Acoustic Research AR18 .. anyone know of them ?

I used to own a pair in the early to mid 80's and they were a decent speaker-I upgraded to Linn Indexes and then to Elipson floor standers. I would think they would be bettered by today's smaller Missions, B&W's or similar budget speakers. Seems to me they were a $250-$300 pair speaker then. I wouldn't pour a lot of money into them.

I think that these were an 8" two way of sealed design if i remember correctly. Nothing to write home about, but a very reasonable little speaker. Obviously, a design of this nature and age would lack deep bass extension. Had the typical AR sound of the day i.e. very tight and quick bass, slight elevation in the warmth region, slightly recessed lower mids, small peak in the upper mids / lower treble, gradual roll-off on the extreme top.

A good combo that should be able to be found quite reasonably might be an older NAD or Proton integrated or receiver with the "bass EQ" feature. This added a bass boost at a much lower frequency than a typical tone control and would help to fill in the last octave or two on these. I think it was centered somewhere between 40 - 60 Hz or so. Since NAD's tend to be somewhat "warm and slow" themselves, try some Kimber 4PR to add some speed and apparent high frequency detail for speaker cables. A used pair of PBJ's from the CD player of your choice might also be in order, depending on the tonal characteristics that it displays. Sean
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Thanks for the help. I'll check out their condition. I've purchased a Mission Cyrus 2 amplifier to drive them. This is a very detailed amplifier with great bass drive so it sounds like a good match. As for repairs, if any are needed it sounds like it would be worthwhile so long as the cost doesn't exceed $100 or so.

Try this website if you need info about them. Sean
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http://www.arsenal.net/speakers/