frankmarsi

Excellent. A brave man playing one of my favorite albums. I like that album so much I have 3 copies of it. On vinyl of course. If you enjoy that wonderful group, may I also suggest if you don't have it already, "Brother Where You Bound?", I use it as a system reference demonstration album, notably because the dynamic range of the music is wide. Let's see/hear who will be next to step up to the plate and let's hope others will follow your lead. My video was recorded on a $59.00 phone from wally's world and I got decent quality.

Why is no one posting a short video of their system?

So ligs, am I to assume that this is your system? My hesitation with y__tube is the aspect of 'copy-right' regulations. I've read of some folk's posts being taken down due this fact. Have you heard anything regarding this point? Then again, do I want to be part of that whole affair? Actually, I should just read y__tube's rules and regulations and go from there.

I can understand your opinion about the AR-9 LMR because when I refoamed mine in looking at it, it appeared to be somewhat flimsy and not similar to AR other 8" small drivers. I also wonder if a better(?) of more substantial driver might be substituted? I can only suggest that you also check the inside back of the interior's circular enclosure used by this driver as one of mine was leaking due to drying mounting adhesive which is all I found holding it in place. Keep us posted.

Quote: ""It’s amazing ? that just by hearing the jazz on your video I can pick up the clean, crystal clear sound you’re getting."" Well, thank you for the complement newandold, you should hear it in person as it's actually 'like being there' for the actual musical event. I wish others would reply and post videos of what they are listening to. A word of caution is members only have 200mb of upload space and as videos take up much room, one must be selective in what length they post. Mine can be 34 to 85mb and I have others that occupy much more length though, I still have fotos and what not on this site from years ago that I'd rather not delete. At this rate I'm left with very little remaining space and at some point I must brave the use of a video host and simply post links instead, which, I haven't attempted yet. To me, we're all in the same boat on this site, I'd prefer to be here rather then be on the 'karma' site and though some members there have excellent newer and up-scale systems, it's everybody and his uncle and it's loaded with many who don't know squat about AR or experienced listening with these speakers. These days, everyone is seemingly an expert and that irks me to no end whereas I come from the 1960's early 1970's when home stereo was blossoming like never before. Granted, every individual should have a chance and get on-board but, one should know their roll also. I have invested much money, research and personal experience into my system and I feel I've elevated it to new grand heights of musical enjoyment and vintage audio greatness. Let's see who will post next, how about you? Regards, FM

I'm waiting for the 'administrator' to 'delete' the remainder of the files that were left when I was attempting to change the files with different music. Members are apparently only allowed to occupy 200mb of space which isn't much when uploading videos.

Roy offered help to me a long while back but I was in a transitory mode and didn't have the time to do speakers, I might still take him up on it in the future. That's is, if he's still willing.

Hi David, if you asked a dedicated AR speaker user of decades long use, my opinion these would be; these speakers have a dated and muted sound. They'd be hard to handle what is considered a 'current-sound' of music these days. To me, they would typify an older forgotten sound quality that was accepted decades ago and gradually changed across the years. However, if one is not a decerning listener or aware of what music actually sounds like, they might be acceptable. Case in point after many failures of my original 3a's tweeters in the early 1970's, my purchase of 'Micro-Static' outboard tweeters was not only a relief to finally have the correct and realistic amount of sounding 'highs' but, allowed me to hear music, more the way it is in person or live. That's my opinion and I'm sticking to it.

Video came down due to a uploading mishap and other than your receptiveness, there wasn't any participation, so no point. I'm wondering if 'administrator' will come in and help? Apparently capacity of uploads is full and I can't upload other files, in addition I cannot delete what's there to add new files, and the same thing happened in my other post. What originally started as fun has tragically ended.

An excellent job and this approach should be the model for all of us here. FM

Isn't anyone going to describe and share what they're listening to by simply posting a video? Has this site become a tinkerer's workshop and not that of listeners? Comparing to the car world, are we the 'pit-crew' at the car race and not the 'Drivers'? The winning rewards are in the driving, not the changing of tires and the wiping of windshields.

