A cup of coffee with
Ambassador Yann
from Switzerland
A cup of coffee with
from Switzerland
This is a living room of 4.1m x 3.8m x 2.8m, that opens onto a hallway.
The listening position is against the back wall, and the main speakers are against the opposite wall.
The primary use is movies over 90%. I have a 5.1.4 setup with Sony laser projector and motorized screen. The room is far from ideal for a home theater, but now one of my goals is to work on passive acoustic treatment, while keeping it within the constraints of a living room.
My old system was about 15 years old, so I took advantage of the living room renovation to replace everything. My goals were to improve the bass quality and achieve sound quality at least on par with the Focal Electra speakers I had before, all while keeping the price reasonable.
Before, I didn’t have a subwoofer, and even though the system was already working very well, thanks in part to impressive room gain, the bass left something to be desired. The volume was impressive, but it was rather sluggish. In a way, it’s surprising, because now I have less bass with the subwoofer and the 1610s. Before, there was too much.
And the sound was frankly anything but neutral, even if it was pleasant to listen to. I really noticed this when I tried a preamp with active correction. I have to say I didn’t really like the result, but that was mainly because I had gotten (too?) used to the uncorrected sound I had. And I also wanted to improve the immersive sound experience.
It started out mainly as an online forum based in France, named homecinema-fr, then moved on to reviews by YouTubers, such as Jay’s Iyagi.
It was a combination of reviews from YouTubers and forum users that won me over. I didn’t find any negative reviews. The 60-day return policy was the final factor that convinced me.
In addition, Arendal’s customer service is highly efficient and always responds very quickly. They helped me finalize my choice of speakers.
I was very pleased with their value for money and perceived quality. I hadn’t had a chance to listen to them yet at that point, since the living room was still under renovation, but that was enough to convince me to gradually order the other speakers.
When I received the 1610s and their stands, I was delighted.
The build quality is excellent. And they’re… quite heavy. My bookshelf speakers weigh more than my old floorstanding speakers. And the 1610s are really beautiful.
I’m really happy with the final result, and now I’m thinking about upgrading the subwoofer to a 1723 1S—or maybe even two.
One more thing: the packaging is really excellent and does a great job of protecting the equipment.
What surprised me the most was the neutral sound and the ability to turn the volume up very high.
When it comes to how the 1610 system actually sounds, two words spring to my mind: neutrality and dynamism. The 1610 system handles the power impressively well. I can push the volume up to impressive levels without any fatigue. To be honest, I find it really difficult to compare them to the Focal Electra, given that I previously had a 5.0 system without room correction (Classé SSP-800) and now have a 5.1.4 system with both light passive and active room correction. But the volume can be turned up much higher without any distortion. The sound is more neutral and more dynamic. There is more detail.
For example, in the movie Top Gun: Maverick, at 14 minutes and 28 seconds, during the interview with the admiral, there’s the sound of a clock that I’d never noticed before. How does this new system make me feel? Frankly, it’s a lot of fun. I’m currently enjoying every free moment I have watching a movie, and I regularly get goosebumps on my forearms. I don’t regret the switch at all. It’s a huge leap forward in terms of sound quality and immersion.
What’s motivating me to switch to Arendal subwoofers? Mainly to see if I can get better results. As I mentioned, I have a room gain issue, which can be compensated for with active correction, but there’s also a lot of bass reflection. I’m considering switching to a system with two or even three subwoofers, perhaps smaller ones with Dirac ART, to see how that turns out.
I’m excited enough to apply to be an ambassador. I’m now picking up on little details I’ve never noticed before, in scenes I’ve seen countless times.
I’d like to thank the customer service team for doing such a great job.
Once the entire system was up and running, I took measurements with REW to see how it sounded. This confirmed a room gain of about +20 dB at 40 Hz, as well as a significant level of reflection at that frequency and below. There were also fairly significant reflections in the midrange. That’s why I added bass traps tuned to 40 Hz on the front left, since that’s the only place I can put them, from an aesthetic standpoint.
Absorptive panels have also been installed behind the front speakers and behind the listening position. The one at the back is still temporary.
These passive corrections have partially resolved the issue. The peak at 40 Hz has been reduced, as have the reflections, although some still remain. But for a living room, that seems acceptable to me.
| Build year: | 2026 |
|---|---|
| Products: | 1961 Height, VESA 100 Mount, 1610 Center 8, 1610 Bookshelf 8, 1528 Stand 8, 1610 Slim 8 |
| Location: | Switzerland |
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