Extremely smooth mids

Bass not as strong as expected

I just finish auditioning the Infinity IL40s, AR9s, and NHT SuperTwo. Out of the three, the AR9's mids could not be matched. I tested my own created CD with almost every kind of music and soundtrack. This was the only speaker that played "Out There" from The Hunchback of Notre Dame soundtrack properly. All speakers I have tested have failed because this track has quite a varity of instruments on the midrange. This was the only speaker that played this songs mids BEAUTIFULLY! The bass is not as tight as the Infinity IL40s, but they do play highs and mids very well.

Solid performer for it's price range!

The black is much harder to find than the Cherry

The AR9 is a basic model in the Hi-RES series...well, it's basically loaded. For $1300/pair list, these 43-inch towers offer most of the perks of higher-end speakers, with only slight compromises made to keep the price down. The entire line of Hi-RES speakers follows a specific feature protocol that luckily the AR9 doesn't miss out on. Consider the standards included in each system's package: plasma-transferred, diamond-hardened 1-inch titanium dome tweeter; 5-1/4-inch MagAlloy Monocoque midrange drivers (two per speaker, in the AR9's case); magnetically shielded transducers; and side-firing woofers for big bass from a slim cabinet. What sets this particular system apart from the rest is just a matter of overall size, frequency response (32 Hz to 23 kHz), and woofer size (10 inches).Acoustic Research AR9 3- WAY TOWER($274.99 Each)!!

It leaves the essence of beauty in the air. Nice sub freq. and mid mix, sturdy faceplate, hevenly design for beautiful rooms(cherry), Bi-Wiring / Bi-Amplifying, internal acoustic treatment, In your face Home Theater. Large noiseless porthole.

You must have some knowledge about Bi-wiring to get best preformance (or read the owners manual!). The faceplate/grill very hard to get off. In your face Tweeter. ultimately nice equipment required for good sound.

Out of the Speakers I have previewed and tested, I like the AR9's I dont know why. They sound the best to me, and fit in my house Beautifuly, well I guess Perfect ears deserve perfect sound. I needed all new equipment, what I had wasent working for me. But I say, try befor buy, some people May not like these speakers.

Similar Products Used:

Def Tech BP2002, Atlantic Technology, Acoustic Research Stature, Jamo, M&K, JBL, Paradigm, Klipsch, psb, Infinity. And many more.

These speakers flat out sound great, look great and for the price ($600/pr from Net Market--like 1/2 of retail) are a HUGE bargain.
These AR's really rock and also sound great for home theater... and in a smaller room the ported 10's even really nullify the need for a sub.

Nice mids,and highs

low end a little weak..could be amp

I used them with my little Pioneer,when I first started.They sounded great.Used them with my Carver C-4000,and an old Marantz amp,they sounded great.Got a new amp on the way,and guess what,They'll sound great.Twenty years later.Amazing....

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JBL

Awe inspiring sound. Superb soundstage. Incredibly balanced sound.

Maybe a weakness: their size and weight. BIG and HEAVY!

I bought these great speakers back in 1980 and have never, ever found anything near their price that can compare ( I tried when I could afford it). The dynamic range, the soundstage, and the power handling capability of these monsters is unbelievable. I listen to classical, rock and country music played LOUD and the AR-9's never break a sweat. You can throw anything at them and they just coast along, sounding great. They now reside in my home theater setup as the mains, with AR-94's anchoring the rear corners. The room is setup "Live-end-Dead-end" with much accoustic material in the front. The kicker is that I NEVER use surround when listening to music only since the 9's give me such a great soundstage. Many times I have switched from two channel to surround only to be amused by the reduced quality. I can't imagine how much I would have to spend to exceed this sound! Frankly, writing a review on a 20 year old speaker seems ridiculous but the AR-9's deserve the tribute!

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I can't find affordable speakers that can produce the glorious sound of the AR-9's! Not in my price range anyway.

Fabulous sound, narrow footprint, high sensitivity, great appearance

None yet

After much research,these puppies kept popping up as a recommendation. Admittedly, I am currently powering these guys with a Denon 60 watt/channel recevier, so that is one reason they have been recommended so often, again due to sensitivity. Great sound, fine finish, and again, because of side firing woofer, nice narrow profile. Plus, although not small (about 36" tall) the wife accepted due to nice sound and profile.
Just make sure that you don't pay anywhere near list price!! Saw them numerous times for $1,000-1,400 per pair. Available through numerous Web sites for about $600-$650 per pair. A fine value at $1,000, a superb value at around $600!!

