Price Paid:  $75.00 from Vanns.com

Summary:
I had a Cambridge Center Channel Plus that meshed badly with my AR Edge Sequel speakers. You need to crank up the volume to adequately here the voices in that muffled box. After having this lousy set up of mine for nearly a year, I decided to look for a center speaker that will go with the Sequels perfectly. And then I remembered that HC1, HC2 packages from AR. They used the same satellite speaker as the center. So here it is 150 Watts, of AR Edge with good mid-range and highs. The bass is similar to the Sequel but with more life into it since it uses a bass reflex design. And remember, what our satellite speakers can't achieve, that's where those muscled subwoofers work on.
The binding post terminal is also good since the more seriously designed centers do use binding posts.
I got it as a single piece speaker instead of a pair from Vanns.com which is quite convenient since I really just needed one.

Strengths:
Great feautures for the price.

Weaknesses:
C'mmon for this price?

Similar Products Used:
Cambridge SoundWorks Center Channel Plus

Price Paid:  $150.00 from J&R

Summary:
I purchased a pair of AR Edge for use outdoors. After they arrived I took the opportunity to take one of my Polk front speakers to be repaired and hooked these up indoors as my mains, with a powered subwoofer. I was impressed, sounded almost as good as my Polks. I installed them outdoors 2 years ago and they still sound great. I really like the flexibility that the unique mounting brackes offer. I have mine mounted about 17 feet apart, 7 feet high, angled down and slightly inward. After hearing them 2 of my friends also purchased these for their patio areas. My sister also loved these speakers, I just purchased her a paid for christmas(for $58.00 a pair on Ubid)and she'll love them. These compare well with Klipsch SB1.1's and Wharfedale Anniversary 7.2's.

Strengths:
Great sound, I think they have excellent bass for their size. Great imaging. Mounting options.

Weaknesses:
None at the $150.00 I paid and certainly none at $58.00.

Similar Products Used:
Polk MII's, Klipsch SB1.1, Wharfedale Daimond 7.2, I own all of these.

Price Paid:  $139.00 from soundpros.com

Summary:
Fine speaker for outdoor use, or as rear surronnds. Bass is limited, but for rears, they are perfect.

Strengths:
Compact, ability to orient to listener, Fine sound. Perhaps due to ability to orient toward listener, much better than AR 15's, despite no bass.

Weaknesses:
Not that easy to mount, but, hey, they hang off the wall...

Similar Products Used:
AR 15's

Price Paid:  $68.00 from ubid

Summary:
Received my speakers 2-3 days ago and have had a some time to test these speakers a-b with my other speakers as well as with different amplifiers. I am writing this review based on the the fact that Acoustic Research has a list price of $350.00/pr and Crutchfield sells them as $199.00/pr speakers. Only fair to first compare them in there league where AR is marketing them pricewise and then touch on the fact that I paid only $68.00 for them.

I first hooked up the AR's to my Denon AVR1700 receiver and played some acoustic guitar music. My first impression was that the higher strings had an incredible realism to them. In fact there were some subtle sounds that I heard from the guitar strings that I had previously not heard on my Paradigms. As I auditioned more songs I felt that there was kind of a tubby or over exagerated lower mid-bass coming from the speaker. I also felt that even for a small speaker the bass was just not there. When I got around to doing A-B comparisons b/w the AR's and the Paradigm Titans ($220.00/pr) there was a very large difference. Where the Paradigms had bass and seemed to disappear when I closed my eyes. The AR's had little bass and what bass they did have had kind of a bloated sound. Also, the AR's did not disappear when I closed my eyes and had a less smooth overall sound. The sountstage from side to side that the speakers produced was fantastic, however, the depth was not there.

I next hooked up the AR's to my Luxman LV-112 integrated amp. All the aspects of what I previously wrote were all true yet but less so. There was more bass and less tubby mid-bass.

Overall, in the $150.00 to 200.00 there are better sounding speakers to be had for sheer sound quality. But for the the $68.00 I paid I think they are a great deal. After all is said and done these speakers do still produce descent sound, they look great, and they are very versatile.

After auditioning the AR's in my living room these speakers have found their home in my daughters room with the Luxman. She has no complaints...she's only 14 months old.

Strengths:
Good build, great mounting bracket, large soundstage

Weaknesses:
Tubby sounding lower mid-bass, slight boxiness to sound

Similar Products Used:
Paradigm 5SE and Paradigm Titans

Price Paid:  $130.00 from consumer-direct.com

Summary:
We live in a townhouse and don't have any 'big' rooms. Needed a good set of outdoor speakers for the deck. Liked them so much that we bought another pair for the lower level. Then, bought ANOTHER pair to attach to the second floor outside wall of the house for a halloween party. Across the parking lot, without having to crank the volume up, Horror Movie Madness themes were heard cleanly and clearly. Those speakers are my garage speakers until the next outdoor party.

Strengths:
Convenient size, easily mount anywhere with the included hardware, best bang for your buck.

Weaknesses:
None really. Some reviews complain the brackets can break easily. I disagree. I move mine alot without any problem. Just use common sense. Mount the bracket to the wall first then attach the speaker. Tighten the four screws evenly.

Similar Products Used:
Prior to purchase I tried out Bose 151s. No comparison. Bose 251s are better but not $400 better and they are way too big and bulky.