My second pair of Acoustic Research speakers to grace this blog the AR 18B speakers. My last pair was a pair of AR-15's that needed extensive restoration.
The AR 18B is a early 80's refinement of the AR18 and AR 18S, this pair uses well matched woofer tweeter combo where a single 5uf cap is used for the roll off for the tweeter at 4000hz. The woofer is designed to roll off naturally.
This pair needed a re foam given that they are 30 years old and I figured a new Solen 5uf cap was pretty easy to replace and upgrade.
Straight forward these speakers sound much better through the Noresco 2570 than they do with the tube amp. There is ample bass from the 8" woofer and very smooth across the lower mid range. The upper mid range is a little less forward, perhaps laid back. The high notes are typical of a cone style tweeter that tend to roll off reducing the crispness that a dome tweeter produces. Cymbals sound a little blurred when A/B comparisons with the EPI A70 speakers. The efficiency of the AR 18B's is reported to be 86db at 1 watt which could benefit from a mid range power amp of 25-50 watts per channel.
Over all these are a nice compact bookshelf speaker that seems to have a small cult following on the interweb machine. Some even some go on to say that these have been used in studio's in lieu of the Yamaha NS-10's.
March 23 update:
I had a good long session with these speakers through a Single Ended tube amp, and these speakers really do sound fantastic, the front to back imaging is spot on and they cover the mid range perfectly. This is a great little speaker for tight space and is one I would seek out on a regular basis.
The AR 18B is a early 80's refinement of the AR18 and AR 18S, this pair uses well matched woofer tweeter combo where a single 5uf cap is used for the roll off for the tweeter at 4000hz. The woofer is designed to roll off naturally.
This pair needed a re foam given that they are 30 years old and I figured a new Solen 5uf cap was pretty easy to replace and upgrade.
Straight forward these speakers sound much better through the Noresco 2570 than they do with the tube amp. There is ample bass from the 8" woofer and very smooth across the lower mid range. The upper mid range is a little less forward, perhaps laid back. The high notes are typical of a cone style tweeter that tend to roll off reducing the crispness that a dome tweeter produces. Cymbals sound a little blurred when A/B comparisons with the EPI A70 speakers. The efficiency of the AR 18B's is reported to be 86db at 1 watt which could benefit from a mid range power amp of 25-50 watts per channel.
Over all these are a nice compact bookshelf speaker that seems to have a small cult following on the interweb machine. Some even some go on to say that these have been used in studio's in lieu of the Yamaha NS-10's.
March 23 update:
I had a good long session with these speakers through a Single Ended tube amp, and these speakers really do sound fantastic, the front to back imaging is spot on and they cover the mid range perfectly. This is a great little speaker for tight space and is one I would seek out on a regular basis.
I have these as well. I performed the exact same things on mine to gtet them back into service. Incredible little speakers. I paired mine with a Dayton Audio Sub-800 8" 80w sub, with a set of high-pass x-overs @12db per octave at 100hz. I only paid $50 for the AR18b and $100 for the sub. Perfect for my Realistic STA2000D 75wpc receiver and Technics SL1200mk2 turntable.
ReplyDeleteGot two pair. One in my condo, and the other in a RV.
ReplyDeleteI know this is way old...that 4k crossover point is incorrect by quite a bit as far as I can tell. I have these speakers. Just a caution to readers not to design around 4k without more investigation.
ReplyDeleteThe 5uf cap was original, and if you go to the Erse crossover calculator you would find that 5uf will act as a 6db slope per octave. I have seen these crossed with a 10uf cap at 1500-1800Hz.
ReplyDeleteFeel free to cross yours where you wish.
Hello, can anyone explain the difference among the various AR-18 speakers? I.E. AR-18, AR-18J, AR-18S, AR-18B. Thanks! Steve
ReplyDelete