sound comparison

[Jim]

Hi everyone,

Got my 1723 monitors L/C/R and have about 20 hours on them. I’m running them with a 100 watt Marantz 7 channel avr. I plan to get a 250 watt external amp in the future and run them off the pre outs. I’ve been comparing the sound of the monitors to my old Infinity Primus speakers they will replace , but I can’t hear much of a sound  difference between the two other than a little more bass from the monitors. Even my wife said she could not hear much difference. Voices on the 1723 center sound a little harsh but are smooth with the Infinity. I was expecting the 1723 to blow away my Infinitys especially for the price difference. I have always bought budget speakers from Crutchfield and Circuit City and thought they sounded pretty decent but thought the 1723 would sound much better. I’m not putting down the 1723 at all, monitors have fantastic build quality and customer service has been great. These are the first high end speakers I have purchase and I guess I expected them to sound three times better if they cost three times the price. What do you guys think?

Thanks in advance for the replies, Jim

[rene-paulus]

Hi Jim,

 

When you received the speakers did you a new sound check with audyssy?

 

And did you change the crossover to 80Hz? Or what you like? Can depends with your acoustic in your room..

The burn in time is 50 hours and then they sound better (in my setup)

 

I hope this have helped you further in a better sound experience.

Adam

 

[Jim]

Hello Rene,

I’m running the speakers on a 100 watt 2 channel stereo Harman Kardon amp now with 1723 on one side and Infinity on the other. I switch back and forth with the balance control. the 1723 sounds better than it did on my Marants avr. The 1723 does sound good and it sounds better than the Infinity but not by a large margin. I’m going to continue burn in and try it again on my Marantz. Thanks for the reply.

[laurence-chan]

I would wait to pass judgement until you actually have a power amplifier that  is at least rated down to 4 ohms all channels driven, that can push your Arendal speakers to reference levels.  You didn’t say which Marantz receiver you have but I’d be surprised if you are getting a true 7x100w/ch, probably more like 100w x 1ch driven and goes substantially lower with more channels added/driven.

[Lester Davis]

Wow you have had a totally different experience from me. I have an Anthem receiver with emotiva amp running & definitive technology bp9040 towers with cs9080 center. Just from swapping the speakers to The 1723 Monitors & Center I heard a night & day difference between Ben without re-running room correction, using the one from the original speakers. I do like the Definitive Technology speakers & their sound no knock on them but sound was fuller & the imaging was better with placement of voices & instruments. The Def Tech offered a wider soundstage than the 1723 but overall the 1723 beats the Definitive Technology & the 1723 are about 2 or 300 more per speaker. They are definitely worth the price difference. Those infinity speakers must be awesome if you can’t hear a difference, I’d work with the positioning of the 1723 & re-run room correction & if you still can’t tell the difference Arendal has the best return policy I have seen. I’m all for saving money no sense in paying a large amount of money for minimal difference.

[Luis]

Keep in mind that you have been listening to the Infinity Primus speakers for a period of time now, so you’re very accustomed to their sound signature.  Personally I would remove the Infinity speakers from the room and connect both Arendals (rerun room correction or simply listen in stereo); play music, movies, etc. in the background at moderate levels until you hit / exceed the 50hr mark, then sit down and listen to them for a few days while taking notes of what you like and dislike… have your wife compare them as well.  After a few days, remove them and reconnect the Infinity speakers… listen to them and take notes.  Afterwards, if you have the space, bring the Arendals back into the room and place them next to the Infinity speakers, but alternate them, for example, Arendal Infinity on the left then Arendal Infinity on the right. Connect both pairs of the same brand and listen… then swap connections and listen to the other pair.  This alternating pattern allows you to listen to both speakers from the same brand as a stereo pair and all you need to do is slightly shift your listening position to hear that pair of speakers.  After these listening session, compare notes, if your wife performed the same tests, discuss the results as a couple.  Yes, there’s a lot of effort on your part, but the results will be rewarding… years ago I performed a similar audition in my previous home as I had the itch to upgrade my B&W 804 speakers, I auditioned 3 other pairs of speakers in this fashion… in the end, I kept the B&Ws.  All that matters are your ears, what sound signature you prefer and regardless of brand, that you and your wife enjoy the sound the speakers are reproducing… hope that helps.