Inner detail, smooth relaxed balanced sound. Very good soundstage. Frequency range is very good.

For the price, none

I couldn't pass up the offer of $200 per pair with shipping. I read the reviews first to get an idea of what to expect. I figured for $200, how could I go wrong? First, my impression visually. The speakers looked very nice and solidly built. I expected passable sound, but was I surprised after extended listening (with the grills removed. The midrange and hi-end opened up once the grills were removed). The inner detail within the music was more than I expected from a pair of speakers in this price range. The midrange driver and tweeter operated seamlessly together. The speakers disappeared in my dedicated listening room. The soundstage was very 3 dimensional with adequate width and depth, while the height was "shorter" than what I am used to. I have the speakers 30" from rear wall and 6' from side walls. It smoothed out the bass response which seemed a little boomy closer to the boundary walls. The low end was there within it's limit and did not overpowered the midrange and high end. This speaker does not "sizzle" or sound "forward". It does not "thump" with the midbass-one note sound. The sound characteristic in my listening room is relaxed and natural, draing you into the music. Again, I can not over emphasis the inner detail that was present in the music. The "space" that was present around the individual instruments/singers. The attack and decay of the musical notes. The detail in the percussion or the bowing of string instruments. I wish I had a chance to listen to it's larger siblings. On a budget, I could certainly live with these. I have heard NHT's that cost more and yet, to me, do not sound any better. In their respective price range, I would think that these are very hard to beat. My home equipment: Marsh P2000T hybrid tube pre amp Counterpoint SA 3 Tube pre amp Counterpoint SA220 Hybrid tube power amp Parasound HCA 2200mk II power amp ART DI/O modified DAC. Pioneer universal player Von Schwiekert VR 4 speakers AudioQuest Indigo II shotgunned Canare L4E6S Star Quad Cable interconnects

Similar Products Used:

Von Schweikert VR 4 speakers Acoustat 1+1's Medallion mod

-Good detail in highs, though bright -Very cheap -Nice benign 8 ohms and a 90dB sensitivity

-Boomy and loose bass -Difficult placing correctly -Somewhat harsh and muffled mids -grilles overextended

Build Quality: The speakers in my opinion are not built really well, but I suppose for the price it really isn't a problem. The knock test produced a somewhat low and hollow sound, which shows that it isn't the most solid of speakers. The grilles present two problems. 1. They are totally over-extended. I would much rather see the finish on the bottom half of the speaker. 2. The grille is not sonically transparent. In fact it really does limit the high frequencies. The feet are not really a big complaint, but I think spikes would've been better. Sound Quality: Overall, the sound quality did not impress me a whole lot. The treble with the grilles on are a little bright and and undetailed. Without the grilles, it opens up and is more detailed, but becomes overbright. The mids have good detail, but they can become overshadowed by the tweeter and the woofer. Also it is fairly far from being pleasant... I noticed harshness. This was especially apparent when I popped in some Hendrix and "Doctor, Doctor" by UFO. I thought I was going to go deaf the vocals sounded so harsh. The bass is exceptionally powerful for its size and loneliness in the cabinet (not separately powered). However it is definitely boomy and very picky about placement. The bass is also loose at the same time, resulting in muddiness. Now all this being said, one must realize that at this closeout price it is a pretty good deal. People on a strict budget should definitely consider this speaker. But I'd say the $800 to $2000 range is where real (or sometimes tolerable, depending on the person) hi-fi starts. System: Onkyo DX-C606 CD JoLida JD-1701 integrated hybrid amp w/ JJ-Tesla 12AX7/ECC83S in the pre AR11s (soon to be replaced by Dynaudio or Meadowlark) Clarity Labs Emberglow interconnects AQ4 speaker cable bi-wire

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Dynaudio, B&W, KLH, Celestion

BASS!

''''Overkill'''' on the speaker grilles.

I wasn''''t going to give a review on these speakers until I had used them for at least a few months. I must say that I am enthusiastic about the purchase that I made! As many have already mentioned, the bass response is FIRST RATE for not being seperately powered. My HK 110 drives them with ease. The buld quality I give kudos to as well. The only knock I''''d give to these speakers is the very long grilles, which cover the entire front of the speaker. This seems silly since there are only two speakers on the front, both located at the top. Also - a real good deal considering that I bought these speakers at 1/2 the retail price.

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Harman Kardon AVR 110, Acoustic Research PSC25 center channel, Bose 141 surrounds, Toshiba SD-2109 DVD player.

Great sound in music as well as Movies. a lot of bass for only an 8" sub(not powered)

none that I can think of

After looking at many speakers at local stores I went with the AR 11''''s. Bought them from accessories4less. I took a chance considering I was not able to listen to them before hand. After reading reviews and finding out a friend owned them and enjoyed them I thought I would give them a shot. For the price you can''''t beat them. Great sound for having only a 8" side firing sub. If your on a budget like I was try and get your hands on these. I have these bi wired with MIT wire. Not sure if I can tell a difference(testing one bi-wired and the other non.

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Old Kenwoods up front

Flat response, clean mids and highs, low profile compared with many tower speakers of similar specs. Very good sub performance considering the driver size(8") and the fact they are not separately amped.

Yea, the grills. Bi-wiring the AR11 seems to be a pointless exercise to me. Then again there are those who consider bi-wiring a useless practice with any speaker. Others may differ.