The room is rectangular therefore with the speakers at one end, and my 'sweet-spot' placing me sitting almost three-quarters in the room away from the speakers, the resultant bounced sound does afford me enough separation to enjoy signals from both the left and right speakers. Typically I'm not the sort of listener that insists equal amounts of sound exactly being a 'left-right', or 'right-left' listening proposition. Nor is that what one hears at a live concert as hall reflections and ambient sound typically comes from many directions. In my set-up, if a bass is recorded and intended to come from the left speaker, I will hear it from the left speaker and ditto for the inverse. AR-LST"s have angled side panels that radiate to the sides as so designed. In my set-up the left and right speakers are a least two feet from the room corners and the right speaker's wall being only slightly different because of a window but, that's 6 feet away, what I'm trying to say is the left side of the room gets a little bit more wall support. In fact, because of the left speaker's side corner wall support, it also radiates a bit more than the right side. I have no issue with separation as the stereo image is intact. Case in point when listening to mono-disks I don't sit there and analyze how much signal is coming from which speaker nor do I do that with stereo disks unless it's obviously recorded that way. Besides, 'stereo' is not defined as 'left-right' or 'right-left', it is actually a blend of both unless a recording defines a larger degree of separation for a particular affect, it's typically a blended support of sound from both sides. While using the phono cartridge shown above which has 36db of separation being one that has more separation than most. What matters most to me is the separation of each individual instrument's placement, sound and amount of detail in the mix, not being reliant exactly on what's coming from the left or right sides. But, to your point, yes dependent on how much I turn my head the left-right stereo separation can and does vary somewhat but naturally so. The days of 'Stereo-Separation Thrills and Special Effects' is long gone and not like it was in the early 1960's and '70s. Admittedly, as desirable as a rectangular room is for listening, no room is perfect as furnishings, curtains, couches, chairs and rugs will absorb and reflect sound differently and will contribute to the over-all sound perceived and heard. Nor am I the sort of listener that insists tone controls being in their 'flat' position, especially when using AR speakers. I learned long ago in 1971-72 while using the kit-built (I built in 1967) tube Dynaco PAS-3X pre-amp that in order to have sound pleasingly realistic it necessitated a slight increase of both the bass and treble controls to avoid the proverbial 'wet-blanket' sound that AR's reputation was garnering as compared to say 'JBLs' sound character. That in of itself was another reason AR devised the AR-LST speaker, in affect, more highs and more reflected radiation of sound. AR also modified their tweeters to permit a larger amount of high frequencies as time went on, the LST and to a lesser extent the 10pi remedied that issue long ago. And not to besmirch AR but, as an example in affect so did the Bose 901 as did Allison and a few others with supporting the concept of reflected sound as being more realistic and typical of a live performance. Then, if you haven't noticed, I use a S.A.E. parametric-equalizer and have seasoned aka 'tuned' to my tastes and needless to say I go for accuracy and realism. I use the cartridges I've chosen in like manner. As a user of AR products for 48 years to date, it's always been about making/allowing them to sound the best I can. Now that I've filled up 5 paragraphs with semantics in attempting to answer your question, are you going to offer a sample of what you listen to? Not that we'd be able to discern a left or right side differentiation but, just to get an idea of members sound quality. Or, should we rely on the usual fare of discussion here such as (with a 45 year old speaker), will one really be able to discern the difference between a Bennic of a Nichicon capacitor in the X-over, perhaps? Though, if the input sources were excellent and good enough, perhaps we could. That sort of analizing I trust is better left to very expensive more modern high-end systems which by the way afford a greater amount of high-frequency dispersion as compared to vintage AR speakers. P.S. My thrust is to get the best possible sound I can get in the vintage domain, though my system because of it's clarity and high resolution stands its ground extremely well. And by using very powerful and clean amplification, along with very high quality exceptional sounding phono cartridges and careful setup of those front end sources, I believe I have achieved my long time goal. My speakers and system sounds the best it can for what it is, a 45 plus year old set-up that to me and folks that have enjoyed listening claim it sounds exceptional and it's met with reactions of astonishment by anyone who listens to it, followed by smiles of musical satisfaction. See the attachment below and have a short listen. It is easy to hear the room is filled with sound as in a concert hall. Unfortunately because of the size of my last couple of posts I've run out of the site's available space allotted to each member. It would be nice if he site allowed more space for just such purposes. I may look into outside sites to do so and provide links instead. But seriously, if you have decent outboard computer speakers turn them up to approximate what's in the video and imagine what it's actually like in person. It's only 23 seconds long but, it gives an idea. FM

