I've been looking for floor standing speakers with little success!

Bill and I must have similar hearing as I love both his speakers and now those AR9's. If only he were a member here and would offer me a realistic discount on his speakers! Honestly, from what I've seen in interviews and from what I've heard from folks who have met him at the shows, that Bill seems like a great guy who should be proud he has accomplished with his speakers!

 

Sorry, I may have been a little harsh last night on the guy from Upscale and on Fremer, but for quite a while they both have irritated me in some way, that even I can't pinpoint. With Upscale, I called one day asking for some advice and Kevin (I believe that's his name?) came on after I asked to speak with him and he was a bit quick to offer his opinion without really listening to what I needed. As for Fremer, I don't know him personally, nor have I ever had any contact with him, but while it makes me happy to know that he is a collector of music like myself (although his collection is about two warehouses larger than my house), he just seems to come off a bit arrogant to me, in an almost "I have spoken and it's the gospel" kind of way. I wish them well however, in whatever their agendas are.

 

This is a common occurrence in the high end audio world. I have noticed it from numerous employees of audio dealers local to me. Snide comments, holier-than-thou attitudes, etc. One example was after two horrible auditions of the Focal Kanta No. 2 speakers where the guy told me that if I didn't like the sound then I must just not like an accurate speaker. Or, maybe it's because I don't have hearing damage...

Uncle Kevin bugs me too. He seems chummy in the videos, yet I've heard similar stories about brush offs or worse from others who have actually done business with him. You'll sometimes see or hear references in his videos to his nice cars, etc. We get it dude, you sell gear with a ton of markup and make bank. I think each of his videos dealing with PrimaLuna gear should come with a fatty disclaimer about his affiliation with the company too. Not doing so is a little disingenuous. I do respect them for their tube testing process and selling used gear with a 90-day warranty. I also know (online) one or two employees at Kevin's shop and they are great!

 

I've done business with Kevin at Upscale and had nothing but positive interactions with him and the rest of the employees. I traded my VPI Prime in for a Prime Signature a few years back and they gave me a great price on my trade in and took care of me throughout the process. I can see how he can rub some people the wrong way because he's very opinionated and does talk A LOT but he was nothing but super nice to me.

 

The most unique thing that I have found while auditioning speakers at these hi-end shops is not only the "attitudes", but more the fact that they secretly will always admit to me, after I complain that I read and hear from others how great these speakers are and now I'm here and I (even using my "we all have different hearing" theory) just can't understand what the buzz is all about and they say, "you'll never get a great audition at an audio store". They usually are quick to say something like "we are in a strip mall, what do you expect?" or "the floors are crap and the walls have no tonal balance". Outside of actual HOME auditions in a dealers actual home or at Hanson Audio in Cincinnati (now there's a top notch high end audio dealer!), I have yet to ever get one and my answer always is "WHY NOT BUY A HOUSE OR BUILD A BUILDING THAT IS PROPERLY BUILT FOR SELLING AUDIO EQUIPMENT???" I mean after traveling as many miles and places as I have just to audition what I've already done and been so dismayed by most when I leave, why "should" I bother to continue the search with the same end results?

Here's a great idea, why not find the forum friends here that already have and enjoy what we seek and go to their houses for the auditions and bypass the dealers crappy attitudes and stores, until we are ready to purchase?

 

I'm very happy to hear that you've had a great experience and believe me, I don't want this thread to become a debate on whether or not Upscale is good or not, as clearly he has his followers! I can say this without any hesitation and that is that EVERY time that I have ever hit on his website or a video of his, my MacBook Pro computers always end up throwing up Upscale Audio ads all over my search pages, so something not up and up is going on with that guy!!!

 

Yeah I won't diminish anyone who has had a bad experience with him or his store because I know there are plenty of them.

 

You are looking for speakers that will have great bass extension comparable to a good sub-woofer, yet you are using Studio 100's as reference, and their bass goes down to just 45 Hz. Is there something I'm missing here?

 

I welcome you to come over and hear that the numbers that most audiophiles seem to always follow, don't always add up! My Paradigm Studio 100 v2's dig much, much deeper than 45Hz, trust me!

 

By the way, so much for the AR9's that I was debating buying, as the guy sold them this morning to someone else!

 

Have you considered going the route of a custom build?

 

Oh, I believe you, it's just strange that Paradigm would short-change themselves on the description so.

