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Review 4 of 26
Price Paid:
$155.00
from Crutchfield Summary:
I've had this speaker for a while, but it's a little strange how I purchased them. My friend and I are big fans of Crutchfield; we live an hour and a half away and go there just to see and hear the new products and see what bargains they have in the return section (which I think is a great idea for a store). Crutchfield carries the same guarantee and warranties on the products in the return section. Walking through the return aisles we found these AR's for about $260, I think. We both needed a center channel so we decided to split the difference and each keep one. Where else are you going to find a center speaker of this quality for $130? That may cause some audiophiles to cringe at the thought of using a speaker unintended to be a center channel as such, but it worked. We had a sales guy hook them up to a receiver to make sure they weren't blown or anyting, and they sounded good; they sounded better than any of the other speakers that were set up to audition except for some Infinity Overture 2. It replaced a cheap Fisher center channel that I got when I bought my receiver, and it sounded much better. In fact, it sounded better than any other center speaker I had ever heard in a store with the exception of an Infinity Overture 1. I have a big entertainment center, so that's how I fit it in as a center speaker...otherwise you would have to have a projection TV to set it on (which I plan to buy soon...a Pioneer 53" HDTV-ready). But now I am going to get the other AR speaker from my friend (for $25) so that I can use them as my main speakers in my new home. I had currently been using Infinity SS 2001 bookshelf speaker on stands in my current room along with an Optimus 12" dual-voice-coil passive subwoofer. Some may not believe this, but that setup actually sounded pretty good. Recently though I hooked the AR up as the left channel and an Infinity as the right channel (with no help from the sub). I switched back and forth trying to determine which sounded better, and to be honest, I still haven't made up my mind. After several CD's I have determined that the highs are slightly better on the AR, perhaps because of the sensitivity, and yes you could really tell a difference in the loudness when switching back and forth. The bass of course was better on the AR (8" vs 5.25"). But what I'm still stumped on is the voices between the two speakers. Perhaps when I get both AR's hooked up in my home I will be able to tell better how they sound for everyday use. I plan on buying some smaller AR bookshelf speakers for surround use and maybe the AR2C center speaker, which I have heard and was pleased with. Just to throw my 2 cents worth in on bi-wiring...I took my left channel and hooked it to the Highs/Mids of the AR and ran the right channel to the woofer on the AR, so supposedly 120 watts was going to the Highs/Mids and 120 to the woofer, and to be honest I couldn't tell an audible difference with them, in a way, bi-amped. I don't know how much of a help this review might be to someone since you can't go out and purchase them at the price I did and from the sound of this review I didn't really give it a glowing review. But the speaker does sound good; if it didn't I'd scrap it (not exactly) and get something else for my home- theater-to-be in my new house. For what I payed it's done an excellent job, and that's why I want to build around them. For movies it has done great as a center channel, so I'm sure the 2 of them will do great, as well, as mains. For music they may be rated slightly lower (a 3.5 if I could give separate ratings). I'd give the AR a 4 for movies. I've heard Overture 2 and Overture 3 from Infinity and they've kept me from giving anything else a 5. Strengths:
High sensitivity, good power handling, bi-wiring, good sound, sturdy build, low price Weaknesses:
May be big for some people Similar Products Used:
Infinity SS 2001
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4.88 of 5
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4 of 5
