Acoustic Research AR9 - Speaker Icons

The large and commanding presence of the Acoustic Research AR9 loudspeaker in any room lets people know that something special is about to grace their ears.  The AR9 is a floor-standing, vertically-oriented, 4-way loudspeaker.  Developed under the early "Teledyne" years for Acoustic Research, the speaker was one of the first to use more sophisticated computerized calculations for the driver orientation and crossover design. The speaker are ominous, weighing in at over 130 lbs each, and standing 54 inches tall.  But, a departure for AR and many speaker companies in the late 70s, they were more of an upright design than most hi-fi listeners would have been used to. 

Each speaker is comprised of twin, 12" paper pulp long throw woofers, derived from the late-model AR3a, in an acoustic suspension enclosure - The type that made AR famous in the early 1960s.  On the front of the cabinet, an 8" mid-bass woofer, 2" coated dome midrange" and 3/4" cloth dome tweeter face the listener. The crossover frequencies were chosen to provide a safe operating range for each driver and optimize their performance. 

The low resonance of the side-firing 12" AR woofers in such a large enclosure want that frequency output was drastically increased, and distortion minimized.  The system cutoff frequency can be measured at -8dB at 18Hz, which is simple extraordinary - Especially for the 1970s without a powered and dedicated subwoofer.   To top things off, AR employed a hi-, mid-, and low/mid- crossover compensation circuit to allow the listening experience to be tailored to a specific room. This circuit resembles that found in the much-lauded AR10pi system, but with some simplifications. 

The highs and mids on this system are incredibly clean, articulate, and non-fatiguing.  Of course, the 60-year old technology behind ARs 3/4" cloth dome tweeter doesn't sign quite as high as today's metallic composites, but what it lacks in upper range extension it more than makes up for in "all day listenability."  

This system has had all of the driver foams redone, the crossover switches in the front need a little massaging to make good contact, but when they do, they perform admirably.  Physically the speakers show some signs of age, but overall in very presentable 7 out of 10 condition. Price reflects this condition appropriately.

The whole speaker is full of warmth, dynamics, and bass for days and days.  

Demos are encouraged in Andover, MA

$1,699/pair (plus applicable MA sales tax)

*Due to size and weight, conventional shipping is not available. Please enquire regarding delivery options.