Arendal 1723 Surround S THX vs SVS Ultra Surround

[KEVIN FONG]

I currently have SVS ultra surrounds directly left and right backed against the back wall(slightly closer to wall) of my listening position (sofa) which is backed against the wall. The bipole in the SVS ultra surround has been working well.

I am wondering if the Arendal 1723 Surround S THX would be considered an upgrade and work for my scenario with its tri-axial design?

On paper the specs seem similar but the Arendal is a little bigger and are 12LBS heavier which is not a problem.

 

I couldn’t find any direct comparisons of these surrounds and Arendal seems to have a direct product answer to the SVS line up.

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[Thomas Gunvaldsen]

Seeing as no-one else are replying you, I would be happy to offer my inputs.

I have heard these in multiple occasions, used to sell them in the past and had them installed in different settings. Firstly the tonality will be quite different going from the Ultra’s to our 1723’s, ours are fuller sound and in my perspective are more natural sounding. Secondly, the Tri-Axial setup will couple differently with the room. You will get more pinpointed sound with more of a larger bubble of sound, vs a more diffuse sound from the Ultra’s. Impact and tonality will be on a different level IMO.

[KEVIN FONG]

That’s good to hear that the 1723’s would be fuller sounding. I am just wondering if it will work better in my room? See photo in first post with the svs ultra surround backed against the wall. That’s where I would be placing them backed against the back wall and preferably in the same orientation facing my fronts (aesthetics)

The bipole design doesn’t have much issue as the listening position is within the 180 degree with similar drivers on both sides.

The triaxial has the main woofer and tweeter facing directly 90 degree while the 4″ side drivers would be facing directly into the listening position. So in the preferable placement it would be off axis.

 

[Thomas Gunvaldsen]

The best would certainly having the front baffle perpendicular to the listening position. But that goes for the bipole speaker also, to get the intended sound field in your sweet spot.

The Tri-Axial design has less output on the sides than it does from the front plane though, so it should give a larger sound field compared to the bipole speaker in the current placement as well, with the side driver firing towards listening position.

[Lukas]

I personally would also recommend hanging the speakers on the wall, 30-50cm above earth height.
This will help immensely when more than one person sits on the couch.
The sound will be less blocked by the person sitting closest to the speaker.