 

Yesterday I happened to read an interview that expanded on your comment...
As mentioned previously in this thread many members of this forum enjoy AudioNote UK and Peter Q. Yesterday I was reading blogger/reviewer Jeff Day's recent interview with Peter and the following is part of that article...

[I've mentioned before that there's a wisdom tradition in audio and recording that some of the very best developments that occurred were early on in audio and recording history, and Peter Qvortrup's perspective - which I happen to share - on when the branches of the music reproduction chain in audio were at their peak points of development, were during 1950-1960 for the recording quality peak, the software quality peak occurred 1950 - 1960, the amplification quality peak occurred 1920 - 1930, and the loudspeaker quality peak occurred in late 1930s. and was lead by cinema sound research & development.]

Jeff checking in ... visiting with Peter Qvortrup of Audio Note UK! Part 2. - Jeff's Place

 

No, I have not. About 25 years ago, my wife and I added onto our home, adding a 19x19 den and an equally large master bedroom. The guy who was the lead carpenter on the job, who did fantastic work, including building me a giant sized wall from scratch in wood, to house a huge part of my CD and vinyl collection, went on to building his own speakers about ten years ago. Oddly when I asked him if I could hear them, he never offered to have me over, as I may have commissioned him to build me a pair. I know that a lot of time and dedication goes into building a proper pair of speakers and I'm sure that there are a lot of guys out there who have built their own, but I'd rather stick with the professionals, as one-off speakers may be fun and unique for some, they really aren't my thing.

 

Interesting. They look the business for sure.

 

I've had a pair of Paradigm 7se mk3 speakers for years and have had the same experience, they punch above their weight and there's enough bass that no sub is needed. I have looked, but it's been difficult to replace them at their price point. Will be following this thread closely!

 

Tannoy Legacy Arden.



15" Dual concentric. Efficient enough for fairly low powered valve amps and also cope with 500W peaks. Serious bass.

 

EBay currently lists a pair of AR9's and and 2 pair of AR9LS speakers. All 3 pair from the same seller in Ohio. They might be worth an inquiry.

AR9. -- Refoamed and recapped with electrolytic caps.

AR9LS pr.1. -- Refoamed and recapped with electrolytic caps. LSi mod too.

AR9LS pr.2. -- Refoamed and recapped with poly & electrolytic caps. Also, LSi mod.

 

Have I read well: ten thousand dollars?
Then:
https://www.genelec.com/sites/default/files/media/Studio monitors/SAM Studio Monitors/1236A/1236a_operating_manual_0.pdf

“Accuracy of frequency response, ± 2.0 dB 21 Hz – 20 kHz
Maximum short term sine wave acoustic output on axis in half space, averaged from 100 Hz to 3 kHz at 1 m 130 dB SPL
Maximum long term RMS acoustic output in the same conditions with IEC weighted noise (limited by driver protection circuit) at 1 m 125 dB SPL
Maximum peak acoustic output per pair in a listening room with music material at 2 m 136 dB”
etc.

Graphs on page 7.

 

You just described my Tekton Pendragons. Previously I was running Klipsch Chorus ii with crites tweeters and caps. The Tektons are in a completely different league than the chorus. Other than absolute efficiency the Tektons beat them in every category.

I love the Tekton sound so much I'm upgrading to the Double Impacts.

 

Do remember the AR9 is 4 ohms, very inefficient, and reactive load, and demands really high current to drive ideally. It's a superb loudspeaker, and worth the trouble to find a suitable amplifier to drive. I like the AR9 sound a lot.

 

The first guy and I are already talking, but thanks for the links.

The other two I have no interest in as the first guy that I was talking to earlier this week who has owned many AR9's warned me to avoid the LS models, as they are not as good as the standard AR9's. Now, back to the top AR9 listing. I asked the seller to send me more photos, including the serial numbers, which are not in consecutive numbers, but even weirder is that the serial numbers includes a K, which even my AR expert couldn't explain. What variance is an AR9 speaker with a K in the name plate and serial number (NOTE: He has since added the photos to his listing that he shared with me, so now you can see the K serial numbers as well.)

 

I intend to use a McIntosh mc452 on whatever I buy, which should be more than enough clean power for them?

 

MC 452 will have no trouble driving AR9 speakers whatsoever. More than enough.

 

The "K" in the serial number does not signify an AR9 variation. That part of the serial number was for internal use at Acoustic Research. It was used to track manufacturing details, including date of manufacture. For reference, my AR90's have a L, and my AR92's an N. Oh, my AR58S and AR18 speakers are both U.