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* Supported by 1723 Subwoofers.

INTELLIGENT POWERHOUSE

We introduced the 550 IQ which already has set market-leading standards. The Avalanche 800 IQ & 1200 IQ build on the 550, but have been optimized, equipped with additional features, and highly refined for our hi-end 1723 subwoofers. Impeccable performance, conservatively rated at 800/1200W, with capabilities that make the difference. Subwoofers are not the same anymore.

Avalanche 800 IQ & 1200 IQ Amplifiers

Highlights

• High-resolution 2.6″ colour LCD display
• Pro-level App
• Smart amplifier technology
• Full 800W RMS down to 10Hz for Avalanche 800 IQ
• Full 1200W RMS down to 10Hz for Avalanche 1200 IQ
• Advanced adjustability for perfect room response and ease of use
• Extensive multi-sensors to protect and maintain signal quality
• Flip Screen Feature lets you use the screen menu upside down while bending over for adjustments
• Dual source assignable RCA & XLR inputs with assignable memory presets for each input
• Selectable 12V trigger and auto-on functions for each input
• RCA & XLR passthrough outputs
• User adjustable on-time and auto-on wake-up settings
• Variable phase & signal inversion
• 3 EQ modes for sealed subwoofers, 6 EQ modes for vented subwoofers
• 7-band parametric EQ
• Low pass filter & slopes
• Subsonic filter & slopes
• Safety controls

Thanks to the new Avalanche IQ technology subwoofer amplifiers will never be the same again.

The amplifier has a built-in Bluetooth module for future App upgrades.

Intelligent Technology

The term “intelligent” is rarely used in the audio industry, especially for speakers and subwoofers. The new Avalanche 800 IQ & 1200 IQ subwoofer amplifiers are two more exceptions from Arendal Sound, when it comes to performance and technology. State-of-the-art amplifier, designed and developed from scratch to deliver performance and features you could not get before.

The Avalanche 800 IQ & 1200 IQ boast killer performance and offer features under their hoods that have never been seen in the industry before. Multiple sensors in the digital and analogue domain, from inputs to outputs, to preserve dynamics and clean bass. It has a powerful microcontroller (MCU) which, as the brain, controls and reads all data passing through the signal flow. This ensures that the signal is as unaffected as possible from its original source to the subwoofer output.

Research and development over two years, fully customized by Arendal Sound. The Avalanche 800 IQ & 1200 IQ are smart and intelligent beasts in the world of amplifiers.

FLIP SCREEN

Normally you will be bending over the subwoofer to make adjustments as the amplifier and user interface is on the back of it. You can now easily flip the screen in the menu settings, so it makes it much easier for you to make your last adjustments for the perfect sound experience without neck bending around the subwoofer.

DUAL SOURCE INPUT

This is a true gift for complex setups!

Do you combine stereo and multi-channel equipment in one system and want to use one subwoofer system for both? Yes, we got you covered! This is a unique feature only available from Arendal Sound through the intelligent amplifiers Avalanche 800 IQ & 1200 IQ. With your new subwoofer you can control which input is used by your stereo system and your AVR, so that it is connected to this one input only. You can lock the signal, whether mono or stereo, to the preferred input. There are up to 8 dual input configurations to choose from. This means you can control the inputs depending on what you are playing, and Avalanche 800 IQ & 1200 IQ manage the signal flow in both your systems.

Once you have set up your dual input settings, you also have the option of assigning a memory preset to each input, giving you a unique set of settings for your stereo system and another for your home theater system – if this is the path you want to take.

The old-school fiddling around with adapters and connecting back and forth with multiple subwoofer settings from stereo to AV and vice versa is a thing of the past. Thanks to Avalanche 800 IQ & 1200 IQ.

HI-RES LCD DISPLAY INTERFACE

The Avalanche 800 IQ & 1200 IQ amplifiers offer out-of-scale features in any price range where physical knobs wouldn’t fit on the amplifier panel, even if we wanted them to. The 2.6″ high-resolution colour display provides a clear overview of all settings of your subwoofer. With the multi-control knob and buttons with great tactile feedback, you will make any setup and adjustment a breeze.

The Avalanche 800 IQ & 1200 IQ offer market leading feature sets in the subwoofer industry.

the app

The new app for controlling your highly capable and advanced Arendal Sound 1723 Subwoofer.

3-12V Trigger

If you have hidden your subwoofer behind a sofa or inside a baffle wall and still want to have control over whether it is on or off (without using the auto on function) we offer a 3-12V trigger connection with 3.5mm jack. Avalanche 800 IQ & 1200 IQ listen to your source control and power up when your system is turned on, then power down when you turn your system off.

