Comparing the Arendal 1723 S center with a 1961 "center" - Home Theater #30

[@RandomDistractionsYT]

While the 1723 S does have an edge over the 1961 when paired with other speakers and subs the voice matching that all the Arendals provide make for an immersive experience no matter which way you go.

[@RandomDistractionsYT]

@pt265 Good purchases, I enjoyed the Tobey trilogy too.

[@donttellhimpike2043]

Great work, very well done! Subbed!

[@RandomDistractionsYT]

Thanks and appreciate you checking out the video and subbing!

[@H2OFSU]

Thanks for the shoutout. You did say H2OFSU correctly. I’ve had that handle since college. Go Noles. I just got my 1961 monitors in yesterday for my L/R speakers. Haven’t listened to them yet. Space constraints will eventually lead me to the 1961 for my center for my living room setup. Going to use a Sonos Gen 2 Amo to power them. Another good review. Thank you. Maybe the Emotiva doesn’t pair well with 4ohm speakers, as -20 doesn’t seem all that demanding.

[@RandomDistractionsYT]

No problem, I did appreciate the idea. Congrats on the gear and look forward to hearing how they turn out for you. I do believe you are correct on that theory, the Arendals dip to 4ohm in the lower region and since I was testing without the subs all three were dipping lower than usual because when the subs are on I can go past -20 without it going into protection mode and that is with all 5 speakers going. Thanks again for checking out my videos!

[@johnnyt9780]

Great review thanks.

[@RandomDistractionsYT]

Thanks for checking it out!

[@AudioClownHT]

Great video

[@RandomDistractionsYT]

Thanks!

[@johnlim7720]

Mine is the opposite setup. I'm using the 1723 Tower S paired with the 1723 monitor Center. So my center has the larger woofer.

[@RandomDistractionsYT]

That sounds like a great setup!

[@Nickceid]

Hello! Thanks for the great shoutout. In case I missed something, did you run the test having the speakers playing full range? If yes , I would wonder how the 1961 center performs when crossed it with a sub compared to the 1723 s center.

[@RandomDistractionsYT]

Thanks for checking it out. Yes the speakers were running full range since I was only planning on recording the center channel I wanted to get all that I could from them. However, I did play it with the towers and it was better so would imagine that adding the sub it would be better. I will try and do that test though, so just to make sure you are thinking only the center channel with the subs? No towers?

[@Nickceid]

Yes ,same recording just with subs for both centers. In order to understand if there is a difference between them sonically, when a sub is added in both cases.

[@RandomDistractionsYT]

Ok, will try to make that happen.

[@Bigheadedwon]

and the non S 1723 will sound even better than the S, which sounds better than the 1961. Being into audio's a rabbit hole that will quickly suck all your $$$ up if you're not careful lol. The price difference isn't insignificant so they should be better. And even if I wasn't on a budget (buying Arendal's soon) the S version center's huge and might look crazy mounted on the wall. I know Andrew Robinson said in his 1961 review he didn't like the center nearly as much as the bookshelves. And he suggested buying 1 bookshelf and using that for the center. The only problem's Arendal only sells the bookshelves in pairs. I know because out of curiosity I emailed them and asked if I could buy 1 1961 bookshelf and they said nope. After his review, I do wish I could hear them both in person before I buy. it seems to me the monitors would be bigger, better sounding versions of the bookshelves.

[@RandomDistractionsYT]

LOL, yes for sure a very deep rabbit hole. It really does come down to how much you are willing to spend for that little bit more. Oh and yes that S center is a lot bigger than it seems and would probably only look right in a bigger space or like in my case having a TV stand that hides most of it. Yeah, that is a bummer that they don't sell them individually and it's not like it would be cheaper to buy a pair to not use one. I believe you can chat with Arendal to see what they recommend and you do have a 60 day trial and can return it. I know when I signed up as an ambassador I also stated that I would be open to having people listen to my system in person. I know you have to go through Arendal to set this up but maybe there is someone in your area?

[@palmspar]

Audioholics tested the 1961 monitors, a youtube video and a written review. They are good, and also is the center speaker for MTM design centers. THX advice is the 3 front speakers must be identical , Arendal monitors and center are the same speakers. Even the towers are monitors with 2 base woofers under it, intern crossed very low around 100 hz to have the same sound as the monitor or center.

[@markfortier5581]

Nice video. I’m curious since you did notice the difference, are you tempted to replace your 1961 towers with the 1723s towers or monitors?

[@RandomDistractionsYT]

Well, I wasn't until now, thanks, Mark! Ha, ha. Actually, I'm okay with the 1961 towers, especially since I think my next goal is to try and provide some more power to them and see where that takes me.

[@markfortier5581]

@@RandomDistractionsYT I’m looking forward to the video you hinted will be coming as I am going to order the BasX to power the front stage and relieve my anthem mrx 1120 a little.

[@RandomDistractionsYT]

From my experience it did help and I will say that when using subs the BasX has no issues with keeping up so was surprised that it wasn't able to when running the LCR at full range.

[@potsy9973]

Good show. But now I want to watch mad max.

[@RandomDistractionsYT]

Thanks for checking out the video and that doesn't sound like too bad a side effect from watching it. It's a good movie.

[@gaurd3]

Protection mode? No better excuse to upgrade!

[@RandomDistractionsYT]

LOL, you are correct and do have a follow-up video on using the Buckeye Amps Purifi 3 channel for the front stage.

[@gaurd3]

@@RandomDistractionsYT I’ll check it .. I have the big 8 channel buckeye matched with 8015. Buckeyes are excellent for the price.

[@RandomDistractionsYT]

Nice! And yeah, totally agree after listening to the Buckeye now.

[@ozzie9809]

Arendals all the way

[@RandomDistractionsYT]

Yeah!

[@Samzep]

Your levels are too high no good if you have power amp you should be able to go -14 easy your levels of 8 are no good

[@RandomDistractionsYT]

LOL, thanks James for keeping me humble. I actually have tried both ways with levels lower and levels higher and it seems like the only difference is how quickly you get to reference levels with the main volume. I do remember hearing that having lower levels provides additional room for tweaking but I'm happy with how it sounds in my room so have left them at what ARC Genesis decides since then.

[@Samzep]

@@RandomDistractionsYT arc set my old 1140 to 9 and 10 the new 1140 sets to 3 and 4 i am not saying to lower them or touch i leave what arc sets them what i am saying is arc has released new versions to keep levels down how far is your listening position and how big is the room ?

[@RandomDistractionsYT]

Oh, ok. I'll have to update and see if it does lower the levels. Since my theater is in my living room and we have an open concept living, dining, kitchen which then opens up to the hallway it is probably considered a large room. The entire room is about 19 ft by 24 ft. My listening area takes up about 8 ft by 10 ft of that space. My main listening position is about 8 feet from the front stage.

[@Samzep]

@@RandomDistractionsYT Wow you’re only 2.5 m away your level shouldn’t be that high my old 1140 I was 3.5 m away with levels at 10 new 1140 exactly the same listening position levels of four and three

[@RandomDistractionsYT]

@@Samzep It may also depend on the speakers, how sensitive are your speakers? My old pioneer set wasn't set as high but they were easier to drive. I'll try and get my Anthem updated and rerun ARC to see if it changes.

[@mikedinno8413]

The brand new Ascend Acoustics 340 SE2 needs to be compared to one of the Arendal Monitors. Someone has to do that especially with the price of the 340.

[@RandomDistractionsYT]

I am not familiar with Ascend Acoustics but they look pretty nice.