seeking recommendation

[SFBayArch]

seeking subwoofer recommendation for AR M1 speakers

The other day, I was going through boxes in the garage looking for Christmas decorations when I came across my old AR M1 'holographic imaging' series speakers.

I brought them in the house with the intention of dusting them off and maybe putting them on Craigslist, but I hooked them up my bedroom/office system (Sony DVP-S9000ES SACD player & Yamaha A-1020 amp) and WOW! I couldn't believe my ears.

It had been years since I listened to these cheap looking little formica-clad bookshelves, but they made me sit down and gather some of my favorite recordings for an extended listening session. The holographic imaging nomenclature is more than marketing nonsense. I forgot all about the Christmas decorations and ended up listening to music through the AR M1s the rest of the evening, which brings me to my request.

Although I was amazed the enjoyment I got from listening again to these little old babies, they do leave something to be desired down low. I have decided to hold onto them now, but I think I'll need a sub-woofer - I've never used one before. The AR M1s go down to 65Hz (frequency response is 65Hz-20kHz).

Any ideas for an inexpensive, used sub-woofer to match with these AR M1s?

Thanks in advance.

 

[Mister Pig]

Actually the M1 are a speaker that is very under the radar in the audio world. I ran across an interesting tidbit a few years ago about them. Apparently Levinson used them at one time to demo his electronics, basically showing how good his stuff is even through inexpensive speakers. Here is a post I found about the M series, it might be of interest to you.

After I recently got my first pair of M-3's on e-bay in June, I bought the TAS with the review of the M-1's referred to as well as the Stereo Review with the Julian Hirsch review of the M-4's and downloaded and then bought a physical copy of the M series brochure.
This was because the M-3's were a revelation, audibly. More than comparable to the late 70's AR-5's and AR-6's I had in my previously best-ever system
What was actually said in the TAS review is that Mark Levinson did, for a fact, use the M-1's to demonstrate his then $3,500 amplifiers. HP also testified that when he hooked up a pair of the M-1's to a premium amplifier, they went from being a very good speaker to a fantastic, state-of-the art-sounding loudspeaker.
He never said that the M-1's were the best of the M series, or that the larger models were inferior to the M-1's.
This motivated me to buy a pair of the M-5's from a wonderful shop from this website, and then a pair of M-4's as a set with the rare holographic imaging center speaker, the MC-1's, also from e-bay.
The performance breakdown is as follows:
The M-1's and M-2's are smaller speakers with less power handling and significantly less bass.
The M-3's,M4's and the very intriguing M-4.5's have much greater bass and power handling.
All of the above have far less sophisticated cross-overs and soft dome tweeters, than the top-of-the line M-5's and M-6's with their surprisingly sweet sounding aluminum tweeters.
It was because the M-3's were such a revelation, including surprisingly clean but respectable bass, that motivated my M-series shopping spree.
The M-5's were everything the M-3's were with the addition of bass so deep and powerful and clean that I never use the bass boost control on my receiver!
The M-4's are right in the middle of the M-3's and M-5's in terms of bass due to its 6" mid-range and 6" bass speakers vs. the 5" mid-range and 8" woofer of the M-5's.
The 8" woofer and 2.5" dome mid-range of the M-3's suffered slightly from not having the clever band-pass design with it's significant larger bass baffle volume of the M-4 and M-5's.
Power-handling and bass are the only significant differences with the 3 pairs that I have observed in my 3-month holographic imaging audio festival.
That is why I am absolutely determined to buy the first set of great condition M-6's with their dual 8" band-pass woofers.
They are all so good, I'm not selling any of them.
I was pleased to find out that some of the better 2-zone 7.1 receivers give you the option of having a pair of front high-positioned speakers (the M-3's?!) instead of a second zone in another room.
This adds height as well as more power handling and bass to the imaging of my system.
I will then acquire a good Class "D" sub woofer amp to bi-amp at least the M-6's, and possibly the M-5's with a 7.2 receiver.
By the way, the MC-1 is a powerful clean and neutral center speaker that really improves the precision of the positioning of the imaging.
While I acknowledge that there are certainly multi-Ten or Hundred Thousand dollar home theater set-ups that will sound better in some ways than my system, I am certain that I will be thrilled to listen to my vintage system.
Sort of like the difference between a BMW M3(pun intended!) versus a Ferrari 458.
At anything less than 160 mph, you'll never notice the superiority of the more powerful much more expensive car!!

In terms of a subwoofer, I think I would want one that is going to value quick response over pure impact. Ideally it would be awesome to find one of the B series of subs from Audio Pro. The HSU subs are quite a value for a modern unit, and fairly reasonably priced. In terms of pure price considerations, the base model Titanic kit from Parts Express has a lot of value.

Good luck with your project, looks to be a lot of fun.
Regards
Mister Pig

 

[SFBayArch]

much appreciated...

Thanks for this information, Mister Pig! I'll have a look at those options you shared.

I was aware of the "hype" on these speakers when I originally purchased them. I was in college at the time and lived in a fairly cramped apartment. I drove them with what I thought was a reasonably competent, but maybe under-powered NAD integrated amp.

Now that I have much more powerful amplification (and a better source) driving them, they really sing and image better than anything I can remember playing in my home. I know it's not just a happy nostalgia. I am convinced they actually do sound better now than when I was originally listening to them some 15 years ago - truly a testament to the fact that you don't need to break the bank to hit the sweet spot (well, maybe just a piggy bank).