You should have hung acoustic ceiling tiles on the OUTside of the drywall... Suspended so as to free float.. I'm sure it would have been soooo much better sounding
To your point, it probably would have but unfortunately, I don't have a dedicated space so this would have been in our living room which only has 8 ft ceilings but more importantly I would have been killed by my wife. 🔪😵
@@RandomDistractionsYT They could have been done tastefully, say by putting LED strips on the ceiling then hanging the suspended panels. I think there is a name for that kind of lighting I'm not sure of the name though. Tray lighting maybe?
Personally I think that would be cool (I like the idea of the LEDs) but my wife already doesn't like the fact that I have speakers in the living room in the first place so by being able to keep them hidden I was able to get away with it. I will say though I don't feel too much of a loss in the sound and everyone that has come to my house and they hear them are impressed. It's also kind of cool to just have the sound coming from the ceiling.
Thanks for checking out the video. Unfortunately, I only had about an hour of listening time with the JBLs so glad to have an owner provide some additional comments about them.
Yeah, would totally suggest them for music. I use my Anthem MRX1140 and with the Arendals I'm constantly trying to find time to listen to some music with them.
Someone gave me one of these mics. What software, besides REW, can be used along with the UMM-6 to create a signal and then interpret the input signal? I just want to create some FRD files, but I don't understand how to use this mic or what software is used for speaker measurements.
Unfortunately that's beyond my scope but did a google search and FPGraphTracer came up. Not sure if that is what would help but hopefully somebody else here sees your comment to provide some feedback. I just use REW to get some basic measurements and know that there is probably still a whole lot more that can be done with REW.
I know, right? I always wondered how much of a difference it really is between different sizes and prices and so really grateful that I had a chance to try that.
It was honestly really hard to distinguish which is why I was glad that I had the owner of the JBLs listening with me as well and he also couldn't tell much of a difference and thought the Arendals were a bit clearer and as for price, as I mention in the video you could go with the more expensive and even bigger Arendal 1723 series and still be under the JBLs.
Visually they are a great looking speaker, the sound is really good, and the SDA function actually does make an audible difference. For the price though I would still go with the 1723 S and could actually even go with the bigger brother the 1723 and be under and get really darn close to that same sound.
I have yet to hear a horn that is equal to or better than beryllium tweeter or even HQ ribbon, for higher frequencies. Horn has its pros, but its not for me.
I had the Revel 228be and JBL 4367 in the same room (I owned both at the same time) and I can assure you the JBL’s highs smoke the Revels. By themselves the revels are fine but next to the JBL they sound splashy and lacked separation. On the revel you could hear the high hat hit but on the JBL you could hear the ride fizzle out which was lost on the revel. One might think it is frequency response but the JBL is actually more rolled off. The compression driver is silly light, does not need to move much and has a massive magnet on it. It all just works out to a lot of control.
If you are able to listen to both in your space, that would tell you for sure which is better. In my case I went with a bigger center channel because I know that a lot of sound comes from the center channel so wanted to have something that could handle it well. I've been really happy with that choice and they are a great match to my 1961 towers. As another person mentioned though, if you have bookshelf speakers as your front speakers as well, having a bigger center may sound tonally different so having a matching bookshelf for the center would sound more cohesive. That is why I mentioned that if you are able to listen to both, that would be the best way to know for sure. Best of luck with your decision.
Thanks for sharing. I'm sure many will appreciate those graphs. However, the sole judge is a blind test for me, even if "something" appears on a graph between "xKHz and xKHz". But it's just me.
Definitely agree, listening in person for sure is the best way to experience that and any speakers really especially in your own listening space as that will affect it as well.
the polk L800s are ALL about the SDA . to turn it off is to create another speaker entirely . aside from that the SDA can NOT be heard in this manner . a live sitting is essential to hear the effect
If you're using bookshelf speakers as your fronts, an exact matching bookshelf speaker as your center channel will almost always sound better than a dedicated center channel. You'll typically pay a lot less for it as well. Even if you buy a center channel that is supposed to technically match your fronts, they don't. Cabinet sizes are different, driver layout is different and inevitably it will be vastly tonally different. Bookshelf speakers make great center channels in general and it's a great option that more people should consider. I'd go as far as to say in general a high quality bookshelf speaker will outperform a high quality dedicated center channel in many instances. Of course you want to keep them vertical which might be problematic for some spaces.
