A cup of coffee with
Ambassador Abdoeraouf
from South Africa
A cup of coffee with
from South Africa
My room is a dedicated cinema room, 6 metres by 4 metres, with a height of 2.3 metres. It’s fully soundproofed and acoustically treated. The 1528 bookshelves sit next to my 85 inch TV, so they’re in line with the centre channel, with the 1723 S below the TV. The 1961 1v sub is in the left front corner.
I’m currently using the M&K 750 as surrounds and surround backs, and the M&K K4 for Atmos speakers. I sit 3.5 metres from the front speakers and 1 metre from the surround backs. From this position I get a great 3D soundstage, it just feels good, the best place to be. The room is used for movies and music.
My M&K 1250 sub packed up, so I needed a new sub. The new M&K X12 range was expensive, so I started looking at other options and came across reviews for the Arendal 1723 1V and 2V, all of which were positive. I compared the specs of the 1961 1V against the 1961 1S and 1723 1S, since my M&K was a sealed sub and I was accustomed to that.
The 1961 1V had more height, weight, and power than the 1723 2S, so I took the chance and ordered it. I wasn’t disappointed, it had more punch than the M&K in music, I just loved it.
I came across a Shane Lee video where he had the M&K S150 and said the 1723 S was better. That caught my attention, because make no mistake, the M&K S150 are good speakers. I even sent him a message to say that’s a bold statement. Since I watch more movies than music, I thought, let me upgrade the centre with the 1723 S first, then upgrade the left and right channels later. I bought the 1723 S center channel and was surprised, I was amazed by the size and weight compared to my M&K 750. I liked it, the build was good, the sound was good.
I was impressed, the reviews were all positive, and as I said, when Shane said the 1723 S was better than M&K, that meant something coming from M&K speakers, along with the build quality.
When I was ready to upgrade the left and right channels, the 1528 range had just come out. Again, I watched reviews from Nemo and Jay’s on the 1528 bookshelves and monitors. The monitors were out of my price bracket, and my mind was set on the 1723 S, but the 1528 was also on my mind. I needed to replace my left and right channels because for music, the M&K 750 didn’t give that feeling in two-channel; the punch from the 750 just wasn’t there. So I waited and saved up more to go in for the 1528 bookshelf. I didn’t want to go with the 1528 Slim, because I know myself; I’d always wonder how the bookshelf would have sounded. So I went in for the kill and ordered the 1528 bookshelf, and boy, I wasn’t disappointed. In two-channel, it just puts a smile on my face; money well spent. Everything I was missing from my old setup, I have now.
The build quality is very good, the speakers are heavy and substantial.
When I listen to movies, the sound is just there, it disappears, it doesn’t draw your attention to a speaker, and that’s the beauty of it. The subtle sounds in the distance, the details are there, you have to listen to it to understand what I’m saying. In the opening scene of No Time to Die, where the ice cracks, there are cracks and finer cracks, that’s the subtle sounds I’m referring to, and the detail lets you distinguish between the different cracks.
In music, what can I say, the detail and separation of the instruments you hear from the 1528 bookshelf is just more alive. I’m not putting down the 750, they’re good, but this is better.
I’m very happy. It’s not cheap once you convert to our currency exchange, but it was worth it, much better than my M&K setup. M&K is good, but Arendal is just better. I’m happy I went this route with Arendal, and this is without ever auditioning it, it’s my best room in the house, I just love it.
| Build year: | 2022 |
|---|---|
| Products: | 1961 Subwoofer 1V, 1723 Center S THX, 1528 Bookshelf 8 |
| Location: | South Africa |
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