Arc Audio Black Series FYI

I typically have two kinds of people asking me for recommendations on midrange and tweeter offerings: Those who are on a budget, and those who are not. My favorite speakers are the Polk Audio because the tweeters have a very smooth sound, not eardrum piercing, and are priced for those on a budget.
For those not on a budget, I plan to audition the Arc Audio Black Series speakers in Modesto on Saturday. For $900.00 to $1,300.00, I want to see if these midrange and tweeter components are significantly better than the Polks.
I will return this weekend with an unbiased report.

 

I worked for ZAPCO for two years back in the 80's! It was not a glamorous job (stuffing electronic components into circuit boards for the two piece amps that were all the rage back then), but I had the option of getting paid with equipment at cost - woo hoo!!
Robert (Zeff) would loan me his keyboards when I was playing music professionally in the clubs back then. Boy, those were the days... not a care in the world.



MODS: Thank you for moving this (and generally covering for me when I'm brain dead).

 

An extremely productive day at the Arc Audio dealer. After purchasing 18 (yep, eighteen!) subwoofers (all spoken for), I spent about 20 minutes auditioning about half a dozen different midrange/tweeter combinations using my "reference" CD (David Beniot, Every step of the way): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XjZ37xcPHc0

It is almost impossible to get his high piano notes crisp without the sound piercing your ears. In the auditioning room, you have to stand, get on your knees, sit in a chair or sit on the ground to be at the proper level for each set of drivers they have mounted in the sound wall. I auditioned the Black Series 5.2, the Arc Series 5.2, the KAR series, some Alpines and a set of $1500.00 DynAudio reference drivers.

1. Black Series:
I can clearly see why they command so much money. They were crisp, sparkling clear, and the imaging! OH my goodness. It was like you were literally sitting there in the studio.

2. Arc Series:
These were also crisp, accurate and did not pierce my ears. A little flat and the imaging was not there. Don't get me wrong, great sounding speakers, more than enough for most of us. Comparable to the Polk Audio MM6501's.

3. KAR Series:
Good sounding units. Comparable to the Polk Audio Dxi6501's. Clear sound, accurate, pleasant to listen to, can crank these without incident.

4. Alpine SPS-11:
Nice speakers. Silk domed, they did not hurt my ears.

5. DynAudio:
Yeah. Way up there. They sound different than the Black's, difficult to quantify, difficult to say which one "sounds" better. The imaging was definitely there as was everything else.

The thing about the Black's is that since these guys are the biggest Arc Audio dealer in the country and I purchase car loads of amplifiers and speakers from them, I can get the Blacks at an absolutely unbelievable price. No way will I post on the forum, just PM me. Needless to say, I am purchasing a set of these for my car this week.
Again, I am not trying to make a bunch of money here, I just love this stuff!!