[HELP NEEDED] Upgrade dual 12" subs to dual 15" subs... worth while??? --- Arendal, Rythmik Starke

[enthusiast_newb]

Love the look of the side surrounds. Do the wires run inside the columns that support the speakers? Super clean look.

Thank you, sir.
Yes, I drilled a whole in the monitor mount poles, and ran the wire down through there, to under the tables I made, ran the wires down the inside of table leg and used a black loom to hide the wire from the speaker [banana plug] to the black pole.

The Arendal bookshelf's are pre-drilled for vesa mounting system, so that made marrying the monitor poles, and the speakers good and easy.

The speakers are proper height, in the proper positions, I have end tables, and now... have a place to hide the subs!
I was pretty happy with how they came out.

 

[enthusiast_newb]

The aesthetic concerns are going to hold you back more than the size/type of subs at this point. That is a difficult layout, and knowing that would haunt me as the root of the problem regardless of what I installed in there.

Yea, I wish I had a dedicated space.
However, gotta work with what ya got, and thanks to REW, miniDSP, ARC and relentlessness... my FR's all came out pretty good actually, and I'm really happy with it.

 

[William Lemmerhirt]

I figured I should circle back, to bring some updates [and closure]...

I'm kinda glad, I was a bit... skeptical/ unsure about the upgrade, this position led me to be a bit more conservative during this latest bout of upgrade-itis. So rather than "take my money" I put in some work.

At the end of the day, I landed on the HSU ULS-15 mk2 [thanks for reassuring this option @Mr._Clark and @snakeeyes].

The HSU's seemed the best aesthetic match to my existing setup (Arendal), as they would be near each other, this was kind of important to me, the datas and anecdotal evidence also backed em up.

The HSU has a great finish (painted rather than wrapped). The tone/shade/sheen is nearly a perfect match, with respect to my existing equipment.
Further, I'm a big fan of the fact the grill is magnetic - rather than peg mounted. I find it more appealing, and again - it matches the Arendal's really well.

After some leg work, I was able to find them for sale 2nd hand, not too far from me, and a decent enough discount [w/respect to new]. I was worried about them being abused or 'bad' somehow [potentially... you never know how someone treated them, when buying 2nd hand]...
Even contacted HSU, and they assured me they would service them, if needed.

So, I took a drive, and bought them 2nd hand [found them on a forum marketplace].
The seller was a real cool guy, and very much a fellow enthusiast, with a legit setup, who knows his stuff.
He had just recently upgraded to a pair of ported 18"s [a legit story, as he demo'd the HSUs as well as his upgrades].

Spent the weekend integrating the new pair of HSU's, with my existing 5.2.4 system [via miniDSP, REW and Anthem], as well as cleaning up the install.
I ended up putting the Arendal 1961 1s' under the side tables I made a while back to accommodate my surround side speakers. They just happened to fit perfectly.

This was certainly an upgrade.
Anyone wondering: "Will 15's really be noticeably better"? "is it worth it?"
'Worth' it is up to you, but... The 15"s absolutely have a real and noticeable depth, weight and authority w/respect to 12's. Its just a different level.

I've been listening to the system with just the HSU's, and with all 4.
The HSU's are outstanding. I'm very happy with my choice.

I'm pretty happy with my install, everything is clean, and at the end of the day there's no more floor space consumed, despite running 4 subs now [things dont look any more ridiculous, but sure sounds it].
The Arendal's are now effectively near field subs [I have some real tactile response, its wild], and I was able to get both pairs flat from 15-100db [via miniDSP and REW], and phase/time aligned via ARC.

This round of upgrade-itis, has concluded - and I am really very happy with the outcome!



Thanks for "listening", and for those that provided feedback: Thank You!

View attachment 65716View attachment 65717

Excellent!!!

 

[Mr._Clark]

I figured I should circle back, to bring some updates [and closure]...

I'm kinda glad, I was a bit... skeptical/ unsure about the upgrade, this position led me to be a bit more conservative during this latest bout of upgrade-itis. So rather than "take my money" I put in some work.

At the end of the day, I landed on the HSU ULS-15 mk2 [thanks for reassuring this option @Mr._Clark and @snakeeyes].

The HSU's seemed the best aesthetic match to my existing setup (Arendal), as they would be near each other, this was kind of important to me, the datas and anecdotal evidence also backed em up.

The HSU has a great finish (painted rather than wrapped). The tone/shade/sheen is nearly a perfect match, with respect to my existing equipment.
Further, I'm a big fan of the fact the grill is magnetic - rather than peg mounted. I find it more appealing, and again - it matches the Arendal's really well.

After some leg work, I was able to find them for sale 2nd hand, not too far from me, and a decent enough discount [w/respect to new]. I was worried about them being abused or 'bad' somehow [potentially... you never know how someone treated them, when buying 2nd hand]...
Even contacted HSU, and they assured me they would service them, if needed.

So, I took a drive, and bought them 2nd hand [found them on a forum marketplace].
The seller was a real cool guy, and very much a fellow enthusiast, with a legit setup, who knows his stuff.
He had just recently upgraded to a pair of ported 18"s [a legit story, as he demo'd the HSUs as well as his upgrades].

Spent the weekend integrating the new pair of HSU's, with my existing 5.2.4 system [via miniDSP, REW and Anthem], as well as cleaning up the install.
I ended up putting the Arendal 1961 1s' under the side tables I made a while back to accommodate my surround side speakers. They just happened to fit perfectly.

This was certainly an upgrade.
Anyone wondering: "Will 15's really be noticeably better"? "is it worth it?"
'Worth' it is up to you, but... The 15"s absolutely have a real and noticeable depth, weight and authority w/respect to 12's. Its just a different level.

I've been listening to the system with just the HSU's, and with all 4.
The HSU's are outstanding. I'm very happy with my choice.

I'm pretty happy with my install, everything is clean, and at the end of the day there's no more floor space consumed, despite running 4 subs now [things dont look any more ridiculous, but sure sounds it].
The Arendal's are now effectively near field subs [I have some real tactile response, its wild], and I was able to get both pairs flat from 15-100db [via miniDSP and REW], and phase/time aligned via ARC.

This round of upgrade-itis, has concluded - and I am really very happy with the outcome!



Thanks for "listening", and for those that provided feedback: Thank You!

I'm glad the Hsu's are working for you. They're solid for the price point.

I have a pair of SVS PC12 NSDs in one of my systems that are positioned about 3 feet away on either side of a sofa due to space/WAF issues and they work surprisingly well (much better than I would have guessed). I mention it because your Arendals appear to be in a somewhat similar position. Your Arendals are obviously not your main subs, but a little extra kick in the pants doesn't hurt (and even if it does hurt, hey, it's all good!)