Great quality for price paid

lack of bass

These aren't the greatest speakers in the world, but they certainly are decent for the price I paid (400$ shipped price from ubid). I'm not sure i would rate this a 5 star product (then what would we have to rate those 10k$+ speakers at eh?)

Only thing I can say is that I will not be able to find a pair of floorstanding speakers at this quality for the price and therefore, I can only praise this product. Try going to your local dealer, circuit city, best buy, tweeter, wherever...the best you'll be able to pick up for 400$ is some polk or infinity low end crap.

I give a value rating of 5 stars at 400-450$ and 4 stars for the quality of the product.

And...IMHO, the cherry version looks a lot better than the black version

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Sonus Faber

Smooth & clean sound! Great Midrange & bass.

Grills damn hard to get off!

Funny how most people love the way these speakers sound, but a few hate them. I beleive it all has to do with the equiptment you hook them up to. My AR9's are connected to a "HIGH CURRENT" Onkyo TX-ds676 Dolby Digital receiver with 85 watts per channel, and these speakers sound magnificent! I emphasize the words "high current" because I beleive you will get the best sound from these speakers with this type of receiver. I tried hooking these up to a JVC Pro Logic receiver that is 105 watts per channel, but not high current, and the AR9's still sounded good, but nothing like they sound when hooked up to the Onkyo. Very clean midrange, deep solid bass and crisp highs make these speakers sound very natural and lifelike. The drivers are very high quality for this price class. The AR9's make an awesome addition to my home theater system. I was about to buy a pair of JBL's that I had my heart set on for $200 more than the AR9's, but after comparing the sound quality in the showroom, the AR9's simply blew the JBL's away. Try these speakers for yourself in a local A/V showroom and see what I mean. HH Gregg was originally asking $500 each for these speakers, but I was buying an entire Home Theater system that day including the Onkyo receiver, a Sony 53" High Def.TV, a JBL 250 watt sub and JBL center channel speaker, so they cut me a break and sold me the AR9's for $600 for the pair. You can probably find them for even less on the net. I still ended up spending over $5000 that day on new audio/video equiptmnet. But I must say I now have one killer Home Theater system.

Incredible imaging, impossible to detect where sound originates, handsome build, surprising low end response

Heavy, and often times the side firing sub needs special placement for optimal sound

I bought this speaker after around 4 months of research. I narrowed things down more by price than anything else in search of the best quality. I feel very confident that I found it. These speakers are absolutley amazing for music, but even better for DVD's. I'm not sure what these other reviewers problem is with these speakers. I have had them for 3 months and love them more everyday. Go to www.soundpros.com to buy them. I got mine for $640. They have the best deals I've found. Get a pair of these babies! Unreal for the money.

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JBL S500, Canton Speakers

Midrange clarity,overall clarity at high volume,strong bass performer

The crossover points could have been a little lower--I hear a gap in the upper bass, lower mid area.

I purchased these as two left speakers, hence the low price. Allow a few days break-in time. Crank them up and let them play if you can. The bass response is tempermental when the speakers are near walls and corners. Experiment.

I have been a little skeptical of reviews of this type because odds are that mostly those people who are happy with their purchase are the ones who will submit a review--they want to share their enthusiasm. People who have been disappionted may be more likely to want to forget about their purchase and move on to something else.

A word of caution: when you buy over the internet, be sure of what you are getting. Ask if they are in factory sealed boxes and if they are brand new. If not, pay a little more and get the genuine article. After inspecting my recent purchase, I will be more careful next time. If they tell you they had to open the box to make sure everything was in it, shop elsewhere next time.

The AR9s will spoil you fast. You might forget how good they sound until you listen to some others you are familiar with. High quality associated electronics are essential. Be prepared to hear detail that you didn't know was there, both good and bad. These speakers are easily had for under $600.00 per pair and they are well worth it. I recommend a large listening room to do them justice. Give them plenty of power, sit back and smile. Even though they are floor standing speakers, try raising them up a foot or so. You might benefit by getting those sweet mids and highs closer to ear level. Keep them out of the sunlight. The plastic grill lattice becomes visible and is ugly. Lastly, let me say that these speakers are unique in that they sound equally great with either Mozart or Metallica. Enjoy.

