Arendal 1961 or Kef Q series

Id also spend a bit more on the amp for now. But , id go and demo kef etc first…make sure you feel happy before buying blind..has anyone near you got arendal 1961?

edit, Dali make some very fine speakers as well..i had them before the Arendals and would happily go back when i sell up.DALI they are forum sponsors and seem nice, worth giing Lee a shout @Yorkshire AV
Yeah I was originally comparing Kef to Klipsch as I like the way Klipsh look and they could go very well with my furniture, but then advice on here turns me off them as they are expensive for what they are in the UK.

If that was the purchase decision then going into a shop to try befor purchase would have been great as I would have contacted a shop that sells both and arranged a demo. The problem with Arendal I cant do that. They do seem to be VERY well thought of as a brand though. I havent seen anyone say anything less than positive about them yet.

What I find odd though is statistically they should be worse than Kef. Are the stats usually self publicised and some companies tell fibs?
 
Also note that Arendal are raising prices by upto 15% on Nov 1st.
Argh! I don’t get into my new house until December/Jan I’m not sure Mrs Luckosaurous will be happy with me suddenly ordering a ton of speaker that don’t fit in our pokey city centre house that we then have to move in a couple of months.

Is this confirmed or just hearsay?
 
Argh! I don’t get into my new house until December/Jan I’m not sure Mrs Luckosaurous will be happy with me suddenly ordering a ton of speaker that don’t fit in our pokey city centre house that we then have to move in a couple of months.

Is this confirmed or just hearsay?


if its the money u've worked hard for then yolo mate.. buy what u want. she doesnt have to help lift them to the new place lol
 
Seperates can be more expensive but not always..ie tonewinner at-300 plus 7 channel bas-x
That'll be roughly around flagship avr price, biy once you have it can change as needed.

Seperates are worth spending the extra in the long run, also if have larger room.

I can reach SPL and doesn't distort it sounds clean

The power amps I had way back in lexicon dc-2 area are now used as height channels...
Thanks rccarguy2, what’s SPL?
 
Yeah but she does have to trip over them for the next few months. This house is too small to put something like that in but we’re moving to the suburbs where I can finally get my way 😎
 
Argh! I don’t get into my new house until December/Jan I’m not sure Mrs Luckosaurous will be happy with me suddenly ordering a ton of speaker that don’t fit in our pokey city centre house that we then have to move in a couple of months.

Is this confirmed or just hearsay?
Sadly confirmed. Sorry to bear bad news.
 
Argh! I don’t get into my new house until December/Jan I’m not sure Mrs Luckosaurous will be happy with me suddenly ordering a ton of speaker that don’t fit in our pokey city centre house that we then have to move in a couple of months.

Is this confirmed or just hearsay?

Shame regarding Arendal pricing. Kef deal for Q150/350/550 ends on 9.1.2022.

If there is something positive it could be the receiver pricing perhaps. Prices are sky high with poor availability now. There is also few good options coming early next year from Onkyo/Pioneer so intresting times ahead. Of course if you require one box solution then Denon X6700H / Marantz SR8015 / Yamaha RX-A8A are fine solutions. But as mentioned you can also buy cheaper 9.2 receiver and add 2ch poweramp for ~1400-1500£.
 
Shame regarding Arendal pricing. Kef deal for Q150/350/550 ends on 9.1.2022.

If there is something positive it could be the receiver pricing perhaps. Prices are sky high with poor availability now. There is also few good options coming early next year from Onkyo/Pioneer so intresting times ahead. Of course if you require one box solution then Denon X6700H / Marantz SR8015 / Yamaha RX-A8A are fine solutions. But as mentioned you can also buy cheaper 9.2 receiver and add 2ch poweramp for ~1400-1500£.
To be totally honest I haven’t really don’t much research at all on recievers yet.

From what I have read about Arendal speakers they require a lot of juice, do you know whether the Denonx6700h would be adequate?

Also it sounds like splitting the job of the processing and the amplification makes a lot of sense long term. That way when technology improves in time I only need to swap the processo out, I’m not having to replace the perfectly good amplification part.

