Excellent sound stage, built quality, very smooth mids, overall a very versatile & quality speaker for all kind of music. So far I have not heard any speaker better than Acoustic Research AR-9.

Grills

I had spent a lot of time in auditioning different speakers, for example Infinity Alpha 40 & 50, JBL LX-7,S-310, N-series, Klipsch RF-3, KLF-10, SF-2, Jamo 670, 870 & Classic 8, DCM-12, MTX, Bose AM series and a few more. None of them was satisfying my need, some were too loud, few were mixing frequencies at high levels, high sensitivity speakers like Klipsch are not for my type. But when I heard Acoustic Research AR9, I just knew that very second, that they are the ones for me to keep. A cat in wolf''s skin. Acoustic Research AR9, is an excellent product. It can play super clean and loud with no sign of distorsion. The sound stage is excellent, speaker delivers music with high degree of sound separation, while other speakers tend to mix up different frequencies specially at high sound levels. The mids are just too smooth, its diamond hardened Titanium tweeter gives wonderful highs,no harshness whatsoever. Bass is just perfect, it is not too punchy but it is full, atleast enough for my need. I have tried AR9 in dts mode in a home theater & I did not feel a need of SubW, thats how good the lows are. Sound separation is a very special feature of these speakers, very clear & distinct sound, does not mix any frequency, every detail comes out crystal clear. These are the kind of speakers which are smooth to your ears & one can listen to them for a long time, rather than getting a headache after listening to for a short while. The built quality is excellent, aesthetically designed with Biwiring facility. They would cover all type of music, from a soft instrumental to hard rock, if you pump them up, they convert into something real wild, thats how versatile they are. I would like to compliment the Acoustic Research Team, to have come up with such a high standard & quality product. As a customer I am very satisfied & would specially like to thank the Salesman who lead me to this speaker. My system : Acoustic Research AR-9 : as mains BIC-America DV62vsi Venturi : as surrounds BIC-America DV62CLR-S : as center Yamaha 520 : AV reciever/Amp Pioneer 233 : DVD player AR-9 with these BIC-America speakers is a perfect match, from a home theater sound to 5 Channel stereo, overall its the best combination one can find. I would highly recommend this combination. All these speakers are also among the "Top Picks" of this site, which says a lot about them.

Similar Products Used:

Used Infinity Alpha 50, JBL LX-7. Auditioned : JBL S-310, N-series, Klipsch RF-3, KLF-10, SF-2, Jamo 670, 870 & Classic 8, DCM-12, MTX, Bose AM series and a few more.

Very detailed bass and open highs/mids

Did not come with spikes

I have read a lot of reviews as well as submitted reviews for products on this site. I have noticed a trend. Most people (not all) tend to rate a product primarily because of its bass capabilities, brand name look and everything else being gravy. I can honestly say that since I have first participated in this site that I have grown more mature musically and have grown to appreciate products for what there sound and what it does to me. First off the AR9 is an excellent speaker. The bass is tight and deep, the mids and highs are very open and detailed. As far as I am concerned these speakers are completely capable of great and detailed bass. Most speakers who have either a built in woofer have the subwoofer front firing which would reflect bass directly to the listener. The AR9 has a side firing woofer which is non powered that either goes to the right or the left depending on where you aim the woofer. Well I built an entertainment unit (which is extremely large) and the woofers are facing inward towards the cabinet. That way the bass is reflected off of the 3/4 inch wood panel and bounces giving a hell of a lot of bass. More than a subwoofer. Now I did try the other way, but for movies it was not good, the air would push outwards and the reflection would be lost to the open area. I can not say that my whole house shakes because I have personally built certain areas in my living room to withstand vibration of any sort, because some movies I like to play loud (I hate the rattling of loose shelves wires etc.) However, I do feel the bass, which is exactly what I want, and I believe to be a sound system. Now I can also say if your receiver can not send out strong bass signals then maybe 1 you need a better receiver, 2 you need a separate power amp or 3 you need a subwoofer (the biggest job for any receiver to carry out is BASS). I have the first generation Dolby digital Onkyo receiver that are 100% capable of sending bass signals to ALL channels for cinema. I remember when the older receivers would have a Loudness button or some sort of Bass button. I have noticed that most new (if not all) modeled receivers do not come with such features, however the trade off being DTS, THX, etc. (by the way my receiver does have Pre-outs for all channels). I have also noticed that not all speakers are good with all receivers. Some speakers are able to bring out certain area''s

Similar Products Used:

AR308HO, AR 428PS, AR11

ALUMINUM&MAGNESIUM DIAGPRHAMS!!! Unmatched sound quality!! Buy from WWW.AUDIOVIDEOMAN.COM they sell them brand new, DO NOT BUY ANYTHING REFURBISHED PERIOD from other sites!

Grill is hard to remove.

