The Official Dynaudio Speakers Thread

[prerich]

Originally Posted by Twm1988

Sorry guys, I should have stated from to off that I use my setup for 95% movies, 5% music, so HT is my main concern.

As for the Energy’s being bright, I find it just a little in the highs can tend to be shrill at high volumes. Its like they just tipped them up a little, but not a huge deal. It may not even be the speakers I guess, although the H/K is warm and has lots of power to spare maybe the slight harshness I find in the highs comes from it. A receiver thats a little more refined and with a purer sound would maybe smooth that out a bit I hope.

I have actually heard most of this equipment, or close to it. I heard the Focus 110’s (which, yes, are the bookshelfs I’m looking at) a couple years ago with a Nad HT receiver and loved it, very silky smooth but still so detailed and airy with no hint of harshness. The Digm’s I heard also a couple years ago with a Marantz and was also very impressed, but as you say Marantz may have changed their sound a bit since then. I have auditioned some Sonus Faber Toy’s in the past as well as Totem Rainmakers, B&W CM’s and KEF equivalent lineup, and narrowed it down to Dyn’s & Digm’s.

I absolutely mean to go and audition all equipment again before a purchase although I will only be able to get the receiver for now and speakers later. I realize this is kind of backwards, I should be getting speakers I like first and building around them, but I would like to upgrade my system a bit for now and the only way is really through a new AVR at the moment so the speakers have to wait for now. Seeing as I am quite confident in either Dyn’s or Digm’s for speakers I figured I could make a pretty good choice for a receiver now that will suit either of those speakers in the future, plus take my current setup up a notch for now while I save to get the speakers.

So when you say the NAD and Anthem will have the best overall SQ from a musical stand point, does this also apply to home theatre?

As far as adding a power amp to a receiver I would prefer to get a 5ch amp and just have it add power to all ch of the receiver, or is it better to have the receiver power surrounds and external amp power front three?

Have you considered looking at Dynaudio's pro line since your main focus is HT? Oh, you may have mentioned it before but I haven't gone back and looked - what's your max budget?

[callas01]

New Focus XD

[Twm1988]

I know NAD is usually matched to Dyn’s, and have also heard they work well with Digm’s too, but Anthem’s with Dyn’s I haven’t come across any reviews. But if you think the Anthem would pair well with the Dyn’s then I will certainly need to have a listen to the MRX. External amp in the future I guess if I wasn’t happy with the performance.

As for budget I didn’t mention, it is aroung $5000 for 2 pairs of matching bookshelfs and center channel. Was originally 3000-3500, but after hearing the 110’s blow me away I knew I had to up it. I figured I could go with rainmakers or b&w cm’s and be happy with them for 4-5 years or save up more and put out for the Focus and have it last me 10-12 years or much longer even. Still considering the Digm Studio’s cause I was also very impressed, but I would definitely agree the Focus is at another level entirely. They are completely captivating from what I remember of my audition.

I see the Focus 110 is not on the Dynaudio website anymore, now I would have to go with the 160 I guess and 210c. When I auditioned them they were $1250 for the 200c and $1950 for a pair of 110’s. Not sure if the center was a demo though. On my dealers website I see the 210c is $1950 and they have the 140 listed for $3100 a pair!! INSANE!

[callas01]

Originally Posted by Twm1988

I know NAD is usually matched to Dyn’s, and have also heard they work well with Digm’s too, but Anthem’s with Dyn’s I haven’t come across any reviews. But if you think the Anthem would pair well with the Dyn’s then I will certainly need to have a listen to the MRX. External amp in the future I guess if I wasn’t happy with the performance.

As for budget I didn’t mention, it is aroung $5000 for 2 pairs of matching bookshelfs and center channel. Was originally 3000-3500, but after hearing the 110’s blow me away I knew I had to up it. I figured I could go with rainmakers or b&w cm’s and be happy with them for 4-5 years or save up more and put out for the Focus and have it last me 10-12 years or much longer even. Still considering the Digm Studio’s cause I was also very impressed, but I would definitely agree the Focus is at another level entirely. They are completely captivating from what I remember of my audition.

I see the Focus 110 is not on the Dynaudio website anymore, now I would have to go with the 160 I guess and 210c. When I auditioned them they were $1250 for the 200c and $1950 for a pair of 110’s. Not sure if the center was a demo though. On my dealers website I see the 210c is $1950 and they have the 140 listed for $3100 a pair!! INSANE!

Where do you live?

[Twm1988]

I'm in Alberta, Canada. Those 110 prices were from a couple years ago, but the 140's and 210c are listed now.

