This is the main system in our apartment. Going back to the early 90's, the system had been comprised of primarily Adcom equipment and had not seen much change for almost a dozen years ago. Started reading Stereophile religiously and joined Audiogon and viola ... a near complete transformation in the makeup of the system, as well as the amount of time that I spend on this hobby.
It started when I got serious about CD players and purchased a Stereophile Class A SACD player. Soon after that, I upgraded to Musical Fidelity amplifiers and then changed over to tubes. And then in 2014, I added two turntables to the equation. I am happy with this evolution and once I get the choice of cartridges to my liking, I see myself sitting tight with this set-up for a long tiime.
We listen to a fairly wide range of music on both redbook CD's and SACD's. We like a sound that is smooth with the right amount of warmth and good detail and depth.
As I have said in previous posts, the next must do upgrade is a move from a 3rd floor apartment to a house. Northern winters do not mesh so well with my surgically repaired back and a house and some sun would be nice.
$650 would be a very good price, especially if the Plateas are in good shape. The Plateas listed for $2200 or so when new. I got them on closeout for $1100 new from Upscale Audio five or so years ago. I am using them with the same components from 5 years ago - Prima Luna tube amp and Musical Fidelity CD PRE 24 (cd player/ preamp). No real desire to upgrade.
I still have and am still enjoying the speakers. Small enough that the cats ignore them, big enough to fill a good sized room (23 X 15 x 9).
I would characterize the sound as sweet. Mildly on the warm side. Excellent with vocals. Good detail. Sound good close to the rear wall. Don't require toeing in. I am using them with tubes, but in Ken Kessler's review he said they would go well with solid state.
Not too much more to say. If I were to replace them, I would probably go with the Ascend Acoustic Sierra Towers . I have the monitors in another Prima Luna based system and absolutely love them.
Something for the rowdy cat (how can that be?) Try the Felix Katnip Tree . Cats can not tip it over. It stands tall when they have a go at it. Since I got one, my guys use this exclusively and don't give my speakers a second look.
Re-read the thread that you referenced ... glad I did not mess you up too much. :^)
My fascination with and needing to own audio equipment sometimes has seen me experimenting with more brands than I care to recall, but the Acoustic Research 302's have survived 8 years. The speakers were made in 1995, as part of an effort by AR to reissue the classics from the 1960's. Ken Kantor, who went on to great things at NHT, designed this line. For whatever reasons, the line did not catch on and these speakers were liquidated at 75% off list by Accessories4less.com. So, I picked up $1000 speakers for $225. Not too shabby.
The AR 303 were Stereophile Class D speakers in 1995, at a time when their ratings critieria seemed a bit stricter. The 302 is the descendant of the AR5, which coincidentally was the only AR classic from the 1960's that did not make it big. Size wise, the 302's straddle the line of what one might comfortably put on a shelf (the AR4/338) and what one might just put on the floor (AR3a/303).
The 302's don't exhibit the bass boom that the 303's were criticized for. The bass is deep and smooth. One can hear the bass notes. The overall sound is a bit laid back, a bit warm, and very full, so if one is looking for a studio monitor type sound, these would not work for him. Tubes definitely sweeten the sound. I am very satisfied with the mix of Prima Luna, Musical Fidelity, and Rega equipment that is in my varous systems.
Every so often I do think about trying something new, but I realize that I would need to spend quite a bit more to better the AR's. The only speaker that has wowed me in the last 5 years has been the Focus FS788. But at $3500 a pair and knowing that I may relocate in a few years, I felt that it just made more sense to hold off.
My observations about auditioning a lot of speakers over the years: speakers come in 2 categories ... the ones that I think are special and the ones that I think are nothing special. Some of the most respected names that I see mentioned here fall into the "nothing special" category. Is it because I don't have sufficient training or don't know what to listen for ... quite possibly. Or it could also be that the differences just aren't all that great and once I factor in the equipment that I am using, what I am still able to hear, and how my room is laid out, I couldn't discern the differences anyway.
Listening to Howard Stern on Sirius as I write this.
