I was deciding between R3 Meta or Sierra-LX, but then a half off Arendal 1961 Tower deal popped up

[staticV3]

Why the the thick rug and ceiling cloud reccomandation? If see the vertical response, it radiates less vertically up and down in these angles (45 degrees). So because of it's narrow dispersion, wouldn't it be less in need of a rug or cloud?

The 1961's ceiling and floor bounce have large dips in frequency response:


By absorbing these reflection, you get a less colored in-room response.

 

[Biblob]

The 1961's ceiling and floor bounce have large dips in frequency response:
View attachment 441300

By absorbing these reflection, you get a less colored in-room response.

I have seen this recomendation more often with other speakers, but how could one know that the floor reflections would be absorbed by a rug? And by how much? The type of fabric, thickness and size effect the amount of absorption and the range of frequencies. How could one select a rug? And how to verify, just purely by measurements at the listening position?

Not want to single you out, but I've seen this more often and have had these questions for a while.

 

[holbob]

One would know by measuring without the rug, and then with the rug.

 

[holbob]

I have the LXs, run them with no sub. Love them. They were the lowest price option for a "no compromise on the measurements I am looking for" 2 channel system, and I am happy to recommend them. As are many on ASR, Ascend and Philharmonic are popular here for very good reason.

Three would make a good HT set up with a sub for under 100dB levels (guessing on that level btw). If I was not told that our current HT mains were not only never being sold, they are never being moved, I might be doing that right now. No, I would be doing that right now and just pulling them out for music.

I would go Arendal at that price + sub for home theater without a second thought. I would likely skip a matching center, I don't care for the treble rise in the center Arendal. I might go with Ascend's center with a RAAL tweeter, given long wall set up in a room. I would look for something with wide dispersion, and ideally a pretty close match in frequency response to the Arendals in the vocal region.

If I were going with Ascend for mains and center, long wall set up, I would definitely to with one of their options with the RAAL tweeter. Given a sub, no need for the extra extension of the LX, that would be my thinking. And honestly, they look a lot nicer than the Arendals to my eye, which is not a deal breaker, but it is a nice bonus.

You really can't go wrong here, the options are all good.

Are you comparing the philharmonic with the lx on the basis of wide dispersion?? I quite fancy getting an ascend, but it would have to be imported to the UK so would have to be sure. The Luna mini looks outstanding for the size with the raal.

 

[jmunjr]

I would go Arendal at that price + sub for home theater without a second thought. I would likely skip a matching center, I don't care for the treble rise in the center Arendal. I might go with Ascend's center with a RAAL tweeter, given long wall set up in a room. I would look for something with wide dispersion, and ideally a pretty close match in frequency response to the Arendals in the vocal region.

If I were going with Ascend for mains and center, long wall set up, I would definitely to with one of their options with the RAAL tweeter. Given a sub, no need for the extra extension of the LX, that would be my thinking. And honestly, they look a lot nicer than the Arendals to my eye, which is not a deal breaker, but it is a nice bonus.

Thanks, I picked up the Arendal 1961s yesterday. Haven't been able to test them much but they sound great so far. They're definitely odd looking, not just for their angling but also their size. After setting them up though they look appropriate in a small room. My wife would hate giant towers in there. Oh, even though the long wall is to my left and right, the sofa only has room for 3 or maybe 4, so the off-axis listening is probably not more than 35 degrees, if that, even as close as the seating is. I'm certainly getting a center speaker that can handle that no problem. Thanks again.

 

[Pareto Pragmatic]

Are you comparing the philharmonic with the lx on the basis of wide dispersion??

I was only comparing them in terms of "ASR people like them a lot". Meaning they give a lot of performance for the money.

 

[jmunjr]

I ended up getting another THX-365C open box for the center. Price was too good to pass up. I think it sounds fantastic. I'm pairing it with the Arendal 1961s I ended up getting in like new condition for half price. So far so good. Thanks for the advice, everyone.