Excellent value!
By Jamie Biesemans.
Arendal’s speakers are well suited for building a dedicated home theater. People looking for a good price-quality ratio should without a doubt consider the Norwegian brand’s offering. You do need to have the room for larger speakers, as even the ‘compact’ S versions are still quite large. The speakers are a bit too massive for small living rooms. But, if you have the space to position them correctly the Arendal’s are very handsome loudspeakers that will immediately appeal to sound purists.
The build quality and finish is nothing short of excellent for the price, and the speakers are very thoughtfully designed. When it comes to the exterior, the gloss lacquer finish is particularly handsome. Sound quality is very good. Dynamic jumps are made effortlessly and they have no problem creating a wide surround field. Accuracy generally is good, even though the focus is more on integration. That is a huge plus (= strong integration) on the one hand and a weakness (less pronounced movement of effects in the surround field) at the same time. It depends on your taste. Nonetheless, the final score is very positive. Excellent value.
Negatives
- Not very compact
- Only sold directly
- Center speaker is fairly high
Pro’s
- THX certification
- Price-quality ratio is very good
- Performs well at high sound volumes
- Neutral performer, well-suited for room correction
- Limited off-axis reduction in sound quality
