Arendal 1723 S THX vs Def Tech BP9060 - Home Theater #52

***TIMESTAMPS BELOW***
In this video, I continue my comparison of the Arendal 1723 S THX tower speakers but this time against some Def Tech BP9060s.
*REW MEASUREMENT NOTE*
I mentioned in the video that the measurements in REW are of the song and not frequency sweeps which has caused some confusion, sorry about that!
*REW MEASUREMENT NOTE*
AVSForum Group:
www.avsforum.com/threads/offi...
Check it out if you are in the DFW area!
00:06 Intro
00:22 My bad
00:51 AVS Forum group
01:08 Thanks justeric78
01:21 The setup
01:56 Comparison intro
02:20 Arendal 1723 S THX
03:17 Def Tech BP9060
04:18 Measurements in REW
05:29 Comparison thoughts
07:20 Thanks for watching!
Music by Vegetable Police at:
vegetablepolice.bandcamp.com/
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[@RandomDistractionsYT]

It was definitely interesting to hear what a difference a built-in powered sub can bring to a speaker and if you don't have a sub these do provide some additional customization capabilities not offered by passive speakers. Stay tuned for the next comparison with some Polk and Martin Logan speakers.

[@OfficialSundaTW]

Great review! What are your thoughts about using a center with integrated powered sub (i.e. the Def Tech DM30s or the 9080 centers) as a budget-friendly (instead of purchasing a separate subwoofer) and "wife approved" more minimal set up and pairing them with your existing Arendal 1961 towers? How do you check if they are timbre matched and work together across brands?

[@RandomDistractionsYT]

@@OfficialSundaTW Appreciate you checking out the video and that is an interesting thought. I would be concerned, in my case, with having that speaker in the wife-friendly media cabinet if there would be some resonance issues. As for the timbre, if they measure similarly to how these did then there probably would be a difference since they do sound and measure differently. That also will depend on how sensitive you are to those differences. Currently, my 1723 S center and 1961 towers, match perfectly that sound that pans from one side to the other are seamless.

[@marct9587]

@@OfficialSundaTW What I did was to add a REL T/5i sub to my existing center speaker. The T/5i sits directly under the shelf upon which my center speaker sits. The REL includes what they call a Speak On connection cable, which takes the signal from the center channel speaker wires to the sub. Then you just set the sub's volume and crossover controls to your liking. This works pretty well in turning my center speaker to a full range speaker and the low frequency reproduction in my center channel is now much better than setting the center speaker to Small in the AVR setup and trying to get the main sub to do the same thing, which I've never been able to achieve.

[@marct9587]

Whoa, the Arendal bass is way more articulate and defined, while the Def Tech bass is, well, "bouncy" sounding. I'd easily go for the Arenals. The highs were also more clear and balanced on the Arendals.

[@RandomDistractionsYT]

Thanks for checking out the video and appreciate the comment.

[@mpitogo1978]

Def tech not flat, the powered section is running hot. I guess it can be a pro/con. Passive speakers no adjusting bass except via eq on the signal going to the amp. Def tech has an amp with gain adjustment. To compare in a fair manner, run a test tone and get the bass and treble so it’s linear. I own a pair of Polk LSi25 which has a 10” powered sub and calibrate the bass amp gain settings. In the end I guess it’s a matter of taste and not accuracy.

[@RandomDistractionsYT]

That could have been a possibility, unfortunately, I only had a limited time with the speakers so I didn't have a chance to do more tests. I agree that more tweaking could be done to get the sound more in line but also agree that it does come down to what you prefer listening to. Appreciate the comment!