Thanks for sharing that @mikescott5440. I will say that I'm actually quite impressed at how well the 1723 S center matches my 1961 towers. I actually did a double-take when I was running room correction and it was going from the left to center to right as it felt like the sound was just moving from one end to the other but not that it was going from one speaker to another. That is of course with towers, that are much bigger, so do feel like your point of doing all bookshelf speakers, including a center, would be a better match when going that route.
Hello, thanks for the video! I just purchased a bunch of Arendal 1961 speakers secondhand and came across your content when finding out about the differences between the line! Love your content and had a couple of questions. 1. How far away from the wall did you need to bring the monitors to increase the clarity when comparing it to the on-wall testing? 2. Does the emotiva basx 5 supply enough power to the Arendals such that I can run 5 of the 1961 monitors/bookshelves on the emotiva amp with the remaining 6 channels of Arendal speakers running on an onkyo RZ50?
Thanks for checking out the video and sorry for the delayed response. Life gets busy some times. For the first question, I placed them where I normally have my towers which is about 17 inches from the wall and that worked for the monitors as well. For the second question, yeah I do think that the basx5 would be a good pairing for them. I was running a 1723 S center, 1961 towers and 1961 monitors with mine and it sounded good. I only upgraded because I wanted to push them further but don't do that all the time.
@@RandomDistractionsYTno worries, I completely understand! Thank you for circling back to comment and providing your thoughts, I really appreciate it! Looking forward to pairing the speakers with the emotiva, and thanks for sharing more details about your setup!
Exactly what I was looking for. Do you think it is possible to have stereo on a single panel by connecting two exciters to a stereo amplifier module? one more subscriber super channel
Hmm, well you can have two of them on the same panel with one being left and the other right. I'm just not sure how distinctive the sound would be. It would probably depend on how far apart the exciters are from each other and how loud they are being played at. Thanks for checking out the video and subscribing!
Thanks for the great review! I was heavily considering the Emotiva XPA HC-1 monoblocks despite their higher pricing, until I saw their measurements and customer feedback on issues with reliability. Class D looks much more viable these days in the budget amp camp!
The 1723s CENTER Channel looks ABSOLUTELY gorgeous, and badass!! However, that other smaller one Actually sounds much Clearer to my ears! 😅 Not sure why that is? 😮 Hmm?
Yes the 1723s is quite a looker. That may just be from trying to hear it over RU-vid. The smaller one doesn't have as much bass so it probably does sound a little clearer in the recording. In person the 1723s has more presence while still being clear.
Point to note here is that the Anthem is 75 watts per channel while the buckeye is 225 watts per channel both with 2 channels driven. So seeing those dips at very high volumes should be expected as the Anthem is being pushed to its limits. Still, a very nice comparison!
Thanks for checking out the video I did some sound demos starting at 10:55 of The Batman, then John Wick and then John Wick but with the bed layer off. I also have another video where I added more exciters that has a demo song with just the exciters if you want to check that out as well. Thanks! ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-HW0kQdxZ2qk.htmlsi=JIg1xk4YJFQ9Gl8e
@@PunxsutawneyPhill Ahh, I see what you mean. I quickly showed them at the 7:06 mark but could have probably showed them a little longer. Sorry about that. Unfortunately, I'm going to be looking at replacing them if I can convince the wife for in-ceiling ones. On a side note, since you didn't see them does that mean I have another 6 weeks of winter? 😅
Been looking at your videos lately and they are great, I had a question, would an arendal 1961 tower work great for a center channel? I currently have Polk bookshelf’s for my fronts but was wanting to try the arendals. Might make the move to a full arendal set up. Thanks
Thanks for checking out my videos! As for your question in my opinion I do think that it would make a great center. The only problems that you may run into is that Arendal is phasing out the 1961 series so currently only available through their outlet. Which is kind of good since they are discounted but I believe that they may still be sold as a pair so you may end up with an extra tower.