Well people I got some real good things to say about my AR-9''s! First of all these speakers got two 5 1/4" midranges, 1" titanium Diamond Hardened-Plasma Transfered tweeter. And a 10" high-excursion woofer. Now the good stuff for all you guys who didn''t/don''t know that these the midranges use METAL DIAGPHRAMS. Its actually a unique blend of magnesium and aluminum that gives you an extremely diamond crisp sound nothing like CLS-150 Yamaha speakers would provide which use recycled paper in them, and got no base at all. Tweeter is just awsome, I''ve never seen anything that was clearer and went higher that I owned previosly. Subs are hardcore too, for the best response point and position them next to a wall so it would just bounce!!! They come with a 5 Year warranty from AR!. For the performace $500 is nothing to pay for a pair. By them from WWW.AUDIOVIDEOMAN.COM they ship super fast and got brand new superb products for such a good price!!!!! Dimensions (HxWxD): 37" x 9 5/16" x 17" Driver complement: Plasma Transferred Diamond Hardened 1" Titanium Dome Tweeter Dual 5 1/4" MagAlloy Monocoque Mid-Range 10" Side-firing High Excursion Woofer All transducers are Magnetically Shielded Frequency response: 32Hz-23KHz ±2dB Crossover frequency: 100Hz and 3.2KHz Sensitivity: 92dB @ 2.83 Volts/Meter

Imaging,Clarity,Ability to fill a room,

These puppies are huge by todays standards, 130 lbs a piece

I know these babies are old but I just acquired from a friend of mine and I must tell you he is never going to get them back. The first thing I noticed was how my living room was engulfed in the music. I am only running them on a little HK receiver but it seems to have no problem pushing all their drivers(5 in each). With each cabinet boasting 2- 11 inch woofers the bass is jaw dropping. I know these are 11 inch woofers not 12 as stated in the 2 other reviews because we ripped one in transport. Grrrrr. Its OK though we found the surrounds on the web and they are already good as new.

A thing I have noticed when you own speakers of this calibre that good recordings sound fantastic and bad recordings still sound like bad recordings. When I listen to Dire Straits "Six Blade Knife" it makes your hair stand on the back of your neck. They also seem to be a very close match for my Paradigm LCR-350 centre channel. They can certainly rock my world when watching movies. If you find a pair and the drivers are in good shape I wouldn't hesitate to buy them. Giving them the big 5 stars

Similar Products Used:

Revox Plenum B's

Sound, Build Quality

None for this price

Updated review. Have had these speakers for close to a year now and they are well broken in and sound great! These are fine speakers for the price and they continue to impress me everytime i listen to them. If you are looking for great performance for a reasonable price, then give the AR9's a look, they are awesome!!

not much good in sound quality

less bass

First I receive that speakers, it was heavy. I thought it may sound good. After I try it, it was quite dissappointed. No deep bass and 3 way sound hear like combine together. Polk tweeter are much more clear and clarity and sharp than this AR9 speaker. However, I bought it for only $430 from Ubid include shipping.

Similar Products Used:

polk RT20P & polk RT800

powerful highs, and deep bass. not to big, yet not to small.

its a little bright, heavy, bass isnt that nice in huge rooms.

my friend let me have these used speakers for only $300! i had a some sony towers I was about to destory! they suck ass! AR9s are MUCH MUCH Nicer!!!
my dad wanted me to put them on his home theater.. Hell no! even tho they might go nicely with HT.. i put them in the basment for a while but i didnt like the sound, the bass is far greater in a small room like mine. (11'-14'), i tried putting the speakers with the side firing woofer out twards the wall. and it was nice. but facing inward they sound much better and fill the room with deep bass! i would far rather have B&W speakrs, but there is no way in hell i would be able to afford them. AR is verry nice and i really enjoy them.

I give them 5 stars all around.

Great sound, nice looking,good price

none so far

Picked up the speakers about a week ago on closeout sale. Had seen them at the store for months but they were $499 each!I heard them many times there and loved them. Finally I went in last week and snagged the pair for $199 each! They give a nice rich sound and rock my HT room. I also picked up the AR4c center channel and a pair of AR 17's for the rears. I am very satisfied with them. Would recommend
to anyone.

Similar Products Used:

Infinity,Optimus Mach 3's

So nice and strong sounding, makes me want to listen to them all the time! And they are Even Better for Home Theater.

None. well the grill is hard to get off.

I was checking around for a nice set of front speakers and the HI-RES AR9's seem to catch me the most(for my budget anyway). For a long time I was into electrostatic, but it seemed to be missing that feeling of..of... I dont know how to explain it.

The AR9's were about $1300.00, I could not afford them, but looking on the internet I found them for a great price. I was going to get Mission Speakers but they just to hard to find. I have actually grown into these speakers to were there sounding better than anything I have previewed(must be the room acoustics). I know I can get them to sound better if I get an AMP( If any body has any good ideas on amps for these speakrs please contact me).

I would recommend these speakers to anyone with a tight budget.

Similar Products Used:

/previewed: Mission, Klipsch, Paradigm, Martin Logan, Magnepan.

So nice and strong sounding, makes me want to listen to them all the time! And they are Even Better for Home Theater.

None. well the grill is hard to get off.

I was checking around for a nice set of front speakers and the HI-RES AR9's seem to catch me the most(for my budget anyway). For a long time I was into electrostatic, but it seemed to be missing that feeling of..of... I dont know how to explain it.

The AR9's were about $1300.00, I could not afford them, but looking on the internet I found them for a great price. I was going to get Mission Speakers but they just to hard to find. I have actually grown into these speakers to were there sounding better than anything I have previewed(must be the room acoustics). I know I can get them to sound better if I get an AMP( If any body has any good ideas on amps for these speakrs please contact me).

I would recommend these speakers to anyone with a tight budget.

Similar Products Used:

/previewed: Mission, Klipsch, Paradigm, Martin Logan, Magnepan.