New high performance Arx loudspeakers.

[BufordTJustice]

Originally Posted by AudioFyle

Wow! I cannot wait for these models.

Arx A4 - High-output 3-way stand monitor / theater speaker to compliment the A6. Single 6.5" XBL2 woofer, single 5.25" midrange, and single 3" planar tweeter. Black simulated ash PVC with black knit grille. Stocks Fall 2010, price TBD.

Arx A5 - Bass reflex floorstanding tower the same size as the A3. Triple 5.25" XBL2 woofers, single 5.25" midrange, and single 3" planar tweeter. Black simulated ash PVC with black knit grille. Stocks Summer 2010, price TBD.

I'm in the market for new speakers, and these sound intriguing. Jon, your description of the sound really piques my interest too. You described them as "a neutral to slightly warm sound, meaning these designs tend not to have the usual clinical, lean, or forward sound so many designs do these days. We want to give a relaxed, natural sound that has excellent perspective and stereo fill, and thus can be enjoyed for hours on end". Which is exactly what I am looking for in a speaker. I had old KEF UNi-Q (which finally died) that had a smooth laid back top end. If these speakers get that right, then they jump immediately straight to the top of my "must audition" list.

I know it says price TBD. But do you have even a vague idea of the general price range on these two? Not a price I would try to hold you to mind you. Just some ballpark figure.

The split-gap motor technology is pretty neat...it allows about double the amount of ACCURATE excursion from a normal driver. I.e. one 5.25" woofer would be able to deliver as much bass as two regular 5.25" woofers w/ a normal motor structure. The split-gap/XBL2 motor design also lowers distortion substantially at normal volume levels.

The little birdie also told me that the tweeters and crossovers belong in MUCH more expensive speakers than these. Air-core inductors and high quality doo-dads in the X-over. The tweeters are supposed to be a knockout. Don Lindich already loves them...and he's just begun his review. I, too, am interested in the A5 towers. They should be a knockout.

Also the midrange in the A5 may end up having a phase-plug to improve on-axis response and reduce distortion further. This is some seriously strong design going into this thing.

[AudioFyle]

Originally Posted by BufordTJustice

A little birdie told me that the A5 might show up on the market for around 7-bills per pair.

Sounds great. I think I'm more interested in the A4. But who knows? When I see the A5's I may well fall in love.

Originally Posted by BufordTJustice

The little birdie also told me that the tweeters and crossovers belong in MUCH more expensive speakers than these. Air-core inductors and high quality doo-dads in the X-over. The tweeters are supposed to be a knockout. Don Lindich already loves them...and he's just begun his review.

Yeah. The specs are pretty impressive - almost unheard of at this price point.

[BufordTJustice]

Originally Posted by AudioFyle

Sounds great. I think I'm more interested in the A4. But who knows? When I see the A5's I may well fall in love.




Yeah. The specs are pretty impressive - almost unheard of at this price point.

Yes sir. I'm familiar with Split-gap/XBL2 motor technology from high-end subwoofer drivers. It's amazing.

In terms of a 6.5" split-gap driver, it could easily have equal or greater displacement than an average 8" driver...but with LESS distortion. The A4 will be well suited for large rooms, as will the A5 and A6.

The better subwoofer manufacturers use varying forms of this patented tech to increase excursion (linear 'throw') and drive down distortion. Top-end subwoofer manufacturers such as TC Sounds, JL Audio, Elemental Designs, HSU Research, et al use this technology to great effect. The linear excursion of their top-end drivers is commonly measured in INCHES.

An added effect is also noticeably greater power handling. There is, quite literally, no downside to split-gap when it is implemented properly. I am rather confident that Jon will cross his T's and dot his I's in this regard.

The tweeter, with an oversized magnet structure, will hold its own easily.

[Jon Lane]

Originally Posted by AudioFyle

I'm in the market for new speakers, and [ A4, A5, and A6 concepts] sound intriguing. Jon, your description of the sound really piques my interest too. You described them as "a neutral to slightly warm sound, meaning these designs tend not to have the usual clinical, lean, or forward sound so many designs do these days. We want to give a relaxed, natural sound that has excellent perspective and stereo fill, and thus can be enjoyed for hours on end". Which is exactly what I am looking for in a speaker. I had old KEF UNi-Q (which finally died) that had a smooth laid back top end. If these speakers get that right, then they jump immediately straight to the top of my "must audition" list.

Thanks for your interest, AudioFyle. We don't have an ETA yet and in fact, we're not positive all three will work as intended, but the modeling looks promising.

Originally Posted by AudioFyle

I know it says price TBD. But do you have even a vague idea of the general price range on these two? Not a price I would try to hold you to mind you. Just some ballpark figure.

No firm pricing yet as all three have yet to be thoroughly developed, but under $900/pr is possible.

That said, if you're in the market for a powerful speaker, have you heard the A3? The field reports we've been sent are unanimously and thoroughly positive. Users find it room-filling, clear, dynamic, focused, and with the ability to look inside the recording like few speakers can, including probably none at this price point.

