Arx A1 monitor loudspeaker
- Second generation 3" wideband Neodymium planar tweeter
- 5.25" SplitGap midwoofer with cast aluminum frame
- High grade CAD crossover using premium components
- Convertible, bass reflex / acoustic suspension enclosure type
- Heavy, braced internal construction
- Economy simulated black ash finish
- Removable black fabric grille and heavy input terminals
The 5.25", 2-way Arx A1 monitor loudspeaker ushers in a new era in economy performance loudspeakers. This is the compact stand monitor / bookshelf speaker with the truly advanced technology. Driven well, the Arx A1 creates a tremendous, three-dimensional soundfield previously thought impossible for such a modest cost.
What's special about Arx?
Arx incorporates two important and relatively unique technoligies, one for each of the two drivers that make up the model A1. They're rare at Arx's price, and you've probably never seen them together for even double that price.
The flat-panel, "planar magnetic" treble driver
The special second generation planar Arx tweeter replaces conventional domes and cones with a nearly weightless thermoplastic "leaf" driven by an intense magnetic field. Rows of exotic Neodymium magnets power this device, and its high-capacity sound-radiating diaphragm is nearly completely driven across a much larger surface than conventional tweeters.
The result is much lower distortion than usual, and a lightening-quick response to nearly 30khz., plus high linearity and surprisingly neutral and extended treble performance. High frequencies from the Arx A1 take on an "immaterial" quality and do not sound like those from an economy loudspeaker.
The Arx planar-magnetic tweeter.
Arx "SplitGap" bass technology
The Arx advantage doesn't end with superior high frequencies. The Arx A1 loudspeaker also guarantees powerful, low distortion bass performance by way of a radically superior midwoofer. Arx "SplitGap" bass technology drives the speaker to both higher output and lower distortion in the bass and midbass region.
Download the SplitGap white paper
SplitGap is a special dual-gap motor able to virtually double linear excursion while slashing distortion tens of percent. Bass output from Arx is more realistic and powerful than other speakers in its modest price class even though The Audio Insider licenses the exotic dual-gap, low-distortion XBL
2bass technology exclusively for use in this brand.
The Arx "SplitGap" motor costs more but slashes distortion.
Summing up the Arx advantage
The Arx planar magnetic tweeter and SplitGap woofers raise the A1's performance across its musical spectrum. We then engineered the Arx A1 to give you enormous dynamic reserve so you can turn 'em up and enjoy even when they're pulled out into the room on speaker stands - this is one compact economy monitor that won't get harsh, in your face, or weak in the knees. Even at only a little over a foot tall, the Arx A1 goes this acoustically big for a fraction of the cost of usual "high end" systems.
The Arx A1 houses the 3" planar magnetic tweeter and special 5.25" woofer in a smart looking, computer-milled enclosure. The A1 is assembled and finished to high professional standards by real loudspeaker pros, and finished in stealthy simulated black ash. A removable black knit grille, rear-facing aerodynamic tuned port, and heavy, single input terminal pair complete the speaker. The A1 is individually serial numbered, and is sold, packed, and ship in pairs.
Download the free Arx User Guide
Intended use
The Arx A1 is designed with adequate diffraction step compensation and dynamic reserves to allow its use as a main loudspeaker. This compensation equalizes the speaker's frequency response so that as omnidirectional low frequencies begin to wrap around the cabinet, the more directional upper frequencies remain tonally balanced. At higher levels the A1 holds its own and remains composed where other inexpensive speakers become congested, shrill, and amusical.
Dual-use options
The Arx A1 also includes a convertible bass reflex system with an aerodynamically-flared rear port that provides bass reinforcement at very low frequencies. This port is designed for high flow - it compliments the A1's very long throw woofer's much higher output.
The port comes loaded with a charcoalester foam plug that converts the enclosure tuning from bass reflex to acoustic suspension, allowing the A1 to be used as a bookshelf or effects speaker closer to boundaries. If the converted A1 is used in an active highpass setup, acoustic suspension may aid AVR or processor crossover integration to the system's .1 channel active subwoofer. The convertible A1 bass system gives the speaker added flexibility for numerous setup options.
The A1's long-throw woofer has a treated cellulose cone for natural, detailed sound.
The Arx A1 excels at music and its high-power crossover network sums the drivers seamlessly. Like all Arx models, the A1 has been engineered for a consistent soundfield with excellent acoustical power distribution. Inside we've used heavy gauge, low-loss inductors, premium film capacitors, and non-inductive resistors, all CAD-designed and then tuned by ear over dozens of hours of critical listening.
For a complete Arx system, select the A3 tower speaker for main duty and the A2 for excellent center-channel performance - the Arx A1 speaker shares drivers and acoustics with the rest of the line, allowing you to mix and match easily.