AVALANCHE 800 IQ & 1200 IQ TECHNOLOGY

Power amplifier

Each bridged power amplifier module has a 32-bit microcontroller (MCU) for control and monitoring purposes. This MCU communicates with the Digital Front-End.

The power amplifier module MCU utilizes 5 channels of A/D (analog to digital) conversion to monitor the following parameters in real time at a rate of 1000 samples/second:

• The output voltage of amplifier A and B (the two halves of the bridged amplifier)
• The power supply rails (positive and negative voltages)
• The module temperature sensor

By monitoring these parameters and the over-current detector, fault conditions can be detected immediately and lead to immediate shutdown of the amplifiers.

Safety and Reliability

Certain strategies are employed to increase the safety margin and reliability: For example, the power supply rail voltages are measured before the power amplifiers are activated. If either rail voltage is outside the normal limits, the amplifiers are not activated and the power supply will be shut down. Since this is a bridged amplifier, the output voltages of both amplifiers should always be equal and opposite (A+B=0).

If a fault condition occurs in either amplifier, the MCU can detect it within 1 millisecond (1/1000 of a second, ms) and shut down the amplifiers. A typical single-ended power amplifier with an analog offset detection circuit must have a long time constant (> 100ms) in order to distinguish between DC and a low frequency signal.

Startup Logics

All of the parameter margins (limits) are part of the digital front-end firmware. They are downloaded to the amplifier module(s) at power on. In the case of any fault condition, the power amplifier MCU informs the digital front-end MCU and adds the specific fault information.

The strategy for each error type is determined by the digital front-end MCU firmware. For example, in the event of an overcurrent condition, the amplifier can be restarted with a limit on the number of restarts.

Troubleshooting

To simplify troubleshooting, the digital front-end MCU displays the error information on the LCD in case of a fault condition.

The power amplifier MCU also stores statistical information that can be used in various ways: Number of clipping events, maximum and minimum values for all monitored parameters (such as max/min rail voltages). This is crucial for the Arendal Sound engineers to understand if there are any problems or strange behaviour of the amplifier.

Self-Testing

The digital front-end can run a complete self-test of the entire system. This includes generating a test tone and measuring the amplifier output voltages and all other parameters. Any failure is displayed on the LCD screen.

ROHS, FCC and CE certified.

Redesigned masterpiece

We knew we could achieve more by investing all our focus and know-how to go beyond what’s already in the market. It’s still 13.8″. Looks about the same. But, it’s a different beast. The best we have ever made. With 50% higher excursion, better performance, and increased dynamics. The new 13.8″ world-class driver:

• 50% increase in excursion and performance
• Improved dynamics
• In layman’s terms, it has better “speed”, “attack” and “punch”

Design features

Driver Redefinition

After thorough optimization and testing using FEA, Klippel, and other methods, we refined a motor featuring multiple aluminium shorting rings with a focused field “T” pole design. The result is a linear magnetic field over a long voice coil throw, with very low inductance. The latest version of this driver has been reworked and redesigned in every conceivable way, everything has been modified to squeeze out even more output, while not only maintaining but also improving the sound quality, not insignificantly compared to the initial 1723 driver.

Increased responsiveness

Better magnetic field design with thicker aluminum shorting rings above and below the magnet gap, which improves control over inductance (and significantly reduces it) vs position and power – this significantly improves response and distortion over the older model. The symmetrical suspension consists of a heavily analyzed NBR surround and Connex spider with integrated tinsel leads. All combined to create a very high excursion with linear suspension. Again, this contributing to high output and a low-distortion, precise bass.

Hybrid Cone

Our unique hybrid cone made of long fiber pulp and fiberglass, takes advantage of the pulp’s superior stiffness to weight ratio, with the additional rigidity of fiberglass to deliver a driver of massive durability that is inherently inert and self-damping. The result is a cone that achieves optimum pistonic motion at all frequencies it is required to produce and beyond, creating deep, controlled, and hard-hitting bass.

Lack of compression = extreme dynamics

The airflow venting below the dust cap (venting holes in the cone body) and the spider (venting holes in the frame) have been added for two very important reasons:

1. We have improved the Airflow venting compared to the previous version by adding more vents in the bobbin body to further increase the airflow under the spider for better heat dissipation and to reduce air-rush noises even further, resulting in less distortion. Air heated by the voice coil is forced away with each stroke of the cone diaphragm. This continuous exchange of air mitigates thermal compression and significantly increases the woofer’s overall power handling capability while reducing distortion.
2. The airflow relieves the asymmetric compliance (suspension stiffness) and distortion due to the non-linear compression and dilution of the air typically trapped under the dust cap and spider. Typical vented pole designs are limited in their effectiveness due to the lack of airflow volume at maximum power and excursions because where a free, smooth airflow is most needed, the pole vent alone is not sufficient.

