This paper reports the results of the experiments to verify the theoretical findings so far made that shock formation of nonlinear acoustic waves propagating in an air-filled tube can be suppressed, if a suitable array of Helmholtz resonators is connected with the tube axially, and that an acoustic solitary wave may be generated, if dissipative effects are negligible. The experiments observe evolutions of the pressure disturbances propagating in the tube without the array and in the one with the array connected, respectively. By connecting the array, it is found that shock formation is really suppressed and that a localized pulse emerges in place of the shock. Its pressure profile and propagation speed are compared with those of the solitary wave predicted in theory. ©2000 American Institute of Physics.