Best 10" woofer system

[Supercooper188]

What would you all consider the best 10" woofer system AR ever designed?

[ToastedAlmond]

My vote would go to AR-5.

[tysontom]

>What would you all consider the best 10" woofer system AR

>ever designed?

If the two-woofer AR-90 counts, I would have to say that it was probably the best. The original-woofer AR-5 would otherwise rank up there, but with later iterations not quite as good. The AR-5 didn't go deeper than the AR-2ax or, for that matter the AR-6, but it was cleaner in the deep bass. The AR-14 and AR-12 were excellent performers, too, and each had a slightly lower system resonance than the AR-5 series. Overall, these later speakers might be somewhat better than the original AR-5, but not lower in distortion.

This does not take into consideration the newer Ken Kantor/Bill Bush AR-302 series speakers, which may in fact be the best of the lot.

--Tom Tyson

[kkantor]

Thanks, Tom. Actually, I would agree with you that the 90 would be pretty difficult to top. It was really a very, very good speaker.

For me, it's always hard to pick the "best" of anything, since every design has a both a place in time and history, and a given set of design goals. Sure, the AR9 bettered the 3a is many aspects of performance, but the 3a changed history, fit on a bookshelf, etc, etc.

-k

www.aural.org

www.tymphany.com

[Supercooper188]

I think the AR-90 is one of the best speakers I have ever heard. I only started lisening to AR in the late 70's when their "Truth in Listening" series came out and I have not heard any of their earlier models. I think the TSW series is a hell of a series also. The AR 90's have it all--clear highs and clear lows. Just an awesome speaker. And to think I bought a mint pair in the box for $127 is mind boggling.

[Steve F]

In terms of absolute performance without regard to historical context, the AR-90 was unquestionably superior to all other AR 10-inch speaker systems in terms of low-frequency-extension, lack of harmonic distortion, power-handling and maximum output capability.

However, citing the AR-90 as the best misses the mark by quite a margin, in my view. First off, it could be argued that by virtue of its TWO 10-inch woofers, the AR-90 was not really a "10-inch" system in the spirit of the question, since two ten-inch woofers have almost the cone area of a single 15-inch driver.

All other AR bookself 10-inch models from the AR-2 through the 2a, 2x, 2ax, 5. LST-2, 12, 14, 48, Connoisseur 40, TSW-510, etc. all had roughly equivalent performance. There were minor differences due to construction materials and manufacturing methods, but nothing truly significant. The AR-2 of 1960 and AR TSW-510 of 1987 had very comparable –3dB LF response and THD. That being the case, the original AR-2 had by far the best 10-inch performance—RELATIVE TO OTHER COMPETITIVE 10-INCH SYSTEMS OF THE DAY. AR certainly improved the midrange and high-end performance through the years, but the 10-inchers (like the 12-inch AR-1 of 1954 vs., say, the 12-inch AR-91 or Connoisseur 50 of 1988) stayed pretty much the same over time.

The double-woofer systems are different animals and that gets into an apples-oranges situation.

Steve F.