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.

[Lukas]

@Dave

It is no hard limit on which you choose your amplifier. Your amp can have 2000 watts. The speaker only takes what it needs. Bi-Amping does not change that. It will be a combined 400 watts RMS. That has nothing to do with real-life music of movie material.

[Dave Dawson]

It’s more the question on right sizing the amp or amps to the lower and upper terminals. Right now I’m using my 125w@8ohm receiver (4ohm capable so no worries) to power my 1723 Towers. Not ideal but is working well, no/low distortion until about 85-90 dB at MLP. (3×4 meter room, 12×16 feet) Trying to understand the physics of bi-amping so I don’t overpay for too much unused headroom. or if it makes sense to stagger purchases over time by buying separate components.

For example, If I get a 500w amp at 4ohms (like a Parasound A21, $3500 USD) running both terminals, could I instead bi-amp with 2 amps running 225w at 4ohms and 150W at 8ohms (two Parasound NewClassic 2125 v.2, $1100 USD each) separately to each terminal to have the same sound output (combined 375w).

It’s cheaper to bi amp if additive wattage, but I’m curious if it’s comparing apples and oranges in that they are not the same. I passed advanced physics class once upon a time, but it convinced me not to be an electrical engineer :-)

[Lukas]

@Dave

Those comparisons will get you nowhere, as you compare different amps on different impedances. The power is not what makes the sound, it is the design of the amp that makes the difference.
It could also be that the amps have different gain, that needs to be matched.
I would definitely recommend the higher-end single amplifier.

And how much power you really need will depend on your individual use case. I personally would not need much more than 100 watts on our 1723 Tower, to get ridiculously loud. I have a smallish room and sit pretty close.
Just as an example.

The top terminals are basically the 1723 Monitors, just as a reference. So this does not change much when it comes to sizing the amps.
To really get a benefit from bi-amping, like lower distortion and better control, you should over-spec.
With your example, this could be 2x Parasound A21.

Is it really worth it? That will be an individual answer.

 

 

 

[Arkmann]

Kris have been driving the 1723 S towers for almost a month.  Well over 100 hours.  The Rotel amp and preamp pairing with the towers is excellent.  Solid bass and high end is decent when I crank to 55-60% power.  Wondering if I’d gain a little more midrange and headroom by moving up to the 1723 towers. The extra bass wouldn’t hurt either. Can’t have too much clean bass!

[Gabriel John]

I have for my current still 7.1 setup of the 1723 series now a Denon AVC X8500HA and an IOTA AVXP7 treated. Compared to the Yamaha rxa3050 before, I must say that it was worth it! The Denon alone makes with its decoding already a lot of sound better, at least with movies!

[Choon Yee Tan]

Tonewinner AT-300 and a pair of Tonewinner AD-7300PA for 13 speakers.