I'm one of the IKEA faithful. The only piece of furniture that adorns my listening room that isn't from Scandinavia is my HiFi stand — and even that seems to have been designed with the Fins, Nords, Swedes and Danes in mind.
So every time I see some speakers that speak to my need of minimalist bedroom accoutrements, my ears prick up and my interest is piqued.
And Norwegian firm Arendal are the latest to make me look at my speaker setup with new eyes.
Tight, tidy, and epic sounding
After a two-year break, Arendal has brought back its entry level speaker line called "1961."
There are several products available for the stereo officianado or the home cinema hero, including a center, bookshelf speakers, floorstanding towers, height channels, surrounds, and subwoofers.
Doesn't matter if you're looking for a replacement to the best soundbar, or a brand new 2.1 setup for your listening space — the 1961 series has you covered.
Doesn't matter if you're looking for a replacement to the best soundbar, or a brand new 2.1 setup for your listening space — the 1961 series has you covered.
They come in two hand painted colors (as you might expect) — black and white. The idea is to bring the sound quality of more expensive models to more approachable price point for a range of different users.
They're all made out of HDF (that's high density fibreboard) which is tighter and less resonant than the traditionally used MDF. They're based around waveguide tweeters and custom drivers for some top notch audio quality.
It's that aesthetic that pulls me in, though. Where so many modern speaker designs want to dominate a room and become the attention focus of a space, the 1961 speakers want to blend in.
You can tell they're speakers, of course — but their sleek cabinets and smooth drivers look to bring some extra flavor to a minimalist space.
Compared to my multicolored HiFi setup? The Arendal 1961 series could be just the visual shakeup my listening room needs to nail the minimalism breif.
The 1961 series speakers are available to preorder direct from Arendal now, and include a massive 10-year warranty for everything but the subwoofer electronics.
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