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AR surround

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Everything posted by AR surround

  1. I wish people would at least try pulling the AR9's out into the room despite the "as designed" position against the long wall. I have found the soundstage of the 9's to be much larger and more satisfying when pulled out into the room. They were positioned as such when I auditioned them back in 1978. As for the alleged loss of bass response, I really haven't noticed a significant reduction. Of course, it would be interesting try the same away-from-the-walls positioning with the LSTs.
  2. So just to clarify, the 'sound' you are hearing with the volume at 0 is music that is on the CD, not spurious noise. Correct?
  3. Wonderful article, Tom. I read it before I noticed that you were the author. My only complaint is that you talk about the AR9's in the past tense. My AR9's have been in my "present" since August 1978. A family member has my first pair of AR speakers, the AR5's. Another relative has a pair of AR18's...possibly the most remarkable AR product ever made in light of it's diminutive size.
  4. I would surmise that speakers with drivers out of phase to each other isn't all that uncommon. In the Audyssey (room correction software) manual, they specifically note this condition and state that Audyssey will pick up the out of phase condition; and that it should be ignored.
  5. This fellow uses a piece of packing tape: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K-tN7zg4Skw I also saw a video where the fellow used a glue stick, but it was on a woofer dust cap. I don't think that using a glue stick on a dome driver would be a good idea because the residue left on the dome might actually make things worse.
  6. It is possible with some of the equipment. I can put several receivers around the room and route it to the subwoofer channel on the audio system. Hearing low frequency effects through the AR9's and AR90's would be interesting indeed. But I haven't done so as of yet because it would be an additional complication.
  7. My wife and I met while skiing...one of my passions. Second date...dinner. Third date..."I'd like to introduce you to my pair of AR9's and my train set. They all come with the deal."
  8. Thank you, Frank. Yes, I built everything myself.
  9. OK Tom, here are four pics of the train layout that surrounds the AR surround sound system. The layout goes through four rooms around the walls of the basement. I don't want to post too many pics as this is a forum on AR speakers and not model railroading. However...in the third pic, note the Boston Acoustics A70 loudspeaker on the back wall. That is the right-rear-surround speaker in the 7.1.5 system. (Actually it is 7.0.5 because there is not need for subwoofers when the five main speakers are AR9, 90 and 915.)
  10. I'm sorry, Tom. I should have noted that it was a photo-shopped fantasy of what Frank could do with his third pair of LST's. I thought everyone had been aware of the on going joke between Frank and me.
  11. We are all bloody sickos, Frank. Here's how to get (almost) all of one's speakers into one system...and throw in a model railroad to boot: AR9 fronts; AR915 Center; AR90 Surrounds; Boston A70 Rears; Boston A60 Front and Rear Heights; Boston A40 Center Top.
  12. The specifications claim a life of 2000 hours. What does this actually mean? "The following specifications shall be satisfied when the capacitors are restored to 20°C after subjected to DC voltage with the rated ripple current is applied (the peak voltage shall not exceed the rated voltage) for 2,000 hours at 85°C." Also, does installing them in series to achieve the 2500uF requirement cause any issues?
  13. Having listened to my AR9's since August 1978, I fail to see the purpose of eliminating the capacitor to bring the impedance down to 2 ohms. Why do these speakers, which are prodigious bass capable behemoths, need to produce even more bass? I listen to movies in 5.1 with no subwoofer and allow the AR9's to handle the LFE.
  14. The 40uF shunt capacitor is a Dayton DMPC 250v 5%. I don't know if it could have contributed to the problems I experienced. (As we now know, the Dayton polys are made by............................Solen.) 😲
  15. Beware of what you use as the series 24uF cap on the UMR. A Solen MKP was a bloody disaster.* A Jantzen Fast Cap was better but still noisy. I settled for Mundorf E-Caps with F&F bypass caps. I'm still happy with the results after 5 years. I'm not convinced I needed to replace the enormous caps in the woofer section, but I did anyway. *Back in 2007, (Diamonds & Rust) sent me this note on Solen capacitors: "This led me to purchase Solen capacitors for my 10pi’s and install those. That experiment was tragic...and there was a harshness that would damn-near run you out of a room. It wasn’t subtle, it wasn’t even possibly imaginary, and it was so horrible that I just about cried. Solens aren’t that cheap. Over the next month or so they began to settle-in (John O’Hanlon explained why this was probably so in a brilliant bit of materials detective work). They never lost a sort of brittle, sizzle, raspiness, however." I had forgotten about this email exchange when I recapped my AR9's in 2017 and suffered for it.
  16. David, are you thinking of seeking out a pair of the AR3a? I've always felt that the classic ARs did the better job of presenting classical music than the various series that followed.
  17. James, if you wife is picking on you, simply show her @briodo's photo of this lineup of AR speakers. Then tell her that you plan to dispense with the AR5's and are going directly to AR9's. 😇
  18. Mine are the same with that fading below the grill. It's been a long time, but I don't recall them ever being exposed to direct sunlight.
  19. I'm seeing a "play" bar, but no videos. Anyone else having problems?
  20. Just got back from running around Ireland and saw your post. Nice job! I must admit that those caps do look vaguely familiar. LOL Also, it pleases me no end to see that you did the work in your living room rather than being banished to the cold, damp basement like @DavidR.
  21. And let's face it folks, most of us on this site are enamored with tinkering with stuff...especially if we can improve performance. When things get too convenient, we get bored.
  22. Unfortunately, no. We are limited to either a pre-pro or an AVR. The DACs in the better pre-pros and AVRs are quite good, and the room correction that also comes with these units is essential with a set up with speakers all over the bloody place.
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