What receivers/amplifiers do you use to drive you Arendal setups?

[Kristoffer Svendsen]

I’m curious, What receiver/preamp/source and/or amplifiers do you use with your Arendal speakers? Have you tested brands that worked better than others? I’m curious to know what you guys are using!

I’m using a Yamaha RX-A2060 to power a pair of 1961 Monitors and a 1723 Sub 1v and it sounds great! I might add a dedicated amplifier down the line if I get something bigger, but I definitely don’t feel like I’m missing much with my current setup.

[Luis]

@Thomas the SR-8015 has preamp outputs; therefore, after living with the system for a while, you could always add an external amp if you feel you need more power.  I’m currently in a dedicated room and using a Cinema 50 with 1961 towers, center, surrounds and heights (atmos)… thus far, based on my listening habits, I more than satisfied.

[Anonymous]

Thank you all for the replies. I’ve watched many Youtube reviews and most of them make it seem that the Arendal’s require an amp.

[Luis]

Keep in mind… YouTube influencers are today’s marketing team and most do not spend their own money on gear, it’s either on loan or purchased at a discount with their earnings or Patreon.

My humble opinion, this all depends on the scenario, budget, listening habits and room size.  Today I’m in a smaller dedicated room, my previous house / room wasn’t dedicated and was wide open to all living areas.  My previous setup consisted of Emotiva separates… XMC-1 and a pair of XPA GEN2 amps that delivered well over 250 watts of power to 7 channels.  I had dual 18″ subwoofers with two Crown 2502 amps; one bridged per sub… massive power.  So yes, no doubt, my previous setup vibrated the attic stairs, cracked a few windows and was extremely dynamic without any hint of strain; however, to be honest, I never listened at those extreme levels on a day to day basis. Yes it was fun to demo, but when all was said and done and I actually sat down to watch something, I found that I was no where near those reference volume levels.  When we moved, I sold the Emotiva separates and purchased the Cinema 50… my thinking was due to the smaller room… do I actually need those 1500 watts of external amplification?  I won’t lie, I still think about adding an external amp for the LCR to see if I’m missing something; however, when I sit down and watch something, that doubt goes away.  Your opinion my vary; however, give it a try with just the Marantz and then make your decision.  If you need more power… no worries, do what you feel is best as your system only needs to sound good to one person on this community post and that is you.. regardless of your decision, please keep us posted.

 

[Michael-B]

@Thomas one thing to remember is these people on YouTube are affiliates and get paid when you click on the product links on the reviews if you buy. They have a vested interest in you buying the products, so I think they oversell it. I did a lot of research and there are several reviews out there who say an external lamp is a complete waste of money, but it all comes down to perception.

One interesting thing I read is if you buy an external amplifier, you are bypassing all of the internal circuitry Marantz has. you lose that “Marantz sound“ and proprietary sound processing you paid all that money for . If you’re going to use an external amplifier, you might as well get a bottom of the line cheap AVR receiver as long as it has pre-outs. Because in the end, no matter what AVR you’re using the speakers are getting 100% of their sound and power from the external amplifier.

my brother-in-law has an $8000 parasound amplifier and some very expensive vintage speakers and it sounds great but he only listens to two channel . I don’t need an external amplifier and never will get one

[Anonymous]

Thanks again everyone.

I have a dedicated 14x24x8ft room but not alot of space for equipment in the rack. That’s why I really don’t want to have to buy an external amp. Plus the money of course. Receiver’s are expensive enough nowadays. :)

 

[Lukas]

@Michael B

That is not 100% correct. You are not bypassing the processing, it is still active. You are just bypassing the internal amplification. You can hear a difference with just using the pre-outs, on a cheap AVR, or a dedicated AV-processor for example.

The differences in amplifiers are much less pronounced than a lot might think.
Basically, no one does a double-blind test at home, just a subjective listening session, where differences might be perceived as much bigger.
A good amp does not have to be expensive to be good, Emotiva and Monolith are good examples.

But as a lot of you guys said before, an AVR can be all that you need, as it will always depend on the individual use case.

[Kari Lehtonen]

I use a Yamaha Aventage A6A amplifier and Anti-Mode 8033-S2. This works great for the current Arendal setup which includes: 1723 S LCR 1723 S surrounds and a pair of 1961 heights. 2 x 1723 2S as subwoofers

[james-jones]

I currently use a Denon 3800 to run a 5.2 system – 1723 S towers for LCR, a pair of 1961 bookshelf for surrounds, 2 1723 1V subs.

[gavin-stevens]

Hey guys – got my Arendal 1961 towers and centre a couple of months back and absolutely love them. Just upgraded my AVR from a Denon x1600h to the beefier x4500h and am totally in love with my 7.1 set up now. It sounds mind blowing.

Researching low profile 3 channel amplifiers to power the Arendal LCR though as the upgrade bug for even better sound has got hold of me! Any recommendations?

Love Arendal, and glad to be here with others who feel the same ;-)

[Jimmy Lindgren]

Glad to hear Gavin that you have the same experience as I . I too totally love the 1961 I have had a lot of speakers in my life but nothing like these ones!

just upgraded to an Marantz processor and a Marantz MM8077 power amp.
This was a great step up in the sound.

the Arendals really like to be played loud and I like it. My previous Sonus Faber can’t match this setup.