5-17-19 “” Do AR speakers really sound that good? or “Sharing the Sound” or “Why Do We Toil The Way We Do With Old Wooden Boxes?” Does anyone want to share with other members what their set-up sounds like?* Obviously you have a computer and maybe a digital camera or phone so, chances are your digital camera/phone can record video. How long can members go on speaking about sanding rectangular wood boxes and cleaning potentiometers, or reinforcing particleboard T-nut fasteners with wood glue? Recording a video is rather straight forward, you may have to do a few tests before you find the best way to record or get the best but, that is part of the fun. Will it be ‘room-filling’ sound with a ‘you are there’ sonic-presentation or scaled down to just some sound emanating from two obtrusive boxes? Are your guests impressed and moved by the music or are they mildly enlightened by your efforts in filling a room with hardware? Do guests tolerate your endeavors for five minutes or do they agree that they’d enjoy it if you played more music? With all this vintage AR speaker enthusiasm on this site, you’d think members would want others to hear what they’re listening to? In videoing, one doesn’t have to include the whole room, one could focus on their equipment as a stationary view and let the music record from your ‘sweet-spot’. You do have a sweet-spot, don’t you. My sweet-spot is not necessarily facing my speakers but, seated fifteen feet away I sit at a right-angle to the speakers as I prefer to be enveloped by the sound almost like being in a music-hall so, I record from where I usually sit facing the equipment. *Most home videos will not allow for a totally accurate representation of the room’s sound quality or what is reaching one’s ears but, at least we’d all have an idea of the sound-quality is like. From there, members could assist, critique and advise others with how they went about achieving the best quality for that given set-up and room and how to make it even better. FM Play video below. Pardon video shaking, must've been an earthquake or the house settling. Input: Lyra Delos, Technics SL-120, S.M.E. 3009 Pre-Improved, Denon AU-340 SUT, all set-up and tuned to near perfection. Two restored Phase Linear Series Two PL-700 amplifiers driving four (4) AR-LST speakers, Carver C-4000 Pre-Amp, S.A.E. 1800 parametric equalizer, StraightWire Symphony II interconnects, 12AWG speaker cables, room dimensions are 12.5ft. x 26ft. x 8ft.ceilings. 20181231_190751_copy.mp4

That's a wonderful idea, who would've thunk? Too late for me though as a few years ago, I spent some money with Larry at 'vintage-AR' and bought three sets for my 3a's and two sets for my LST's complete with badges. Der should ask how Larry handles the attachment issue as mine came with none. Larry did say to use velcro like the originals.

