Price Paid:  $1200.00 from accessories4less

Summary:
These are great speakers for the money, assuming you didn't pay retail. I own a pair of 315HO's and my dad own's a pair of AR1's. Both pairs of speakers offer very similar sound and tone quality. I'm pretty sure they changed the type of glue that they were using on the sub surrounds. It takes a good bit of clean power to get the most out of them, but you also have to be careful not to overdrive the subs. I've used them twice at two dance parties. The dance room was about 30' X 60'. They filled the rooms completely. They made the toilet seats rattle all the way in the rear of the building, (about 75'away). We had people stopping in thinking a new club had opened up. I use Bose as my surround speakers. They match up pretty good. AR suggests the AR2C for the center and an AR2C for each surrounds. The only other speaker that I've heard that comes close to these were a pair of Klipsch of a similar design. I do not remember the model of the Klipsch, but they retailed for $3200. Accessories4less is a GREAT sompany to deal with! Not only did they sell me great speakers, but have readily and quickly answered any questions that I had. They even went back through their files to find my receipt and send me a copy for warranty purposes, (1.5 years after the sale). I would most definately buy from them again.

Strengths:
Footprint, sound, value, BASS, works great with home theater (2 15" powered subs), adjustable gain for the subs. AR Stands behind their warranty!!

Weaknesses:
If you drive the subs too hard, the surrounds come unglued. I've replaced 5 subs so far. AR has given me no problem at all. The pots for the gain on the subs should have been recessed in the cabinet. Mine got pushed in, (but they still work).

Similar Products Used:
Onkyo TX-DS989ver2 (receiver) Bose 201 series III (L/R surround & rear surrounds) Bose VCS-10 (center) JVC video equipment w/ digital audio out

Price Paid:  $550.00 from Online

Summary:
Hey Tim D. (AudioPhile) Parts Express has the Midrange drivers from your DaffyTack speakers on clearance for $5.00 each.. Okay now that I am done flaming lets get serious. I don't own the AR1 I own the smaller unpowered brother (AR9) and I can review the Midrange and High Frequency aspects of the AR1 since the drivers are 100% Identical. I have lived with my AR9's for well over two years now and I have all the while upgraded my electronics but haven't even considered replacing the speakers. Too many negative reviews here show just how little the person knows about audio. One reviewer states that ''they fell flat on thier face in my room'' well hello genius if your room is that acousticaly BAD why don't you deal with your lousy room before calling the speaker junk. The truth is that your room bites the big one and you must be too lazy to understand the room interactions at hand. The whole Hi-Res Series is well built from 3/4" MDF that has heavy internal bracing. The cabinent work is very well done, sure the finish would be nice if it was real veneers but that hardly has an effect on the audio. The Crossovers are typical of any mass market speaker (including Def Tech and numerous other companies) they contain ceramic cement resistors, Bennic Caps and small guage inductors. The Crossovers can benefit from much better componentry like 1% Mills Resistors, Foil/Film Inductors and much better Film/Foil Capacitors. The raw midrange drivers are HiVi Research and are phenominal in thier midrange to my ears.. Sure we all have our preferences some like super laid back, some like very forward. I consider my 9's to be neutral bordering on laid back. The Trebbel is not harsh, does not create listener fatigue. The Midrange is clear and very dynamic and presents Winded and Strung instruments with the utmost presence. Male and Female Vocals are vivid and completely believeable. I wouldn't call my room perfect but I have spent lots of time setting up the AR9's and dealing with 1st and 2nd reflections and to my ears imaging is fantastic.. With the D'Appolito arangement you get a very pinpoint precise sound stage but at the same time the foam wave guide helps off axis response so that you still get that wide sound stage.. In other words it is not pinpoint by sacrificing width of the stereo image. Depth is also very good! Are these the best speakers in the world? No.. Is there such a thing? (no...) Are they a phenominal speaker for thier MSRP or lower? (yes) Do they compete with many other offerings in the price range or even higher? (Yes) Will everyone love them? Obviously not.. But it is my beleif that this is your loss not mine. Final comments... Set up your room.. And then set up your speakers RIGHT... Use good components and take care of them like you would any other expensive purchase and they will treat you right for many, many years to come. My Equipment: Parasound Halo P3 Preamp Antique Sound Labs Wave AV-20 DT Tube Mono Block 20 Watt Push/Pull Amps (Midrange and Tweeters) Bob Carver Sunfire 500 Watt Sub Amp (from and ARS-500 Sub...) Technics SL-BD22D Turntable with an Audio Technica AT-331LP Moving Magnet Cartridge Delphi Sky-Fi XM Tuner Panny CV-51 5 Disk DVD/CD Changer

Strengths:
Fantastic Imaging,Neutral to Warm Tonal Ballance, Rock Solid Construction, Very Astheticaly Pleasing to my eyes..

Weaknesses:
Placement takes time, Break In takes time, Hard to remove grills.

Similar Products Used:
You name it...

Price Paid:  $1500.00 from acousticsounddesign.

Summary:
As with any speakers you must have good signal and power in order to realize the potential of your speakers. With the AR1's, room placement is critical and tricky. I have found them to work well in a larger enviroment. If your serious about your music, you won't mind the time and effort required to tune them to your room.

Strengths:
When tuned properly, the AR1's are powerfull on the bottom and realistic and sweet on the mids and top end. The hook up is quick and simple, an overall great listening experience for the money.

Weaknesses:
I think they would be unbeatable if they only had some output adjustments on the mids and highs.

Similar Products Used:
The usual

Price Paid:  $1500.00 from Hawthorn Appliances

Summary:
I have had these speakers for over 2 years. I have never had any problems with them. I listened to many speakers, including $5000 + but went with the AR 1s because they sound great deliver ample base and don't take up much room.

Strengths:
500 w built-in Subwoofers Small footprint

Weaknesses:
Very directional (hey, they're towers)

Similar Products Used:
Infinity JBL Polk

Price Paid:  $1000.00 from accessoriesforless.c

Summary:
Hey Peter Wack. Apparently, you don''t even own a pair of these. How can you give them a bad review. You must be some jealous pud who dislikes AR. I have a pair of 315HO''s (the predessesor to the AR1). I love em and wouldn''t trade them for anything. They rock!!!!!! Maybe my review will even out your pathetic attempt to defame AR.