Dynaudio *melt* - what are your thoughts? (1 Viewer)

[Phil T]

Well add me to the list of folks taken by Dynaudio. I didn't even know what the heck they were until the boyz at A&B had me listen to a pair of Dynaudio Audience 122. They were incredible (and well broken-in, an important consideration with these Dyns). They were so good for 2-channel music, I thought for sure they wouldn't hold up under HT applications. Wrong. I auditioned a PSB Subsonic 7 with a L/C/R combo of Audience 122s and they blew me away. ..so I bought all 4 (around $4000 CAD).

Incidentally, one pleasant side effect of these speakers is dialogue clarity. It seems I never have to play with the speaker test-tone balance or dynamic compression anymore. Dialogue is always crystal clear and easy to distinguish. As for sensitivity, I find my Denon 3802 is MORE than up to the task of driving this setup (a full 7.1 setup which includes 4 rear/side surrounds)in a 16'x21'x9' HT room.

 

[McPaul]

What kind of % discount did they give you on the Dyn's, Phil? Did you pay cash for it or finance the deal?

 

[Phil T]

I believe they listed at $1200 CAD each, and I got them for $1000 each. The price was the same for the towers (Audience 122) and the center (Audience 122c). I paid with my VISA.

I think that sort of discount (20%) is not unreasonable, however I did buy them as part of a $18,000 package (including installation and setup), so I suspect that played a role.

Home Theatre Setup:

Dynaudio Audience 122 (L/R)

Dynaudio Audience 122c (C)

PSB Subsonic 7 (subwoofer)

4 x PSB MR1.6 (Surround/Surround Back)

Denon AVR 3802

Panasonic RP91 DVD/DVD-A

Sony 65xbr10w HDTV

Sony CDP-CX335 300-disc changer

JVC 5910 S-VHS

 

[McPaul]

the 122's listed for $1200? my god, I was listening to the 42's that listed for $1100.... I should go back there....

 

[Phil T]

A pair? The 122's listed at $2400 a pair...$1200 each.

 

[McPaul]

ahh crap, that's per speaker. I'm an idiot...

that's a good deal though! Very sweet sounding speakers. I listened to the 42, 62, and 72 when I was there. I have to go back again to hear the 52.. next week..

 

[Saurav]

Hi Paul,

Please post your impressions of the 52s once you've heard them, especially in comparision to the 42s. I'm seriously considering these speakers, and I've read some opinions to the effect that the 42s are better if you're using a sub (i.e., if you don't need the added extension of the 52s). Others have said that the 42s sound 'boxier' than the 52s. So, I'm interested in hearing your opinion on this.

 

[McPaul]

I'll be glad to Saurav, If I end up with the Dyn's, they will be at the very top of my price range. I'm really looking for something that sounds as good as the 42's but is half the price, or close to it. (Acoustic Energy 1 perhaps? B&W 303?) Dyn's are expensive here in Canada.

I was a lot more impressed with the 42's than the 72's, especially when placed with a sub, like the Paradigm 2200 or SVS. I just couldn't believe the tight bass the 42's were putting out for such a little box!! It was the salesguy who told me I should listen to the 52's, so they should have them in stock by the weekend, and I hope to make theh trip up to listen to them.

Where have you been reading about them thus far? So far I've been checking out audioreview, avs forum, and ecoustics. Is there anywhere else I should be looking? How does a speaker sound 'boxy' I wonder...?

Phil - do you remember the name of the guy you bought them from at A&B?

 

[Carl R]

I think there are some professional reviews to be found at the Dynaudio website, in case you haven't checked them already.

I believe I read somewhere that the 52's are a bit more difficult to place in a room because of the added bass response. They could easily become boomy unless they are placed right with proper distance to the walls. I haven't heard them myself so I couldn't verify this.

How much is a Canadian dollar? In Sweden the 42's are listed for 4.890 SEK, which is about 480-490 USD. The 72's are listed for 11.500 SEK which is about 1.150 USD.

Cheers,

Carl

 

[McPaul]

Thanks foro the input Carl! I'll keep that in mind. In Canada, the 42's list for $1100 I think, which is about $700 US dollars, according to http://www.xe.com/ucc/convert.cgi
Add that to the fact that they are not discounted here, because they are imported speakers, and only one place in town carries them.
I'm comparing them to the Paradigm Reference 40's, as they list for the same here, but I give the dyn's a slight edge in overall sound.

 

[John Tillman]

Sounds about right for the 42's. A local dealer said the Dynaudio MFSP is $700-usd with the 52's about $850-usd. However, I was quoted a MFSP of $900-usd for the Paradigm 40's.

I'm thinking the Paradigm's are being marked-up down here by 25%. I like the 60's and might pull the trigger on them with a cc, if the dealer comes down a bit.

 

[Saurav]

Well, in my opinion, the best place to read about anything related to audio is www.audioasylum.com ... but saying that is promoting a different forum, sort of, so I try not to mention it too much. Also, if you're looking for HT-related info, this forum is a much better resource. Search through the archives of the Speaker Asylum, you'll find plenty of discussion on Dynaudio speakers, and comparisions with others. FWIW, and I haven't heard any of these, I don't think you'll find the B&W to sound similar to the Danes. From everything I've been reading, B&W's sound is more analytical and detailed. You'll probably get more imaging and soundstage and "I never heard that before", but it'll probably sound more clinical and less like music than the Dynaudio. Of course, that's an opinion formed purely on hearsay, so take it for what it's worth
Here are some more speakers you could read up on, these are names that have turned up in my searches:
Triangle Titus
ACI Sapphire III
JM Reynaud Twin MkII
The last one is supposed to be excellent, it can be found for $500 - $600 used on Audiogon. The Titus is quite a bit cheaper (IIRC), and comes very close to the sound. I think SoundStage did a review of the Titus... you might want to check that out too.
Anyway... hope that gives you some more info.

