acoustic research ar9

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Revisiting the Legendary Acoustic Research AR9 4-Way Loudspeakers

Thread starter gene
Start date Jan 22, 2023

Audioholics Master Chief

DigitalDawn

Senior audioholic.

Great article Gene. Remember the NHT 3.3? I think Kenny used some of the AR9 design on that speaker.

I had the follow up model, the AR9ls. Loved that speaker, ultimately taken by foam rot. The changes were moving the woofers to the front, a 12" forward facing driver with a 10" down facing driver that fired into a " bass contour chamber", whatever that really is. The other improvement was mounting the upper midrange and tweeter on a common plate, significantly reducing the center to center spacing which helps with vertical polar response. Never heard then side by side, so hard to assess which was "better", but my in room response extended to 20Hz easily. I think one of the things the new design did was perform better when freestanding. Like the Allison speakers, the original AR9 was designed to work up against the wall for best performance. AR was a great company, I am still using my "The AR Turntable" with Grace 714 unipivot Tonearm today when I pull out the vynil......

Audioholic Spartan

nice walk down memory lane, thanks Gene !

For a moment I thought about Cyberdyne but clearly I was wrong.

I have a pair and a pair if AR90 and "more cowbell" with KEF II .. older Onkyo amps still make them sparkle...4 subs for annoying neighbors.

Audioholic Jedi

Very good article Mr Tyson....

Junior Audioholic

If you took this design and updated it with components from today, this would still be a fantastic speaker. I remember this box. The AR9 reminds me of what Legacy and, in a newer design paradigm, RBH makes now. Fantastically engineered big speakers that offer performance for much less money than their direct competition. Thanks for the flashback.

jeffca said: If you took this design and updated it with components from today, this would still be a fantastic speaker. I remember this box. The AR9 reminds me of what Legacy and, in a newer design paradigm, RBH makes now. Fantastically engineered big speakers that offer performance for much less money than their direct competition. Thanks for the flashback. Click to expand...

I have loved my pair of AR9s for over 40 years. They started bi-amped with the passive crossovers for the first 10 years before being converted to tri-amped with active crossovers, now using DEQX HDP5. They have always been powered by Yamaha M2 amps, originally two, now 4 of them. I have tried to upgrade many times but have only recently been able build what I feel is a better sounding system. I still listen to the AR9s and still love their sound.

It would be nice to see some measurements, something like the NRC measurements done by Soundstage, or even your own. Just how good were the AR-9s? I remember hearing them a long time ago, but I did not find the differences were worth the extra money compared to my old Kef 104s. As well, I would have needed a different amplifier to drive them, which would also cost money. Bryston 4B? I now know that the audition conditions in the store were not very good, and that the more even off axis dispersion of the AR-9 were very significant in a listening room. But I didn't know of Dr. Floyd Toole's research at the NRC very well in those days.

Missing from this article was any mention of the role that the introduction and popularity of separate powered subwoofers played in the decline of this sort of loudspeaker - largely driven by the introduction of Low Frequency Effects (.1) soundtracks in home theater systems. It was a short step from there to redirecting the low bass from other channels to the subwoofer(s), reducing the need for as much amplifier power and deep bass speaker output from the many more than two main channels - probably a large part of the reason for the scorn of older hifi fans for listening to music with home theater setups.

My first very good longtime stereo was a pair of just-released original (later dubbed "Larger") Advents in 1970 powered by a Dynaco SCA-80 integrated amp assembled from a kit. When I set up my first 5.1 home theater and shopped for the audio part of the setup, I looked for front main speakers that sounded like my thirty-five year-old (and several-times re-foamed) Advents. Before subs became popular, I built into my SCA-80 a "bottom-octave boost" circuit from a schematic in a magazine. This sort of hack led to a cottage industry of replacing the foam surrounds on Advent woofers shredded by this sort of long-term abuse: "Bring in your old Advent woofers - for us to refoam for someone else - and you can buy someone else's re-foamed woofers." The hifi sales guy I was asking for speakers that sounded like the Advents thought I was crazy for wanting speakers that had woofers and sounded like my Advents. "Those were junk!" He was pushing what were essentially expensive satellite speakers and a sub. I bought a set of Paradigm Studio 40s for the front, Studio 20s for the sides, and their center channel speaker that was essentially the 40 in black with its footpads on one of the long sides. In the early two-thousands, Paradigm speakers hadn't yet become stratospherically expensive. They are still the core of my 7.2.4 theater setup, supplemented by less expensive rears and overheads and a second sub, driven by a Yamaha RX-A3070 and an old Denon AVR-2370CI for the four overheads. The Advents now live in my living room stereo, powered by my old Yamaha RX-A1030 5.1 receiver. And I play the low bass both from the subs and the mains.

