Clean, clear mids & highs
Solid upper bass
Bi-ampability

None at its price-level

I have been tweeking-around for about 30 years and have
acquired a fair amount of mid-fi products during this time,
including a pair of Carver amps not in use. So, I initial-
ly viewed these speakers, given their bi-amp. feature and
high sensitivity, as a way to work high SPLs into a sys-
tem without the purchase of a large amplifier.

System integration as follows:
Line Source(s)> Parasound DR40 Receiver (yeah, Para made
receivers in the 80's)> Chase Technologies RLC-1
Preamp. The DR40 has Preouts & the RLC-1 has Front
& Rear Main outputs to access 2 amplifiers.
RLC-1's Front Main> Carver TFM-6cb Amp., TFM-6cb's
preout> Carver TFM-15 Amp. RLC's Rear Main> NHT MA-
1A Amp.
Speaker Outputs; Carver TFM-6cb> AR 308HO's high freq. &
midrange drivers. Carver TFM-15> AR 308Ho's bass
driver. NHT MA-1A> subwoofer. Subwoofer = early
70's JBL L26 Decade cabinet (ported), with Kajak
10" poly cone w/2 x 4 ohm voice coils wired in series
to create a nominal 8 ohm load. The Kajak driver
requires an enclosure of the L26's size and has a
rated sensitivity of 95 dB, making the most of NHT
MA-1A's modest power.

I am quite pleased with the results of all of this, the
308HOs are inputting 165 (8ohms) to 250 (4ohms) watts from
the Carvers and the subwoofer is usually tuned to a 10-11
o'clock to keep it down. Total system power-450/700 watts
into 8/4 ohms without a monster amp in the chain.

The mids & highs of the 308s are very clear and forward,
which is appreciated as this system is located in a rela-
tively large room. The side-firing bass seems to lend
itself to a fairly wide sound-stage, however, it's my
opinion that AR could have lowered the low-pass freq. to
prevent too much midrange material from firing to the sides.

In another system, located side by side to the one above,
I went a more conventional way: Onkyo Integra P-304 Pre-
amp> Carver A500x Amp (250/400 Wpc) & Hafler DH500 Amp
(255/400 Wpc), mixed thru a Paradigm X-30 active Cross-
over. Carver A500x > NHT Model 1.3 Speakers; Hafler DH
500 > JBL ARC 90 Speakers (rewired-bass sections only -
in use).

When compared, there are differences in the two systems.
The NHT 1.3s are slightly more detailed and require more
(much more) power to shine. The subs operate somewhat
smoother, which is probably attributable to the big amp,
the Paradigm crossover and there are two of them in stereo
position relative to the NHTs. However, the sound-stage
is not as wide, nor as forward as the AR 308HO system.
I tend to use the AR system when listening to older and
the NHT system to newer recording material. I say this
meaning a matter of degree as newer material almost al-
ways results in enhanced bass, detail and loudness. Com-
pare a recent recording by Creed or the new Santana CD
to a remastered 50s or 60s CD and see how fast you hit
the vol. knob.

Similar Products Used:

NHT Model 1.3
NHT Super One

Just for its price/performance ratio alone, I would have to give it five stars. Right out of the box, they sound adequate - but they really come to life after AT LEAST a three-day break-in period. Furthermore, to get some real pump'in kick-ass performance - I strongly recommend bi-wiring or if possible, bi-amplification. After I bi-wired these suckers using 12-gauge monster traditional speaker cables, they really came to life. The bass was more authoritative and the middle became clearer - not too much of an improvement on the highs since this was pretty good to begin with. Bought these speakers just over a month ago from Crutchfield for $399.

Good bass and overall sound.

