This might be perfect companion for Movies and Music. Arendal 1723 Bookshelf S THX Review

I have been thinking for some time whether I should release this hands-on review. As I did not have this specific speaker in my possession, but I had some time to spend with it over a few days in a well-treated room, with a variety of different amps and Arendal speakers. I have pondered this for six months now, with notes written for this "review". I decided to create a short review, not as detailed as my previous speaker reviews. We will leave that for happier happen that I have an Arendal in my possession.

My trip to Norway to listen to this specific speaker

Truth be told, I actually went to Norway to listen to these speakers, even to the city of Arendal to hear them in their hometown. That was a mistake, as they don't have a showroom there. I intentionally went there to listen to this specific Arendal speaker. I wanted to try the bookshelf speakers that are meant to be a bridge—a speaker that works well as both music and home theater speakers.

Ambassadors program

Now, there is one thing I adore, and that is the Ambassador program. It is a great way to promote your product and give it an ideal listening situation. While I love demo rooms in audio shops, they are often not ideal. Some use hallways; some use rooms, and it is usually a very rushed presentation.

With this program, you have rooms that people have spent years perfecting the treatment of. You have accompanying gear that works really well; you get insider tips and tricks and honest pros and cons of devices. It is an experience—the reason I am doing this hands-on review. You also have nice, hearty conversations with fellow audiophiles.

High quality and build

Arendal is a company that really cares about high-quality materials, build, and testing. You can go to their website to actually read about the processes and materials they use. They also give all the polar, frequency, and impedance tests they did for these speakers, which, when read, tell a story of their own. I recommend going to their website to see all this insight.

Search for a perfect companion

But the major question I want to answer with this trip is, can this be a perfect companion speaker? Can it really work well with audiophile listening and be part of the enjoyment you have using them as part of a cinephile setup? The answer is yes and no. Unfortunately, no matter how much I wanted them to be the unicorn speakers, they are not. This does not make them bad; they are just not magical, all-encompassing speakers across the entire frequency range.

Is it for Cinephiles?

These speakers are THX certified, which I personally do not like so much. Not that I don't see value in that, but I am first an audiophile, second a cinephile. THX speakers are usually tuned toward one singular vision and purpose, and that makes the sound practically large, imposing, and sprawling.

Which can be great if you are searching for speakers for that purpose. As it's not just a large sound, it is a tuned sound, detailed and large, so it doesn't bounce, and the bass doesn't overwhelm the sound like a bad subwoofer.

But here comes a first problem. If you want speakers to be part of your cinema experience, why not get larger speakers with more bass capabilities? These speakers definitely require a subwoofer for a cinema experience. Its bass is nice; looking at the spectrum of bookshelf speakers in general, it has command and attack.

One thing I can say immediately, by comparing them with other, larger "bookshelf" speakers from Arendal, is that while the bass is impressive and large, it has a certain attack. And this is something we are going to discuss later. But the bass was very agile, which allowed for more texture. Like explosions had that succession sound, that we can hear more input and output of transients. Which I need to test more, mind you; it can work well in some scenarios.

But they were clear. And this is where this might diverge from your and my needs. I tested this in 5.1, but mostly I used them as a 2.1 and 2.0 system. As I could not, in such short bursts of listening, actually figure out how good these speakers really are if they are part of a larger system.

But the fact is that they are clear, and that is because I think Arendal, while tuning them, decided to put more emphasis on the treble. In sacrificing big sound, they decided to create a more detailed, clear, and fast sound. So the mids, where most dialogue begins, were clear and had enough room and separation to actually work.

Something that warm speakers fail do is to remain fast, to remain clear. I think Arendal remained very open there, allowing for transparency and room on the soundstage, for dialogue to be present and vivid.

To conclude, this is a good speaker for movies; there are better options in this price range. It delivers bass and clarity, but not that big cinematic sound; you will definitely need a subwoofer. But this might be a good option for a cinephile building a system in a small room, where big towers might overwhelm it quickly and create a muddy sound. In that context, there is a lot of sense in starting with them.

Is it for Audiophiles?

But there is an "aha!" moment when I started to focus on music. With my experience of speakers that are warm, or marketed towards a cinematic experience, it was not the greatest when you want to indulge your audiophile self. It always lacked the expression and detail to make it worth the high price range.

And I think these speakers are that bridge—speakers that allow an audiophile to enjoy lush detail and transparency. And it does. My thought is that Arendal used their 1723 speakers and started to balance the sound more, from their bigger, warmer speakers. And in doing so, on the frequency scale, they left the upper mids and treble a bit open.

They sound now a bit bright, but with a lot more detail and clarity. And while treble doesn't hold much value in the cinema world, it is an important aspect of listening to music. So now you have a lean, musical sound with great, detailed bass.

Honestly, it is a great feeling that you can switch between music and movies seamlessly, and not lose much in between. Honestly, there are better speakers in this price range for music, but that is not the point. As this speaker comes dangerously close to them, while delivering much better and more focused bass than them.

I brought with me a CD (which I never used) of Max Richter's Blue Notebooks. It is, in my opinion, the best neoclassical record, with "On the Nature of Daylight" being one of the best songs of the 21st century.

The reason why I chose Blue Notebooks is that the album is very well-produced and dynamically rich. It has big bass, and it has soft ambient passages; it has cinematic dialogues delivered by the great Tilda Swinton. It is a great record to test something like this.

And I enjoyed my time with this record; it handled bass, even that dreaded bass on "The Shadow Journal," which is just a massive chunk of sub-bass. It did really great; in my opinion, the way it resolved could be a bit better. As I felt that some pianos and violins could be better handled and sharpened. It sounded a bit rough, and they should be getting more extension.

But the sound, even with its massive bass, had a very decluttered presentation. Which is superb, something I want. And just tracking the soundstage and instruments on the soundstage was a fun musical experience. I cannot talk much about the soundstage, as for that I need my room and my equipment, but it seemed decent. Imaging was great as well.

So it was a musical speaker; it brought joy not with just streamed music but also with Blu-ray concerts. It does not ground or wow you like some other speakers. But it works so well, and incredibly well when you transition from movies to music.

Conclusion

And finally, it just clicked for me, as I was wondering and pondering about the value of a speaker like this; it couldn't click for me immediately. It is a bridge between two passions, which provides a helpful hand when you slowly transition between your audio and video needs. And it does that with a lot of grace and quality.

It is a great speaker that never truly feels that it excels in its price point but rather provides excellent value in versatility in how it may be used. It never disappoints.

Is this speaker for you? That is hard to say; it is not best in class. It is a bit bright, and it could honestly deliver a bit more prestige in resolving details and the depth and strength of the bass. But everything else it does wonderfully, and with a smaller room, this is your long-term partner for a long time. Maybe even better than some fully formed and big towers.

I recommend this speaker to everyone who has truly diversified needs, a smaller room, and wants the best of both worlds. So, big recommendations from my side.