Value and positioning
“The 1610, priced at 6,900 euros, appeals to high-earning enthusiasts and is perhaps the speaker that remains just within realistic reach for many.”
“Not something you buy on a whim, but a goal for saving up.”
“The new Arendal from Norway also offers great value for the money!”
“Relatively a lot of speaker for the money.”
Build quality and engineering
“That the more expensive HDF is still used instead of MDF surprises us somewhat.”
“They did not want to push the compromise that far.”
“The baffle thickness in the 1610 series is nearly five centimeters.”
“The cabinets are reinforced at critical points.”
“The driver arrangement provides passive, acoustic-mechanical time alignment.”
“Perfectly synchronizing the sound from all drivers.”
“Arendal places great emphasis on avoiding ferromagnetic materials such as steel screws to eliminate any source of distortion.”
Driver and crossover quality
“The 28mm driver delivers excellent dynamics even in its lower ranges.”
“Copper shorting rings optimize distortion characteristics and inductance.”
“All drivers are highly robust and achieve high maximum sound pressure levels.”
“No savings were apparently made on component quality.”
“We see wire-wound resistors on aluminum heat sinks, air-core inductors, and polypropylene capacitors.”
Bass performance
“The dry, pounding kick bass is a particular strength of the ‘small’ Arendal.”
“The less voluminous Arendal 1610 was able to match this in part with its slightly higher, more defined kick bass.”
“The powerful woofers fire into a large down-firing bass reflex port.”
“Their impact is most noticeable.”
Sound quality
“In terms of rich detail and dynamic, powerful midrange, the 1610 is definitely reminiscent of its big sister.”
“The two are tonally similar.”
“Both deliver a truly joyful listening experience.”
“The 1610 was able to match this in part with its slightly higher, more defined kick bass and a relatively similar tonal character.”
Comparison to the 1528 Tower 8
About the 1528
“The larger Arendal ultimately showed its sister model who’s boss.”
“The flagship handled our large room (40 m²) better.”
“Confident, effortless sound even in large rooms.”
About the 1610
“Perhaps even better in rooms of 20-25 m².”
“Logistics/setup also possible in average living rooms.”
“Only a few sound points” separate it from the flagship.