If you were me and buying from scratch and looking to put in 7.2.4 with a max budget of £2500 what would you buy?
 
To be totally honest I haven’t really don’t much research at all on recievers yet.

From what I have read about Arendal speakers they require a lot of juice, do you know whether the Denonx6700h would be adequate?

Also it sounds like splitting the job of the processing and the amplification makes a lot of sense long term. That way when technology improves in time I only need to swap the processo out, I’m not having to replace the perfectly good amplification part.

If you were me and buying from scratch and looking to put in 7.2.4 with a max budget of £2500 what would you buy?

You can add power amps later . Or use a avr + power amp from the start
Or get AV pre from the start.

Just depends on how much you're into this hobby

I wouldn't use a avr for main system.
How about this? That amp will wipe the floor on the Denon avr
 

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You can add power amps later . Or use a avr + power amp from the start
Or get AV pre from the start.

Just depends on how much you're into this hobby

I wouldn't use a avr for main system.
How about this? That amp will wipe the floor on the Denon avr
Thanks for this, I’m hoping I don’t get as into this hobby as you guys are because it’s bloody expensive! 😂

Would that combination you shared be able to power 9 channels? It looks to my very novice eyes like it’s a 7 channel amp and a processor so I’d be missing 4 channels still
 
Thanks for this, I’m hoping I don’t get as into this hobby as you guys are because it’s bloody expensive! 😂

Would that combination you shared be able to power 9 channels? It looks to my very novice eyes like it’s a 7 channel amp and a processor so I’d be missing 4 channels still

Correct you'll need more amps. You may find the higher channel poweramps say 11 Ch won't be as powerful per channel ie 80w X 11 versus 200w x7

For example the big ATI 6007 is only seven channel but it has two iec power inlets!!
 
Thanks for this guys, I’m going to leave the av/processor conversations until I’ve done a little more research. I know so little about it at the moment I’m just going to be annoying as I’ll be asking the most basic questions and not really understanding your answers.


Back on topic of the speakers, does anyone have any Arendal 1961’s? And if so, what speakers would your recommend for the atmos channels?

I want to put in in-ceiling speakers so I’m not looking at their atmos speakers. Their website says to choose a ceiling speaker that has smooth off-axis frequency response, a speaker with a balanced and neutral sound signature.
 
Thanks for this guys, I’m going to leave the av/processor conversations until I’ve done a little more research. I know so little about it at the moment I’m just going to be annoying as I’ll be asking the most basic questions and not really understanding your answers.


Back on topic of the speakers, does anyone have any Arendal 1961’s? And if so, what speakers would your recommend for the atmos channels?

I want to put in in-ceiling speakers so I’m not looking at their atmos speakers. Their website says to choose a ceiling speaker that has smooth off-axis frequency response, a speaker with a balanced and neutral sound signature.
Arendal say osd see american audio
 
I have OSD Audio In-Ceiling Speakers and I think they’re really good. Easy to fit as most are to be fair and a shallow depth.
 
I have OSD Audio In-Ceiling Speakers and I think they’re really good. Easy to fit as most are to be fair and a shallow depth.
Thanks for this, do you know which model you have?

Also are yours the angled ones? I’m assuming they’re the better option for atmos but they’re also more expensive so wondering if they’re worth the extra cost?
 
I’ve got the R83A’s and the R83’s. Go for the R83A’s if you can. They blend in really well with the rest of the system like it’s just one complete soundstage. The specs are good but I have them crossed over at 120Hz, maybe 110hz I can’t remember.
 
To be totally honest I haven’t really don’t much research at all on recievers yet.

From what I have read about Arendal speakers they require a lot of juice, do you know whether the Denonx6700h would be adequate?

Also it sounds like splitting the job of the processing and the amplification makes a lot of sense long term. That way when technology improves in time I only need to swap the processo out, I’m not having to replace the perfectly good amplification part.

If you were me and buying from scratch and looking to put in 7.2.4 with a max budget of £2500 what would you buy?

The processor + poweramp route is not cheap and not a requirement!

The X6700H should be more than adequate filling your 5x3 room assuming you sit roughly 3meters away. If you want one box solution then it´s quite strong option. Made in Japan this model like the one below i talk more next.

