Arendal 1723 S Tower THX Speaker Review

[Danzilla31]

I'm considering trying out a pair of Arendals to compare in home with my R700 towers that I just received.

The 1723 THX monitors seem to be the best value, except you have to buy stands which puts them close to the price of the 1723 S towers.

I'd also rather have the 8" woofers than the 6.5", but I don't know if it makes much difference. Would the 1723 S towers best the Polk R700 by that much, or only at the highest volumes?

The full size 1723 THX towers are borderline expensive compared to the Polk R700. At $3700 it's a $1950 difference for the pair.
(Edit: MSRP for the Polk R700 towers is $2200 a pair, so make that a $1500 difference at least)

That means a full LCR with the R700 plus L400 is cheaper than the top of the line Arendal towers by themselves, at least at the price I got them. I managed to snag a pair for $825 each on C-field while they were backordered.

Man that's a killer price on those Polks great job scoring that deal

 

[Danzilla31]

I'm considering trying out a pair of Arendals to compare in home with my R700 towers that I just received.

The 1723 THX monitors seem to be the best value, except you have to buy stands which puts them close to the price of the 1723 S towers.

I'd also rather have the 8" woofers than the 6.5", but I don't know if it makes much difference. Would the 1723 S towers best the Polk R700 by that much, or only at the highest volumes?

The full size 1723 THX towers are borderline expensive compared to the Polk R700. At $3700 it's a $1950 difference for the pair.
(Edit: MSRP for the Polk R700 towers is $2200 a pair, so make that a $1500 difference at least)

That means a full LCR with the R700 plus L400 is cheaper than the top of the line Arendal towers by themselves, at least at the price I got them. I managed to snag a pair for $825 each on C-field while they were backordered.

I think your on the right track of making sure to compare the Arendals at home before you let go of your Polks. You may find that any improvements or the extra headroom they provide isn't enough to justify you giving up your Polk Reserve but if so you found your end game level speakers. Sounds like a win win to me

 

[smellslikegelfling]

The Arendals are known to have wide dynamic range, so yes, maybe a little better at high volumes but how long will your hearing last at those levels.

Good point. I watched Mad Max: Fury Road with the volume cranked up on the first day I set them up, and it was awesome.

Besides the R700 towers, the rest of my 5.1 are still my old Paradigm Monitors with an SVS PB-1000, and it was already an improvement. I've also found no issues with mixing different speaker types or brands.

Compared to my Monitor 7 towers, the Polks look like refrigerators.

To me, the R700 sounds more forward in the highs and the upper mids compared to the Paradigms. It could be that I'm just used to the Paradigms being more laid back, but it can be too much with some music when the volume gets really high.

I think your on the right track of making sure to compare the Arendals at home before you let go of your Polks. You may find that any improvements or the extra headroom they provide isn't enough to justify you giving up your Polk Reserve but if so you found your end game level speakers. Sounds like a win win to me

Yeah there's always that "what if". Maybe the increased dynamics will be worth it. I do like the value that the Polks offer though, and I'm happy with the sound so far. But I get a free 60 day trial, so what have I got to lose.

I'm mainly looking for more impact with movies, so I'll be looking to upgrade my sub to duals next.

Oh, and I've seen on another forum that Polk runs big discounts a couple times a year. I missed out on it this time, but right before Christmas they had some Legend series speakers for 40% off. You could score a pair of L600 towers for $1700, and the L400 was going for right around $1000.

 

[Kel108]

Maybe I missed this but are there any plans to review the bigger Arendal 1723 Tower Speakers - there are not many reviews out there and more importantly I trust James' audioholics reviews.

 

[shadyJ]

Maybe I missed this but are there any plans to review the bigger Arendal 1723 Tower Speakers - there are not many reviews out there and more importantly I trust James' audioholics reviews.

Sorry, no plans to review that one. They are too heavy for me to handle. Their performance would be pretty predictable though- just look at the review of the 1723 THX Monitor, and the tower would be the same but with more low-frequency extension. In other words, it is sure to be a really good speaker.

 

[Kel108]

I'm considering trying out a pair of Arendals to compare in home with my R700 towers that I just received.

The 1723 THX monitors seem to be the best value, except you have to buy stands which puts them close to the price of the 1723 S towers.

I'd also rather have the 8" woofers than the 6.5", but I don't know if it makes much difference. Would the 1723 S towers best the Polk R700 by that much, or only at the highest volumes?