 

[Phil T]

Paul, I dealt with Gary Gleave from A&B's Engineered Systems Division. Very credible and knowledgeable.

 

[McPaul]

Thanks Phil. I guess he only does custom installs, right? Can't wait for the weekend, when I can go back and listen again. Those Dyn's were amazing, and at least in my mind, were better than the Paradigms I listened to.

Saurav, thanks for the suggestions, I've been reading (that forum) quite a lot too, (this one's more user friendly though!) I'll go back there and search through the speaker archives, which I haven't found yet.

I don't believe there's anyone in Calgary here that deals those speakers, but I will do a search. JM Reynaud - is that a JM Labs line?

Yes, I found the B&W's to be much more analytical than the Dyn's but the sound coming from the Dyn's just impressed me more. I can't further explain it, I'll have to go back for another listen!

Isn't this fun!?

John, yep, Paradigms, being made in Canada, are cheaper here. If you're in NY, and want Paradigms, make the short trip to Montreal, or Hamilton, and pick them up here! Right away you'll get a discount because of our dollar.

 

[Sam_goh]

I've been an avid Dynaudio user ever since I heard their line several years ago, and I thought I'd chime in. I use their speakers in 2 of my cars, as well as in my home theater system.

In my price range, I listened to many different models, and still kept coming back to the Dynaudio's. About 2 years ago I ended up with 4 Audience 80's 1 C120 and a Sub 30-A, and have never been happier. The speakers do well for music, as well as for home theater uses. They are tough for an amplifier to drive, but with high power output, they will really sing.

I'm personally biased, and one day will upgrade to the contour's. From what I understand, the extra money is in the cabinetry, as well as better crossovers.

Sam

 

[Saurav]

Saurav, thanks for the suggestions, I've been reading (that forum) quite a lot too, (this one's more user friendly though!) I'll go back there and search through the speaker archives, which I haven't found yet.

There's a "Search" link off the main page, and when you type in your search string, just select "Speaker Asylum" from the drop-down box. The "Advanced Search" lets you fine-tune your query a little bit, and is pretty useful.
Agreed on the user-friendliness of HTF

 

[Taka]

I haven't shopped for speakers in quite some time now, so this is all very enlightening.
Dynaudio making a line of speakers that is in the sub-$1500 range? Wow. I'll have to track some of these down to see how they sound.
I was impressed by the Dynaudio 3.3 (IIRC), but they were very expensive- close to $5k, IIRC. This driven by Mark Levinson separates and two-piece CD transport/DAC. However, I still found the B&W Matrixes to be a better speaker.
Interesting how the B&Ws are characterized as analytical in this thread- I agree in the sense that I've not heard soundstaging and imaging as good as the B&Ws in any speaker under $5k. I've never heard some pieces sound as good on any other speaker. Needless to say, that's why I have a pair of Matrix 803SII for my music system.
Now if these Dynaudios are comparable at 1/3 the price, that may be the way to go- although realistically, I'm going the ultra-cheap route to home theater- I'm going to power something like the JBL NSP-1 w/ my Denon 3300 and leave it at that, maybe pick up some 200W Adcoms to make the speakers sing.
Has anyone compared the cheaper Dynaudio line to the JM Labs stuff? Those Focal drivers are incredibly good sounding. All said, I would not power Dynaudios with a receiver, unless they've massively improved their efficiency- the Dynaudios I've seen all had efficiencies in the 86dB/W range or less, needing some serious amplification. Then again, my B&Ws need about 200W to sing as well.
Taka

 

[Saurav]

I think it all depends on what you're looking for in the sound. If you like B&W speakers and Focal tweeters, you're probably interested in detail, hearing every last inflection in the performance. From what I've read (and this is purely hearsay because I haven't heard any of these speakers), Dynaudio's presentation is different. And I think you're right, AFAIK they're still pretty low-efficiency speakers.

 

[Taka]

Saurav,

Thanks for the reply.

Not that I like to hear "every last inflection" in a performance, but I've never heard imaging as well as w/ the B&Ws- well, except for the Wilson Audio WATT/Puppy Vs that I listened to (but their sweet spot is about 12" wide and they're fatiguing to listen to, they're so bright).

I've heard my speakers using a VAC tube amp/preamp setup fed by a Pioneer PD-65 and I've never heard stuff like Eric Clapton's "Unplugged" with him literally playing right in front of me, about 6 feet forward and a couple feet to my right. The same with an older Nak preamp and Bryston 4-BST was quite impressive, but not as good- I plan on getting either an Audio Research or Conrad-Johnson tube preamp paired with a Bryston power amp, which should yield similar results.

That "I'm live at a concert" sound is what I like- if the Dynaudios can do that, then that's what I'd like to hear.

I'll check them out regardless- just to see how they sound.

 

[Phil M]

Paul

How would you compare the sound of the 42's to the Studio 40's? I'm mainly interested in the upper mids and highs.

Without calling the 40's either bright or nuetral, would you say that the 42's are about the same, brighter or warmer?

Phil M