I graduated high school in 1970, so I grew up in the heyday of AR--Acoustic Research--speakers. I vividly remember my older brother taking me at age 12 to the AR demonstration room http://www.classicspeakerpages.net/...omponents/ar_high_fidelity_components_16.html in Manhattan's Grand Central Station where visitors could hear the same material played first through the AR-4x, then the AR-2ax, AR-5, and finally the top-of-the-line AR-3a speakers. I could fully appreciate the gains in clarity and extension of each costlier model even then. Oh, how I yearned to own those magnificent AR 3a's! In my very early teens, even though I'd saved my allowance and other earnings and thought I could afford an AR-3a, AR Amp, AR XA turntable, and Shure V15II system, my parents thought otherwise. Thus, my first component system, purchased at age 14, was comprised of an AR XA turntable, Shure M91E cartridge, AR-4x speakers, and a Dynaco SCA-35 integrated tube amp. Not bad for my age, even so.
My much older brother bought a system comprised of AR-5 speakers, AR Receiver, and the Empire 598 turntable and Empire cartridge. I loved the sound of that system. It totally put mine in the shade.
Like many of you, I suppose, I've struggled in more recent years to recapture the reality of the memory of those earlier systems. Most recently this has actually led me into vintage audio and rediscovering some of the actual products which got me started in this hobby.
If, besides posting here, you sign up for REG's (Robert E. Greene of TAS) audio forum over on Yahoo, you can see various pictures and measurements of my speakers and systems in my photo album there. See: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/regsaudioforum/ for the home page of that forum and, if you sign up, you can see my photos at:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/regsaudioforum/photos/album/404627898/pic/list
Tom
My much older brother bought a system comprised of AR-5 speakers, AR Receiver, and the Empire 598 turntable and Empire cartridge. I loved the sound of that system. It totally put mine in the shade.
Like many of you, I suppose, I've struggled in more recent years to recapture the reality of the memory of those earlier systems. Most recently this has actually led me into vintage audio and rediscovering some of the actual products which got me started in this hobby.
If, besides posting here, you sign up for REG's (Robert E. Greene of TAS) audio forum over on Yahoo, you can see various pictures and measurements of my speakers and systems in my photo album there. See: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/regsaudioforum/ for the home page of that forum and, if you sign up, you can see my photos at:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/regsaudioforum/photos/album/404627898/pic/list
Tom