The full size 1723 THX towers are borderline expensive compared to the Polk R700. At $3700 it's a $1950 difference for the pair.
(Edit: MSRP for the Polk R700 towers is $2200 a pair, so make that a $1500 difference at least)

That means a full LCR with the R700 plus L400 is cheaper than the top of the line Arendal towers by themselves, at least at the price I got them. I managed to snag a pair for $825 each on C-field while they were backordered.

I have been considering getting the Arendal 1723 full tower vs R700 w L400 as well as the Paradigm 800f with either 500C and 600C recognizing your point on price difference. So far I have only been able to listen to the 800F. When I watched Jay Lee's recent review on the Arendal 1723 tower which was his speaker of the year for 2022 he discussed the R700 in relation to Arendal 1723 towers which he clearly likes better - the link is time stamped to his R700 comments which begin at minute 14:17.

 

[Catalystoffire]

Shady - I've seen you mention a couple times that integrating the 1723 towers with subs is a bit more tricky than integrating the monitors with subs (mine are sealed). Is that still the case when using xt32 for bass management? Or even with xt32, the 1723 towers may not integrate well with subs?

 

[shadyJ]

Shady - I've seen you mention a couple times that integrating the 1723 towers with subs is a bit more tricky than integrating the monitors with subs (mine are sealed). Is that still the case when using xt32 for bass management? Or even with xt32, the 1723 towers may not integrate well with subs?

The problem is that the lower two bass drivers in the towers are low-pass filtered at 100Hz. That is very low. Passive filters invariably cause acoustic phase rotation. The problem is, when you mix a sub in at a normal 80Hz crossover or anywhere around that range, you add more phase rotation on top of the speakers' own, so it becomes more difficult to achieve a well-timed integration. Audyssey might be able to cope with all of that phase mismatch, but I am not sure it could do so perfectly. Dirac Live could probably deal with it better. You would be able to see any problems if you did an in-room measurement and saw a big null at the subwoofer's crossover frequency. You can try to deal with it manually by changing the subwoofer's phase, but there are no guarantees.

 

[TLS Guy]

The problem is that the lower two bass drivers in the towers are low-pass filtered at 100Hz. That is very low. Passive filters invariably cause acoustic phase rotation. The problem is, when you mix a sub in at a normal 80Hz crossover or anywhere around that range, you add more phase rotation on top of the speakers' own, so it becomes more difficult to achieve a well-timed integration. Audyssey might be able to cope with all of that phase mismatch, but I am not sure it could do so perfectly. Dirac Live could probably deal with it better. You would be able to see any problems if you did an in-room measurement and saw a big null at the subwoofer's crossover frequency. You can try to deal with it manually by changing the subwoofer's phase, but there are no guarantees.

As I mentioned earlier Shady, that was a bad design choice. Not only for the reasons you mention, but passive crossovers at 100 Hz are an absolute don't ever do, in my design book.
The inevitable high DC resistance of the inductors completely alters the Thiele/Small parameters for one thing. I have been down that road in many years past and it makes a tight high quality bass impossible. If you want a crossover that low, an active solution is mandatory in my book. But then that does not solve the issue of sub integration. You really don't want any crossovers that close together. You get into trouble unless crossover are at least an octave and a half apart, and preferably two octaves. So even if you crossed the sub at 60 Hz, you do not want another crossover before 150 Hz and preferably not 240 Hz.

So that speaker really does not mesh well with current practice.

 

[Bobby Bass]

Been on a year long musical journey upgrading from a 7 channel AVR setup to a 2 channel system listening to just music. Spent most of my efforts on the speakers. Tried KLH Kendalls, SVS Prime Pinnacles, B&W 702 S2, the Polk R700s and Arendal 1723 S towers. All risk-free with no charge to return through either the manufacturer or local stores. Returned them all and went with the Arendal 1723 towers. It was a tough decision and would recommend any of the pairs but the 1723 towers sounded better in my listening room IMO. The 1723 S towers were my 2nd choice. The Polks came in #3 and are an amazing value. You get a 10% off code when you buy for the 1st time online and they had a year-end sale with the pair for $1,800 with the discount and a free 10 inch subwoofer. If it was a decision based on just value and budget is an issue it’s hard to beat the R700s. They go in and out of stock but if you register with Polk online they will email you when available. Again I chose based on what sounded best to me in my room with a budget of $4,000 a pair and it is the Arendal 1723 towers. Best combination of dynamics, horizontal and vertical soundstage and bass. Listen to mostly classic rock and the Arendals rock without being muddy or booming or harsh at moderate to high volume streaming Hi-Res tracks on Qobuz and remastered CDs. Revealing but not too unforgiving so even older CDs I’ve had for years sound good. My journey is over for now. Best of luck on yours!

