Any opinions on the AR-91's

[Guest 2tubular]

Hello fellow speaker nuts,

I may buy a pair of these in near mint condition. Anyone have any experience with them or a link to a review? They are a handsome pair! I've read where you need well over 100 watts/channel to bring out the best in these. I was hoping my scott 296 (45wpc tube amp) would drive them or should I keep looking for another speaker.

thanks,

Dave

Snowy Chalk Hill Pa

[dingus]

i have a pair of 91's. they are a damn fine speaker that is in the same lineage as the legendary AR9. pick them up, you wont regret it. i have never heard the 91 on tubes, i would imagine that they would make for an outstanding pairing. wpc are not equitable between tube and ss amps, 45wpc from a tube amp should be plenty to drive the 91's without any problem.

[Steve F]

From a post of mine in 2005:

Posted by: Steve F Jul 21 2005, 02:09 PM

The AR-91 was a superb loudspeaker. It had the AR-9 generation 12” woofer and the same dome MR [except for the fs] and tweeter as the 9. With its real-wood cabinet and beveled top corners, many people considered the 91 to be an attractive speaker as well, certainly more décor-friendly than the 9.

From a performance refinement standpoint, I think the characterization of the 91 as a step above the 3a-11-10Pi is accurate. Its LF response was rated at –3dB at 35Hz, the same as the aforementioned bookshelf models, but with the “stand” built in, so to speak, by the floor-standing cabinet. The 91 was never reviewed (to my knowledge) by any of the major mags, but it was quite a good speaker. I owned them for several years, from 1980-1987, before I gave them to my sister for her house.

The absolute descendant of the 12” woofer, dome mid/tweet, real wood veneer cabinet speaker would actually be the original AR-58. For a VERY short time, the 58 (not the S, B, Bx, or Bxi) had the same drivers as the 91, so in a sense the original 58 should be considered the real successor to the 12” W, dome M-T bookshelf models

Steve F.

[JoeAtlas]

Dave,

I may be able to shed some light on your question, I hope my response is not too late, if so, I have a mint pair of AR 91's for sale. I have tried many amps with these speakers, including an Eico HF-81 (14 wpc tube), Scott 299 (17 wpc tube), Fisher 500C (35 wpc tube), Perreaux PMF 2150B Mosfet (200 wpc ss), and a Marantz Receiver 2235B (35 wpc ss). Beyond a doubt they really sang with the Perreaux amp, but the Fisher receiver was a close second. The other amps ran out of steam at higher volumes and just didn't sound as full and deep. I think your Scott would be fine with these speakers but I believe that they will perform their best with 200 watts plus of clean power.

Regards,

Joe