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Need advice on Acoustic Research AR XP62 (1 Viewer)

Joined
Feb 5, 2002
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29
Saw it mentioned here earlier and checked it out. J&R has the bookshelf Acoustic Research ARXP62 speakers on sale for $99 a pair, marked down from more than $400 pr. This includes a 6 1/2" aluminum woofer and a tweeter. They also have an AR center channel speaker, including two 4" midranges for $59.

I know nothing about Acoustic Research, and can't find any decently informative reviews about them. I understand their history... now being under Audiovox. Nevertheless, I believe at one time the quality was supposedly very good. Please help me out. I am considering buying two pairs (for front and surround) and one center channel. Do these AR speakers sound good? Is an aluminum woofer good or bad? In reality is this a good price?

AR XP62
# Frequency response: 42 - 27,000 Hz +/- 3dB
# Sensitivity: 88dB

Center channel
Frequency Response: 55Hz-50kHz +/-3dB
Sensitivity: 89dB

Are these good figures for frequency and sensitivity? It goes without saying, I'll be buying them without ever hearing them first. Thanks for any advice.
 

Arthur S

Senior HTF Member
Joined
Jul 2, 1999
Messages
2,571
Hi Kevin

The ARXP62s are fine...you should consider a better center channel...you need an HSU STF2 subwoofer.
 

Doug Brewster

Second Unit
Joined
Jul 22, 2002
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325
For the price, think about buying a second pair and using one of the those as a center channel. You're not going to find a worthwhile "new" center for $100. I think I'd do that, then set the center to "small" (if you have separate crossover settings, I'd try 60Hz).

Just a thought.
 

avr5700

Auditioning
Joined
Mar 9, 2007
Messages
1
Real Name
ThomasD
I know Stephen already found this, but figured I would alert other HTF members that may be interested in the ARXP62s:

avsforum.com/ avs-vb/ showthread.php?t=773485

* Thanks to the new member URL anti spam filter you get to fix the above for yourselves.
 

MaxL

Supporting Actor
Joined
May 26, 2006
Messages
503
Real Name
Max Levine
i inherited (took) my mom's old ar speakers. i love them. the new ar speakers ar not remotely the same. ar got famous making acoustic suspension speakers (sealed). these are ported (bass reflex) speakers. there's nothing wrong with that. my ht speakers are ported, as far as i know, most speakers use this design principle. to be fair, i have not listened to them. but i did just look them up and what i found was not impressive. the specs did not match between jr.com and the audiovox website. audiovox list the freq response at 38hz-50khz (50,000hz) +/-3db. that kind of spec isn't worth the pixels on my screen. as far as i know no human can hear 50khz, and i'm not aware of any recorded material or quality cd/dvd player, amp or other piece of equipment that goes close to that high. the fact that they use a spec like that screams SHADY. now, that doesn't mean they're horrible. they may be fine, above average even, and you may like them. hearing like taste or sight is subjective, if it sounds good to you, they may be worth it. so for the record, amazon has them for $80 a pair. i just looked at the link above and clearly these speakers have some fans.

i don't know what equipment you already have, what kind of room you'll be in, what your listening habits are/will be or what your budget is. all of these are important in the equation of getting the best sound you can afford. what i do know is that speakers are probably the single most important determining factor in that equation, so you want to get the best you can afford and the ones you like the sound of. based on the budget of $260 for 5 speakers, you'll be hard pressed to get great sound. if that is your budget, i would recommend you build your system over time. i'd start with bookshelves for mains (fronts) and maybe a center (they should be from the same company and timbre matched), then i'd add a sub and then surrounds (don't have to be from the same company and if you've got to skimp somewhere, thise are the speakers to do it on). that's an idea actually, buy a pair of the ar's, if you like the sound, great, buy the set, if you don't like em, you've got a cheap pair or surrounds. if you are doing a lot of movie watching, you will want a quality center speaker as that's where most of the soundtrack is reproduced. you could always buy an extra set of the bookshelves and use one for the center and the other to fill out a 6 speaker system.

for the money, especially at the low end, i think athena speakers are tough to beat $120/pr as-b1's and matching as-c1 center. but whatever you do, go listen to as many speakers as you can. go to big box stores, used audio stores, high end stores, listen in and out of your price range. that way when you buy a pair and get them home, even if you've never heard them before (online purchase), you will know if you like them compared to other stuff that's out there, and you'll know if you can live with them till you can afford then next upgrade. anyway, good luck.
 

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