However there is also Marantz SR8015 which is similar due to being sister company, but it has slightly larger toroidal powersupply and larger capacitors, this machine is used by many people all around the world to power speakers in much larger rooms than yours without any poweramps. 2800£, but i feel you have good chance to get better pricing around Christmas so 2500£ could be possible, especially if you can buy something from the dealer at same time (speakers/subwoofers etc). They have made some changes to this model which aren`t yet in their processors even and objectively this measures better than their 4000£ processor. However it`s more about the engineering excellence than something dramatic audible wise. So my money would go to this model if some dealer would give you deal for 2500£ - and i would need one box solution! Best time to ask that is around Black Friday or Christmas time assuming you don´t buy anything other than the receiver. If you buy more products then you should get discount right away if availability is good for this.

Read this if intrested:
 
The 8015 tested well on asr too, typically marantz are pretty bad on test bench

However seperates mean you can change the hdmi section whenever you want keeping expensive power amps a one off purchase
Unless you take a chainsaw to that marantz and manage to cut it exactly in the right place to use it as a power amp with a new AV pre
 
Sure there are some benefits, but is it necessary with cheaper speaker system to put so much money in to processor + amps (4k£?) as this isn´t dedicated room either with room treatments? The professional people in the industry with most knowledge always says in this order:

A) put lot of money in to high quality speakers with great controlled directivity (Arendals, Kefs, Revels, JBLs etc) with the dynamic capabilities to suit your room.

B) spend money for room treatments as room plays so big role what you hear - 10k£ processor with best room eq can´t fix all issues even if the marketing guy claims otherwise. There is articles showing cheaper speakers sound better in treated room than lot more expensive ones in non treated room. This again shows how important it is if the end goal is best possible sound quality. The below thread first post should be sticky:

C) good receiver/processor with effective room correction software that can fix room modes (below room transit freq ~300-500hz), where the treatments are less effective. It´s then up to person if he wants to opt for full range correction or something between.

Also as we have seen there is many things in play with the processor vs. receiver subjective sound quality differences. Done in blind test method would person be able to pick the processor ~9 times of 10 over the receiver with same amps used on both level matched? We have science supported objective measurements showing the processors aren´t measuring any better to same brand flagship receivers so the claims that processor would sound night and day better is likely more about placebo effect and expectation bias which example Floyd Toole has talked many times when reviewing gear. Mind can play tricks if you see products which you compare and you already have some idea which sounds better cause everyone at forums says it must be so and you are thinking "it must sound better cause it costs so much more".
 
Sure there are some benefits, but is it necessary with cheaper speaker system to put so much money in to processor + amps (4k£?) as this isn´t dedicated room either with room treatments? The professional people in the industry with most knowledge always says in this order:

A) put lot of money in to high quality speakers with great controlled directivity (Arendals, Kefs, Revels, JBLs etc) with the dynamic capabilities to suit your room.

B) spend money for room treatments as room plays so big role what you hear - 10k£ processor with best room eq can´t fix all issues even if the marketing guy claims otherwise. There is articles showing cheaper speakers sound better in treated room than lot more expensive ones in non treated room. This again shows how important it is if the end goal is best possible sound quality. The below thread first post should be sticky:

C) good receiver/processor with effective room correction software that can fix room modes (below room transit freq ~300-500hz), where the treatments are less effective. It´s then up to person if he wants to opt for full range correction or something between.

Also as we have seen there is many things in play with the processor vs. receiver subjective sound quality differences. Done in blind test method would person be able to pick the processor ~9 times of 10 over the receiver with same amps used on both level matched? We have science supported objective measurements showing the processors aren´t measuring any better to same brand flagship receivers so the claims that processor would sound night and day better is likely more about placebo effect and expectation bias which example Floyd Toole has talked many times when reviewing gear. Mind can play tricks if you see products which you compare and you already have some idea which sounds better cause everyone at forums says it must be so and you are thinking "it must sound better cause it costs so much more".

Avr pre and two emotiva 7 Ch bas X amps about the same price as 8015
 

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