Acoustic Research 302 Speakers - Sounds GREAT.

Yeah, I'd love to hear a pair, or anything from that series (it looks like there are some taller tower versions with similar drivers?). I have also never heard a pair of 3a's... :sigh:
 
I've got a pair of the 303's and the 302's. Very happy with both. Excellent value. As said earlier in this thread...these aren't going anywhere unless someone prys them from my dead fingers. :thmbsp:
 
I've got a pair of the 303's and the 302's. Very happy with both. Excellent value. As said earlier in this thread...these aren't going anywhere unless someone prys them from my dead fingers. :thmbsp:

A gear junkies best kept secret. meanwhile the JBL L100 has the cult like following? I guess those kinds of fanatical "me too" popularity models work in my favor as I scooped up the lesser known 302 at a fair price and a bunch of other lesser known that others passed up. Like RDL Acoustics FS-1 which is nothing short of stellar. but very few people ever heard of the brand or the model. AR and even some Post Kloss KLH models rival the models that have all the cool factor cred.
 
hi folks!
who ever have possibility to compare AR 302t wuth klipsch quartet?
looking for a decent accoustics for a jazz / old rock / some pop but mainly music with natural instruments..
 
Reviving this dead thread!

I am a proud owner of the 302's! I bought them new from Florida when they were found in the where house and blown out for $300 way back in the early 2000's. To the previous poster asking about these and the klipsch quartet, I cannot answer your question as I am not familiar with that particular klipsch speaker. I can tell you that I came across a pair of Polk LS90's some months back, orig $1600, and supposedly the last good music speaker polk made before moving into HT. I recapped those suckers with some nice Clarity Z's and I enjoyed them for months while I loaned a good friend my 302's. Well literally tonight I finally got my 302's back and hooked them up, and I am back in heaven. I now realize that the polks were too bright to the point of being fatiguing, they lacked the tight bass I get from these 302's that are basically massive monitors, and my massive soundstage, deep and wide, is back. I want to listen to all of my favorite tracks again! I love my 302's! I think I will keep them forever. I am including a pick of the stands that I made that really stabilize these babies, stands weigh in at 40lbs each just like the speakers, redwood and construction grout, aka, really strong concrete. If you can find a pair of 302's then grab them!
 

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I am a proud owner of the 302's! I bought them new from Florida when they were found in the where house and blown out for $300 way back in the early 2000's. To the previous poster asking about these and the klipsch quartet, I cannot answer your question as I am not familiar with that particular klipsch speaker. I can tell you that I came across a pair of Polk LS90's some months back, orig $1600, and supposedly the last good music speaker polk made before moving into HT. I recapped those suckers with some nice Clarity Z's and I enjoyed them for months while I loaned a good friend my 302's. Well literally tonight I finally got my 302's back and hooked them up, and I am back in heaven. I now realize that the polks were too bright to the point of being fatiguing, they lacked the tight bass I get from these 302's that are basically massive monitors, and my massive soundstage, deep and wide, is back. I want to listen to all of my favorite tracks again! I love my 302's! I think I will keep them forever. I am including a pick of the stands that I made that really stabilize these babies, stands weigh in at 40lbs each just like the speakers, redwood and construction grout, aka, really strong concrete. If you can find a pair of 302's then grab them!

Wow, thanks!

-k
 
Indosmokejon ,
Thanks much your reply and photo of your installation . I really like how warm your attention towards your speakers. I do work to get my sound in order not to change same for a long time.

Ps nice wooden floor and fireplace
 
I am a proud owner of the 302's!.....

I love my 302's! I think I will keep them forever. I am including a pick of the stands that I made that really stabilize these babies, stands weigh in at 40lbs each just like the speakers, redwood and construction grout, aka, really strong concrete. If you can find a pair of 302's then grab them!

I've been beating the drum in support of these speakers for years. It's another testament to the power of brand marketing over GREAT sound. and why I'be been ditching so many of my more well known models in favor of the lesser known units that I own for far less and sound as good if not better.

The 302 are among them. Some models become sought after based more so on the "me too" hype than their actual performance. One listen to a Pair of Kef Reference 101 compared to the OHH AHHH LS3/5a and it makes you wonder why so many people will spend nearly double for a speaker that is equal in performance to the KEF 101 ( and in most cases I'll give a nod to the KEF's for imaging) .

Same applies to the AR3a / AR302 price disparity. I get it, we're buying external desirability in this hobby. but some "values" are truly too good to pass up

so NO AR302 fanboys and girls don't get a seat at the cool kids table, but we get to enjoy 'arguably" better sound while keeping several hundreds more on tap for other great buys. Like an Audire Forte power amp for example... :) that's an topic for another thread. what a frickin beast that thing is.
 
I have the black 303's and they are freaking awesome. They sound really good and then you get up to 30 watts and the beast awakes and begs for more. Bass that knocks you on your ass but smooth as butter and crisp sweet highs. It has its honor in the AR family and I thankfully snagged a complete extra set of mids and tweeters for them also. I am good to go for a long time....:)
 
I had a beautiful set of 302's for quite a while. They are great speakers and very easy on the eyes and ears.

My only critique was the very highest notes were a bit muted. Sorta like most vintage AR speakers :D
 
Sorry to bring this post back from the dead, but I just picked up a pair of the 302s last night and got them hooked up today. I also have a pair of the 338s from the same line. These are easily some of the sweetest sounding speakers I’ve ever owned in what little experience I have. I’m definitely an entry level audiophile so my knowledge is limited, but both sets of these speakers are awesome. They produce a very clean, even, and smooth mix of everything. Nothing really seems overpowered or underpowered. IMO they are honey-sweet. They certainly hit all the right points with me and they’re absolutely not going anywhere. I’ve had the 338s for a short while and have been very pleasantly surprised with their performance, and what the 338s do well the 302s do even better. I love these things.
 
I just bought a very nice pair of AR 302s from AKer, Bill56, who bought them from Jamal aka Bostown. So, these are the same pair about which Jamal started this thread. These are going to my nephew, who just got his MD. Part of his graduation package will include a minty Sansui G-7500 and an AudioEngine B1 along with the AR 302s.

Just in case anyone wondered what happened to these.
 
I just bought a very nice pair of AR 302s from AKer, Bill56, who bought them from Jamal aka Bostown. So, these are the same pair about which Jamal started this thread. These are going to my nephew, who just got his MD. Part of his graduation package will include a minty Sansui G-7500 and an AudioEngine B1 along with the AR 302s.

Just in case anyone wondered what happened to these.

Thanks for reporting back!
It's neat to hear what happens to our respective "audio children". Sounds like your nephew is being rewarded well by his uncle for all of his hard work.
 
Thanks for reporting back!
It's neat to hear what happens to our respective "audio children". Sounds like your nephew is being rewarded well by his uncle for all of his hard work.
Thanks. All true, but I have another motive: I have been sprinkling these systems among family members so that I have someone to talk with about vintage audio at family get-togethers. I'm also trying to build interest in the hobby among younger people. So far everyone loves their vintage audio systems. It's a lot of fun delivering the surprise packages to those who have shown interest in the hobby.
 
It's October 2019, The AR302 speakers may be a bit more weathered due to various moves etc but they're still playing phenomenally.

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I'm glad to come across this thread as I have a pair of the AR 303 speakers. It was interesting to read Ken's thoughts on the 303's vs the 302's. It has been a while since I hooked my pair up so I'm going off of memory here, but I do seem to remember the 303's being a bit bass heavy, almost as if there was a sub running with them. When I was using them, I had them setting directly on the floor and didn't fuss too much with proper placing/positioning. I imagine that if I got them up off the floor some and worked with setting them up properly, I'll bet they could be made to sound better.

Guess I found me a new fun thing to try during the upcoming winter months. I'll have to dig them out and give them another go. :thumbsup:
 
Been giving them some play time again recently with a pair of NEC M-50 mono amps. I was curious to see what the little NECs could do with these, so far .. pretty damn good job.
The 302 is a part of hoard of "sleeper" speakers that never generate much chatter but should.
pre-hook up photo: Still sounding great in 2021

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I just picked up a pair pf these AR 302 beauties and wouldn't you know the left midrange woofer is DOA. Any ideas where I might be able to find a replacement? EBAY?? Any help would be appreciated. The right speaker sounds great though...:crazy:
 
I just picked up a pair pf these AR 302 beauties and wouldn't you know the left midrange woofer is DOA. Any ideas where I might be able to find a replacement? EBAY?? Any help would be appreciated. The right speaker sounds great though...:crazy:

Well why let a good thread die?? Purchased these 302's in November of 2021 (actually the ones pictured above). One of the midrange speakers was DOA after the ride home, not sure what happened but it was dead as disco. It was suggested I send the afflicted speaker to Miller Sound in Landsdale PA. I shipped it to Bill Legall at Miller and the man resurrected that bizarre mid back to life. The Man is a miracle worker and turn around was lightning quick http://www.millersound.net/index.html. These speakers are great, Very natural speakers, robust kids, very flat throughout the spectrum with fantastic depth and soundstage. Plus they're sexy AF, very pleased.
 

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