…And there’s a reason why entry level speakers often have an elevated treble response: they sound more exciting, and are there more likely picked up from a showroom lineup. (Though the SVS Ultra only had a minor elevated treble response, at least compared to the B100 that Erin measured.) And why they might have a bump in the bass response, as the SVS Ultra has.
).I can see that. I like Arendal for the simple fact that they offer speakers designed specifically to pair with subwoofers,and put their focus on dynamic range capabilities,all while making their speakers attractive vs big ugly duratex coated PA style home theater speakers. Nowadays most speaker companies will sacrifice sensitivity and spl capability for bass extension so they will appeal to home theater and HI-Fi 2 channel consumers that won't use subs.
I completely agree. They do have a good product and I think they're marketing is going to pay off, but what gets me is all the reviewers are repeating each other stating "it punches above its weight" without directly compare it to anything relevant or above it's price point. It's obvious Adrenal is sending out units to be review left, right, and center, and spamming social media everywhere. I don't fault them for that as it does what's intended, builds hype and drives sales, and they've done such a good job it's seemed to have swayed a few objectivists.
How is the Outlaw model you linked comparable to the Arendal monitor here??
Not even close I gather. Again comparing a smaller speaker (and not objectively tested afaik) to a much larger speaker/drivers with proven/measured dynamics etc.
And the similarites end there. MTM layout, senstivity and power handling are not good indicators of how similar/different these models will be from one another. I'm willing to bet the smaller woofers, non waveguided tweeter, diffraction unfriendly metal grill, cabinet (no ports) and crossover are likely to make significant differences between these models. It is also unmentioned, albeit very important, how Outlaw have derived that sensitivity spec (I'm willing to bet, again, its a lot lower irl than advertised).
www.audioholics.com
Regardless of sensitivity spec differences, the two speakers are still wildy different attributed to the points I made earlier. I'm not saying the Outlaw is a bad performer, just that the Arendal is clearly better and the two are not directly comparable at all, so it doesn't make much sense to make price comparisons for products that aren’t comparable.
Outlaw Audio BLSv2 Bookshelf and LCRv2 Loudspeaker Review
Outlaw Audio is reintroducing it acclaimed BLS and LCR loudspeakers to the audio industry. Dubbed the v2, did Outlaw Audio improve the original design while reducing the cost? Read on to find out.
The BLSv2 and LCRv2 were largely designed by the same engineers who created the originals; Snell Acoustics R&D group. Snell Acoustics was a very highly-regarded loudspeaker manufacturer who were famed for their tight manufacturing tolerances and tonally neutral sound
I wouldn't say 1 dB is a lot lower than seems the status quo which is to add 3 dB for in-room response. My understanding is in years past when Audioholics tested it that far more manufactures were fudging that number so Outlaw was demonstrating integrity in my eyes.
Exactly my point, if YOU haven't seen the NFS data how can you be sure the speaker you linked is comparable. There are several ways to control directivity, but an MTM design with a non-waveguided tweeter is not one of them.
The "showroom" sound can be captivating. Those extra highs will give the impression of more detail and it is sometimes hard to convince yourself to not have it. I go through that with many speakers like that.
But your terms of similar and comparable mean nothing between these designs other than the fact they are both MTM and are both advertised to handle decent amounts of power, the similarities end there. I would not call this response anything close to ‘pretty neutral’.
