AR High Resolution Speakers vs AR Classic Speakers

[ligs]

I found a pair of AR high Resolution AR15 bookshelf speakers in very good condition. They have 6-inch Magalloy one-piece woofers and one-inch Diamond coated Titanium dome Tweeters!

The top of the line AR Hi Res AR1 got an excellent review by Stereophile.

“The AR-1's clear, transparent mids and highs made listening to them emotionally involving. I was moved to tears by the a cappella "Calling My Children Home," from Spyboy. Harris' ethereal voice stood out separately—in location and in tonality—from Buddy Miller's sweet tenor and the voices of the rest of her band. Via the AR-1s, "Prayer in Open D" on the same album showed off Harris' voice as effortless, ethereal, clear, and translucent. The guitar work was crystalline and airy, with silken tonality”

http://www.stereophile.com/content/acoustic-research-ar-1-loudspeaker-page-3

The complete line-up of AR Hi Res is here:

http://www.digital.com.uy/ar/hi_res.htm

Can anyone shine some light into the difference in sound quality of AR Hi Res speakers vs classic AR speakers, especially WRT Hi Res AR 15?

[Carlspeak]

Their specs look impressive. Are they still available at retail?

[ligs]

Unfortunately I can not find any new ones in the current market. Initially, they sounded a little bland but with a couple days' playing the smoothness is still there but great clarity and micro details begin to ravel. Their sound just seems to draw you in:) I know classic AR speakers are known for very nice reproduction of string instrument. AR 15's are very smooth to do strings and they make human voices very convincing too.

[michiganpat]

they went the way of the dodo with the last vestiges of the original AR when Recoton went bankrupt in ~2004.

I have the 312HO's, which were the direct predecessors to the Hi Res series. very nice speakers, but I can't compare to any real "classic era" AR's, as I've not had the pleasure of hearing any original or teledyne era 10" models. only thing my ears could compare to are my AR18's, which isn't fair (40" floorstander with a 12" woofer vs. a .38 cubic foot bookshelf with an 8" woofer). I'm sure they're voiced more "forward" than the classic eras, as my early 90's holographic imaging M5's have a more pronounced midrange than my AR18's, and my (new to me) late 80's rock partners sound in between my 18's and M5's as far as midrange forwardness.

I love my 312HO's great sound and imaging. I think mine sound better than my friend's polk LSi9's, which have the advantage of having a powered woofer section.

[ka7niq]

On 7/17/2012 at 3:09 PM, michiganpat said:

they went the way of the dodo with the last vestiges of the original AR when Recoton went bankrupt in ~2004.

I have the 312HO's, which were the direct predecessors to the Hi Res series. very nice speakers, but I can't compare to any real "classic era" AR's, as I've not had the pleasure of hearing any original or teledyne era 10" models. only thing my ears could compare to are my AR18's, which isn't fair (40" floorstander with a 12" woofer vs. a .38 cubic foot bookshelf with an 8" woofer). I'm sure they're voiced more "forward" than the classic eras, as my early 90's holographic imaging M5's have a more pronounced midrange than my AR18's, and my (new to me) late 80's rock partners sound in between my 18's and M5's as far as midrange forwardness.

I love my 312HO's great sound and imaging. I think mine sound better than my friend's polk LSi9's, which have the advantage of having a powered woofer section.

I have owned original AR 1's and AR LST's, as well as the huge AR 9's towers, with the 2 woofers on the sides, and the acoustic blanket. To MY ears none of the old classic AR Speakers  hold a candle to the Hi Res AR 1 and AR 3.  The AR 9's IMHO are a failed design speaker because their dual woofers require they be right up against a wall. That kills image depth, though they did have a nice midrange. My old LST's were fun,   I must admit. They had a big sound, and were very musical, for their day. In general, the old AR Speakers were very inefficient, and rolled off sounding.  The Hi Res AR 1 is an an incredible speaker, and is also 96 db efficient. It has a 15 inch subwoofer, powered by a 500 watt Sunfire amp. 

[AR surround]

21 hours ago, ka7niq said:

The AR 9's IMHO are a failed design speaker because their dual woofers require they be right up against a wall. That kills image depth, though they did have a nice midrange.

I have never cared for the presentation of the AR9's when placed right up against the wall.   Mine are both 5 ft away from the back wall, with the left speaker a foot from the left wall, the right speaker two feet from the right wall and both toed in.   They sound great and I never have been disappointed with the bass in this configuration.   My only complaint is that they seem to demand to be played loud to demonstrate their virtues.

[ka7niq]

34 minutes ago, AR surround said:

I have never cared for the presentation of the AR9's when placed right up against the wall.   Mine are both 5 ft away from the back wall, with the left speaker a foot from the left wall, the right speaker two feet from the right wall and both toed in.   They sound great and I never have been disappointed with the bass in this configuration.   My only complaint is that they seem to demand to be played loud to demonstrate their virtues.

Great ! What is happening is the 2 side walls are providing the loading the woofers need. Glad it is working out for you. My pair were in a large room, well away from the side walls.  The reason they need to be played loud is, they were designed for flat low bass response. Many designers intentionally build a "bass bump" into their speakers, to give the Illusion of bass.