The Audio Insider is proud to present this extraordinary line of products at very special prices. Try a pair of Arx A1's anywhere you need excellent resolution, lowest distortion, and the most satisfying sound in its class.
Arx technology
The Audio Insider's new Arx models are based on not one but two important, groundbreaking technologies. We've got both in one economical performance loudspeaker. The first is the "planar-magnetic" high frequency technology we pioneered so economically. The second is the radical new Arx "SplitGap" bass technology.
Tweeter
All Arx speakers use a special planar magnetic flat-panel tweeter with superb high frequency characteristics. This special device is quite unique to speaker systems of the modest Arx cost. In fact, this device is typically found in speakers costing many times more than Arx.
The planar magnetic tweeter consists of a feather-light membrane driven uniformly by a magnetic field created by intensely powerful Neodymium bar magnets. Foil conductors are bonded to the thermoplastic membrane and carry delicate high-frequency signals nearly perfectly. Lacking the complex mechanical interplay of the many parts that comprise conventional tweeters, the planar magnetic tweeter's sound has both great detail and excellent dynamic power, imparting music and soundtracks with the natural, neutral high frequency detail needed for high realism, and the robust output required for today's dynamic recordings. The planar magnetic tweeter also possesses high thermal capacity and electrical power handling, together with controlled dispersion, making it sure to keep its cool during peak demands and to do so predictably within the listening environment.
Compared to usual domes and cones, you can see just how different Arx planar magnetic tweeters are.
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The entire sound-producing assembly has been replaced with an elegantly simple emissive diaphragm of flat, micro-light polymer film. This diaphragm has a flat response to beyond 30kHz, a half octave beyond most dome tweeters. In an Arx tweeter, there's less to resonate, less to distort, and less to fail.
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The Arx tweeter's voice coil is an evenly distributed pattern of ultra-light foil. That's it. No other parts are needed, there's nothing to weigh down the moving surface, and the Arx tweeter diaphragm is more evenly driven by this special circuit.
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The flat, ultra-low mass Arx tweeter diaphragm is energized by rows of powerful Neodymium magnets, ounce for ounce about five times more powerful than those in regular tweeters.
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Arx's special tweeters have more radiating area, given them a reduction in intermodulation distortion you can hear and measure - your music and soundtracks simply sound clearer, more effortless, and more transparent.
Unlike the lesser domes found in common speakers at Arx's low cost, the planar magnetic or "ribbon" tweeter has lower distortion at every volume level.
Download the free Arx User Guide
Midrange / Midbass
All Arx models mate special tweeter technology with either one or two high-power "SplitGap" woofers with licensed XBL2 dual-gap technology. These drivers feature radically higher excursion and very low distortion, and are precision-tuned to each Arx enclosure for best bass output from compact enclosures.
What is XBL2 SplitGap? This radical new licensed technology adds a second voice coil gap and significant distortion-reduction - think of it as a turbocharged regular woofer. SplitGap's second drive gap is carefully positioned so that where a conventional woofer's gives up, an Arx cone shifts into acoustic overdrive and virtually doubles its output. For an audible bonus, SplitGap slashes distortion at the same time.
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SplitGap woofers have shorter voice coils for lower moving mass and lower inductance, giving Arx speakers excellent midrange articulation.
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Copper in the SplitGap motor reduces distortion-causing flux modulation, greatly extends speaker response, and improves thermal capacity for higher power handling.
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SplitGap motors have more uniform cone drive, lowering distortion at any point of motion.
SplitGap has 30% less of the motor distortion of regular woofers and the difference is unmistakable. Compared to a comparable conventional design, the Arx XBL2 motor technology also nearly literally doubles the speaker's "volume displacement" - the total amount of air the woofer driver can displace - for unexpectedly deep and dynamic bass.
The Arx high performance midwoofer, while having the broader midrange dispersion and higher extension of a 5.25" cone, can move as much or more air as a good 6.5" woofer. The Arx SplitGap woofer also greatly reduces distortion, runs cooler, and can take more power.
Crossover networks
All Arx models, whether bookshelf monitor, LCR multi-purpose monitor, or floorstanding tower, include precision crossover assemblies optimized for linear power and predictable dispersion. Components are best quality, featuring epoxy circuit boards, low-loss inductors and premium select film capacitors for critical signal areas. The A1 monitor and A3 tower use modified, low-Q 4th order transfer functions, while the A2 uses a modified 3rd order function between woofers and tweeter.
Cabinets
Extreme Arx performance requires a heavy, braced enclosure, which all models have. All models rely on precision, computererized mill-cut 18mm thick reinforced cabinets from one of the best cabinet houses in the industry. While not fancy, these enclosures are perfectly tuned and heavy enough for great sonics at any level.Extreme Arx value calls for conservative finishes, which is why every Arx speaker is finished in simulated Black Ash PVC. Arx finishes clean easily, blend in, and with reasonable care, last a long time.