I bought two pairs of these last spring from Onsale. I paid $450 for the two pairs, including shipping. At first I was a bit disappointed in the bass. I was switching from a pair of Technics SBT200 towers and it seemed that they had a bit better bass. After listening to the AR's for a while I realized that the bass was actually better than the Technics which seemed to have a bit of boominess and there seemed to be a dip in their frequency response. The AR's don't have this problem. I have since come to enjoy these very much. I am in the process of putting together a home theater set-up, hence the two pairs. Once I add a good center and a sub I'll be there. I had been using an old JBL center channel that I borrowed from a friend until I think my wife wouldn't string me up for buying one. As far as a 'break-in' period is concerned, I actually called AR and talked to one of their engineers (I am an engineer too) about this. He said it's a myth. According to him, if there is something changing with any of the mechanical components you are doing damage. I agree, I think we really break ourselves in by getting used to the sound.

price, looks, good for movies

low fi for music, doesn't hold a candle to the bigger names put there: b&w, nht, paradigm, psb

not even close to neutral, but if you have a reciever based system centered around movies, a great buy

Great bargin. Well defined soundstage...great imaging & detail!

cloth grill needs to be removed to open'em up. Need good stands.

What a bargin! I've had these since March '99, when I found them on ONSALE.COM for $220! They have great bass punch and extention...I've set them up on 26 inch stands 6 feet apart, four feet from each wall and toe-ed them in slighty. They fill up my 24 x 16 foot listening room with luscious sound!

Similar Products Used:

B&W 301s, & 601's, Mission 701

Excellent seperation of the mid and highs
Deep Tight Non-Boomy Bass

I bought these speaker way back when. I am surprised at how much they have went down. I have an Onkyo receiver and a Onkyo M504 amp cross amplified to these speakers. They sound extremely good at high levels. I am planning on upgrading my system to a pair of AR 7 Tower fronts and put these speakers in the rear. The highs and mid are so clear. If these speakers are going for the prices as specified in the other reviews you would be a fool not to pick these up. However, I still do not regret buying these speakers at the price I paid.

Price, high efficiency level, and clarity of reproduction.

Size (as bookshelf)

Picked up two pairs of these speakers to use as surrounds in a 6.1 music system. Their efficiency and clarity make them an excellent choice for reproducing the effects channels delivered by a Yamaha DSP1 through a Yamaha MVS-35 4 channel amp. Along with the A/R 310HO front channel speakers the system produces clean crisp sound and excellent imaging in an 18'x20' room.

Similar Products Used:

A multitude of cheap alternatives (under $100 / pair)

Lots of bass, maple finish is very elegant (and buts b&w's rosewood finish to shame), price

A far cry from being neutral-but not as colored as some others. Still circuit city/goodguys level.

could either be a great speaker or your weak link, depending on the rest of your gear. If you need a bookshelf driven by a reciever in a movie first system, you can't go wrong. If you're a seperates type of person who enjoys neutral music, you'll find this speaker a real step down from the other manufacturers listed above. I ended up using this speaker as mains and rears in a home theater setup (denon avr5700, toshiba sd2109 dvd, moster interconnects, kimber 8tc/4tc biwired), and putting together a music only system in my bedroom (adcom gcd700, nad c340, grado sr60 headphones,audioquest ruby & jumper cables - still saving up for b&w602IIs) after auditioning some other speakers when i bought my integrated. i'll give it 5 stars keeping in mind what systems they'll be used in, but i would give them three and a half stars on an absolute scale

Similar Products Used:

nht 2.5 & super one, b&w dm602II, paradigm mini monitor & titan

I recently made the dive into our Home audio/video system. While I did a fair amount of research on what to buy and from where, I ended up purchasing my AR speakers from Crutchfield. Got them right after they put them on sale price and still paid a little more than other places but I always know what to expect, when to expect it, how little the shipping charge is and their service is EXCELLENT. Still waiting for my DVD player from a different vendor!! Anyway, enough of the commercial.
I ordered AR208HO and AR308HO speakers for my mains. Since I am relatively new to this I wanted to compare the quality of sound coming from both sets in my home. I have them hooked to a JVC 884VX with CS 25 HO center, AR S10 HO powered sub and a pair of AR The EDGE surrounds. The system sounds great but when comparing the 208 to the 308, there is no comparison as you would expect. The 308 HOs sound great in my theater. The do a great job in all ranges and they are exceptionally clear and full. As far as features, they have many of the same feature the 310 or 312 have but if you don't have the space or money(or don't want to take up the space) for the tower speakers, these "bookshelf" speakers will be tough to beat or match.

