qualities of them). I really dislike these. These have a sweet spot of about 2 inches, you turn you're head, or lean to one side and it sounds like you just ran past them. I am so serious, the sound stage consists of a midget on a crate playing a two inch violin. The midrange sound so tin like that it is so distressing to listen to. I told the company that I bought these from (www.soundpros.com great guys, really understanding)about a month ago that I was really unhappy with the speakers. They told me to give them another try and to mess with the placement of them and to try feeding them more power. (Don't let the high spl rating fool you). So I tried, and then the best thing that could happen to me did happen. 2 minutes into the ID4 DVD, mother ship flying over the moon, a horrible clipping and rattling sound from the right side. I crossed me fingers in hope, and I was right, TOTALLY blown. So now I'm waiting until the weekend is over so that I can inform my friends at soundpros of what happend and saving my pennies for the shipping of these oversized pieces of....... Do not be mislead and buy these before listening to them. Who knows you might like them, but DO NOT buy without testing these out. Oh the one good point of these, BASS and tons of it. I always left my crossover setting on the back of these at the manufacturer's recomended setting and wow was it amazing (until the drivers from some sweatshop in who knows where give out). Keep this in mind, here is a speaker that lists for 2,800 dollars and you can buy then any day for around 1,400-1,600 on the internet. Any speaker with that kind of markup and consists of two fifteen inch woofers and 1,000 watts of power, does not leave much money for them to put into the midrange and tweater, makes sense huh. So know I am on my way to the local monitor audio dealer or again to soundpros to buy something else.

Similar Products Used:

monitor audio, other ar products

Very strong bass and Carver amp

refinement

I have not purchased this speaker yet but would like to gather more info before so. This speaker is a good value at shop4.com compared to crutchfield. I am currently in the market for a pair of speakers and reading the reviews of all brands have not decided. I have read the reviews on jmlabs electra 920's which is the system I am leaning toward. I heard the AR'S at a local dealer. Unfortunatly we have no high end dealers for jmlabs so I have not heard them. Anyone
who has heard them would you please e-mail me on how they perform compared to other products. How can the jmlabs at $5000 with only a 10" woofer sound that much better than a speaker with a built in amp rated at 500 watts. I know refinement and detail is probably better but is it worth the extra money.Hey, I'm not stupid and understand the quality
of focal drivers but the value. Is there that much difference. Please advise. Thanks






.

Similar Products Used:

Cerwin Vega, Bose, Polk, old fishers

Not a review - see comments.

Not a review - see comments.

I have been looking for a set of HT speakers to buy for my son, and read the Stereophile review (June, 1999) on the AR1. I recently bought an ARS300 subwoofer for my own HT system, and found a great price on all of the AR speaker line at "Accessories4less.com". They are currently selling the AR1 for $1200, and have almost all of the AR product line on sale. If you are shopping for a pair of AR1's, or any other AR speaker, check out their Web site:
www.accessories4less.com (click on the "Home Audio" button).

Not a review - see comments.

Not a review - see comments.

I have been looking for a set of HT speakers to buy for my son, and read the Stereophile review (June, 1999) on the AR1. I recently bought an ARS300 subwoofer for my own HT system, and found a great price on all of the AR speaker line at "Accessories4less.com". They are currently selling the AR1 for $1200, and have almost all of the AR product line on sale. If you are shopping for a pair of AR1's, or any other AR speaker, check out their Web site:
www.accessories4less.com (click on the "Home Audio" button).

Not a review - see comments.

Not a review - see comments.

I have been looking for a set of HT speakers to buy for my son, and read the Stereophile review (June, 1999) on the AR1. I recently bought an ARS300 subwoofer for my own HT system, and found a great price on all of the AR speaker line at "Accessories4less.com". They are currently selling the AR1 for $1200, and have almost all of the AR product line on sale. If you are shopping for a pair of AR1's, or any other AR speaker, check out their Web site:
www.accessories4less.com (click on the "Home Audio" button).