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AR-9's ?

furnitureguy

furnitureguy

Active Member
I am a die-hard AR fan. Until recently I thought I was satisfied with my AR-3a's as my best speaker. Don't get me wrong though - I still love my 3a's! But not long ago, I acquired a pair of AR-10pi's which are currently my no.1 speakers.
So the question arises about the Ar-9 --- I have heard wonderful things about this speaker, but have never auditioned a pair. Could it be said - " if you like the AR-3a or 10pi - you're gonna just love the 9's"? Or do these speakers have an all together different sound?
thanks,
Darrell
 
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There is certainly a strong family resemblance, so you should enjoy the 9s as they were designed to similar FR criteria but with more attention given to dispersion/power output and boundary reinforcement (Allison effect). The 9s also have serious bass output capabilities, so if you are a classical music/organ lover with enough good solid state power available, this might become your last set of speakers.
 
eurasian said:
if you are a classical music/organ lover with enough good solid state power available, this might become your last set of speakers.
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I do listen to classical music - I have heard you need some serious power to "wake these guys up" - My two most powerful receivers are a Sansui 9090 and a Marantz 2285b - would either of these be enough ?
 
I think either one of your receivers will work great. The 9s are just not ideal for use with amplifiers with high output impedance or very low power, like single ended triodes or <20ish wpc PP tube amps. I don't recommend exotic speaker cables, either -- 12-14 ga. stranded copper should work fine for most typical installations -- you don't want to wind up with a severely underdamped bottom end with speakers having the bass capabilities of the AR9.
 
I have owned the AR9's. They are a wonderful sounding speaker with adequate amplification!
Good news they are bi-ampable! I would suggest that if you acquire a pair that somewhere down the road you try o bi-amp them for best possible sonic impact. I used a Hafler DH500 for the bass end and a Carver 100 wpc receiver for the upper end. This combination worked well for me, but there are others that can be suggested that are as good or even better.
Theseare and older speakers now, a true classic but still old. Having a fresh re-cap on the upper network and a re-foam would be good for them to get their best potential. I re-capped mine with Solen caps and they turned out very nice sounding.
Good luck in your search!!
DC
 
Whether or not a pair of AR9's require large amounts of power is determined mostly by the size of the room they are used in. In a small living room, 100 watts per channel is more than adequate. In a big room, far more may be needed. One of the major factors that separates the 9's from other speakers of similar efficiency is the ability to HANDLE high power input when required.
 
furnitureguy said:
I do listen to classical music - I have heard you need some serious power to "wake these guys up" - My two most powerful receivers are a Sansui 9090 and a Marantz 2285b - would either of these be enough ?
Click to expand...
No. At least double the power.
 
My brother has a pair, has had them since the 80's if memory serves. Very good speakers, and yes, they do eat power. If I wasn't happy with my PL's, I would track down a set for myself. If you have the chance to get a set, do so. - dan
 
It's the bass system that is the power hog. Using an inexpensive used pro-amp for bass duty in a bi-amp setup is one way to go. A lot of pro-amps are really good....
 
furnitureguy said:
I am a die-hard AR fan. Could it be said - " if you like the AR-3a or 10pi - you're gonna just love the 9's"?
thanks,
Darrell
Click to expand...

That could EASILY be said. I thought AR-5 and AR-3a were it until I got a pair of AR-9. They form the basis of my Half-Ass 2CH HT system.

They DO require a man's amplifier. Receivers will make sound come out of them, and that's about it.
 
furnitureguy said:
I do listen to classical music - I have heard you need some serious power to "wake these guys up" - My two most powerful receivers are a Sansui 9090 and a Marantz 2285b - would either of these be enough ?
Click to expand...

AR recommends to bi-amp them with a minimum of 250-watts for the high and low individually, so no. If you want the AR-9 presence but don't have the required power you should track down there successor the AR-9LS/LSi they are drastically more efficient and a 9090 would be more than enough to drive them to floor shaking levels, my 50 wpc JVC JA-S22 can rock the house with them. Plus they are much easier to place.
 
Vintage_Hi-F said:
AR recommends to bi-amp them with a minimum of 250-watts for the high and low individually, so no. If you want the AR-9 presence but don't have the required power you should track down there successor the AR-9LS/LSi they are drastically more efficient and a 9090 would be more than enough to drive them to floor shaking levels, my 50 wpc JVC JA-S22 can rock the house with them. Plus they are much easier to place.
Click to expand...

I've heard both the AR9 and AR9ls in the same room at an audio store that were being sold on consignment. There was a bigger difference between the two beyond just the smaller woofers on the AR9ls. I know that for sure they don't use the same tweeter or midrange domes.

I would expect the AR9 and AR90 to be more similar. But I've never heard the AR90.
 
I just purchased a pair of these recently and must say that I'm thoroughly impressed with these beasts......

I have not biamped them yet, I'm feeding mine with a Pioneer SX-1250 with pretty damn good results.

I'm curious as to what kind of amps I should really look into for bi-amping, dual monoblocks?
 
jwalker said:
I've heard both the AR9 and AR9ls in the same room at an audio store that were being sold on consignment. There was a bigger difference between the two beyond just the smaller woofers on the AR9ls. I know that for sure they don't use the same tweeter or midrange domes.

I would expect the AR9 and AR90 to be more similar. But I've never heard the AR90.
Click to expand...

Imagine the 9's but smaller and with 10 inch dual woofers instead of 12 inch.
The LS/i sereis 9 used the same 12 inch woofer from the 9 and a 10 inch from the 90. True they don't use the mid and tweet from the original 9 but on the same note they still have that characteristic AR sound so it's not like you expect East Coast sound and get Midwest sound.

AR-90's
ar-90.JPG
 
I'm curious as to what kind of amps I should really look into for bi-amping these behemoths(AR9), dual monoblocks? Brands or suggestions? Vintage or modern?
 
I've owned AR9's since 1979. Originally I powered them with the Heathkit AA-1640 power amp. That was a monster amp...200 watts per channel! They sounded wonderful and had bass that wouldn't quit.

Later I went with an Carver TFM-25 power amp. Sounded pretty good with that too.

I got out of stereo fever for several years and the equipment basically sat there collecting dust.

Fast forward to the last two years. I started to get stereo fever again. Rebuilt the AR9's, (crossovers, refoam....etc).
Purchased a couple Carver TFM-45 amps off the bay and had them both rebuilt by Rita at Bob Carver's repair center.

Now I'm running the AR9's bi-amped with the TFM-45's. That's about 1000 watts per channel!

The AR9's have never sounded better!
And they absolutely love power! lot's of power!

John
 
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