5-14-019 This is a long term issue, so this proves to be almost a major problem for us all. Ever since the last time I sent back my AR-3a’s to AR in 1977 for a blown woofer and the usual blown tweeter, success has been fleeting. I called AR and they said for me to send them and I did. They were returned with their new method of grill attaching with the ‘velcro’ as you mention. When some of the staples had worked loose when I examined the repairs. I tried to fix it but, with no luck. AR had used a very powerful and therefore probably air-powered staple gun because no matter how hard I tried to replace the loose staples my hand-pressured gun wasn’t up to the task. As Kent mentioned, they should be very short staples. The difficulty is that ‘masonite’ is extremely dense material and no matter how hard one tries by hand, failure is usually the result. So, I tried small cardboard shims and the result after and during a listening session is the grills always worked loose and toppled out. The problem is due to the folding of the grill fabric against the back of the masonite as that makes for a thickness and pushes the grill away from the baffle wood framing of the cabinet and is especially difficult to deal with as the corners have the most amount of folded fabric. I’m almost certain that the ‘blue-tack’ will not work as its degree of adhesion is too low for this application. Double-sided tape, though it is the ‘on-the-cheap’ method but, it must be thick tape while considering the fact that the grills would protrude outward too far. Short deeply shot staples are the only way and even then there’s no certainty that the staples will take hold in the masonite. A possible suggestion is to speak with someone like ‘vintage-AR’ as he’s has done a number of grill replacements but, why would a working-business give away their trade secrets? So, perhaps the rental of a good and strong and therefore air-pressured gun would be the way to go. Though I did try buying and using a heavier-duty gun, it still wasn't enough by hand and ended up returning it. P.S. the only other method I can think of could be thin magnetic tape glued to both sides of the grill and baffle framing. FM

'Pal-O-Mine', thanks for stopping by. Actually, I like going through each yellow bag that I'm forced to keep them in as it's just like plowing through disks at a record store. Even more fun is I never know what I'll come across in that pile. Yellow bags indicate Ultrasonic cleaned disks while those in white bags mean that they're un-washed. Since for the past year or so, mostly jazz records occupy to most accessible yellow bags so, it works out. Lower shelves are newer releases of rock. Keep in mind that you're only seeing a fraction of what is actually in the room. There's also 3-400 CDs and a couple of boxes full of cassettes from the 1980s that haven't received any use in years since, additionally there's section of 10 &1/2 inch tapes. So, it can be said that I've gotten 'carried-away' with this hobby in the 50 years of membership. CD's are only played while doing domestic chores as I don't pay any attention to them being a devout vinyl person. 106 views of this post in 5 hours may be a new record for me. Or as "ZZ-Top" said; "I'm nation wide". I'm enjoying playing the system more than ever before as the use of this excellent sounding and very special MC cartridge is rather addictive. It's so rewarding that the LST's follow through magnificently and together both form a perfect symmetry and musical performance that sounds virtually live. FM

AR-LSTs from 15 feet away and to listener's right side, not sitting dead-on facing speakers. Very low cost $59.dollar fone was used and although the built-in microphone is decent for what it is, it's certainly not substantial enough for making recordings of professional quality. Just the same, we've come across A-O.K. P.S. Many thanks to forum member Adriano for the inspiration in the posting of this video. P.S II Not only is it not easy being me, it not easy dealing with over 7000 vinyl disks strewn about everywhere, though the rewards of using clean vinyl are more than sublime. P.S.III Situation details: This was the actual first day that I was 'breaking-in' this "Micro-Benz" "Gull-Wing" phono cartridge after purchase in early March. This video is the actual third hour of use, and as I was so very much impressed, I had to record the experience. With-in the 40 hours of the makers break-in recommendation, its sound stayed consistently the same with only the bass getting slightly tighter. Over-all the best cartridge purchase I've made besides a Delos. I've thrown almost everything at it, rock, jazz, and classical and it comes out glowingly each time. Clean older disks have a quietness to them that actually is quieter than the Delos which is one of the quietest in its class, more correctly, in any class, do the research. My AR-LST speakers have more than welcomed the new addition of the Gull-Wing as even they've opened up their superlative sound to new levels. And as I've mentioned in other posts, the AR-LST's ability to put forth whatever's applied to them is quite impressive. The LST's are very transparent to the 'source' which is a 'Hi-Fi' aficionado's ultimate goal and it has always been my goal since I've been involved in this hobby for half a century and learned how to listen through out the years In so many words, between the Lyra Delos and the Gull-Wing cartridges with the LST's being last in the chain of sound, there's no obstructed flow of sound from the disk's groove to the speaker's output which I do and anyone else would find extremely pleasing. I'm certain that I've reached that goal, finally! I must add that all ancillaries such as better interconnects and the proper setting-up of the cartridge, tonearm and table are paramount before any signal reaches the speakers. As is being indicated by the peak VU meters the amplifiers are only out-putting about 105 to 150 watts RMS to each of the four AR-LST's in this video and this is a moderate level as these amps are capable of 700 WPC. Up to full output would simply blow out these vintage speakers and certainly any others. Then again, they have handled even more power as Julian Hirsch said in his findings and test-report. FM