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None

vocal imaging
midrange clarity

Crossover inadequately designed. Try biwiring--but just hook up to the woofer and you'll hear sound from the tweeter. I have called AR regarding this and they are completely unhelpful!!
Bass response is poor. Unlistenably poor. So bad that I don't use the woofer, I use my own subs. Just when I hear a nice three dimensional vocal, the tweeter sends out this phssshhhh nondynamic lousy sound, and then the midrange "cans" the rest of the instruments. Very analytical and cold and dynamically compressed sound. Transient impact virtually nonexistent anywhere.

The tweeter is lifeless and dull, the woofer response is abominable. These speakers are a great example of crap! Not completely rotten crap(see strengths) but a speaker maybe worth $300 per pair. I'm a regretful buyer.

I purchased the AR9s to be direct competitors with my Magnepan MMGs. I use the MMGs on top of the NHT 1259 woofers, and it was with this NHT woofer system the AR9s were (at times) used with. No contest, the MMGs sound great and the AR9s don't. I'm a disappointed owner of AR9s. The tweeter is lifeless, what clarity there is in the midrange is confounded by an overall amusical sound and truly unlistenable bass. The poorly designed crossover leaks sound between drivers and the manufacturer is unwilling to remedy this obvious design flaw. I'll give these speakers two stars even though they sound like little plasticky computer speakers. Some people might like that sound!

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$500 Magnepan MMG. Kick ass over these AR9s. Flawed as the Maggies are, they make a musical presentation, unlike the AR9s which have some midrange accuracy but not musicality.
Martin Logan Quest.
NHT 1259 woofers, each in a six cubic foot enclosure.
Paradigm Servo 15 subwoofer.

Size, bass, looks, quality

None

I have had these speakers for about a week now and I have to say they are well worth the money! I love the bass, deep and tight. I am using an Onkyo 575x receiver, AR9 Mains, AR4C center channel and AR Edge speakers for the surrounds. These speakers really shine when playing DVD's. You have to crank them up a little to get the bass though. Get these speakers quick, AR has said that they are going to discontinue these speakers soon. Some of the best speakers on the market for the money!

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AR M5 speakers

Great looks! Sounds good. '10 side firing woofer performs great! Bi-amp capability.

None

I use AR5’s for front channels and the AR9’s for rears. The sound is simply incredible. I used Titan A.E., Terminator 2 and The Haunting (DTS) DVD’s to sample the AR9's performance. They sound good in all modes, pro logic, DTS and Dolby Digital. They have a nice response to music as well. They are very similar to the AR5's, but without the built in 175 watt amp. You could definitely use these as front channel speakers. The passive sub responds great in rear surround mode. While watching Titan A.E., there is a scene where the earth gets destroyed. You hear ships and planet debris all over the place. The AR9's effectively reproduced the mid & high range while also producing a nice bass response. The AR Hi-Res family is a great choice for your home theater if you don't want to spend an enormous amount of money. You get high end sound for a fairly descent price. I would strongly recommend the AR9's for fronts or rears.

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AR-5's, AR-4C, AR-2C, Bose AM 5.

Great looks! Sounds good & side '10 firing woofer performs great! Bi-amp capability.

None

I use AR5’s for front channels and the AR9’s for rears. The sound is simply incredible. I used Titan A.E., Terminator 2 and The Haunting (DTS) DVD’s to sample the AR9's performance. They sound good in all modes, pro logic, DTS and Dolby Digital. They have a nice response to music as well. They are very similar to the AR5's, but without the built in 175 watt amp. You could definitely use these as front channel speakers. The passive sub responds great in rear surround mode. While watching Titan A.E., there is a scene where the earth gets destroyed. You hear ships and planet debris all over the place. The AR9's effectively reproduced the mid & high range while also producing a nice bass response. The AR Hi-Res family is a great choice for your home theater if you don't want to spend an enormous amount of money. You get high end sound for a fairly descent price. I would strongly recommend the AR9's for fronts or rears.

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AR-5, AR-4C, AR-2C

price is for a single speaker, this company did the same on AR-3 probably not reliable people

Dear cccc kjh, Here's a good idea, Give the Company who is selling the speakrs a problem, dont bring it to the Review List...