The new Arendal Sound 1723 Subwoofers utilize an ultra-high temp polyimide former with an aluminum voice coil for low mass, high motor force, and optimum thermal dissipation. The benefit of using aluminum instead of copper in this format is that the weight is significantly reduced and heat exchange is substantially increased, while the conductivity decreases only slightly compared to copper. This means that a driver with less moving mass can handle more power without the voice coil burning up. In sum, this means a driver that can handle more power and that has a better transient response.

At first glance, it may appear counterintuitive to place the drivers 180deg apart. This observation may be true for higher frequencies (shorter wavelengths) where two drivers would only be 3dB louder than one. But for the case of subwoofers where the wavelength of sound being reproduced is considerably larger than the inter-driver spacing, the wavefronts from each driver sum totally, giving a 6dB increase in output. That’s double acoustically power.

To put that in perspective; to achieve a similar increase at higher frequencies, you would need to employ four drivers, or one four times the area. Even double the area – which is all we require in the world of sub-bass – would present it’s own set of issues in terms of engineering because we are already using a 13.8” cone.

There is a further benefit to using two drivers and that relates to thermal compression. With two drivers, you have two voice coils, with double the area. This greater area makes it easier to dissipate heat, the build-up of which, limits maximum power levels, compresses dynamic peaks, and generally distorts the signal – It causes distortion. In the bass arms race, bigger is not always better, but more, is.

NEWTON’S THIRD LAW

For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. When you push a speaker cone out in response to a signal, an equal force is applied to the structure of the basket and cabinet, to which is fixed, trying to move it in the opposite direction with exactly the same force. Use two drivers pointing in opposite directions, and these forces cancel, totally.

Of course, opposing drivers change nothing when it comes to the pressure inside the cabinet, resulting from the pressurization and rarefaction caused by the drivers pumping in and out. This significant force literally bends the cabinet walls, causing them to emit bass out-of-phase with the drivers, robbing us of output and introducing cabinet colorations. To cope with that, we resorted to good old-fashioned over-engineering, with inch-thick minimum HDF cabinet panels (2” on the driver baffles) and further internal bracing.

So, with our dual opposed drivers and massively engineered cabinets, vibrations within the cabinet structure become hardly noticeable to the touch, even when the subwoofer is playing at substantial SPL’s. Place your hand on an Arendal Sound subwoofer and you will feel very, very little indeed, even if all hell appears to be breaking loose within the room.

The end result is rock solid, undistorted bass that may not move the planets Newton was thinking of, but it will move you.

SEALED BOX

All Arendal subwoofers start with optimally damped, low Q sealed box design. Low frequency performance is accurately damped delivering a tight impulse response – the time the driver takes to stop moving after the signal has passed is very short – and rolls off at the natural sealed box rate of 12dB/octave below the combined box and driver resonant frequency. This frequency (quoted as the -3dB point for the bass extension) is somewhat higher than a vented alignment, but the roll off below a vented subwoofers -3dB point happens at 24dB/octave. So the vented alignment does stretch deeper, but it rolls off sharper than the sealed box which may have a roll-off that is more in tune with your room gain.

As with Arendal speakers, but even more so because of the even lower frequencies involved, the sealed alignment naturally suits smaller rooms and positions closer to a wall. Room gain really kicks in hard below the rooms lowest resonant frequency, delivering 6-12dB of extra gain per octave below about 40Hz. This dovetails in nicely with the sealed alignment to give a surprisingly extended and naturally flat, in-room response and in the right room, will register output down into room shaking single figure Hertz!

Of course, many will be quick to realise that this extra lift can also add additional bass in rooms that don’t really need it, turning action movie sound tracks into a bombastic bass-fest! We deliver the choices, you use them to suit your taste without worry, because our sophisticated DSP has your back protected.

VENTED BOX

By removing the foam plug from the big slot port on our vented subwoofers, low frequency output can be extended with different bass character. Damping is slightly less optimal than the sealed alignment, but the compensation is sheer sound pressure level. Maximum extension is more or less the same as in sealed operation, but at all audible frequencies, there is a lot more output.

We are especially proud of our new exclusive and fully custom made grills. For all Arendal Sound speakers we have made a free flowing, perforated metal grill which does not affect sound quality. We have then wrapped it with a clean black cloth to tone down the visually hard look, whilst simultaneously damping out any residual vibrations.

In addition, we did not want plastic pins to add the grill, which will degrade the clean look of the cabinet with pin cups. Neodymium sub-surface magnets grip the metal grill with great force, preventing unwanted movement and vibration during high level playback. The grills have a rubber protection to ensure the cabinet is not damaged when you attach the grill and you will hear a nice ‘thump’ when you let them seat. Grilles on or off, our speakers look and sound great either way.