Ah-gee fellas, glad to hear of your enjoyment. Lakecat, I'm not familiar with your set-up but, I will add what I've learned since I first acquired mine in 1987, and then set-up in 1989. One major aspect is that these speakers were made to be placed against the front wall. In terms of driving power, they will accept pretty much all you can give them with high power amplifiers. I went from two Phase Linear PL400's which will put-out about 400 WPC RMS @ 4 Ohms and until I felt it necessary, my feelings were the smaller 400WPC was running out of steam so, I just had to get bigger amplifiers to experience the LST's full ability. It wasn't until I purchased two Phase Linear PL-700 Series II amps which will do 700 WPC RMS @ 4 Ohms, and that brought me to new glorious heights that's hard to convey to most others who haven't heard the system I speak of. I was inspired to do so after meeting a British AR executive that I met in 1990 at the 'Singer' stereo shop in NYC at the introduction showing of AR's new high-power amplifier with matching pre-amp and their 'new' 3 way speaker which I have never seen for sale since. He told me of the AR's executive staff using 4 LST's along with 2 Phase Linear PL-700B amplifiers. He enthusiastically stated the sound was beyond description. He, at that time set my mind in motion to have the same set-up. I had already had the four LST"s but only one PL-400. It wasn't until the early 2009 that I upgraded to using larger dual amps. Using such high power has been a life long dream. Bear in mind, higher power doesn't only mean higher volume. It primarily means more defined detail, depth, exciting fast and effortless transients, a higher level of transparency with a large amount of space and 'air' around each instrument and each note. Additionally, a huge and deep soundstage with more over-all naturalness and coupled with huge power is a larger scale of the music playback, AKA a much bigger sound. That sense of scale cannot be realized with anything but high power. An apt term would be 'life-like' and so, a satisfyingly 'real' sounding system. These LST speakers are a demanding speaker when it comes to wattage and that is a fact. They were made for professional situations and will absorb wattage like sponges so, anything below 400 WPC will not be as satisfying or totally adequate for long term use as it is with higher power- you can take that to the bank. As typical of most of the classic line, the tweeters are the only short coming and this issue should be addressed if you really want to hear what they're capable of. I will also stress that they will reflect the quality of input that you feed into them, quality source inputs are mandatory. For me, my LST's are my standard and each time my considerations for change were solely to input better quality program-material and better quality source transducers in terms of better cartridges and tonearms. I went from $300.- $500. cartridges to $700.-$1,000 and then, to $2,000. high quality cartridges and presently I'm using a Benz-Micro 'Gull-Wing' MC at $4,000. With each and every change the LST's reflected the changes of input quality bringing me to new and excitingly lofty levels of realistic sound quality. To quote TAS in their review of this cartridge's sound as being; "more produced than reproduced". Using the 'Gull-Wing' cartridge lately has put my Delos, Kleos, Ortofon Cadenza Blue and ART-9 cartridges on temporary hiatus. In other words, these speakers are the standard-bearers and will give back in spades what you give to them, while each time always responding to a higher order of input quality, in this case higher priced phono cartridges. Consequently, I almost feel that I've reached a level that the only way to improve upon what I've assembled to this point is by spending large sums of money and changing my system entirely. Costlier speakers, costlier amps, costlier everything. However, I've been in the same AR groove for almost half a century now and I find myself extremely content at this level with this system. Dare I say, this system must be heard to be believed. So, to cap it all off, the AR-LST's will respond to every change that is made in front of them. As it is, my most expensive cartridge actually costs more than my four LST's and not in any way have they taken a back seat, they simply, like I said, give back what you put into them. Neutral and able to respond to any changes for the better and seemingly limitless in their capabilities really speaks to their level of high quality musical reproduction. Good luck and welcome to the higher echelon of AR speakers. P.S. I need to head up north and get "AR surround" in tune with LSTs. If I invite him here, he probably won't want to leave. P.S. II "lakecat", your description of these speakers was a very good one and welcome to the very special niche of TOTL AR speaker owners, congratulations.

