High-End Design Speakers
Form and Function in Perfection
The new Arendal speaker series “1528” truly sets new standards. I can’t recall ever seeing an entire speaker series crafted with such cohesive and distinctive design.
Arendal might sound familiar to some of our magazine readers: we’ve previously reviewed the somewhat older series from this small yet excellent Norwegian company – and we’ve been thoroughly impressed every time. The company, led by founder Jan Ove Lassesen, operates sustainably and consistently, even improving itself. The new series represents a new highlight, even though the older series were already remarkable.
Two factors enable Arendal to maintain very competitive prices despite the impressive quality: First, while the speakers are developed in Norway, they are manufactured by an experienced producer in China, significantly reducing production costs. Second, Arendal speakers are sold directly to customers through their own distribution network, avoiding multiple distribution layers and their respective markups, resulting in an unbeatable price for end users.
For example, the complete 5.0 set we chose for this test costs €13,300 – certainly a substantial amount of money, but incredibly affordable considering what’s offered. Besides the tested speakers, the series also includes a matching wall-mounted rear speaker, a large floor-standing speaker with four woofers, and a center speaker with four woofers designed to complement the larger box. The midrange-tweeter unit is identical across all the speakers, which greatly enhances cohesive sound performance in home theater setups.
Cabinet
The 1528 series is offered in two attractive color options: the “Basalt” finish shown here, a dark gray satin-gloss metallic lacquer, and a white finish called “Polar.” The most striking feature of the entire series is undoubtedly the completely concave front baffle. This design means each driver is individually angled vertically to ensure phase- and time-accurate playback at the listening position.
The two-part HDF (high-density fiberboard) baffle, with a total thickness of eight centimeters, eliminates any form of material resonance. As one might imagine, the manufacturing process is quite labor- and time-intensive due to the complex shaping. Bonding the inner and outer baffle under high pressure without adding heat takes considerable time. Additionally, the second radius of the baffle, which curves in two directions, must be milled afterward.
To further enhance stability, the woofers are reinforced with a 1-kilogram aluminum stiffening ring around the basket. The rest of the enclosure has a wall thickness of 25 mm, is extensively braced internally, and is damped with butyl sheets—additional effective measures against resonances.
The large and long bass reflex port inside the cabinet is angled to achieve the necessary length. To prevent midrange resonances in this long port, it is perforated at the midpoint.
Drivers and Crossover
The development of the built-in speaker drivers was equally, if not even more, elaborate. The tweeter features a 28-mm lithium-magnesium dome with extremely low moving mass. Its motor, equipped with a large copper shorting ring and a powerful neodymium magnet system, ensures exceptionally low distortion. This combination delivers high sensitivity along with high power handling capability. The grille in front of the tweeter is designed to enhance efficiency in the 7–15 kHz range while improving off-axis behavior. Additionally, it protects the delicate lightweight dome.
The midrange driver uses a classic cone design with a 13-centimeter carbon fiber-graphene membrane. Unlike traditional woven carbon fiber, the layers here consist of long strands fused with graphene in ultra-thin layers, resulting in a membrane that is both very stiff and light. This design also minimizes typical resonances at the upper end of its frequency range. The driver’s robust motor ensures high efficiency.
An elliptically shaped waveguide was developed to position the tweeter and midrange driver as close together as possible, achieving good vertical dispersion with minimal lobing. The waveguide assembly is mounted directly on a solid piece of steel, primarily to secure the midrange driver, whose magnet system is so large that it cannot accommodate screw inserts directly into the baffle. Another advantage: the midrange-tweeter unit shares the same form factor as the woofers, allowing it to be rotated and positioned freely.
The center speaker, shown here as the “Center 8,” uses the exact same enclosure as the front speakers (“Monitor 8”), albeit rotated and fitted with smaller drivers at the center. This approach not only reduces production complexity but also ensures optimal homogeneity in a home theater setup. It’s rare to find another manufacturer where front speakers and the center are technically identical.
The shape of the waveguide is optimized for consistent dispersion, delivering linear behavior even in the upper frequency range—a stark contrast to many solutions on the market.
The woofers feature a 20-centimeter aluminum diaphragm with a very stable geometry and embossed surrounds to achieve exceptional rigidity and precise reproduction in the bass and lower midrange. The motor system is optimized to ensure that even with high diaphragm excursions—Arendal specifies up to 15 mm of travel—no distortion occurs.
