1723 Monitor vs 1723 S Tower

Anonymous

Community Member

I have been playing around with the idea of upgrading my speakers for a little while. Currently running Definitive Tech 9040 fronts, 9060 center channel, and Martin Logan Motion 15 as surround. No sub, both towers were actually set to large until a couple weeks ago when one of my amps blew. Now they are set to small and I have the 8” integrated sub running LFE.

I have done a lot of research and believe to have fallen on Arendal as my next speakers Everything I hear about them is great.

Originally I wanted the 1723 towers (and still do) but just feel it’s overkill for my apartment and I can always upgrade later.

Question: Would 1723 monitors or 1723 Tower s be a better option?

My thought process is I will need to buy a stand for the Monitors regardless, why not get the smaller towers since there is no need to buy a stand and I will be integrating a sub anyways. Then the other side of my is saying that I am already spending that much might as well run the 1723 large towers as full range since the price difference isnt huge.

Setup: Room is 12×13 with open floor plan to left of seating area. Receiver is Denon X4200. Will be buying Emotiva XPA-3 to power front stage. Keeping Martin Logan speakers as surround for a while and may even keep the 9060 center and slowly upgrade everything over time. 75% movie, 25% music

Clearly I am torn and I apologize if this has been asked already. I have seen many talks of 1723 tower vs monitor but not this specific question.

April 1, 2023 at 03:34

Tagged: 1723 Monitor THX, 1723 Tower S THX

Kristoffer Svendsen

Customer Support

Hello Kyle!

In this case, there isn’t necessarily a “one is better than the other”. They will both have pros and cons, but I’d love to tell you a little about those so you can make a well-informed decision!

Without a subwoofer, the tower S will be a little better in the lower end and just be a little more powerful with the additional two drivers. Since the primary use case is movies, I will still recommend you get a subwoofer, as a subwoofer will be better at the lowest frequencies no matter what. If you go the subwoofer route, the difference between the Tower S and monitor becomes more or less negligible. I will mention, that the Tower S will have a slightly warmer and more forgiving sound in the upper midrange, whereas the 8″ monitor will be a little more direct and forward sounding. The difference isn’t massive, but if you were to A/B them, you would notice the difference.

Given your room size, the monitors paired with a subwoofer seems like a very good option. Even the monitor S will be great, and might make for a little more optimal placement, as they aren’t as big as the 8″ monitors.

Please let us know what you think and if you have any other questions!

#44282 April 5, 2023 at 12:58

brian-w

Community Member

Hi Kyle!

So, my story. And my story is my recommendation as well. I had the original BP20’s back in the day. Amazing Def Tech speakers. 18 months ago I wanted to build a theater and went right to Def Tech. I went with the bp9060’s left and right and then went with the 9060 center. Very similar to your set up. I just felt like the newer Def Techs were missing some of that magic that made them WOW, back in the 90’s. So I started my search and ended up finding Arendal. I had listened to so many speakers, some costing twice as much as any Arendal product, and still found myself not… happy or complete. So, I just dove in and took advantage of the 6O day in home trial. After struggling with what to go with… sound familiar? I just decided to go with the 1723 towers, not the S. Why? Cause I want the very best sound signature of course. But also, I think the 1723 sensitivity was the right choice. Check it out, the towers are 92 dB. So what does this mean? It means you can spend a lot less on amplification today and when you what to upgrade in the future you don’t need new speakers, just sell your amps and buy something much bigger! After all the 1723 can handle 500 watts of wonderful clean power. Remember, ever 3dB means you are doubling your amp size. So if you have 89 dB speaker on a 100 watt amp, you would gain 3 more dB with the same amp on the 1723… it’s like having a 200 watt amp. Make sense? Not for total dB, but driver control and accuracy. I do not regret my 1723’s. The are so amazing, I sit to listen and the hours just fly on, regardless of volume they are silky smooth, rich, buttery, crystal clear, total candy for my ears. Perhaps the S towers and the monitors will have a similar sound, I don’t know cause I went right to the top. After all, the cost is really not much more. I hope this helps. Either way you roll, go with the 8 inch towers or monitor. They are just so solid. I wish I had more words, but try them and try the best speakers you can. Remember for home theater, you need a sub regardless of tower or monitor. Cheers!

#44286 April 6, 2023 at 00:00

neil-h

Community Member

Hi Kyle

Here’s my simple input and this is my opinion only. I have the 1723 Monitors and a very good subwoofer used with them. If I had to do it again, it would be the same way. If you were not using a sub, the greater bass output of the towers would be a plus. However, no matter what anyone tells you, there’s no replacement for a good subwoofer and the 1723 Monitors sound spectacular in this 2.1 configuration.

#45459 September 23, 2023 at 02:24

1723 Monitor vs 1723 S Tower

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