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Re: bookshelves and floorstanding difference

I'm a fiftysomething and a real fan of the old AR speakers. In the very early 70's we got into the AR's. A friend had the AR-3a's which were driven by a Marantz receiver, which if my memory serves me correctly, was the 2275.

We had the AR-5's which were driven by the Quad 33/303 combo, and they totally blew the AR-3a's away. Yes the 3a's went a little deeper, but the 5's had more bass resolution, threw a better image, would drive to higher levels, and was infinitely more musical (for lack of a better word). I believe the secret in that combo was the little Quad power amp, which I think was only rated at 40W continuous RMS, but made you feel like it was 10 times that. With those AR-5's cranked the bass would be more felt than heard, and at no time did they ever become fatiguing. That setup was just plain fun!

Perhaps these memories are just nostalgia and to find out I'd really, really like to go over to Commercial Electronics and buy a brand new set of AR-5's and Quad 33 + 303, but it just can't be done. I'd like to try them on stands like the ones you mention, because the 3a's and 5's were both on the floor, tight against the front wall, near the corners, and I'm sure the stands would improve the sound. The bass was lowest and tightest with only about a inch clearance between the back of the box and the wall.

Since the early 60's I've had many different speakers and amplifiers. The old AR's are a real standout in my memory. Just thinking about all the speakers I've auditioned or owned makes me realize I've forgotten the names of as many as I remember.

Now regarding amplifiers, I started with tubes, spent many years with transistors, and it looks like I'll likely end with tubes, unless there is some astronomical breakthrough in SS. The first tube amp I built in the 60's was a 1-tube monoblock. No power transformer, no output transformer, just 1 directly heated tube and a handful of resistors and capacitors. It wasn't very dynamic, nor extended frequency-wise, but it played a good tune.

So this is the point I want to make: when it comes to RGA we should try to have some friendly tolerance for his enthusiasm for a certain brand of speaker (and amplifier it seems), because we know something about his background, how that after listening to many different stereo systems over a reasonably lengthy time, he heard some beautiful music reproduced very, very well, and it captivated his being, and he hasn't been the same since.

Another thing - I suspect that if you can recommend another stereo system or component that he hasn't heard, and that you think is better than the brand he likes, that he'd be very glad to try it out, but it should be for a similar price, and less is better. Perhaps I've overstepped my bounds by speaking for RGA here, but somehow I don't think he'll mind. And oh, please let me know what's better than the brand RGA likes so I can try it too.

It's not often I'll put this much into a post, but I just couldn't help myself once I saw AR speakers and RGA's brand associated in this great thread. Thanks

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