"They seem to get everything right; looks, engineering, sound quality, features, these folks miss nothing."
THE VERDICT
Words like entertaining, fun, captivating and commanding can all be used to describe what the Arendal 1723 series is capable of. The overall sense is of a company that took their time to get it right, and then executed the plan to near perfection. There aren’t many instances where I struggle to find flaws, but with Arendal it’s a challenge to do so. It feels a little like deja vu for me, that’s the same conclusion I had with their smaller 1723 S system. Guess brilliance runs in the family.
I was offered the opportunity to evaluate the company’s flagship products, and naturally, I said yes. Now, staring me in the face at this very moment are the following: two 1723 Tower THX speakers, a 1723 Center THX speaker, two 1723 Surround THX speakers, and a 1723 Subwoofer 2V.
Impressions
Arendal makes speakers and subwoofers that can readily be described with words like stylish and subtle. They look elegant without being flashy, upmarket but not pretentious. The black satin paint on the towers and center are offset by the very gentle curve of the cloth grill, all of which results in a refined look. The edges of the cabinets have a 45° bevel which softens the blocky appearance of most enclosures. The grills are held in place with magnets, no unsightly pin/cup arrangement here. Both the 2V subwoofer and 1723 towers are not what you would call small, yet they somehow blend in with their surroundings. The 2V wears the same satin black paint and also sports beveled edges. The consistency across the product line makes for a cohesive look. If black satin paint isn’t your thing you can also get them in white satin. A gloss finish, in either black or white, is also an option.
To stabilize the towers attach the included outriggers, they come with both carpet spikes and rubber pads. You can use them to level the speakers in order to fine tune their placement. They are classy looking pieces with a high quality feel. For the center and surrounds, Arendal includes two different sizes of stick-on rubber feet.
I would be remiss if I didn’t mention Arendal’s documentation. Do yourself a favor, read what Arendal provides. It is a clinic on how you’re supposed to do it, everything from the content to the material they use for the handbook is first rate. And let’s not forget their impish sense of humor. I mean, these folks have somehow made the world’s largest land carnivore seem cute. Poke around a little bit, you’ll see what I mean.
Setup
The towers and center give you the option of running in sealed or ported mode, the later having multiple variations affording you the ability to tune them for whatever works in your situation. The center has 2 ports, so 3 possible configurations; sealed, 1 port open or 2 ports open. The towers have 3 ports, giving you 4 potential variations. Arendal includes very dense plugs for each of the ports, all of which fire out the back of the enclosure. That goes for the 2V subwoofer as well, its port is also on the back of the enclosure. If you’re at all concerned about “chuffing” – port noise – don’t be oriented that way, it’s all but guaranteed you would never hear it even if there was any.
The binding posts on all the speakers are the same, perhaps the best word to describe them is beefy. They’re made from polished, CNC machined copper which is then plated with highly-conductive, and corrosion resistant, Rhodium. However you want to hook them up you can; banana, spade or pin type connectors, as well as bare wire. There are 2 sets of posts on each speaker allowing you to bi-amp them. If you choose not to go that route Arendal supplies stout Rhodium jumpers to bridge the posts.
The terminal plate those brawny binding posts are attached to is anodized aluminum with a chic brushed finish. It provides a rigid base that is free from resonance. The plate seems unusually large until you realize the crossover is actually mounted to it. This allows Arendal to change components and make upgrades significantly easier for their customers.
Listening/In Use
The Arendal 1723 speakers have a preternatural ability to reproduce the human voice. I was smiling ear-to-ear on more occasions than I can count. Whether it was a simple TV show, a movie or a song, I was like a kid in a candy store. There were times when it seemed like a veil of imprecision had been lifted, and what was previously muddled or barely intelligible became clear and obvious. All voices—and in the case of music, vocals—were sublime. Rather than bore you over and over again saying that for each movie and music selection below, just consider that last sentence a blanket statement.
Conclusion
I’ve been evaluating audio gear for about a dozen years now, which means you know who my friends and family go to when they need advice. I’m always careful about what I say, sometimes people will spend a considerable amount of money based solely on my guidance. That’s a lot of pressure so I proceed with caution. There aren’t many brands I recommend unhesitatingly, but one of those just happens to be Arendal. They seem to get everything right; looks, engineering, sound quality, features, these folks miss nothing.
best quotes
“Words like entertaining, fun, captivating and commanding can all be used to describe what the Arendal 1723 series is capable of”
“The overall sense is of a company that took their time to get it right, and then executed the plan to near perfection”
“There aren’t many instances where I struggle to find flaws, but with Arendal it’s a challenge to do so”
“Guess brilliance runs in the family”
“There aren’t many brands I recommend unhesitatingly, but one of those just happens to be Arendal.”
“They seem to get everything right; looks, engineering, sound quality, features, these folks miss nothing.”
“They look elegant without being flashy, upmarket but not pretentious”
“…clarity is often where a set of speakers will struggle. The Arendal 1723 had no such problem, this was one of the best renditions I have heard to date.”
