Bought these babies off ebay for $300 shipped! One tower had a blown tweeter which I replaced for another $65. Running off 140 watts of clean Yamaha power. They sound amazing. Anything from Mozart to Terminator Salvation- these babies keep crying for more volume. Very comparable to Definitve Technology towers.

Great Looks, tonal balance, great powered subs & LFE inputs/outputs connections.

Takes several hours to break in. Slightly bright, but becomes balanced after hours of play. No High Cut adjustments for kHZ & HZ.

The AR5 speakers are exceptional for home theater. You simply can't get better than this for the price and quality. Bass is deep and rich, mids and highs perform great. These speakers were truly made for a home theater enthusiast. As for music, the AR5 needs a little time to break in. I have them connected to a Sony STRDA-555ES receiver. Initially, they sounded a little light when listening to music. After several hours of play and speaker adjustment however, they sound very balanced and rich with bass. I suggest that if you plan to purchase these speakers, stop by your local audio store to audition them. If you compare there sound to other high end speakers, you will not be disappointed. For true AC3 tonal balance, a home theater should consists of matched speakers. Acoustic Research had this in mind when they made the Hi-Res models. If you match the AR5's with the AR2C or AR4, you'll achieve great front balance in home theater modes. I am definitely upgrading my surrounds with the AR9 speakers. They have the same midrange and tweeter as the AR5 with the only difference being that the 10 inch woofer is not powered. Another huge plus of the AR5's is that it has subwoofer inputs & outputs. This will allow you to use them as your .1 channel if you desire. Since the Sony STRDA-555ES has dual subwoofer outputs, I connected the 555ES sub outputs to the AR5's inputs. I then connected the subwoofer output from one of the AR5's to a Yamaha dual 8 inch powered sub. The bass is incredibly rich, but not overpowering. I've found that the AR5's sub settings perform best with the sub volume knob set low. All in all, these speakers are great. You simply can't go wrong with the AR5's!

Similar Products Used:

Sherwood and Bose speaker systems.

Power sub, good looking, great sound, built in amps

none

AWSOME speakers! They have a good power subwoofer built-in to the speakers. Very good for home theater use. I have the full set with the AR4C (center) and the AR17 (rear).

Similar Products Used:

JBL, Infinity

plenty of bass without the need of an additional subwoofer...

cheesy gain knob on back...

i've had them for over a month now... i had never believed
in a burn in time for speakers before, as my klipsch sounded
great from day one right out of the box... i play these
in a huge room with a five year old sony es amp, soon to
be replaced by a new sony es amp... i get all of the sound
i could ask for them musically and more... i can't wait
to put a more powerful amp with them, it seems as if the
are begging for power...

i have to say if i dont think i would care for them for
home theater though, they sound so much better with the
subs facing each other with hardly anything between them...
when i first got them, i put the subs facing outward
rather than inward... changing them around to face each
other gave me a remarkable improvement with bass...
for the money its a great product...

Similar Products Used:

klispch rf-3's
ar 310's

Quality built, reasonable price and looks good.

Dust cover hard to remove.

I have been using the Pioneer HT in a box for several years now and I did not know what I have been missing. After I have completed my new upgraded set-up using Denon 3802 rcvr., AR5s as front, AR4c, AR17s (x4) as sorrounds and AR500 sub. my family room came alive. I can now hear musical notes I did not hear before. Watching DVD movies is also a pleasure, its like in a theater in the comfort of your home. I sure there is lot better speaker system out there but for the overall price I paid Im satisfied with the performance.

Similar Products Used:

Pioneer home theater in a box, not exactly the same level.

booming bass without the need for additional sub's...
very smooth highs...

midrange not as full as you would expect...

I am still trying to make up my mind on these speakers.
I have owned them for a week now and they seem to sound
better each time i play them. I have also have klipsch
reference speakers on another system in the house that
was recently purchased. If I could have used the same
set up I would, the klipsch are great, but I needed
speakers with their own subs in them, no room for a
subwoofer.

That being the case, these speakers are capable of
filling up a huge room with sound by themselves. Not
as much treble as I would like, but actually perfect for
the type of music to be played in the living room
(jazz, slow jams, mood music)... So in that case they
are excellent for what I got them for. Plus I am pushing
them with a 5 year old sony es receiver also. Which by
the way sounds better than the new sony es 444 receiver
i got for the den. The klipsch are powered by a denon
3801, a great setup by the way.

It appears to me that the longer these speakers play, the
better sound I get from them. For now I am satisfied.
I will give another review in a month or so to let you
know how they sound then.

Similar Products Used:

ar 310's, klipsch reference...