beatcomber
AK Member
AK'er Crestwood23 posted a pair of fully restored AR4x's on BT for a very reasonable price, and I drove down to NJ on Saturday to pick them up.
You can see the amazing restoration that they went through here: http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?t=608420
Paired with a Yamaha CR-1020, little guys really surprised me! As many have reported, they put out a shocking amount of clean, deep bass, considering their size. The mids are outstanding, and they are quite fast and dynamic, yet smooooth.
Many criticize them for being rolled off on top, but either there's a problem with the speakers or the owners aren't accustomed to what "neutral" sounds like. I have my AR4x's dialed in with the tone pot set at 12 o'clock ("normal") and do not feel that they sound at all dull or rolled off. The mids and bass are equally as prominent so they do not have a lot of the top-end razzle dazzle that a lot of people expect.
When I first was evaluating the AR's, I had them temporarily perched on some stuff that I had in the room, which apparently did not have sufficient mass and/or rigidity. I've since moved them to more appropriate supports, and they have been literally transformed. Immediately transients became more dynamic, the highs became sweeter and more defined, and imaging popped into 3D. These speakers are capable of doing the "disappearing" trick, but they are sensitive to what type of support they are placed on.
I have yet to hear a pair of speakers that can reproduce the sound of the human voice more realistically.
Considering these speakers were made in 1967, their performance is quite remarkable. I really like them!
You can see the amazing restoration that they went through here: http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?t=608420
Paired with a Yamaha CR-1020, little guys really surprised me! As many have reported, they put out a shocking amount of clean, deep bass, considering their size. The mids are outstanding, and they are quite fast and dynamic, yet smooooth.
Many criticize them for being rolled off on top, but either there's a problem with the speakers or the owners aren't accustomed to what "neutral" sounds like. I have my AR4x's dialed in with the tone pot set at 12 o'clock ("normal") and do not feel that they sound at all dull or rolled off. The mids and bass are equally as prominent so they do not have a lot of the top-end razzle dazzle that a lot of people expect.
When I first was evaluating the AR's, I had them temporarily perched on some stuff that I had in the room, which apparently did not have sufficient mass and/or rigidity. I've since moved them to more appropriate supports, and they have been literally transformed. Immediately transients became more dynamic, the highs became sweeter and more defined, and imaging popped into 3D. These speakers are capable of doing the "disappearing" trick, but they are sensitive to what type of support they are placed on.
I have yet to hear a pair of speakers that can reproduce the sound of the human voice more realistically.
Considering these speakers were made in 1967, their performance is quite remarkable. I really like them!