Big towers and center (that was not really subject to review based on the content of the review) were not done by James Larson that I respect. Not sure if they will repeat the review so it could be sealed with James's more credible results. I would love if Erin could get ahold of these as Erin seems to care less about the relationship with the manufacturers then with the consumers that he is representing vigorously in his reviews.
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Arendal 1528 high end speakers
- Thread starter Pearljam5000
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To be fair, if I could afford the big center, I´d send the money to Mr. Sigberg to get an SSB1 in horizontal format.
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Arendal has received a 4.9 out of 5-star review on TrustPilot so far (over 2,500 reviews). But what do you think of the 1 - 4 star reviews? There are several issues, including shipping delays and quality control (QC) issues, such as chipped speakers or distorted highs, affecting a few.
I believe Arendal has developed an ingenious design philosophy for their new 1528 series of speakers. By housing the tweeter and midrange in a single unit, as close to each other as possible, and using this pair in all their speaker lineups, from the slim minis to the Towers, it ensures a consistent sound signature across the entire 1528 family line. I appreciate that the tonality of the center speaker will not differ from that of the mains (a task rarely achieved, by the way), as the same housing is used in the same orientation as the stand-up speakers. Good job on their part!
For those who fuss about minor details or aspects they dislike in the measurements (which can be readily addressed with simple EQ), it is advisable to listen to the speakers and make an informed choice. All reviewers have praised the SQ of these speakers, the wide open sound stage, convincing many they were listening to a 5.1 system (!), the tactile, deep, and accurate bass with excellent low distortion and group delay, convincing many trusted reviewers that do not need a subwoofer with these speakers unless you need to dig deep under 20Hz, etc. Yes, they are big and heavy and not as efficient, but such is the nature of physics. Just think... who offers a 10-year warranty for a speaker like they do? Who provides a 60-day in-house listening demo? This shows they are confident in the quality of their speakers, so most buyers would not regret their purchase.
I was set on the monitors 8s for purchase (the Towers and center 8+ are imposingly big for my space), but then I heard reviews of the bookshelves, and they were just as positive as those of the monitors and Towers. I'm struggling with this since the term 'bookshelf' in my mind conjures up images of small but often sound-compromised speakers. A severe mental disconnect here, and I would hate to say that I own a pair of bookshelves for my high-fidelity audio system. Who would then take me seriously as a serious audiophile in my community
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For those who fuss about minor details or aspects they dislike in the measurements (which can be readily addressed with simple EQ), it is advisable to listen to the speakers and make an informed choice. All reviewers have praised the SQ of these speakers, the wide open sound stage, convincing many they were listening to a 5.1 system (!), the tactile, deep, and accurate bass with excellent low distortion and group delay, convincing many trusted reviewers that do not need a subwoofer with these speakers unless you need to dig deep under 20Hz, etc. Yes, they are big and heavy and not as efficient, but such is the nature of physics. Just think... who offers a 10-year warranty for a speaker like they do? Who provides a 60-day in-house listening demo? This shows they are confident in the quality of their speakers, so most buyers would not regret their purchase.
I was set on the monitors 8s for purchase (the Towers and center 8+ are imposingly big for my space), but then I heard reviews of the bookshelves, and they were just as positive as those of the monitors and Towers. I'm struggling with this since the term 'bookshelf' in my mind conjures up images of small but often sound-compromised speakers. A severe mental disconnect here, and I would hate to say that I own a pair of bookshelves for my high-fidelity audio system. Who would then take me seriously as a serious audiophile in my community
?The dynamic capabilities are nothing short of impressive. Even at 96dB/1m, they are about as totally clean as a speaker can reasonably get and effectively there is no compression.
Thank you for this meaningful graph comparing these two speakers ... could I please impose on you to add the response of the Bookshelf 8s as well? I'm trying to decide between these three speakers, and having their frequency response (FR) on one graph would be awesome. Thanks!
Roughly something like this. Not sure if the response alone tells you what you need to choose though.
Thank you
!This is very helpful. I heard reviews saying the Bookshelves have lots of bass and have no need for a subwoofer for music playback. I simply couldn't believe it, which is why I requested the plots (Thank you again!
).I am now amazed how the Bookshelves can track the Monitors down to 50Hz. With the influence of additional room gain, won't these two speakers sound identical throughout the entire frequency spectrum?
Also, I'm baffled to see that the Towers and Monitors are identical from 40Hz on down. Again, with typical room gain, won't these two sound identical throughout the entire frequency spectrum (though I see the Towers have more output, ~ 2 dB, from 70 Hz to 400 Hz than the rest)? It now seems from this graph that the Monitors are the bass king (?), even better than the Towers (!). Am I imagining things???
Finally (and most importantly), I appreciate how you are willing to give a competitor's product so much time, grace, and honest and helpful consideration on this forum, without belittling it or even mentioning your very own high-quality speaker product lines once. A true gentleman!
I've asked the Father in Heaven to bless you for this very unselfish act of generosity on your part!!! No worries, good, plentiful, and wonderful things are coming your way!
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I also sometimes wonder if additional tower performance is worth the extra cash and 30+kg of weight and bulk.
By all traditional measures though, monitors of this size and weight are not really fitting in that category either.
By all traditional measures though, monitors of this size and weight are not really fitting in that category either.
Thank you
This is very helpful. I heard reviews saying the Bookshelves have lots of bass and have no need for a subwoofer for music playback. I simply couldn't believe it, which is why I requested the plots (Thank you again!
I am now amazed how the Bookshelves can track the Monitors down to 50Hz. With the influence of additional room gain, won't these two speakers sound identical throughout the entire frequency spectrum?
Also, I'm baffled to see that the Towers and Monitors are identical from 40Hz on down. Again, with typical room gain, won't these two sound identical throughout the entire frequency spectrum (though I see the Towers have more output, ~ 2 dB, from 70 Hz to 400 Hz than the rest)? It now seems from this graph that the Monitors are the bass king (?), even better than the Towers (!). Am I imagining things???
They may interact with the room differently, and they will of course have different SPL capabilities. They probably won't sound as similar as it may appear from the graph. You need to see the off-axis response as well (not just the on-axis response that we see here) to understand more about how this plays out.
But yes, even the bookshelf 8 is a pretty large speaker, and is likely to give reasonable bass unless the room is too large.
You are most welcome.
Don't forget about things like x distortion at x spl, It's important.
True, the Towers and Center 8+ are big and heavy and require a different type of calculus to buy them. I'd guess that most people's living rooms are not large enough to accommodate these prominent speakers. I thought the bookshelf was small until I saw Gene Delasalla from Audioholics standing next to it here. And here I was thinking of getting the larger Monitors
!
Arendal looks to have spent their development $ on all the right things for this and the earlier 1723 line.
IMHO They're one of the top manufacturers offering the most bang for the buck at this level of spending.
I wish them much success as the diminishing returns curve is very steep past this pricing bracket with less than a dozen really trying here before
you slide into the crazy "luxury goods, high end" group where little is to really be gained when spending 5 or 10 X this amount.
IMHO They're one of the top manufacturers offering the most bang for the buck at this level of spending.
I wish them much success as the diminishing returns curve is very steep past this pricing bracket with less than a dozen really trying here before
you slide into the crazy "luxury goods, high end" group where little is to really be gained when spending 5 or 10 X this amount.
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