1961 Bookshelf

Legacy product

Welcome to serious stereo listening

This speaker is for you if

floor-plan

you have a small room, up to 15m²

close-range-desktop

you want close-range desktop sound

subwoofer-icon

you’re pairing it with a subwoofer

For slightly bigger rooms and greater listening distances, we recommend going with the 1961 Monitor, or if you do not want to use a subwoofer and still want a full-range sound we recommend the 1961 Tower. A great step up in terms of overall sound quality is our sealed 1723 Bookshelf S. Better dynamics, better detail, wider soundstage, higher SPL capabilities

Reviews from our customers

  • Excellent

    4.9 out of 5

  • Speakers sound amazing and the build quality is top notch. Couldn’t be happier.

    Talosian
  • …these speakers are of the highest quality build and provide excellent performance…

    Scott McKanna
  • Fast delivery. Best product i have ever tested. Good customer service!

    Håvard D. Jenssen
  • Heads & shoulders above any other audio buying experience in my 53 years of living!

    John Collier
  • Value is incredible. Sound is huge. Super pleased with purchase.

    Jeffrey Mercado
  • …quality build very impressive and sound for home the best alI have had…

    Tom Witziers
  • My highest recommendation even for those who can afford much more expensive gear!

    Gladiator
  • Above and beyond! They really stand by their products.

    Sid
  • Even my wife was like, those speakers are great!

    Richard Lawrence
  • What made my experience great; that the level of customer service was outstanding.

    Garvin Worrell
1961 Bookshelf

Slim design

With 15cm in-depth, the 1961 Bookshelf can be used in multiple installations with its space-saving design. On stand. On-shelf. On-wall. On-ceiling. No limits.

1961 Bookshelf

VESA 100 READY

On-wall? No problem. Use our optional VESA 100 bracket kit for a sleek wall mount option.

1961 Bookshelf

MAGNETIC GRILLS

We don’t use cheap pins. All our speakers have magnetic grills with a perfect fit and HDF Premium quality cabinets.

1961 Bookshelf

QUALITY DRIVERS

Quality sound starts with quality drivers. High-performance tweeter in custom waveguide backed up by powerful 5.5″ woofer.

MORE DETAILS AND FEATURES

  • 1961 MAGNETIC GRILLS

    We did not cheap out on looks. Cheap plastic pins did not feel right. We custom designed and tooled our own grills including neodymium magnets in both the cabinets and grills, with a protective rubber surface to avoid scratches.

    1961 Tower comes with two-piece grills.

  • 1961 DYNAMIC BASS

    Quality bass starts with quality drivers. Our 5.5″ woofers are High Performing bass drivers which delivers at Premium level standard. Extreme dynamics is key for effortless and thrilling listening experience. Starting from single driver units to whopping quad drivers on the 1961 Tower!

  • 1961 WAVEGUIDE TWEETER

    28mm soft dome built on the award winning 1723 range, with customized waveguide – the trademark of all our speaker designs. Sleek design covering all screws for Premium looks and feeling.

  • 1961 ENCLOSURE TUNING

    All 1961 speaker enclosures are designed for optimal sound quality and are based on sealed low-Q designs that provide excellent transient response and dynamics. 1961 Tower also have a high capacity slot port to improve performance and deeper bass.

  • 1961 SPEAKER INPUT POSTS

    1961 is our Entry Level Series yet Premium details and performance. No plastic cups on the 1961 speakers, quality aluminum panels with solid speaker terminals.

Technical specifications

  • Design
    Design

    2-way

    Dimensions (H/W/D)

    28.7 x 16.3 x 15 cm
    (11.3 x 6.4 x 5.9 in)

    Weight

    4.9kg
    (10.8 lbs)

    Enclosure

    Sealed

    Enclosure material

    High Density Fiberboard (HDF)

  • Sound
    Tweeter

    28mm

    Frequency response
    75Hz-20KHz (+/-3dB)
    Woofer

    5,5”

    Impedance

    4-ohm nominal

    Crossover frequency

    1500Hz

    Sensitivity

    84dB / 2.83v / 1m

  • Other
    Break-in for optimal performance

    50 hours

    Recommended amplifier

    Up to 180W RMS @ 4ohm

    Included

    Grilles. Manual. Rubber pads.

    Optional accessories

    1961 Wall Mount

handbook

Download

Frequency

Frequency response does not reflect maximum output but shows its true response in a anechoic chamber. Typically you will see an elevated response in the bass response below 40Hz in room due to room gain, which can add around 6dB pr. octave under 40Hz depending on the size of your room.

Polar

The charts display frequency response measured at different angles, the sum of which is referred to as power response. Much scientific research has been undertaken on this subject and a linear power response has proven a substantial impact on the overall sound, because the frequency response is more even in all directions. This means an Arendal Sound speaker will be more tolerant of differences in room shape, size, construction and materials.

Impendence

The impedance charts are electrical measurements of the loudspeaker’s resistance vs frequency.

Product Compliance

CE marking is an administrative marking with which the manufacturer or importer affirms its conformity with European health, safety, and environmental protection standards for products sold within the European Economic Area (EEA).

iecee logo

RoHS is an abbreviation for “Restriction of (the use of certain) Hazardous Substances in electrical and electronic Equipment”. This directive restricts the use of ten hazardous materials in the manufacture of various types of electronic and electrical equipment. It is closely linked with the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive (WEEE) 2002/96/EC which sets collection, recycling and recovery targets for electrical goods and is part of a legislative initiative to solve the problem of huge amounts of toxic electronic waste.

iecee logo

Professional reviews

  • “These speakers are end game for me. I don’t plan on upgrading for the next 20 years.”

  • “For me, they are a real insider tip…”

  • “At their current price, the 1961 is built to a higher standard than some higher priced speakers that we’ve tested.”

  • This speaker exceeded my expectations so much that they are a potential product of the year!

  • I just really do like the speaker. This is one of the better speakers that I’ve tested in this regard.

  • Arendal continues to deliver interesting home cinema products, but they play music just as impressively. Even if the speakers in this case are very compact there is still a lot of, and cool sound to hear.

  • “…for some small factor speakers these throw out an amazingly huge detailed sound stage.” “…these are premium built speakers that throw out premium sound.”

  • These are serious speakers built and finished to a high standard. You will never think: “This is a bit cheap”.

  • With 1961, Arendal has a system that not only is considerably cheaper than the 1723 sisters, there are also speakers that fit perfectly in everything from really small to fairly large room

  • It takes little time at all to realise this system is pretty special. It’s a revealing, full-range performance