Floyd Toole

Acoustician and wine connoisseur.

Figure 18.3 (h) in the 3rd edition of my book "Sound Reproduction" shows 0, 30 and 60 deg curves for the AR-9, and it was very well behaved. It got high scores in double-blind listening tests and the anechoic curves show why: flattish on-axis response, uniform flattish off-axis behavior - both characteristics that were lacking in many (most?) loudspeakers of the time. The extended bass and optimized room coupling helped - this is shown in Figure 9.12 which includes in-room measurements. Chapter 18 in the book shows anechoic data on many other loudspeakers of the period; it is called "Fifty Years of Progress in Loudspeaker Design".

Pat D said: It would be nice to see some measurements, something like the NRC measurements done by Soundstage, or even your own . Just how good were the AR-9s? Click to expand...

I had a pair of AR9 that I purchased new in 1980.They were driven by an Akai PS-200M that I bought at the same time.They sounded amazing in my apartment but couldn’t really push them without getting complaints from neighbour. I think my interest in audio was one of the primary drivers for purchasing a house in 1982. They were the source of much critical listening pleasure and dance party enthusiasm. I kept them until 2008 when I finally caved to pressure from my wife. They didn’t fit with her sense of room esthetics. I did keep the Akai system and today the amp powers the left and right speakers of my 7.2.6 home theatre. I had the amp tested by a local repair shop recently and it is still close to the original published specs.

AudioLover73

I love that you brought attention to the AR9s! My father had a pair of these as I was growing up, so I went out and bought a set of AR9LSs thinking they'd be better (I was heavily influenced by the marketing brochure). They were not (at least not to me). I promptly sold them and bought a set of AR9s. We still have both pairs to this day. I need to set them up and take a proper picture! My dad's are paired with a Sansui G22000.

kracer said: They did remake it in the early 2000s Click to expand...

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Acoustic Research AR9 Floorstanding Speakers

Acoustic research ar9 floorstanding speakers , user reviews.

WOW just to think about the AR9's makes me cry. I never owned them but my uncle did. This is sort of a review and reminisce, of how great 2 channel audio was heard and can be heard today! I heard the AR's several times, mostly my uncle played and loved hearing opera. I eventually convinced him to let me play some of my music, Anita Baker, Toni Braxton, David Benoit, Marc Antoine to name a few. Time frame of doing this was 2005. I love music that has great dynamics to it. Smooth jazz I guess. He and I were blown away by the sound stage and range that the AR9's created. Anita Baker sounded as though we were in concert! He had great equipment to power them. I remember a Carver Amp and pre Amp with a Yamaha tuner and Dual turntable. I've always been a little of a audiophile to a degree. At the time, which was 2005, I still had and have my 2 channel Luxman R-115 and my uncles JBL L26's. Today I acquired a set of Klipsch Forte's that I received from a friend whose husband had passed away and she knew I loved audio. My wife has grown in appreciation of music and sound presence other than Sonos set ups that most of our friends have. I had a HUGE opportunity to own the AR9's and the equipment. For what ever reason which I never understood, because my aunt and uncle were pretty much meticulous with everything, the AR9 woofers took on dry rot to some degree. In 2005, they were looking at down sizing and moving and offered up the AR9's to me to for......ahemm cough, $200. I think all together for amps and all it was $800. I was and will be forever off the hook, CRAZY!! My wife looked at me as if I asked for a super power boat to be parked in our living room. I didn't have the house to utilize and correctly use them per se at the time although, I do now. I should've bought everything and just kept them in my finished basement. My wife was still not on board for that as well. To somewhat dismay back then via my knowledge of things and perpetually insurmountable dismay today, I passed on everything. Ugg. This was a review / story of sorts to praise and remember the AR9's and to say thank you to my aunt and uncle to letting my hear and experience the range and phenomenal sounds that I heard and to possibly provide me with a life time of incredible music enjoyment! Thank you.

Big, Heavy and well BIG!

If you have a pair of these AR-9 do not ever get rid of them. They are something that you will not believe in sound quality from the highest highs to the lowest low en and everything in it the mid range.

You will need a high quality power amp I am using a Hefler 500 power amp.