@@RandomDistractionsYT I’m able to get them as singles. I figured if I like the sound enough I might get another tower and use that as left and right and then maybe go to the 1723s center. Or maybe get another third tower. I did have a question, how would you compare the 1723 s to the 1961 tower. I’ve heard reviewers say they sound very similar and other say it’s a huge jump. Thanks for your help
@@roelcorral7720 Oh cool, if you can get them as singles that would be a great setup. I use the 1723 S center myself in my setup with the 1961 towers and it's a great option as to me it's basically like having a 1961 tower in the middle. In regards to your question of the 1723 S towers to the 1961s. I did notice a difference and would say that there is a big difference when ported for sure in the bass. Because I use subwoofers for the low end I don't feel like I'm missing out though. The 1723 S have a little more heft to the sound since they are more sensitive and are actually brighter as well. I did a comparison video if you would like to see some of the measurement differences in my room: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-wpXEKY_3Wzo.html. For me though I'm happy with the smaller size of the 1961s since I don't have a dedicated space so they felt better in my space.
@@RandomDistractionsYT Awesome thanks for the help. I just pulled the trigger on a single 1961 tower. I will report back when I get it. I hope they ship fast, I’m in Texas. I guess the only concern was clarity/detail on the 1961 vs 1723 but you seem to be happy with the 1961 and I think I will too!
Using the dial is not the best way to test these amps. Without knowing the specs of the internal amps in the anthem, the input sensitivity can be lower than the buckeye. Meaning, at -10db, you may get 1.5v to drive the internal anthem amps to full power and the same 1.5v will not fully drive the buckeye. You may need 2.2v. Level match both amps first and see which one runs out of steam. You may not be able to stand the volume 😅. As I get better understanding of amps, I am realizing that you don’t need a lot of power to play at 85db (about 30watts with 86db speakers 12 feet away). But you need about +400 watt to hit 105db for instantaneous peaks in movies for the same setup.
This was provided by Arendal after contacting them to let them know what I was hearing and since it hadn't been long since I purchased them it was sent to me.
hi, what was the crossover set for your main speakers, because aside from subwoofer, even your front speaker also has excursion. I mean driver moving a lot. What was the crossover in your AVR from mains ?
Thanks for checking out the video, yeah both the main speaker and the subs were getting a good workout on that. However, it's important to note that is the mid-range woofer. The crossover for the mains is at 80hz.
Yeah I actually go over this in this video at the 5:41 mark but it’s in the main zone general settings. Here you can specify the turn on volume and also the max volume.
Thanks for sharing your experience with setting up the Anthem. I am trying to run ARC Genesis on my MRX 520 and am stuck at Hiccup #1 - critical audio problem. Now I don’t have any previous arc file for my MRX 520 as this is my first time ever running ARC genesis. So the solution you propose is not applicable for my case. Are you aware of any other way I can tackle this issue? Thanks
Sorry to hear that you are having that problem. With some of the recent updates to the software I haven't had that issue since this video so the first thing I would say is to make sure that you are up to date on the software and the firmware for your receiver. If those are good, I would suggest reaching out to the Anthem to see if they have any additional advice. If you are part of the AVS Forum you might also be able to get someone's ARC file for their 520 to upload and see if that fixes it as well. Best of luck though, I know that can be frustrating.
@@RandomDistractionsYT I figured out a way to fix the «critical audio problem» issue at least on a MacBook. The solution is to run it while the MacBook is plugged into the power source. Then the measurements go through without problem. So the thing is, the MacBook’s USB port is not able to deliver enough power to drive the arc microphone if it is being run on battery power. I didn’t try this solution with my windows laptop though. Cheers.
@@paulsoumya Glad to hear that you figured it out and will keep that in mind if I run into that problem or if anyone else asks. Thanks for sharing that information!
😂 you’re right! I did an image search for the 30 but must have picked the 50 by mistake. The one that was tested was the 30 for sure though. I’ll try to at least update the thumbnail. Good eye!
I am a Revel f208 guy myself but Arendals did sound really nice. I admit that Revel speakers are very placement sensitive. It took me at least a month to get the right positioning but for music I usually turn off the subs and really enjoy the sound of just the towers in stereo or reference mode. I do have to add that they are in my home theater and the room is treated. Great video, looking forward to more like this.
Appreciate you checking it out and that is one thing I learned as well from doing these tests is that positioning and the room can make a difference but glad to hear that you were able to find a good spot for your Revels!
I was considering the Arendal S series as well, but went with Revel F 206's. I like them, but wish I'd had a chance to audition the Arendals. I can't help but think "what if". Oh well. I'm still happy with what I have and they sound great.