I bought a pair of 308HO a week ago. After one week of audition, I conclude that the performance of 308HO is very-good-to-excellent overall. My Denon AV810 (80w/ch) can easily bring these speakers to a very natural and high-volume sound. I compared the 308HO with my Celestion SL6 si (lower-grade version of famous SL600). The high sensitivity of 308HO obviously takes its advantages on AV810. You can hear more musical messages from 308HO than from SL6. The bass strength of 308HO simply beats that of SL6. Furthermore, the 308HO sounds as natural as SL6 does. Clearly, the 308HO is a better team-mate for Denon AV810 receiver. As a HT monitor, I also prefer 308HO because of its more dynamical sounds. According to its luxury features such as bi-amplifiability, solid construction, sharing fine components with hi-end speakers and so on, the 308HO should be placed barely at high-end level.
The 308HO also sounds well on high-powered amplifiers. However, upper-scaled high-power amplifiers will make 308HO somewhat loose the advantages of high sensitivity. When I power the speakers with Carver 405x amplifier, the 308HO only obviously beats SL6 on the bass strength. They have different characteristics. The pianos sound more like acoustic ones on SL6, whereas they sound more like electronic grand pianos on 308HO. SL6 has laid-back property, the sound stage of SL6 feels deeper. However the image of 308HO is more accurate on the lower-frequency instruments because 308HO has woofers. The SL6 has world-class true-to-life voice and instrument reproductions (If the voice is not too high or too low.) The 308HO sounds only half-grade lower on this aspect. On the other hand, SL6 sounds "deader", while 308HO sounds 'sweeter' and more alive. It is a matter of personal taste to say which one is really 'better'. The classical fans may prefer the SL6. However people may enjoy easy-listening better on 308HO. No matter what, they are both beyond doubt fine speakers.

If I make the SL6 team up with my B&W’s acoustic sub-woofer, the sound seems to be slightly superior to that of 308HO alone. The combination of SL6 and B&W sounds truer, cleaner and tighter even using the Denon AV810. Although this doesn’t seem like a fair competition, the 308HO alone, with suggested retail being half the price of SL6 and B&W combined, sounds closely well! In a word, the 308HO is a fine performer. It is clearly a very good choice in its class. The sale price $399 from crutchfield.com maked the 308HO an absolute good buy. While still using my Celestions as main speakers, I let these 308HO's perform ultimate jobs as my rear speakers. Since both SL6 and 308HO sound neutral, the matching is not a serious problem. I would recommend 308HO strongly for people that are looking for any speakers (expensive or budget ones) for their not-so-powerful amplifiers or receivers.

Here are my ratings for 308HO (comparing with speakers in the range $500-$1000.)

Appearance: 5 speakers
Sound image: 5 speakers
Sound depth: 4 speakers
Sound quality: 4 speakers
Value: 5 speakers (at $399)

I would really like to give 308HO 4 and a half speakers for overall rating.


system used and music source

Denon AV810 (Dolby Pro-log Receiver)
CAVER AV405 (5 ch amplifier)
Celestion SL6 speakers
Celestion 3 (As original rear speakers)
Celestion impact C1 (Center)
B&W Acoustic Sub-woofer (Passive)
Sony CDP 970 CD (old-time top mass-market model)
Pineer D414 DVD player
Nakamichi CR-1A Cassete deck

Love song CD's
Piano Sonatas
Kathleen Battle sings Mozart
New Year's Concert with Domingo
Hyden's symphony
Paganini's Violin Concertos
Telnarc sampler V
Philips Complete Mozart (highlights)
Batman & Robin (DVD)
etc....