AR-91's

[HarryM]

My AR-91's are up and working.Glue is still not completely dry on the dust caps but I couldn't wait any longer so I'm being gentle.First impressions are,very nice sounding,doing a fine job with Nazareth Hair of the dog.I only refoamed the woofers.I wanted to hear them before I recaped.I think it may need recaping but I'll know better tomorrow when the amps and replacement turntable gets here.Until then I'll let them work in at lower volumes.It's a rich full sound,makes the AR-8's sound weak and empty at lower volumes.The 8's do come into there own at high volumes.Over all they are the best sounding speaker I have.I would like to say thanks to the members on this site and John at MSound for makeing this possible and giving me the motivation to do them myself. Thanks,Harry

[ar_pro]

Good work - any photos?

I think the 91 is my favorite Acoustic Research 3-way system - it doesn't get much attention, but as far as a practical, turnkey restoration project, the 91 provides a lot of bang for the buck.

It gives up nothing, performance-wise to the 3, 3a, or 11, and is so much easier to work on, what with the more reliable upper-range drivers, absence of fiberglass stuffing, and big cabinet.

[Steve F]

The 91 was one of my favorite speakers. I always felt as if there was very little I was 'missing,' and the Connisseur 50t's that I got later never satisfied me to the same extent. The desire to upgrade is not always rewarded with a significant improvement.

During that time span (mid 70's to late 80's), I went from 11's to 91's to 50t's, and the 91's were the best.

I've since acquired 9's, and inherited and restored my older cousin's 1972-era 3a's, which are in a second system, upstairs.

Overlooked is the very first-gen AR-58s, essentially the 91 (exact same crossover, but I think no level switches, same drivers) in a very slightly smaller cabinet (a largish "bookshelf" cabinet, about 27" in its longest dimension). Terrific speaker, but quite rare.

Steve F.

[HarryM]

No pictures yet but I'll get some.I had to go out after I posted so I left the stereo on low for about 2 hours and when I got back I started to turn it up.I tried radio,cds and vinyl to see how it did with each one because I've found some speakers are very picky about the source.I found that these did very well on all of them.And wow what a big sound when you turn it up.I now understand the term"room filling"sound.It's like you can feel it more then just hearing it.I think if I had done these first I wouldn't have bothered to buy all the other speakers.I have quite afew now.Although I still want AR-3a's,just because.I am going to clean up the cabs and maybe recap them.From what I've heard today I think I can wait for now.Another thing I noticed is that you can listen to them at low volumes and not feel like your missing something.It seems most speakers are made for loud or soft but not both.I will update with pics and more of my impressions as I get more listening time in.I'm also going to do some comparing to some Canadian made speakers that I picked up.I have to,I'm Canadian.LOL. Thanks,Harry.

[ar_pro]

You're right about the 91, Harry - its sound is well balanced, and stays consistant at all reasonable listening levels.

Its more modern drivers also make it less prone to catastrophic failure - it can be played very loudly, without cooking the midrange or tweeter.

It's interesting that AR returned to the "bookshelf" style for the 58S, after having abandoned it with the Vertical series (at least in their top three systems).

I wonder if it was a marketing decision, based upon less-than-spectacular sales of the floor-standing AR-91?

[genek]

I always figured that a lot of bachelors who bought the big floor standers in the 70's started getting married in the 80's and ran headfirst into the WAF issue.

[HarryM]

Genek,that made me laugh.I'm 44 and single.Could be why I had to get the hafler dh200's to go along with the big floor standers.These are mine and a friend of mines impressions of the 91's and the 8 "rock" speakers hooked to the haflers with a technics quarts turntable.This is 45 minutes of 80's,90's rock on vinyl.My friend is an amazing pianist and drummer with an ear for sound like I had never thought was possible.Thats why I called him right after I got the amp hooked up and went wow.Based on above average listening levels,he felt both pairs were very good but for accurate sound reproduction he felt the 8's are far better.I have to agree.They have a very clean sound.That being said,you could not listen at the level we were listening at for very long.That is where the 91's shine,much easier to listen to at fairly high levels for long stretches.Also a much nicer sound for just sitting and listening.I still can't get over how big of a sound it is and I do find it accurate and tight with the added warmth that the 8's don't have.The 91's are no slouches when you turn them up.The sound gets tighter and you can feel the sound.The marantz runs them ok but the hafler's really show what the AR's are all about.I wonder what the 91's would sound like if I bridged the amps?I may just have to find out.I don't think I'll beable to sit 15 feet in front of them.LOL.