The Arendal Sound 1961 Loudspeaker Series Is Back!

Today we have some great news for anyone shopping for compact, high-value loudspeakers. Arendal Sound is bringing back its award-winning 1961 Series! After a two-year hiatus, the Norwegian brand’s eight-strong entry-level range is back by popular demand. As much as we have been blown away by Arendal’s latest 1528 Series loudspeakers, those high-end models are large and pricey, so they won’t be for everyone. The much more affordable and room-friendly 1961 Series still offers advanced engineering, Nordic-inspired design, and “the audio performance you’d expect from much larger and more expensive products,” according to Arendal. We have hands-on experience with several models from the 1961 Series, so we already know that Arendal can easily back up these claims. The speakers use trickle-down technology from Arendal’s impressive 1723 Series, including custom drivers and waveguides, high-quality HDF cabinets, and hand-painted matte black and white finishes — no cheapo vinyl wraps here. Arendal says that the signature look and sound shared by its products ensure that they can be easily mixed and matched as needed.

You asked, we listened. The 1961 Series is back and offering better value than ever. Whether you’re looking for your first Arendal experience or to add to an existing system, the 1961 Series proves that great music and movie sound doesn’t have to come with trade-offs.

— Jan Ove Lassesen, Arendal Sound CEO

All speakers in the series use a 28mm soft dome tweeter with a waveguide adapted from the larger and more expensive 1723 Series. The custom waveguide reportedly ensures precise sound dispersion and reduced distortion, resulting in “clear, consistent audio performance across the entire room, not just the sweet spot,” according to Arendal. The speakers also use proprietary 5.5-inch long-fiber pulp-cone drivers, which are designed to deliver tight, punchy bass and a smooth, detailed midrange, “ideal for both music and movies,” according to the company. We’ve reviewed the 1961 speakers before, but here’s a quick refresher of the models.

Arendal 1961 Tower ($1,900/pair)

The Arendal Sound 1961 Tower is a 2.5-way floor-standing design with four of the 5.5-inch drivers crammed into a surprisingly small cabinet that will fit in just about any room. In his review of the 1961 Tower here at Audioholics, the late Steve Feinstein described them as “compact, unobtrusive, built like a tank, (with) all kinds of small things that surpass your expectations, and they sound great.”

Arendal 1961 (Towers) are definitely first-rate loudspeakers by any standard and all the more remarkable when one takes into account their reasonable price and modest size. …I think the Arendal 1961 sets a new standard for floorstanding speakers around $2000/pair for smooth, natural sound, great build quality, décor-friendly appearance, and unexpected luxury flourishes. This is an exceptional product.

— Steve Feinstein, Audioholics Reviewer and Longtime Consumer Electronics Professional

1961 Monitor ($1,150/pair) and 1961 Center ($600 each)

The Arendal Sound 1961 Monitor and 1961 Center are both 2-way designs in which the tweeter is sandwiched between a pair of the 5.5-inch mid-woofers. My colleague James Larson said in his review of the 1961 Monitors that they have a “magnificently neutral response and have an even tighter response window than their higher-end 1723 Monitor siblings,” noting that they are “tonally accurate and simply reproduce whatever signal they are fed with no coloration.”

If you need a stand-mount or wall-mount loudspeaker for a home theater that isn’t huge but can pack a punch and does not sacrifice sound quality, (the 1961 Monitors) fit that bill perfectly. They are well-designed and well-made products that I can recommend without any reservations or caveats.

— James Larson, Audioholics Reviewer

1961 Bookshelf ($850/pair) and 1961 Height ($800/pair)

Both the Arendal Sound 1961 Bookshelf and 1961 Height speakers are small 2-way designs using a single mid-woofer. The Bookshelf speaker can be easily wall-mounted, thanks to its slim depth and built-in hardware. The 1961 Height speaker can be placed on top of  the 1961 Tower for reflective (Bouncy House) Dolby Atmos, or wall/ceiling mounted for best results when the installation environment allows. 

1961 Surround ($950/pair)

The Arendal Sound 1961 Surround speaker is a Triaxial design for multichannel sound, ideal for the rear channels in a classic 5.1-channel setup. It features two dipole full-range drivers working in harmony with a front-firing, 2-way design.

1961 Subwoofer 1V ($1,200 each) and 1961 Subwoofer 1S ($1,000 each)

Both subwoofers in the 1961 Series use custom 12.2-inch glass-fiber reinforced drivers powered by an Avalanche 550 iQ amplifier with 550 watts (RMS) output and intelligent DSP. The vented (ported) design of the 1961 Subwoofer 1V maximizes low-frequency response. The 1961 Subwoofer 1S is a sealed design in a smaller cabinet, which Arendal says makes it ideal for music systems or smaller home theater setups. Both models offer customization options including 3-band parametric EQ, low-pass filters, and subsonic filters, all controllable via a built-in 1.8-inch LCD display.

If you need a subwoofer that brings serious bass performance to your room but isn’t huge, the 1961 subs are a great choice. They are also a terrific choice for those who don’t wish to sacrifice fidelity even at very high drive levels, so if you like the idea of the subwoofer keeping its composure in all circumstances, the 1961s are well worth consideration. Their overall performance is very good, with clean 110dB+ mid-bass punch combined with solid extension to well below 20Hz in the 1V’s case. The 1S staves off over-driving artifacts to lower frequencies than most sealed subwoofers. The group delay performance of both subs is better than average, so if you want a sub that is sure to be free from any overhang or sluggishness, these will fit that criterion nicely. They would make for a great low-frequency base for a two-channel system for those who are hypercritical about sound quality.

— James Larson, Audioholics Reviewer

All members of the 1961 Series ship with magnetic grilles for a clean look when you go grille-free, and all are available in Arendal’s very nice black or white painted finishes. The 1961 Series is available to pre-order now, with global delivery direct from the Arendal Sound website. Each speaker comes with a 60-day risk-free trial and an impressive 10-year warranty (5 years for subwoofer electronics). Arendal says that the 1961 Series offers “exceptional value by delivering premium performance at a price point that won’t break the bank.” As our detailed reviews indicate, these speakers are the real deal, and easy to recommend. We’re glad that they’re back.

More information: Arendal 1961 Series

Unless otherwise indicated, this is a preview article for the featured product. A formal review may or may not follow in the future.