[daggerNC]

Had the pleasure of speaking the Jon about 3 weeks ago - let me thank Jon once again for his patience and great discussion around speakers and what I'm looking for in some low-cost speakers with high-end sound (as much as possible). I guess I'm an "ex-audiophile" where my last really good (relative terms) 2-channel system consisted of Marantz amplification thru a custom tube preamp into Martin Logan SL-3 electrostatics. Kids, mortgages, dual car payments and the wages meltdown at the millennium lead to a stop in upgrading every 6 months and selling that for a decent home theater system. But, it gives you an idea of what my ears like to hear (I also come from a musical family and played trumpet thru high school).

What I needed was just a pair of good sounding rear surround channel speakers (the 5.1 system I have currently is a Definitive Technology 5.1 system with an SVS sub) to turn it into a 7 channel surround system. I currently have a pair of small Level 2 speakers from HTD for my small downstairs 5.0 system and am very impressed with them so I ordered a pair of the Level 3 bookshelves. Hooked them up (after being a little disappointed with their QC with a blob of glue on one of the surrounds) and sat down a little latter with one of my very favorite auditioning CDs: Steve Miller Born to be Blue. Very nice bass extension for a 15.5" tall speaker, but there was something missing in the mid-range (maybe a dip in the frequency response?) and the highs which I was expecting a lot from their ribbon tweeter was a bit on the harsh side and the extension wasn't there. Bummer. So I did a little searching considering the usual suspects in this good quality but limited budget range (Aperion, AV123, Paradigm, NHT, SVS, etc) and then remembered some Swans I got to hear years back and then came across theaudioinsider webpage. Saw the new Arx A1 specs, called Jon, and decided to order a pair - I'll keep the ones which sound better (Arx or HTD).

Fedex took the long route to get to me in NC, but I opened them up, good weight and cabinet mass/lack of resonances, but not as nice as the real wood veneered HTD's and about 3" shorter. Plus I really like/want the rosewood color versus black. Hooked them up to my smaller system and let them play for a couple of hours with background TV and music. Sat down later that evening and popped in Mr. Miller and almost immediately a smile broke out on my face. There was some "real" instrument sounds coming out of these little boxes! I also didn't hear any really obvious frequency gaps. The bass was actually quite good - went deep enough to get some of the upper bass frequencies so you could hear the kick drum and bass guitar and know most of what they were trying to do sonically. Track 7 of born2Blue is "Just a Little Bit" and it has a driving bass line. If one of the drivers can't keep up with the other drivers and instruments then the whole piece just falls apart, and alot of speakers don't do that well on this. But I've got to say that it was really pretty good on the A1's!

And here is one my most important criteria when I judge speakers (and other components in the chain) - imaging and sound staging. I've got to be able to sonically "see" the musicians on the stage (real or studio): Steve dead center with his guitar, drums behind him, the sax to the left and back about 8', cow bell on the left side of the drum set, backup vocalists either left and/or right of Steve, etc. And.......I can "see" the sound stage pretty well with these little bookshelves! Nice, but what really exceeded my expectations is something that is very special that only truely "good" speakers can do: portray all the different instruments and singers as unique sonic entities so that you can "see" the individual musicians with your ears. If you are present at a live performance (acoustic in a smaller venue is best) you hear all the musicians playing together, but you also can distinctly see and hear the bassist and the drummer and the lead guitar and the rhythm guitar and the keyboardest, etc. It's not just hearing the instruments and vocals all mashed together, but hearing all the individual elements playing together to make one. It's a very cool effect, and adds to the realism of the playback. Kudos to the Arx A1's for doing a really decent job at this - not at the level my electrostatics could do, but d@mn, for these little inexpensive speakers???

So, bottom line, the HTD's were shipped back in a hurry - the A1's are here to stay My initial impressions conclude with this: somebody's stupid here. Either Jon is for offering such a great little speaker at such a low cost, or we (speaker buying public) are for not scooping these up at this price point!

The bad news is: I wish these were available in the rosewood (or similar) finish. I have also read about the potential for a slightly larger version with 6.5" split-gap drivers - man, I would really like to hear those!! And if they came in a real veneer cabinet and an affordable incremental cost (HTD can do it!), then I'm in real trouble because I would likely try to find some way to replace my whole Def Tech system...... Oh no, I feel the old addiction kicking in again.....need to replace/upgrade something that works just fine. And all I wanted was just a nice sounding, inexpensive pair of rear channel speakers!

[andrew]

i have been loving my arx a1s. Truly stellar speakers.


I just need to find a good subwoofer. You guys have any recommendations? I am thinking that I want a sealed subwoofer.

You guys think the elemental design a3s 250 would be a good match?

http://www.edesignaudio.com/product_...roducts_id=892

[BufordTJustice]

Originally Posted by andrew

i have been loving my arx a1s. Truly stellar speakers.


I just need to find a good subwoofer. You guys have any recommendations? I am thinking that I want a sealed subwoofer.

You guys think the elemental design a3s 250 would be a good match?

http://www.edesignaudio.com/product_info.php?cPath=2_138&pro

I have an eD A7s-450 that is great for music....I have no doubt the A3s-250 will be great as well....especially for less-than-huge rooms. eD makes great stuff.

[Jon Lane]

A quick note to report the month's progress: The A5 is a definite contender. Much more on this model as we have the data to share.