Acoustic Research AR9LS owners? Just for thought

Sorry to say this but you will never realize the full potential of your speakers when placed out from the wall. Go to Classic Speakers site and read about the design of the AR-9 series. I think 3-4" is max. Most folks have the opposite problem, they cannot place their speakers (other models) far enough out into the room for best performance.

I assume your AR9LS are rated at 4 ohms. How is your Yamaha amp rated? Is the 140 wpc at 8 ohms? What at 4 ohms? A good quality amp should come close to if not actually doubling output into 4 ohms. From my limited experience with AR speakers (none of the 9 series), amplifier choice can be critical to optimize them.

Good luck.

Agarrison, you need to search the link to Classic Speakers and go to the AR section and find information on the design of the AR-9 series. It all relates to room loading, frequency range of woofers and mid-woofers, and crossover points. Then you may better understand about placement. They will certainly play music out from the wall but you will be sacrificing their intended performance.

Your other speakers may be fine. But they might also improve with greater distance from the front wall. Normally bass information loads up (increases) near room boundaries (wall/floor/ceiling intersections). Placing most speakers too close to walls, and especially corners, results in excess bass loading. Some folks may like this as it produces more apparent bass, but it will not be clean and accurate bass. The AR-9 series was specifically designed to overcome this rule of acoustics.

I'm not familiar with any Yamaha or Pioneer gear so can't help there. My comments on amp power are a general guideline. Many people believe you should get x 1.7 to 2.0 the 8 ohm rating into 4 ohms. Thus a 100 watt amp at 8 ohms should output 170 to 200 watts into 4 ohms. Some amps may not even be fully stable into 4 ohms but any competent design should be.

So many questions, such difficult answers.

You stated upfront your speakers are "mint condition" and "done right". First of all I don't believe any speaker will be mint condition after 25 years -- too many parts will age even if unused. Second, done right -- were speaker cones refoamed with original weight materials? crossover parts replaced with correct values? all wiring reconnected in proper phase? None of us here can answer these questions on line. And all that comes before any consideration about a good amplifier match.

So what can you do? My advice is to find an experienced friend or possibly a member of a local audio club to come to your home to help you evaluate your situation. If neither of those answers is likely, find a dealer who sells quality components (not a big box store) and see if they have any staff or can recommend a consultant to help you out. In that case be prepared to pay for their time. In the long run, I think this will bring you to the answers you want much faster than continuing questions here when there are so many unknown factors.

As you found, many 'Goners are willing to help but your situation seems complex.

Agarrison, again I must ask if you ever went to the Classic Speakers site and read the information on the AR-9 series? There is much good information on these speakers, including design concepts and the resulting set up recommendations.