I have a home cinema room and recently we have converted our garage into a garden room. This room is also a dedicated music room and I knew immediately I would want a pair of Arendal Towers for the room. Having two systems in my house setup with Arendal speakers just demonstrates how magnificent they are.
WHAT WAS YOUR GOAL WHEN LOOKING FOR NEW SPEAKERS AND SUBWOOFERS?
I have two setups, one for music and one for Home Cinema, both containing Arendal speakers.
For the cinema, I wanted high build quality with power and poise. The speakers needed to play at high SPL and work seamlessly together.
The music setup required speakers with control across the frequency range. I wanted speakers with fast attack and the ability to play a range of music with ease.
WHERE DID YOU HEAR ABOUT US?
I was first made aware of Arendal via AV Forums, a UK based AV website.
The direct to seller model means the quality of the speaker for the money is second to none. The customer service and support is also excellent. After buying my first set of speakers the build quality blew me away and I knew they were something special.
WHY DID YOU CHOOSE ARENDAL SOUND?
I was previously using a set of M&K S150 speakers and had convinced myself that I wouldn’t upgrade again. However, after reading about the 1723 range I decided to complete some more research. After a few weeks of reading the reviews and finding out more details I purchased a set of 1723s LCR. At the time I was going through an upgrade to my home cinema, including adding a second row of seating and moving my equipment into a rack.
When the speakers were first delivered I was astounded by the size and weight of the packages. Upon opening the boxes after a few weeks, due to the cinema being finished, I was immediately struck by the build and finish. They are built like tanks. Whilst my previous speakers seemed big, the Arendals made them look insignificant. Furthermore, the quality of the cones showed how much care and attention had gone into the research and development of the speakers.
Whilst the build quality was second to none, the audio quality when first played really demonstrated their pedigree and ability. The sound they produce is tight, powerful and fast. I like speakers to attack and Arendal really does shine in this area. They are paired with a Marantz 8805 as the processor and an Emotiva XPA5 as the power amp. No matter what they are fed, whether it was an action film, classical music, or punk rock, the speakers reproduced the sound with ease, playing details with real fidelity. Being behind an acoustically transparent screen really adds to the sense of scale. I was delighted with all aspects of my new LCR, so quickly purchased a pair of surrounds to replace my M&K SS150s, again the speakers didn’t disappoint and again are a huge step up from the M&K speakers.
Recently, we have converted our garage into a garden room. This room is also a dedicated music room and I knew immediately I would want a pair of Arendal Towers for the room. After looking into the differences I decided to buy the full size 1723 towers. I knew that if I went for their smaller brothers I may feel I was missing something (which probably isn’t true, but didn’t want that nagging feeling). They are paired with an Arcam SR250, alongside a Bluesound Node 2i to stream music. Given the quality of the speakers, I stream using Quboz to get full high-res music.
WHAT ELSE DOES YOUR SYSTEM CONSIST OF?
Marantz 8805 processor
Emotiva XPA5 power amp
Arcam SR250
Bluesound Node 2i
Quboz
YOUR EXPERIENCE WITH THE PRODUCTS?
The difference between the Arendals and my previous speakers is another level of clarity. The soundstage they create, alongside the fidelity, provided means I am listening to albums I know inside out and am enjoying them like they are brand new. The transparency of the 1723 towers means that I am hearing sounds I have never heard before on tracks I have listened to 100+ times. The speakers are fantastic, my wife and I find ourselves barely watching TV, and instead we spend our evenings listening to our favorite albums. The speakers are never tiring and even my wife appreciates their sound signature – praise indeed!
HOW HAPPY ARE YOU WITH THE ARENDAL SOUND PRODUCTS?
Having two systems in my house setup with Arendal speakers just demonstrates how magnificent they are. For the price point, I don’t think they can be beaten, even if you spent thousands more you would find it difficult to get a greatly improved sound.
