The Great Gloss vs Satin Debate!

[Brandon]

We are looking for feedback from the Community about the Gloss Finishes of our speakers. Do you prefer Gloss or Satin and most importantly why?

[Johan Svedjefält]

I have had both. My monitor audio rx6 were white gloss, beautiful. But I only bought them because the didn’t come in satin.  If I had to chose when buying new Arendal? Satin all the way👍🏻

Best

Johan

[Roman Tissera]

I do like both, but a slight edge on gloss because I like shiny things like a kid. But i didn’t get it because of having to dust alot.

[arkmann]

Prefer the black gloss in my 2 channel setup.  Has a high-end look.  There is a 60 TV between the speakers but when it’s on the reflection doesn’t bother me.  Reminds me of the baby grand piano in my folks house which is cool.  Keeping it free of fingerprints and dust is a challenge so the look takes more work.  What does Arendal recommend to keep them looking clean and shiny?

[Anonymous]

Satin for sure.

I’ve seen too many subpar components in black gloss for it to give me any association at all with quality.

That being said, I still think it is important to have it as an option. With non standardized colors it’s hard to mix and match components if you want an estethic look on your setup (or if your partner require that). F.ex. I am intrigued by the white satin of Arendal Sound but I have not yet decided if I would go with SVS or Arendal Sound subwoofer. They also have in white but I am not so sure they would look good together.

Used to have B&W PM1 in mocha gloss, far from a perfect speaker but I wanted a speaker with rounder edges than their 600 series.
The color was however impossible to match, even from B&W lineup.

[Hans Erik Sæbø]

Aasheim:

do bit think twice about SVS vs Arendal subs. I went from dual PB16 ultras to dual 1723 2v, and Arendal eats the PB16 for breakfast… 🍳 so much more control, punch and dynamics…

[Anonymous]

Thanks Hans Erik,

1723 2V for sure will be too big for me and I won’t make any decision anytime soon.

Best case scenario is getting a dedicated 3×3.5m room for TV. Worst case I need to bargain with my wife for the living room which won’t have a happy ending for me no matter the finish.

Maybe Arendal Sound should consider making Subwoofer Coffee tables or book shelves?

But I will take this discussion in another thread later not to sidetrack this one.

[daksh-sharma]

definitely Satin finish. Gloss is nice but definitely don’t want distraction of the reflection from it in theater environment.

[Raffaele Amodeo]

Salve nella videoproiezione ho preferisco satinato per non avere riflessi, la versione lucida ha comunque il suo fascino.

[Tr0y]

I find high gloss just much nicer! Have had the monitor in white matte there, but I found them not well painted, looked like just filled, without varnishing. Black matte I would test for a cinema bunker probably times, because there everything must be dark. For bright living space is high-gloss white just perfect.

[Luis]

Personally, I am not a fan of gloss finishes on anything… I feel glossy finishes are too easily scratched, are finger print magnets and attract dust like no other surface.  For home theater purposes, the matte finish makes the most sense; however, I feel that even for an audio only system, that matte or a nice wood veneer type finish are best.