This is a review of a pair of vintage 1982 Teledyne Acoustic Research AR9 Speakers. They are massive speakers weighing 130+lbs each. Once you replace the foam surrounds you're in for a real treat cause these speakers are simply amazing sounding when driven with a proper power amp. They are sealed enclosures with acoustic suspension drivers so they require a TON of power to really make them sing. I'm driving mine with a Conrad Johnson Premier 350SA. The CJ350 can produce 350W+ for 8ohm or 780W for 4ohm. The gigantic 4ohm AR9's desire a ton of current and the 350 can deliver everything the AR9's ask for. When driven with the 350, the AR9's BASS is simply out of this world articulate and dynamic. I just love listening to music that gets down into that 20-32Hz range. The AR9's can deliver all those low 20Hz signals most systems just can't reproduce. For the record the literature that comes with the AR9 speakers state their frequency range as 18Hz-20KHz +-3db. 18Hz!!! The soundstage of the AR9 is just gigantic with palpable liquid smooth 3D holographic imaging which brings that elusive engaging excitement for the listener creating goosebumps on body and permanent dumbfounded smile on shaking head & face. I've simply never heard BASS reproduced in a home setting as well as the combo of the AR9 + 350. For a preamp I'm using a vintage McIntosh MX110Z. The MX110Z + 350 + AR9 is simply the most amazing stereo combo I've owned. For the record I've owned speakers: Harbeth Monitor 40.1, B&W 800 Diamond series, Klipsch KG 4.2, '76 Cornwall, '88 LaScala, '80 Klipschorn, Tannoy Monitor Gold 15", AR4x & AR3. Other gear: McIntosh MC30, MC402, MC2105, Marantz 8b, Yamaha RX350, V660. Checkout Martin Colloms review of the Premier 350SA power amp: https://www.durob.nl/pdf/ConradJohnson/Amplifiers/PR350%20Amplifier%20-%20Martin%20Colloms%20-%20english.pdf

Original late 70's AR9's, just restored them with new surrounds. Sound absolutely great, had to bypass the crossover selector switches as they were introducing spurious static and dropouts to tweeter and upper mid drivers in one channel. These speakers truly can "send you to another place" as you get lost in the music. I ran them for years at very high volumes but put them into storage after arrival of children and "surround rot". A few hundred bills later for 6 new surrounds and now I remember why they are so special. Crossovers built like tanks, 2 nine pound woofers in each cabinet, ability to drive them to jet aircraft at takeoff SPL's (which I won't do out of respect for the speakers and my remaining hearing), able to be passively bi amped - which I am doing with 2 mid 1980's BGW Proline II 6500 amplifiers. Nothing short of spectacular and will probably last now as long as a "new" set of $5,000.00 speakers assembled in "North America with outsourced parts". Highly recommended!

I was never happy with my sound system back in the early 70s then spoken to Dan Logins who was working for CBS Europe in London Luckily he told me he was getting a ew pair of speakers from America n I could bought his if I wanted to, after going to his office I was faced with a white pine n white cloth speakers I was not impressed till he put on Santana on the T/T I knew then I was buying them my first pair of ARs the AR4s, B4 ARs came to Britain then moved on to a brand new pair of AR5s that I still have I started buying AR speakers from Ebay as I love them I had pair of AR 48s a pair of AR 14s only two drivers But excellent sound then saw a pair of AR9s the 42inches high 55 Kilos weight drove 350 miles round trip n bought them as I Always wanted them but could not afford them when they where new mine are not the ones with 2 X12 inch drivers one side firing but a 12 inch forward n a 10 inch down firing speaker but through lack of space I gave the AR14s n the AR 48s to couple of friends my amp is a JVC M3030 (20 Kilos) n the pre amp P3030 with MC input stage too the sound of the AR9s for my taste is about the best I heard even few days ago I hooked up my AR5s n they gave a good account of themselves next to the AR9s my AR9s Frequency response is 28 Hertz to 25KHertz very flat Shure Cardridge of course, my AR9s have 5 units in them, the 12 n 10 an 8 inch mid range n two tweeters I always loved the sound of AR speakers over all other speakers I know of, my amp on 4 OHMS load AR9 are 4 OHMS o my mates osiloscope if I remember right was around 150 watts RMS only drove them once MAX n the sound volume was HIGH but still NO distortion I usually drive them about half to 3/4 volume on the amp usually for me the Best speakers on earth

I've had these speakers for about 10 years now. I've upgraded my amps and receivers through out the years. Even tho they need some fine turning, they are some great speakers. About 3 years ago I've purchased a thousand dollar pair of Klipsch to replace my AR9's and was surprisingly disappointed with the the Klipsch! They sounded good in the sound room! However, I ended up selling them and put my AR9's back up.. I swear the older these speakers get and more these speakers are played the better they sound! IF you find them, then get them!. They are a rare find!

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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