Short answer: the ELAC Debut 3.0 DB63. It ranks #41 of 131 bookshelf speakers by sound quality at $499; the Arendal Sound 1723 Monitor THX ranks #50 and costs $2400, so there is not much of a tradeoff to weigh.
What the ELAC Debut 3.0 DB63 offers: 1” aluminum dome tweeter with a distinctive partial-lens waveguide design paired with a 6.5” third-generation aramid fiber cone woofer, in a robustly built cabinet for the price. Shallow bass rolloff (F3 76Hz, F10 40Hz) allows placement close to a wall without excessive boominess, useful for smaller living rooms. Solid measured performance for the price: on-axis linearity within about 2.5dB, impedance dipping only to about 4.4 ohms (easily AVR-driven), and roughly 20-26dB of usable dynamic range. A clear improvement over its sibling ELAC DB62, which has a sibilance issue tied to the crossover that can’t be fixed with EQ. Wide horizontal radiation of about ±60°, giving a spacious soundstage. Distortion looks good at a moderate 86dB and still reasonable at 96dB. Takes well to EQ correction - the reviewer provides a specific filter set (a low-shelf boost at 650Hz plus peaking cuts/boosts at 550Hz, 660Hz, and 3kHz) that meaningfully smooths out its known deviations. Watch for: A dip in the lower midrange (300-600Hz, about 1.5dB) reduces vocal warmth and can make voices sound slightly hollow. A high-Q resonance around 650-750Hz shows up clearly in measurements, though the reviewer couldn’t reliably hear it in his own A/B testing. A dip around 2-3kHz (roughly 1-2dB) slightly reduces speech intelligibility and attack in the upper midrange. Directivity droops above about 2kHz as the midwoofer narrows toward its beaming frequency while the tweeter’s pattern behaves differently - an inherent trade-off of physically separated drivers that can’t be fully corrected without introducing other issues. Multitone distortion crosses the reviewer’s 3% threshold in the 200Hz-1kHz range, and adding a subwoofer at an 80Hz crossover only modestly reduces it. Toeing the speaker away from the listener loses noticeable top-end air and cymbal energy, giving a softer upper register. Practical loudness ceiling is around 90dB at typical listening distance before midrange distortion and bass attack begin to degrade. Still needs a subwoofer for extension below about 40Hz.
What the Arendal Sound 1723 Monitor THX offers: Independent ASR Klippel data shows a narrow 1.8dB reference band, 0.391 listening-window smoothness, and useful bass extension to 48.3Hz at -6dB. Its preference score rises from 4.26 to 6.39 with a subwoofer. Dual 8-inch woofers, a waveguided tweeter, robust HDF construction, and THX Ultra certification suit high-output rooms. Watch for: The measured on-axis average absolute deviation is 0.979dB and the sound-power directivity-index standard deviation is 3.63, so its response and dispersion are less even than the best alternatives. Bass reaches only 63Hz at -3dB despite the very large cabinet, and the 1.239 low-frequency Q indicates a pronounced alignment. At roughly 60 lb each, these require substantial stands and space.
Buy the ELAC Debut 3.0 DB63. It ranks higher for sound quality than the Arendal Sound 1723 Monitor THX and costs less, so there is no real case for the other one.
Specifications Side By Side
| ELAC Debut 3.0 DB63 | Arendal Sound 1723 Monitor THX | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $499.00 | $2,400/pair |
| Ranked | #41 of 131 in Large Size Bookshelf Speakers | #50 of 131 in Large Size Bookshelf Speakers |
| Bass Extension (-10dB) | 40Hz (measured, Erin’s Audio Corner) | approximately 37Hz (measured, spinorama.org) |
| Bass Extension (-3dB) | 76Hz (measured, Erin’s Audio Corner) | 63Hz (measured, spinorama.org) |
| Dimensions | 13.3"H x 7.7"W x 11.7"D (337.8 x 195.6 x 297.2 mm) | - |
| Impedance | 6 ohms nominal (4.4 ohms minimum, measured, Erin’s Audio Corner) | 4 ohms nominal |
| Sensitivity | 86.2dB (measured, Erin’s Audio Corner) | - |
| Drivers | 6.5" Aramid Fiber woofer, 1" soft dome tweeter | Two 8-inch woofers; 28mm waveguided tweeter |
| Weight | 17.2 lbs / 7.8 kg each | - |
| Woofer Cabinet | ported, rear | - |
| Certification | - | THX Ultra |
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More useful head-to-heads from the same speaker class:
- Arendal 1723 Bookshelf S THX vs Power Sound Audio MT-110-M
- Power Sound Audio MT-110-M vs SVS Ultra Bookshelf
- Power Sound Audio MT-110-M vs ELAC Uni-Fi Reference UBR62
- ELAC Debut 3.0 DB63 vs Buchardt S400 MKII
- ELAC Debut 3.0 DB63 vs Pylon Jasper Monitor 18
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The Two Speakers In Full
ELAC Debut 3.0 DB63: $499.00 Amazon Crutchfield eBay
Pros: 1” aluminum dome tweeter with a distinctive partial-lens waveguide design paired with a 6.5” third-generation aramid fiber cone woofer, in a robustly built cabinet for the price. Shallow bass rolloff (F3 76Hz, F10 40Hz) allows placement close to a wall without excessive boominess, useful for smaller living rooms. Solid measured performance for the price: on-axis linearity within about 2.5dB, impedance dipping only to about 4.4 ohms (easily AVR-driven), and roughly 20-26dB of usable dynamic range. A clear improvement over its sibling ELAC DB62, which has a sibilance issue tied to the crossover that can’t be fixed with EQ. Wide horizontal radiation of about ±60°, giving a spacious soundstage. Distortion looks good at a moderate 86dB and still reasonable at 96dB. Takes well to EQ correction - the reviewer provides a specific filter set (a low-shelf boost at 650Hz plus peaking cuts/boosts at 550Hz, 660Hz, and 3kHz) that meaningfully smooths out its known deviations.