 

[Dr Cyrax]

The problem is that the lower two bass drivers in the towers are low-pass filtered at 100Hz. That is very low. Passive filters invariably cause acoustic phase rotation. The problem is, when you mix a sub in at a normal 80Hz crossover or anywhere around that range, you add more phase rotation on top of the speakers' own, so it becomes more difficult to achieve a well-timed integration. Audyssey might be able to cope with all of that phase mismatch, but I am not sure it could do so perfectly. Dirac Live could probably deal with it better. You would be able to see any problems if you did an in-room measurement and saw a big null at the subwoofer's crossover frequency. You can try to deal with it manually by changing the subwoofer's phase, but there are no guarantees.

Fantastic review! Keep up the great work!!

I got my 1723 Tower and center, and are going all in to a complete 1723 - 7.1 or 7.2 system.
And with that wanting a bit more base in the system, so the 1723 1V is what I am aiming for.
Is this a fools errand running the fronts at full range, and suplementing with a 1V?

I know it is going to require som tuning, to say the least, but would it be an "good" solution?

Best Regards Richard

(Running: Marantz Cinema 50, and soon a Buckeye Hypex Ncx500, 3 Channel for LCR)

 

[Bobby Bass]

Arendal just announced that the entire 1723 line will be having a price increase starting November 27 so you May want to buy before then to avoid the price increase.

 

[Dr Cyrax]

Arendal just announced that the entire 1723 line will be having a price increase starting November 27 so you May want to buy before then to avoid the price increase.

I know he he!

 

[shadyJ]

Fantastic review! Keep up the great work!!

I got my 1723 Tower and center, and are going all in to a complete 1723 - 7.1 or 7.2 system.
And with that wanting a bit more base in the system, so the 1723 1V is what I am aiming for.
Is this a fools errand running the fronts at full range, and suplementing with a 1V?

I know it is going to require som tuning, to say the least, but would it be an "good" solution?

Best Regards Richard

(Running: Marantz Cinema 50, and soon a Buckeye Hypex Ncx500, 3 Channel for LCR)

The 1723 tower is very capable in bass, so, yes, I think you should run it full-range, but you do need to set it up correctly. That should be easy to do with Dirac on your Marantz processor. I think it's worth trying to do.

 

[Genso]

Arendal Sound 1723 Tower S: Best Speaker for $3k/Pair?

We were stunned by the quality and performance that we saw from Arendal Sound’s 1723 THX series, but does their line’s smaller sibling, the S series, hold up...

www.youtube.com

In this review at 24:30 James Larson said running the 1723 Tower S in sealed mode would lose half the headroom. What does that mean? Does it lose 1/2 the total SPL the speaker is capable of?
OTOH is there a benefit to running them sealed?

 

[shadyJ]

Arendal Sound 1723 Tower S: Best Speaker for $3k/Pair?

We were stunned by the quality and performance that we saw from Arendal Sound’s 1723 THX series, but does their line’s smaller sibling, the S series, hold up...

www.youtube.com

In this review at 24:30 James Larson said running the 1723 Tower S in sealed mode would lose half the headroom. What does that mean? Does it lose 1/2 the total SPL the speaker is capable of?
OTOH is there a benefit to running them sealed?

Running the speakers in sealed mode would greatly reduce the headroom, but only for the deepest frequency range of the speaker. Porting a speaker can increase its output by two to four times - but only for a narrow frequency range in lower bass. However, lower bass is the toughest range for a loudspeaker is handle, so any help there is very advantageous.

 

[Genso]

Running the speakers in sealed mode would greatly reduce the headroom, but only for the deepest frequency range of the speaker. Porting a speaker can increase its output by two to four times - but only for a narrow frequency range in lower bass. However, lower bass is the toughest range for a loudspeaker is handle, so any help there is very advantageous.

I'm still learning. Is saying they'd lose output by two to four times is equivalent to saying they would lose 3 db - 6 db in the bass range?

 

[shadyJ]

I'm still learning. Is saying they'd lose output by two to four times is equivalent to saying they would lose 3 db - 6 db in the bass range?

Could be as much as 6 to 12dB. Here is a very simple example of a ported vs sealed response: