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Acoustic Research M3 Holographic Imaging Speaks

Tom Brennan said:
It includes all the previous AR designs I'd heard, which is most of them. I am not an AR fan. This can lead one to the conclusion that if you like traditional AR sound you might then hate later ARs that I like.

Though I must admit that upon recently hearing 4xs I thought they were pretty good and much better IMO than supposedly better ARs.
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Listen to a pair of AR9's with top notch ancillaries and a beefy amp. You may change your mind.
 
bjaardker said:
Just picked up a pair of M4s for $40. Good range. Tight bass. If you get them setup in the room just right the imaging is pretty darn incredible (especially for the price I paid).

Just 2 small issues with mine. There are small cracks around the dome of the top woofer on the right one and if I really pump the bass the lower woofer on the left side has some buzzing leading me to wonder if there are issues with that one.

Trying to decide if it's worth replacing/repairing those issues or just letting them fall apart while I listen to them over the next few months. Figure even if I get 6 months out of them it was worth the price.
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I noticed that same buzz in my M4's. I pulled the bottom woofers which have foam surrounds and did a nice refoam on them. It made more difference on them than any other speaker that I have ever refomed. The buzz disappeared of course and the bass tightened up tremendously. The dust caps can also be replaced easily. They are definitely worth the effort in my opinion. They are a great sounding speaker especially based on the floor space they take up.
 
Wow, thanks for the great responses.

Regarding the bottom woofer, I pulled the dust blocking from the side and felt around in there. The foam around woofer feels like it's completely obliterated. It's little wonder there's buzzing going on. I would love to try undertaking my first ever refoaming, but how do you get in there to do the work? This appears to be a completely sealed cabinet. Do those bottom woofers just drop out or am I going to have to start pulling apart and re-gluing stuff?

Here's a picture of the cracking around the dome of the top woofer I was talking about. If this is just a dust cap is that something I can paint a little glue on to and call it a day?

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that's just the dust cap. they're a thin, soft rubber. I'd probably try a little rubber cement, or try find some replacement rubber dust cap.

hopefully someone with some M4's will be able to help you on how to get the lower woofer out, or take some pics and maybe we can figure it out.
 
Thanks. Hopefully Franksta will be able to fill me in. I'll take some pictures tonight.

If I were to refoam the drivers, is there a place that I should be looking for the repair parts at? (I.E. is there an audiokarma favorite/sponsor I should be patronizing?)
 
I bought a pair of M6's new in '91, still in use in my main music system. I'll never part with them.
 
Just picked up a pair of mint M5's

Sound good overall, not as sweet as my ADS 1090's but will be a good surround speaker in my system. Bass is tight, but too much into the folded subs they can get farty.
 
bjaardker said:
Thanks. Hopefully Franksta will be able to fill me in. I'll take some pictures tonight.

If I were to refoam the drivers, is there a place that I should be looking for the repair parts at? (I.E. is there an audiokarma favorite/sponsor I should be patronizing?)
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Yes I would just seal that minor crack around the dust cap with some Elmers glue and move on. I went into my M4's through the bottom where that oval cloth grille cover is. Just pry it off unscrew the woofers disconnect the wires noting the polarity and refoam them. I had some foams from Matelectronics laying around and I used those. They fit perfectly and I think they were around a $1 each I'm not sure. The thing with Matelectronics is that you have to have a $25 minimum order but that is not too hard to do. I think the material says that the woofers in the M4's are 6 inches. They maybe 6.5 I'm not sure. They sure do sound sweet! I've gotten rid of a lot of speakers in the last year but I plan to keep them. A little unusual looking but a great sound. Good Luck! Franksta
 
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