Based on my experience with new ARX3 speakers I have sought out this forum and thread to share my results. Speakers are in third week of an intensive work out and I am very impressed.
By way of context first let me say that I am an audio enthusiast with varied musical tastes and a budget. My equipment ownership and shopping experiences run the gamut from cheap and weak to costly and powerful, from functional to furniture quality. I have owned speakers ranging from mini to micro, bookshelf to direct reflecting, soundbars and big box to custom. My power and source equipment have included pre-amp/amp configs, and all manner of integrated amps and power levels with various tuners, tape decks, turntables and now, digital. Nothing too exotic.
Recently, after many years of casual research, sampling and shopping I was forced into a speaker replacement decision. I concentrated on sound quality, build quality and technical innovation as criteria. The logical result of the "correct" choice is a high value/price ratio. Finally I settled on the ARX3 balancing the risk of an unknown product from an unknown seller via a web based transaction with some preliminary positive feedback (early reviewers), credible representations from the exclusive seller, theAudioInsider, and my own high expectations. I have not been disappointed. In fact I am very impressed.
To this point I have pushed these speakers with analog and digital content ranging from classical to bluegrass, from harmonious to headbanging and vintage rock to indie to jazz. What is most clear so far is that these speakers accurately and efficiently reproduce the tonal range of all these types of music with clarity and detail. Further, the speakers perform at all volume levels. Personally I am predisposed to deep and loud but while I want to feel the percussive impact of the music in my chest I also want to distinguish the instrumentation and appreciate the skill of the performers. The ARX3s meet all my requirements.
Interestingly, in my research prior to purchase I found countless reviews in which the reviewer stated that theirs was a $500 speaker that sounded like a $1,000 or a $2,000 that was comparable to a $5,000, etc. I can't make that kind of claim here but I will tell you that this is a fine pair of speakers for $500. Granted, these speakers will not be confused with fancy furniture but they are attractive in a utilitarian way and they arrived with not a scratch. In addition I am impressed with the quality of my communications with theAudioInsider--highly responsive and precise.
I expect to enjoy through break-in (might be 30 days per doco) and beyond as I reposition the speakers around my listening space, swap components and sources and try to isolate that unique set of variables that produce the perfect listening experience. If anything changes I will update this post but in the meantime I hope you find this info useful.
