I'm trying to upgrade my system and have a question about speakers. There are some Acoustic Research AR90's and some Advent Heritage for sale close by. I know the AR's are much better speakers but I'm wondering about room conditions and power needs. I've got a Rotel RSX- 1067 that I use in a 2 channel setup. I know the AR's are 4 ohms and supposed to be power hungry. Would the Rotel power them to anywhere close to their capabilities? Also, my room is 18x24 but because of furniture placement and room characteristics, speaker placement is pretty limited. I've read that the AR's are sensitive to placement if you're going to get the best sound out of them. I probably can't get more then 1-2 feet of separation from back and side walls, especially on the right side. How much will this affect their sound? Anyway, I'm wondering if I'd be just as satisfied with the Advents considering these limitations. Both have been refoamed in the past few years. Also, I'm running EPI Series 3 Model 120 Speakers now. Am I looking at significant improvement in sound with the others? Thanks for any help you can give me.
AR 90's, Advent Heritage and EPI questions
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StimpyWan
Addicted Member
Welcome to AK. I hope you enjoy your stay!
First, I'm a bit biased when it comes to speakers, as I'm an AR90 owner (AR-1MS speakers too). So of course, I'd say to pick up the 90's. Very nice, balanced sounding speakers, that do very well on most any genre of music. Even sounding speakers, not too warm or too bright. A tiny bit rolled off as they extend in high frequency, but definitely not dark sounding. Very good presence with good gear. They can be holographic with good material. Soundstage depth isn't as deep as I'd like, but that's more to do with the wall placement, than the speakers being incapable of depth. The 9's and 90's aren't hard to place, as they're designed to be placed against the wall behind them. They need only enough side clearance to not block the woofers.
As to power, I've ran mine with 40 watt NAD amps, 70 watt Amber amps, 250 watt Hafler amps, as well as top Yamaha receivers. All worked well, since they were capable of good current delivery. Plus, I'm not much of a head-banger! The 90's aren't as power hungry as the 9's, and since the Rotel is a well regarded 100 watt receiver, I see no reason why the Rotel couldn't work with the 90's.
If the 90's are in nice condition, go-for-it...! I'd love to have another pair. Good luck.
First, I'm a bit biased when it comes to speakers, as I'm an AR90 owner (AR-1MS speakers too). So of course, I'd say to pick up the 90's. Very nice, balanced sounding speakers, that do very well on most any genre of music. Even sounding speakers, not too warm or too bright. A tiny bit rolled off as they extend in high frequency, but definitely not dark sounding. Very good presence with good gear. They can be holographic with good material. Soundstage depth isn't as deep as I'd like, but that's more to do with the wall placement, than the speakers being incapable of depth. The 9's and 90's aren't hard to place, as they're designed to be placed against the wall behind them. They need only enough side clearance to not block the woofers.
As to power, I've ran mine with 40 watt NAD amps, 70 watt Amber amps, 250 watt Hafler amps, as well as top Yamaha receivers. All worked well, since they were capable of good current delivery. Plus, I'm not much of a head-banger! The 90's aren't as power hungry as the 9's, and since the Rotel is a well regarded 100 watt receiver, I see no reason why the Rotel couldn't work with the 90's.
If the 90's are in nice condition, go-for-it...! I'd love to have another pair. Good luck.
Big fan of the Heritage here.
I've never heard the AR but they would need to be pretty magical to beat the Heritage.
I have 2 sets of Heritage and they sound great on everything I ever hooked them up to. I have many many receivers and amps, small to large.
The Heritage offer me a nice deep smooth bass that I prefer. Rolling thunder type of thing.
My HF hearing is good so I am pleased with the mids and tweets in the Heritage.
As always, what works best for you is completely what works best for you.
Your ears are your ears.
I've never heard the AR but they would need to be pretty magical to beat the Heritage.
I have 2 sets of Heritage and they sound great on everything I ever hooked them up to. I have many many receivers and amps, small to large.
The Heritage offer me a nice deep smooth bass that I prefer. Rolling thunder type of thing.
My HF hearing is good so I am pleased with the mids and tweets in the Heritage.
As always, what works best for you is completely what works best for you.
Your ears are your ears.
colohiker
Well-Known Member
Even though I've never heard a pair, if the AR90's are in your price range I would go for them. That being said, the Advent Heritages are my favorite Advents (I've had OLA's, Advent/1's, Legacy I's, Legacy II's, Prodigy's, etc). FWIW, the Heritages are 6 ohm speakers.
The manual for RSX-1067 calls for a 4 ohm or higher speaker so you should be okay with either choice.
The manual for RSX-1067 calls for a 4 ohm or higher speaker so you should be okay with either choice.
sum of sand
Active Member
Ive read a couple say the Heritage is on par with boston A200. One said better than. ?
Ive never heard them but a thrift owner just got a pair in recently refoamed nice cond wants $180.
They look very nice.
$150 not a bad price
$100 might be a very good deal
Ive never heard them but a thrift owner just got a pair in recently refoamed nice cond wants $180.
They look very nice.
$150 not a bad price
$100 might be a very good deal
StimpyWan
Addicted Member
In the AR90 manual, Acoustic Research recommended a 3 foot side clearance as being optimal, for flattest bass response. But, closer placement doesn't really hurt the bass; it actually bumps deep bass up in volume, along with a slight cut around 125Hz (midbass). Even corner loading looks doable and OK (bass heads would love it). Plus, remember, proper placement of one speaker, with sub-optimal positioning of the 2nd speaker, will still offer extended bass, along with just a slight rise in bass level. So, in actuality, playing with the side-to-side placement of the speaker, allows the speaker to act as a sort of physical tone control, and lets you dial in the desired amount of bass level. Not so bad a compromise to me, if the room doesn't a allow a 3 foot side clearance!.
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Just to add to what StimpyWan said above...I have AR9's, and have one in a corner about 1 foot from the side wall. I was pleasantly surprised that they didn't seem to have booming bass, just deep accurate thunderous bass (when present in the source)! I actually think the 90's might be better in my room (though I've never heard them), because of the small space (10x20, odd dimensions). The 9's are amazing, and I doubt you would be disappointed with the 90's.
epifanatic
acoustically suspended
Either set will be an improvement over those so-called EPI's.