Acoustic Research AR9 Floorstanding Speakers Reviews

born2hammr

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
More than 1 year

Visitors rate this review
4.00 of 5, 3.00 votes

Price Paid:  $0.00

Summary:
I have read the reviews of the AR9 made in the 1980's and have come to the conclusion that those not satisfied do not have adequate amplifier. These speakers need a lot of power to work. I would say that an older vintage amp with AT LEAST 120 WPC would get you close. Something like a vintage Pioneer SX 1250, 1280 or really an SX 1980 would be best. The power of a 1250 is 160 WPC, a 1980 is 270 WPC. FYI to those who are running a moder surround sound Home Theater reciver rated at 1,2 or even 300 WPC those are not the same. The comparison in laymens terms is saying my Turbo Toyota 4 cylinder has 225 HP and my Dodge Ram 360 V*8 has 225 HP. The difference between old high quality amps as mentioned and new ones is the same as these engines-Torque. New recievers, unless you are willing to spend in the thousands have no torque. They are designed to be used with a self powered subwoofer to get those deep low's. The AR9 needs torque. If you don't have it they will not perform. They are a Bass Reflex, meaning sealed cabinet speaker that loves power. As I stated very few but the most powerful and expensive amps will drive them. A circa late 70's SX 1980 in todays dollars would cost around 4 or 5 thousand dollars.

Price Paid:  $0.00

Summary:
I have been reading a lot of reviews of these speakers and have come to one conclusion when it comes to why people are not satisfied with the circa 1980 speakers. They do not have an amplifier with enought power. These speakers harken from the day when almost all very high end speakers were of the bass reflex design, in other words a sealed cabinet, unless you are talking about Bose 901's which are different story. They require at least a 150 watt amp. Not a 150 watt surrond sound 7.watever either. I am talking about something like a sansui g33000 or a Pioneer SX1250, 1280 or better yet 1980. Unless you spend 3,4,500 dollars on a modern amplifier your 120 watt two year old Pioneer will not do it. They will have little depth in terms of bass and none at low volumes. On person was complaining about them and then proceeded say they were using a 100 watt Pioneer VSX-D812-S reciever. That unit is does not have half what these speakers need in terms of power. FYI most modern amplifiers are designed to be accomplanied by a SELF POWERED SUBWOOFER! That is why these days you get much more bang for the buck. Properly powered it would be hard not to spend less than 3 or 4 thousand dollars on a speaker that can achieve what an AR9 can.

gknutson

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
More than 1 year

Visitors rate this review
3.00 of 5, 2.00 votes

Price Paid:  $1750.00 from Ritchies in Chilliwa

Summary:
I purchased these speakers around 1978 or 9. I had heard a Double Advent system a few years before at an audiophile store, Commercial Electronics in Vancouver, BC, Canada, and was impressed. The AR9 was, basically, a pair of AR11's in the same cabinet. I had also listened to other AR's and had been impressed, and fantisized of getting a pair of some. I read a review in High Fidelity magazine and was convinced to give them a listen. I found them in Vancouver, and was really impressed! The Vancouver price was $2000 Cdn EACH though at that time when they first came out.

One idea down in flames.

I mantioned it to the owner of a stereo store in town here, and he did some research. He said he could get them for $1750, tax included. Needless to say, I jumped at it. Took a loan out at the bank and they were mine.

At the time I was using a small Yamaha R600 receiver. Underpowered for high volume, but fine at low levels. Shortly after I got the Luxman R1120 receiver. It drove the AR's well, but again did not quite have the oomph that they needed, since it was only rated at 120 watts per channel. Still, the rest of the range was impressing. They sounded, basically, as clear as the B&W DM4's that I was using before the ARs, but had a LOT more bass. But I knew it would do better.

I paid off the loans in a couple of months and looked around again. I found a store going out of business in Coquitlam, BC, that had what I wanted.... the Luxman M4000 power amp and the C1010 preamp, and got a good deal, I felt.

The new system made the AR9's come more alive. The highs were Luxman smooth, the midrange was totally believable and the bass made the windows rattle. A year later I bought a second Luxman M4000... the last in Canada!... and that really improved everything, with bi-amping.

The system lasted me about 10 years. The Luxman amps probably were overworked, and died around 1992. No one has been able to repair them.... lack of parts. I have the AR9s operating with a Luxman R1120 again. My needs are no longer for high volume, which the ARs could provide. Maybe it is maturity... :)

They are presently in storage awaiting our acquisition of a new home.

Strengths:
Very smooth integration, between the highs, mids and lows, in my opinion. I fiddled with the level switches at the back of the AR8's and have them at the settings that please me most. This is necessary in some rooms. They can provide great bass augmentation if you place them correctly in a room. I found that any closer than 2 feet from a corner makes the bass overpowering.

I have heard a number of speakers that sound better, but I do not have the $10,000 or more to get better, because that is how much it would cost to improve the sound. I have heard many expensive speakers that cannot do better than the ARs.

Weaknesses:
Very power hungry, if you demand low Hz. Very low impedance at the low end.... 2 ohms or so. Many power amps find this load difficult, especially if you demand high sound levels. I think I was affected by this characteristic of the speaker.

Similar Products Used:
B&W DM4's are the closest that I have had. Many lesser quality speakers over the years...

Audtech

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
More than 1 year

Visitors rate this review
5.00 of 5, 2.00 votes

Price Paid:  $1400.00 from Audio Den, Greeley,

Summary:
I have a pair of the original AR9's from the early 80's. They are the large units with the oiled walnut veneer and 12" woofers. They are outstanding speakers and the only ones I could find at the time that sounded better than my Rectilinear III's, which I still have. They are very clean sounding and listenable for hours at a time. They absorb lots of power without ill effects. I have re-foamed them once. At the time I purchased them I auditioned Advent, Bose 901's and other AR speakers against each other and my Retilinears. The AR9's won, hands down. These speakers are driven by a McIntosh 200 wpc power amp. They can be run all day with the amp "limit" lights on most of the time and sound fine.

Strengths:
Awesome sound, limitless power handling. Great looks.

Weaknesses:
Can't think of any.

Price Paid:  $1000.00 from Nel & Unwin

Summary:
I was disappointed when I listened to my AR 9's the first time at home in my music room. They sounded dull and flat. To cut a long story short, experiment with them ! It took me weeks to set them up just right. Remove the grills to start with. Next I fitted spikes and put them on 500mm solid marble. Bi - wiring is also highly recomended. You must be patient and let them run in for for many hours. A few months of keen listening will do it. After you experimented a lot with the perfect positioning you will find that it was all worth it. I use them on a stereo system with a vintage 25 w Technics amp. and a Rotel 1072 HDCD player. The sound quality is great ! I have never owned a true high-end system but when I compare them to some of the very expensive speakers in my friends' homes they come out tops. Excellent value for money.

Strengths:
Very nice high and mid-range.
Good, tight bass ( if on spikes ).
Unbeatable for the price.

Weaknesses:
Not really.