Acoustic Research AR9LS owners? Just for thought

HELP!!!! I MOVED MY AR9 SET UP INTO THE BEDROOM AND AM RUNNING THEM VIA THE PIONEER ELITE AND ALTHOUGH POWER SEEMS TO BE EQUAL TO THE YAMAHA I HAVE A HUGE LACK OF LOW END BASS RESPONSE IN THE SMALLER ROOM WITH THE SPEAKERS UP AGAINST THE WALL AND 8 FEET APART CENTER TO CENTER WITH SIDE WALLS EQUAL AT ABOUT 4 FEET ON EITHER SIDE... WHATS GOING ON HERE? MY POLK AUDIO SDA2B SPEAKERS WERE ROCKING THE ROOM IN THE SAME POSITIONS AND MY AR9S ARE JUST BARELY GIVING ME ANY LOW END RESULTS. I AM REALLY DISAPOINTED IN THE SOUND I AM GETTING RIGHT NOW. PLEASE HELP WITH IDEAS. IS IT JUST THE AMP? IS IT THE ROOM SIZE?

This is just a guess but from what I can tell from your posts it appears that you have the speakers centered on the long wall firing across the short dimension of the room.

I have done that and the result was aways a loss of upper bass -lower mid range energy. While the speaker measured well in the bass the overall sound was cold/bass shy. What I think occurs is that when the speakers are on the short wall there are a lot more reflections/reinforcements and the bass frequencies sound fuller.

Try moving the speakers to the short wall and see what happens.

Your awesome!!!! How many years have you guys been doing this to be able to know these things. IT worked like a charm. THANKS

Ok, so now after listening to music for a while now with this set up... I am noticing that there is still a definate lack of low end power on certain songs and volume levels. Could this be due to the lack of power on my amp? Seems like when I crank up the volume to hit some of that pink floyd long deep bass, there is just too much high and mid range... like the woofers arent getting enough juice. My question is though.. if i get a bigger amp, wouldnt I still suffer from the same problem?

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.