Cons: A dip in the lower midrange (300-600Hz, about 1.5dB) reduces vocal warmth and can make voices sound slightly hollow. A high-Q resonance around 650-750Hz shows up clearly in measurements, though the reviewer couldn’t reliably hear it in his own A/B testing. A dip around 2-3kHz (roughly 1-2dB) slightly reduces speech intelligibility and attack in the upper midrange. Directivity droops above about 2kHz as the midwoofer narrows toward its beaming frequency while the tweeter’s pattern behaves differently - an inherent trade-off of physically separated drivers that can’t be fully corrected without introducing other issues. Multitone distortion crosses the reviewer’s 3% threshold in the 200Hz-1kHz range, and adding a subwoofer at an 80Hz crossover only modestly reduces it. Toeing the speaker away from the listener loses noticeable top-end air and cymbal energy, giving a softer upper register. Practical loudness ceiling is around 90dB at typical listening distance before midrange distortion and bass attack begin to degrade. Still needs a subwoofer for extension below about 40Hz.
Full ELAC Debut 3.0 DB63 review and specifications →
| Bass Extension (-10dB) | 40Hz (measured, Erin's Audio Corner) |
|---|---|
| Bass Extension (-3dB) | 76Hz (measured, Erin's Audio Corner) |
| Dimensions | 13.3"H x 7.7"W x 11.7"D (337.8 x 195.6 x 297.2 mm) |
| Drivers | 6.5" Aramid Fiber woofer, 1" soft dome tweeter |
| Impedance | 6 ohms nominal (4.4 ohms minimum, measured, Erin's Audio Corner) |
| Sensitivity | 86.2dB (measured, Erin's Audio Corner) |
| Weight | 17.2 lbs / 7.8 kg each |
| Woofer Cabinet | ported, rear |
- Links
- Reviews, Comparisons and Sound Samples
- Head-to-Head Comparisons
- ELAC Debut 3.0 DB63 vs Emotiva Airmotiv XB2
- ELAC Debut 3.0 DB63 vs Arendal 1723 Bookshelf S THX
- ELAC Debut 3.0 DB63 vs Perlisten R5m
- ELAC Debut 3.0 DB63 vs Perlisten A3m
- ELAC Debut 3.0 DB63 vs JBL HDI-1600
- ELAC Debut 3.0 DB63 vs Ascend Acoustics Sierra-2EX V2
- ELAC Debut 3.0 DB63 vs Selah Audio Integrity
- ELAC Debut 3.0 DB63 vs Aalto Speakers Aalto 3 Passive
- See all 129 comparisons
Arendal Sound 1723 Monitor THX: $2,400/pair Arendal Sound eBay
Pros: Independent ASR Klippel data shows a narrow 1.8dB reference band, 0.391 listening-window smoothness, and useful bass extension to 48.3Hz at -6dB. Its preference score rises from 4.26 to 6.39 with a subwoofer. Dual 8-inch woofers, a waveguided tweeter, robust HDF construction, and THX Ultra certification suit high-output rooms.
Cons: The measured on-axis average absolute deviation is 0.979dB and the sound-power directivity-index standard deviation is 3.63, so its response and dispersion are less even than the best alternatives. Bass reaches only 63Hz at -3dB despite the very large cabinet, and the 1.239 low-frequency Q indicates a pronounced alignment. At roughly 60 lb each, these require substantial stands and space.
Full Arendal Sound 1723 Monitor THX review and specifications →
| Bass Extension (-10dB) | approximately 37Hz (measured, spinorama.org) |
|---|---|
| Bass Extension (-3dB) | 63Hz (measured, spinorama.org) |
| Certification | THX Ultra |
| Drivers | Two 8-inch woofers; 28mm waveguided tweeter |
| Impedance | 4 ohms nominal |
- Links
- Reviews, Comparisons and Sound Samples