Suitable AR speakers for rears in a 7.1 system

[AR surround]

I am looking for opinions from the group as to which AR speakers might be compatible as rear speakers in a 7.1 system. The fronts are original AR9's (just celebrating their 30th birthday this month!) The surrounds are AR90's and the center is an AR2ax modified to include an AR9 tweeter. I am currently using a pair of Boston Acoustics A70's for the rears, but I often wonder if substituting a pair of AR speakers back there might somewhat improve the blending of the rear sound stage if at all. The system did experience a remarkable improvement when I acquired the AR90's as the surrounds and moved the A70's to the rears. But the surrounds are more critical than the rears in a 7.1 system.

AR91's or 92's would probably be the best choice given the similarity of their drivers to the 9's, but they are way too large. So I am considering something like the AR48s or an unmodified AR2ax. Given its vintage, I suspect that the AR48s may be closer to the AR9 in tonal qualities. However, the 2ax may be just as adequate for this particular application. Your thoughts? Thanks very much.

John

[Guest rek 2-3-4]

I am looking for opinions from the group as to which AR speakers might be compatible as rear speakers in a 7.1 system. The fronts are original AR9's (just celebrating their 30th birthday this month!) The surrounds are AR90's and the center is an AR2ax modified to include an AR9 tweeter. I am currently using a pair of Boston Acoustics A70's for the rears, but I often wonder if substituting a pair of AR speakers back there might somewhat improve the blending of the rear sound stage if at all. The system did experience a remarkable improvement when I acquired the AR90's as the surrounds and moved the A70's to the rears. But the surrounds are more critical than the rears in a 7.1 system.

AR91's or 92's would probably be the best choice given the similarity of their drivers to the 9's, but they are way too large. So I am considering something like the AR48s or an unmodified AR2ax. Given its vintage, I suspect that the AR48s may be closer to the AR9 in tonal qualities. However, the 2ax may be just as adequate for this particular application. Your thoughts? Thanks very much.

John

I use 4x's as my rear speakers. I think they work fine. I use something called an RJ Colletti Bambino as my right and left surrounds. They work fine too.

Sorry: I use an Adcom 535 for amplification via a Denon 7.1 receiver (1906?).

[oldguide]

I use 4x's as my rear speakers. I think they work fine. I use something called an RJ Colletti Bambino as my right and left surrounds. They work fine too.

Sorry: I use an Adcom 535 for amplification via a Denon 7.1 receiver (1906?).

I agree about the 4xs.

I recently added some 4xs as the rears for my restored AR3s. They make an amazing difference. What I found is that the voicing matches. You honestly cannot tell which is which. The other night we were watching the ball game and my wife said it felt like we were sitting in the stands.

Voicing is crucial for good surround, which is why those "home theater in a box" outfits sell so well. The matching voicing of the speakers makes them sound better then unmatched ones. The pros on here have periodically talked about voicing so check those threads.

For ARs, I would say you have to have similar ARs. I made sure and picked up some 4xs of the vintage of my 3s. Cost me all of $60 on Craigs List. All was original including badges and grill fabric and only one doable stain on one cabinet. Of course they had to have the pots cleaned, new caps, out with the rock wool.

Where I live you can find 4xs on Craigs List fairly frequently for around $75. The thing I like about Craigs List is that you can actually go look at the stuff and see it and hear it. No eBay scams and no eBay shipping (which on speakers blows my budget).

I had not heard a 4x for a long time and must say once they are recapped, etc. they are amazing little speakers. Given the $60 I paid for them there is nothing like them out there at THAT price. The little PSBs, etc, are nice but a couple of hundred more.

I will probably pick up some 4xs and run them stacked as my middles, but right now running an NAD amp that can run the center signal to the sides and make you believe there is a center I am in now hurry.

Although a lot of folks here are not into home theater it would be nice to start a home theater thread or put something in the library that tracks matches and setups. The 3/3a 4x grouping seems a natural.

[Steve F]

You really have to exercise common-sense caution about using vintage ARs in a modern home theater system. Modern home theater systems routinely peak above 105dB with special-effects digital program material when set to ‘reference’ Dolby or THX levels. AR speakers were designed in the ‘50’s-‘70’s to play analog music material at levels approaching 100dB.

The old speakers, with their adhesives and suspensions made brittle and dry by the inexorable ravages of time, are susceptible to irreversible damage if played too harshly at levels they weren’t designed for, with program material their designers never envisioned in their wildest dreams.

Just be VERY careful. There is a maddeningly finite supply of NOS vintage AR drivers out there. They sound so darned good that there is a temptation to play them very loud, but that’s not always the wisest course.

Having said that, I would strongly recommend that LST/LST-2/MST’s be used for the side surround speakers in a home theater system. The goal of a good surround speaker is to provide the non-localizable, three-dimensional ambient information from the movie soundtrack: the rustling of leaves in a forest, the hustle-and-bustle of a city street, the sonar “bongs” reverberating inside a submarine’s hull. These are the effects that a side surround speaker is tasked with reproducing, and the effect is far more convincing if the surround speaker does not betray its position by being “localizable” by the listener.

If you can point to the side surround speaker and say, “Aha! There it is!” it’s not doing its job. The AR angled-side family of speakers is particularly well-suited to surround use, and I would try to find those speakers for a theater system

Steve F.

[genek]

I used a pair of 2ax's for front and a pair of 6's for rear for a number of years (Hafler surround scheme), and similar voicing definitely helps improve the sense of surround. If your front and center are set up with AR9 and 90 components, I would recommend you stay with that era or later and go with the ARs from the Post-Classic series. AR voicing did undergo a noticeable change between the Classic and Post-Classic.