I replaced a set of much larger JVC 3-ways(which were really quite good) with the AR11''''s. The crossovers actually have intelligently selected roll-off points at 3200 and 100 Hz. They have filled in a gap I had between 80 and 100Hz with the JVC''''s in my system creating a seamless transition between the AR11''''s and my sub.

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JVC SP-85

Excellent price. They're AR speakers. They really do a "Great" job for HT. Excellent with some music ie. New Madonna, Christina Aguilara, Jennifer Lopez etc

I've found them to be a little thin and harsh on my heavy music ie.Linkin Park, Sabbath, Dokken etc.

I am very satisfied with the speakers performance of Home theatre. Love DVD especially DTS movies. There is quite an increase in sound with dts period! I have a Sony STR-DE845 for a receiver. The sound level is painful for the wife and kids. I am not sure why my heavy music comes out so thin and harsh. Yah, I have tried to dial it in on the receiver but only get decent sound. I like great sound! The other music I mentioned above comes through strong and clear. I can't turn up more than 10:30 on the dial. Sound starts compressing heading for distortion at about 12 o' clock. By then my ears are hurting anyways. Got to pay more for cleaner power. Thats the way it is period! Other speakers are Ar-17 for surrounds, Ar center, and Ar300 for front sub as well as rca 10inch sub for the rear. Like being able to have 2 subs running. Sounds great even though the rear is an rca! The speakers get 5 star for the price payed...Thank you Accessories 4 Less! I'm giving 4 star for the lower reproduction of my heavy music. Still HT is awesome... really. My set up excells here and I am "Happy" Big smile!

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Ar 318ps

nice bass for an 8", especially stylish with the grill removed-the tweeter looks like a fly's eye. 52lbs. ea.

Spikes weren't included for my carpeted floor.

I am not an audiophile, but I do play drums, so I love the sound of a kick drum. So I was looking for some bass.
I was on a limited budget (around $600) so after researching I decided to get the AR-9's because of the built in amp for the 10" woofers. But then I stumbled across access4less web site and saw the AR-11's for $390 and in stock. So after e-mailing Mark half dozen times, I ordered a pair along with the AR-S112PS sub(which also kicks). Mark recommened this set-up vs. just the AR-9's. I've never auditioned any of these speakers, but also figured that the bass would be more powerfull this way.
The speakers themselves: They're quite heavy at 52lbs. each, black finish is almost flat, and grills are a little difficult to remove. Oh yea, the feet are plastic, but they blend in perfectly.
The sound: Like I said, I'm not an audiophile, but I can hear a good speaker from bad ones, and these are awesome. The bass is really deep and tight for an 8"er. (But you really need a sub to feel bass with speakers of this stature.) I popped in a Pearl Jam Boot and it felt like I was at the show, Eddie was right there. Then came Danzig, good choice to hear the midrange go to work, considering his vocals are always up front, Glenn was in my living room. Finally, I crept in the studio with Pink Floyd: The Wall, felt like I was Pink under his Mother's wing.
In conclusion, buy these speakers from Mark if your on a tight budget like I was. Don't waste your time going to Worst Buy-all those speakers suck, and you you'll pay twice as much for them. Go AR!

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Jbl studio, Cerwin Vega, ?

Great sound for three speakers per cabinet.

I am very pleased with these speakers. I bought them at such a good price because they were dicontinued. I would have paid twice as much for these. The bass is great, the mids are nice and treble damn good. For the price I paid for these things my smile is twice as big everytime I listen to them. I use them as the fronts for my home theater and for my music. I recommend these to anyone who wants clean crisp sound.

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Mint 1977 Rebuilt Bose 501's, JBL ARC's

Very Nice ! Powerful for the 8" woofer !

Cover is hard to removed

I have changed to AR 11 from AR 15 for 1 month and I
noticed that the 3-way speakers is more realistic than
2-way one !
The high and middle tone sound so good much more than
AR 15 with the result of the more depth for its volume
especially sweet bass for the 8" woofers that made on
the sides of the speakers.

Bass is unbelievable, mids and Highs are perfect for my taste. They look just beautiful

None

I bought these speakers to replace a pair of AR428PS. These speakers are good for Movies, but failed in comparison to my AR308HO when it came to playing my Music (too much bass and too little Mids and Highs)is never pleased me. I wanted to have any AR HR series speakers within the AR7 to 11 line. I lucked up on these and sold my AR428PS. These speakers are exactly what the doctor ordered. The Mid and Highs played extremely well with my Miles Davis Sketches of Spain CD. I was also shocked to find that the bass was TOTALLY there. I have Tweeter connected directly to my Onkyo TX-DS777 and my Woofer connected to a M501 power Amp. Thanks to its ability to be bi-amplified and the bass is tighter than the AR428PS and goes extremely low (35Hz to be exact). I love the cherry finish and the weight is perfect. These speakers are worth way more than what I paid for them and I am totally happy I did get them. My next purchase will be the AR7 or 9 in cherry as well and I will dump the AR308HO's. I have thrown every thing I could at these speakers and they perform wothout a flutter. The bass is so dependable it is a sin how much I got them for. The Mid and Highs are also equally impressive (Play Thelonious Monk "the Composer" and play Straight No Chaser Beautiful)

Similar Products Used:

AR 308 HO, AR 428 PS