Why that would mean my four speakers would be valued at near 15 grand if the stars were in perfect alignment. Even though this is silly, I like to sometimes fantasize this way because to me, they're certainly worth more.

I bring you exhibit 'A' a post by a "owls place" AKA roger the snake man, or was that 'man-snake'? It doesn't matter see here his post: Of particular interest is "SteveF's" post. Informative as always, it's all I have to go-on. Looking at the complement of drivers here which includes two 12 inchers per-side, I pose the guestion. What if this model is actually the best of all AR speakers made that happened to get lost in the shuffle of the late 1980's? I mean after the 1960's and 1970's, didn't a lot of us get somewhat lost by the late 1980's, or at least slightly singed around the edges? Could have these speakers been rejected by the usual snobbery of lovers of the 'classic' original line of AR's? In any event, now that the dust has been kicked up again, I will keep an eye open and if I see these for a cheap price I may consider them. See here as they do seem too have notable qualities. https://stereonomono.blogspot.com/2011/01/acoustic-research-tsw-910-1987.html FM

There's one for sale, I'd ask first, confirm its condition and then jump on it: https://www.ebay.com/itm/ACOUSTIC-RESEARCH-AR-5-WOOFER-ORIGINAL-AR5-LOOK/303039644796?hash=item468e92047c:g:-LYAAOSwSVdb0HIb:rk:2:pf:0

Chris, I had my suspicions which kept me away from them. However, as an LST owner of many years, if the price was better than he was asking, maybe I should have.

Chris, if I may add to your uncertainty; a few years ago there was a vendor on the auction-site selling self-adhesive foam covers exactly like that. My LST's required more of them than I was willing to pay for so I never purchased them. Then there's the built-in deflection of the LST cabinets moldings that dissuaded me also. In that respect, those moldings present a degree of diffraction a 'purist' would find exception with. Would the foam surround help? I'm not certain but, it doesn't seem likely. The later "Amati" by Mark Levinson with the 'Dynaudio' drivers were all flush mounted for the obvious reasons mentioned. Newer production box speakers all tend to have flush mounted drivers as a rule avoiding such problems. Of course being LST's * a speaker I have lusted for since their introduction), I wasn't going to look for problems as I felt with so many tweeters projecting into the room the effects wouldn't be noticeable though I bet a purist would complain. Then again, a purist dwells with-in a different strata of speakers. Chris, I trust those are the LST's that were offered for auction and I contemplated the purchase but, I've got to much on the table with modifying and playing with vintage tonearms and modern cartridges. You know, your AR's can only sound as good as what goes into them, garbage in equals garbage out. Besides, I'm still recovering from celebrating my 15 year anniversary last month of being on this forum so, I was fatigued. Just the same, good luck with them.

Chris, David, I was about to say from the AR-11 series and I believe they have the ferro-fluid also. P.S. How come you have another pair of LST's, I thought you were trying to sell or sold them by now ?

Hold on to that knowledge and don't be swayed by the rash of nincompoops that have ravished the internet and have found a way to also pollute this wonderful site.