Arendal Sound’s 1528 series of loudspeakers arrived in December 2024, marking an interesting moment for the Norwegian manufacturer. The company had already established a reputation for engineering-first designs with highly competitive prices, but the 1528 models represented a clear escalation: even larger cabinets, improved industrial design, higher output capability, and greater sonic refinement. When they arrived, the 1528 speakers were priced higher than any other Arendal Sound products. While that remains true today, the 1528 series is still less expensive than speakers they are intended to compete with.

Doug Schneider reviewed the largest model of the line, the Tower 8, on this site in December 2024. At that time, the price was US$9500 per pair in the US, but this has since risen to US$10,900. Philip Beaudette reviewed the Monitor 8, the largest standmount speaker in the line and the subject of this article, in December 2025. It’s priced at US$6800 per pair in the US. A matching stand for the speaker, the Stand 8, is available for US$1550 per pair. (Prices in other currencies for other regions are listed in Philip’s review.)

One of the ways Arendal Sound keeps prices lower is a direct-to-consumer approach in most countries, safeguarded for the consumer by a 60-day money-back guarantee. Another way is by manufacturing in China. But neither build quality nor design rigor are compromised by the firm’s steps to reduce costs.

In physical terms, the 1528 Monitor is unapologetically substantial for a standmount loudspeaker—it’s so large it could never be placed on a bookshelf. The heavily braced, thick-walled cabinet measures 31.8″H × 11.4″W × 17.6″D and weighs in at 104 pounds, which Philip rightly described as “astonishing.” Combined with the matching Stand 8, which measures 22.4″H × 18.5″W × 18.5″D, the weight climbs to more than 150 pounds.

The Monitor 8 is a three-way speaker with a 1.1″ tweeter, a 5″ midrange driver, and two 8″ woofers—all of Arendal Sound’s design—mounted on a thick, distinctive front baffle. Philip describes how the baffle “appears to float off the front of the speaker, adding a bit of visual flair to the design. The baffle is gently curved to position the drivers so that their sound reaches the listener’s ears simultaneously.”

The tweeter is situated in the throat of an oval-shaped waveguide, which helps to match the dispersion characteristics of the tweeter and midrange around the crossover range. The waveguide also increases the tweeter’s acoustic output at certain frequencies. Jumpers on the cabinet’s rear allow adjustment of the levels of the tweeter and midrange by ±2dB. Arendal specifies the 1528 Monitor 8’s sensitivity as 85dB (2.83V/m) and the impedance as a nominal 4 ohms, which our measurements corroborate.

Philip auditioned the 1528 Monitor 8s with two stereo amplifiers: an Anthem MCA 225 Gen 2, which he was reviewing at the same time, and a Bryston 4B Cubed, which is his reference. He played a mix of CDs and LPs.

Once Philip had the speakers set up properly in his room, combining Arendal’s recommendations with his own experimentation (he ended up listening from somewhat further away than he normally does), he got down to some serious listening. As he outlines in his review, one of the first things Philip noticed about the Monitor 8 was “its neutrality,” and that “it didn’t embellish what was in a recording.” The next thing he noticed was “its sense of effortlessness,” adding that “bass-heavy recordings could be played at ridiculously high levels” without strain.

But it was at this point that Philip mentions one limitation of the Monitor 8s playing in his room, which was revealed when he played “Angel,” from Massive Attack’s Mezzanine: “‘Angel’ is a dark, brooding track whose atmosphere is underpinned by bass notes that venture into the subterranean. As deep as it can dig, not even a pair of these mighty Arendals could unearth them.” However, he also adds a crucial piece of information for prospective buyers: “For context, my stereo is set up in an unfinished basement that is fairly large, and I’ve never heard a speaker that can fill it with deep bass. That’s why I added a subwoofer to my system three years ago. In a more typically sized room where it’s likely to be used, a pair of Monitor 8s should provide plenty of low-end oomph without a subwoofer.”

Philip writes that “the Monitor 8s were a lot of fun,” citing “Inertia Creeps,” also from Mezzanine, as an example: “The drums were exceptionally clean, delivered with pinpoint precision within a stage whose outer boundaries were expanded by the electric guitars. Centered between the speakers, the vocals were a little more diffuse—a characteristic of the recording, not the speakers themselves. The music was visceral; as good as I’ve heard in my system.”

Next up were several tracks from Loreena McKennitt’s Nights from the Alhambra, a live recording. Philip describes “She Moved Through the Fair” as a “serene” song that conveys “a high degree of intimacy and a sense of the ambiance.” He notes: “The Arendals communicated all of these moments throughout the show. The wonderful transparency of the Monitor 8s helped to capture the mood, both on the stage and in the audience, while their effortless dynamics transmitted the vibrant energy of more upbeat tracks.”

The ability of the Monitor 8s to reveal details was illustrated by several recordings that Philip auditioned during the review period. For instance, with The Cannonball Adderley Quintet in San Francisco, Philip describes how he “could hear everything through the Arendals” and that the pair “sounded as clean as any speakers” he’s ever reviewed. “Adderley’s band was spread wide across the front of my room, and the position of each musician was a cinch to visualize.”

Listening to Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers’ Moanin’, Philip writes how “the wide stage conveyed by the Arendals was bookended by the rich tones of the trumpet on the left and the tenor saxophone on the right. The drum kit emerged with commendable clarity almost directly behind the right speaker, which seemed to disappear entirely.” He sums up his listening impressions of this song by explaining that the speakers “called little attention to themselves and simply communicated what was in the grooves of the vinyl.”

Philip compared the 1528 Monitor 8s with his reference speakers: a pair of Monitor Audio Gold 300 5Gs. The Gold 300 5G is a three-way design that is now discontinued. It sold for US$9500 per pair when Philip made his purchase. Like the Monitor 8, the Gold has two 8″ woofers, but it has a 2.5″ midrange and a 1″ AMT-type driver for high frequencies, and it’s a floorstander. Philip describes an extensive back and forth that demonstrated to him that both pairs of speakers have “a fair amount in common,” but in the end, he leaned more to the 1528 Monitor 8s, declaring: “At higher volumes, the Arendals were more effortless, betraying no sense of exertion whatsoever. That being said, the 300s could also play louder than I’m able to tolerate, but the Arendals were just more at ease doing so. . . . For this reason, I found they encouraged higher playback. If you have a large room and/or listen at high volumes, you’ll almost certainly favor the Arendals.”

The 1528 Tower 8 received a Reviewers’ Choice award at the time its review was published, and subsequently earned Recommended Reference Component and 2024 SoundStage! Network Product of the Year awards. Doug praised the speaker’s high value in his review, but it was the performance that captivated him the most—and that’s what earned the Tower 8 its Recommended Reference Component award.

Similarly, the 1528 Monitor 8 has already earned Reviewers’ Choice and 2025 SoundStage! Network Product of the Year awards—and Philip was also smitten by the value it represents, which had him shaking his head “in disbelief” at the price. Now, like the Tower 8, the Monitor 8 is being crowned with a Recommended Reference Component award strictly for the performance it offers. Philip wished he didn’t have to send the review pair back.

Manufacturer contact information:

Arendal Sound
Industritoppen 6C
4848 Arendal
Norway

Website: www.arendalsound.com