Can’t choose between 1961 1s and 1723 1s

[toby Laheij]

Hi,

I’m starting to built my first Audio system and after reading a lot of forums and reviews I know i want the Arendal Subwoofer! I have the Dali Rubicon 6 tower speakers with an Cambridge audio CXA81 stereo amplifier. I mostly listen to music but i also want it to be good for movies.

The problem is i can’t choose between these two, maybe the people here can help me. I’m leaning more to the 1723 1s side but there are a few things I need to know before deciding. I will eventually buy 2 of the same.

– I live in a pretty good isolated terraced house house so i have neighbors on both sides of me. Since i just started living there I don’t want to be a bad neighbor . Now i’m wondering if the 1723 1s has a much bigger acoustic energy output (do the sound vibrations reach the neighbours more easily). I don’t have a problem with the mechanical energy since I can decouple it from the floor. Does anyone have experience with it?

– second question is about the room size. Is it good to have 2 of these big speakers in an L-shaped living room of 6 by 3.5 by 2.5 meter? Maybe a bit of overkill or is overkill not an issue with these subwoofers? In the picture i have my room setup. Red are my towerspeakers, Yellow is my listening position and purple are the placements of my future arendal subwoofers. Is this a proper placement or do you recommend something else?

– third question is about the musical part of the 1723 1s. I read that it’s not only bigger but also more musical (refined). Is this the case?

– last question a general question and is about my amplifier (Cambridge cxa81) it has an LFE output and 2 stereo outputs (2x left and 2x right). Do you recommend connecting the subwoofer to the LFE (Low level input) or to the stereo outputs (high level input)? Also would you recommend placing them in stereo or in opposite sides of the room?

I’m sorry for asking this much questions but I’m really hoping someone could give me some clarity

Thank you in advance!

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[Lukas]

Hi Toby,

Let me answer the questions for you.

1.) No difference between both subwoofers when it comes to your neighbors. Decoupling also has not a big effect when it comes to your neighbor, as the sound travels through the air.

2.) The subwoofer “sees” the whole room, so you have to think in volume. It is definitely not overkill as it is a big open space where you lose some of the energy.

Since your room is asymmetrical it will be very hard to predict the subwoofer placement. You will have to try what works best in your space. Both places are a good starting point.

3.) That is basically the biggest difference between the two. The 1723 Subwoofer 1S integrates better and disappears if you will. The 1961 Subwoofer 1S has a more dynamic, forward character.

It is not a huge difference, but very audible.
The 1723 Sub 1S also sounds bigger, like there is more space in the recording.

4.) The Cambridge amp has a Subwoofer Out, which is the sum of the left and right channels with an integrated low pass filter. So it is limited to low frequencies only.
The left and right Pre-Outs are also low-level outputs with full frequency bandwidth.
The Sub-Out is the more practical choice, as you only need one cable.

5.) I would recommend starting with only one subwoofer first. In your asymmetrical room, a second subwoofer only adds complexity. It will be very hard to get them to play well together without an external DSP with delay and proper measurements.
Two subs in the front could work without DSP, but this is hard to predict.

 

[toby Laheij]

Hi Lucas,

At first, thank you very much at responding so quickly to my post! Really appreciate the effort!

Coming back to your answers:

I have made the decision of buying the 1723 1s! Being musical and is most important for me and it really appeals to me that it integrates better in the sound. Also my tower speakers are gloss white so it’s a small bonus that the 1723 come in a gloss white finish!

I have one more question regarding the cambridge Amp. On the website it says the following about the sub output:
The CXA81 integrated amp features a mono-subwoofer output for adding a powered subwoofer. To ensure there’s no unnecessary high frequency noise affecting the subwoofer, the subwoofer output is filtered at 3kHz. This is high enough to prevent any phase shift associated with the low pass filter affecting what happens below 200Hz. The result is a phase linear subwoofer output signal which is clean and musical.

Now I read that this is a pretty high ‘low pass filter’. Do you think it couples well with the 1723?
I guess the best thing to do is play with the settings of the subwoofer and see what works best?

Thanks for the recommendation. I will start with 1 subwoofer first and see how it sounds. Maybe it’s not needed but for me bass is important. I really noticed this when trying out my tower speakers without subwoofer.

Again many thanks for all the information and quick response!

[Lukas]

Hi Toby,

You won’t be disappointed with the 1723 Subwoofer 1S. It is a fantastic subwoofer.

The low pass frequency will need to be adjusted on the subwoofer to match your Towers and room.
On an AVR where the filter is set to 120Hz, you could just activate the LPF Bypass, but in your Stereo system, this needs to be adjusted.

I personally feel a subwoofer is always a really important addition to any system, may it be two-channel or multichannel.
It creates a sense of realism most speakers cannot produce by themselves. Or you can fix problems with your room acoustics.
All of this is of course only, when everything is placed correctly and calibrated right.

 

[roman-tissera]

I went with the bigger 1723 so in case I go to a bigger place in the future.

[chris-lukowski]

Hi Lukas,

Earlier you said “Since your room is asymmetrical it will be very hard to predict the subwoofer placement. You will have to try what works best in your space. Both places are a good starting point.”

Do you feel it would be difficult to find an ideal pair of locations or is there a strong likelihood that non-ideal placement will be detrimental to the overall sound, in which case it would be better if only one subwoofer was used? I’m in a similar situation where locations that aren’t in the way of furniture or foot traffic are slim, but I want to place two subs on the front wall, about 100″ apart from each other on-center, and EQ it out from there with a miniDSP, REW, and/or Dirac.

[Lukas]

Hi Chris,

Sorry for the late response.

In some rooms and with improper placement, two subwoofers can work against each other, that is definitely a possibility.
Placement is key for good sound, and you will have to be very flexible to get all the benefits.

Two subs in the front do not give you much in terms of better frequency response but are easier to integrate.
You mostly gain output and a less localizable bass with that placement.