The crossover network is built entirely with premium components. The coils feature thick wire cross-sections to minimize losses. The filtering between the three drivers is steep: 18 dB between the woofers and the midrange, and even 24 dB between the midrange and the tweeter. Front speakers, center, and rears are similarly tuned, with the rear speakers having a slightly lower efficiency overall due to being equipped with only one woofer.
Lab Tests
Before conducting my measurements, I first listened to the front speakers in a stereo setup, as I typically do with surround speakers, to evaluate their musical qualities. Even in our well-damped home theater test room, which performs excellently in the bass range, the 1528 Monitor 8 produced an incredibly stable and ultra-deep bass that I found outstanding. When I realized this performance was achieved with the bass reflex ports sealed, I initially felt some apprehension. Typically, such a speaker with open bass reflex ports would produce an overwhelming amount of bass.
However, this was not the case with the Arendal. Yes, opening the reflex ports results in slightly more and deeper bass, but it remains so well-controlled that you effectively have two genuine alternatives for everyday use: sealed for critical music listening and reflex for an extra dose of fun during home theater and TV sessions. This dual bass tuning option makes the Arendal 1528 Monitor 8 the most intelligently bass-tuned speaker I’ve ever encountered.
It also becomes clear why Arendal designed this set without a dedicated subwoofer: for virtually any use case, a subwoofer simply isn’t necessary. A quick calculation: the tested set includes eight (yes, eight!) 20-centimeter woofers. In open reflex mode, they reach down to 33 Hz in free-field measurements, and even lower in a home theater setting. These eight long-throw woofers effectively function in the subwoofer range and provide a combined diaphragm area equivalent to three 30-centimeter subwoofers.
Arendal kindly provided two subwoofers from their 1723 series for testing, allowing us to push the system to its limits. And yes, for blockbuster effects that push beyond linearity, the added subs can be fun. However, I was more than satisfied with the performance of the 1528 set’s open reflex configuration, which sounded not only sufficient but also slightly more homogeneous.
Beyond the bass, the speakers and center deliver a remarkably linear and wide-ranging frequency response, with excellent off-axis dispersion. Resonances are non-existent, and distortions remain negligible even at high volumes. The impedance curve is also well-behaved, posing no issues for amplifiers with less stable loads.
This level of performance in both closed and reflex configurations makes the Arendal 1528 series a standout, particularly in its ability to deliver uncompromising bass without the need for a dedicated subwoofer.
Practical Use
The Monitor 8 is designed to sit on a low stand, as its form factor lies somewhere between a compact floor-standing speaker and a large bookshelf speaker. To optimize its alignment with the listening position, it needs a slight elevation—though not as much as a standard stand. The rear speakers, however, work well with conventional stands.
With a listening distance of about 3 meters in a home theater setting, the set delivers an incredibly cohesive soundstage. The nearly identical speakers in the front row create a stable, consistent “wall of sound” across all seating positions. What’s particularly fascinating is the effortless clarity and openness in the mid-to-high frequency range, paired with pinpoint three-dimensional localization of individual voices and instruments.
This is complemented by the speakers’ consistent dispersion from the lowest to the highest frequencies and their disciplined yet powerful performance in the lower registers. Deep male voices and the fundamental tones of wind and string instruments are rendered with such natural authority that you can almost feel the vibrations.
Then there’s the standout bass reproduction: the set dives sensationally deep into the bass spectrum while maintaining total control. This capability extends not only to music playback but also to the demanding bass effects often required in large-scale home theater setups. The Arendal effortlessly delivers these effects with an ease that’s nothing short of astonishing.
Adding subwoofers might enhance the experience slightly, but the Arendal’s inherent ability to handle even the most challenging dynamic impulses with such poise and precision is truly remarkable.
However, what elevates the 1528 set above and beyond is the extraordinary homogeneity it offers—not just within each individual speaker but across the entire set. The seamless integration of all components creates an overwhelmingly convincing performance, setting a new benchmark for sound systems in this category.
Conclusion
The Arendal 1528 surround set is the culmination of individually outstanding and remarkably homogeneous speakers coming together to create something much greater than the sum of its parts. This is a system you simply have to hear for yourself.
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