Price

Mushy highs, rolling base

I auditioned these speakers today and was very disapointed in the quality of sound. I had naively purchased a set of AR 328s on clearance which lasted one evening in my living room before going back to the store. It was suggested that I give the AR 9s a listen as they are the elite series speakers vs. the performance series 328s. While these speakers were a great improvement over the 328s, they did not fare well against other speakers I auditioned in the same environment. After reading several reviews posted here, I had narrowed my possible selections for fronts to the AR9s and the BA Lynfield 950s. I immediately did not like the muffled base output by the AR9s. We tried repositioning the speakers in relation to the wall to optimize the sound but I still could not get away from the lack of precision. The salesperson suggested I try the Klipsch RF3 which I did and it was like night and day. I realize that sound preference varies by individual but I really found that the Klipsch produced a cleaner range throughout. I ended up at another dealer auditioning the Klipsch against the BA and have decided on the Klipsch. Moral of this rambling is that for the money, I would recommend shopping around before purchasing the AR-9s. If you are partial to the type of sound output by the AR-9s, you might like the Mirage series as the low end is close to the AR-9s but they seemed to produce a cleaner mid and high range.

Similar Products Used:

AR-328, BA L950, Klipsch RF-3

Build quality, appearance

See Review

Did not buy these in the '70's so let's get that cleared up right away. Originally purchased one pair of the AR9s to replace my rear channel that was formerly a pair of JBL Control Monitor 5 (JBL L7 as the Front). What an amazing difference having full frequency tower speakers in the rear! Have always wanted identical speakers in front and rear but, alas, my search for another pair of L7s has proved fruitless. Adhering to the current wisdom of matching all drivers I decided to purchase another pair of AR9s for the front . . . Now these are handsome and hefty little performers for the price. Nice build quality, bi-wireable, etc. However (uh oh) they did not fulfill my expectations. Admittedly, I auditioned them for only two evenings using various CD's and DVD's that I consider reference material (Music: Dave Grusin - Two For The Road, Diana Krall - Love Scenes, Dire Straits - Brothers in Arms; Movies: The Professional, The Bone Collector, Crimson Tide, James Bond - Tomorrow Never Dies). I experimented with positioning them in my HT room which is 35' by 15' (pretty damn big I know). With the side-firing subwoofers facing outward and more than two feet from side and rear walls the bass was very overpowering and unfocused. Turned in was a great improvement but still sounded boxy and booming at the lower frequencies. Imaging was good with female vocal and cymbals sounded crisp enough but midrange sounded laid back. I think that if you were not accustomed to a more highend sound these speakers would work quite well for the average enthusiast. I consider myself an audiophile not because I spend an inordinate amount of money on equipment, or because I scour the thesaurus for new words to describe what I want people to think I hear . . . I consider myself an audiophile because as a wretched and suffering human being (as we all are) I feel my spirits soar and my soul cleansed through the joy of listening to the highest quality reproduced sound that I can cause to be manifested in an environment I have created. Whoa, heavy words for a mid-fi speaker review, huh? The AR9s are great for the rear channel. They really are, but as main speakers they lack the "presence" that I have become accustomed to. I am giving the AR9s four stars for value and four stars overall as a rear channel configuration.

Home Theater System:
Acurus A100 X 2
Acurus A100 X 3
Acurus ACT III Processor
Sony DVD 7700
Energy ES12 Sub
JBL L7 Front
AR9 Rear
Infinity Video One Center
Sony 35"
Monster Cable Interconnects
Monster Cable Sub Interconnect
Monster Cable Speaker Cable

Listening System:
Platinum Quatro
Aragon 8008BB Amp
Aragon 28K Pre
Acurus CD
Esoteric Audio Accupath Speaker Cables
Phoenix Gold Reference Interconnects

Similar Products Used:

Platinum Audio "Quatro"; JBL "L7"

Good Lord BASS. They get better with age.

Everything in my room jumps around like a mad man at high volume!

I purchased these speakers along time ago, man they just keep sound better and better. I am using a Onkyo TX-DS575X which I think is a perfect match for these speakers. I listen to lots of Hiphop and Techno, some rock, but mostly Classical, they really fill the room with music.
If your are going to get these speakers go online and get them its cheeper. I was looking around for about 2 years befor I got The AR9's I checked out Infinity, Canton, paradigm, Jamo, and I just thought it sound better than all thoes.

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infinit- Canton 'karat'- Paradigm- Jamo.