[callas01]

Originally Posted by Twm1988

I'm in Alberta, Canada. Those 110 prices were from a couple years ago, but the 140's and 210c are listed now.

Oh ok, cause here in the US the 210C is $1800 and the 160s are $2900.

[Twm1988]

Yeah I would need to find some used 110's I think because of the price.

If you guys think the Focus’ may be ok to power with just the NAD or Anthem, then maybe I should step up to the MRX 510 and NAD 757 from the 310 and 748 instead, and forget about adding a separate amp.

I know the insides of all the MRX’s are the same besides a bit more wattage and a Toroidal transformer in the 710, but what about the NAD? Are the insides circuitry and stuff of the 757 improved over the 748, or is it just 60wpc instead of the 40wpc in the 748?

[callas01]

Originally Posted by Twm1988

Yeah I would need to find some used 110's I think because of the price.

If you guys think the Focus’ may be ok to power with just the NAD or Anthem, then maybe I should step up to the MRX 510 and NAD 757 from the 310 and 748 instead, and forget about adding a separate amp.

I know the insides of all the MRX’s are the same besides a bit more wattage and a Toroidal transformer in the 710, but what about the NAD? Are the insides circuitry and stuff of the 757 improved over the 748, or is it just 60wpc instead of the 40wpc in the 748?

I think the you mean the 758, as the 757 is discontinued and replaced by the 758.

Im sure that the 758 would be OK. A much better purchase then the 748. I have a friend that powers the 110s and an X22 off of a denon 3311, i don't think he has any issues with it.

[rded]

Originally Posted by callas01

I think the you mean the 758, as the 757 is discontinued and replaced by the 758.

Im sure that the 758 would be OK. A much better purchase then the 748. I have a friend that powers the 110s and an X22 off of a denon 3311, i don't think he has any issues with it.

Idk who in th blue hell your "friend" is but in my personal experience, the Denon 3311 can NOT power the 110s to save its life! I actually power the 110s and the X22s with a Rotel 1095 and it seems to run out of headroom with the 110s. So stop misleading people with your EXPERT advice!


On a different note, I must admit that I am one of the biggest advocate of Dynaudio(heck I even started this damn thread) but for the price point twm1988 is trying to hit, the Sonus Faber Veneres 2.5s and center channel are tough to beat. I'm sorry, but they look better than the current Excites and even the Focus series.... And for mostly HT, they are just as capable as any speaker out there in their price range.

[BigAl87]

Originally Posted by rded

Idk who in th blue hell your "friend" is but in my personal experience, the Denon 3311 can NOT power the 110s to save its life! I actually power the 110s and the X22s with a Rotel 1095 and it seems to run out of headroom with the 110s. So stop misleading people with your EXPERT advice!


On a different note, I must admit that I am one of the biggest advocate of Dynaudio(heck I even started this damn thread) but for the price point twm1988 is trying to hit, the Sonus Faber Veneres 2.5s and center channel are tough to beat. I'm sorry, but they look better than the current Excites and even the Focus series.... And for mostly HT, they are just as capable as any speaker out there in their price range.

Hey Mr Raidho himself, easy to say when you can afford to buy a Raidho D series with an SN 2 but the twm1988 already mentioned he would move towards power amp later. I thin twm1988 also tried the Veneres already.

[Twm1988]

I did try Sonus Faber speakers but it was the Toy series. They were quite nice especially for 2ch music, but for HT I immediately was drawn to the Dyn's and never went back to the Sonus Fabers for a second audition. Music was just as wonderful with the Focus IMO.

Yes power amp would be for a little later on, if at all, which is why I asked if the 758 would have better internal components over the 748, because I can maybe forget about the power amp and put a little more $$ into the receiver if I can get away with using just the receiver to power the Focus'.

BigAl, I have also heard that Arcam in kind of the top of the game as far as receivers go. Do they pair well with Dynaudio's? How would you compare the entry level Arcam (360 or 380 I think) to the NAD 758 or Anthem 310/510?

[BigAl87]

Originally Posted by Twm1988

I did try Sonus Faber speakers but it was the Toy series. They were quite nice especially for 2ch music, but for HT I immediately was drawn to the Dyn's and never went back to the Sonus Fabers for a second audition. Music was just as wonderful with the Focus IMO.

Yes power amp would be for a little later on, if at all, which is why I asked if the 758 would have better internal components over the 748, because I can maybe forget about the power amp and put a little more $$ into the receiver if I can get away with using just the receiver to power the Focus'.

BigAl, I have also heard that Arcam in kind of the top of the game as far as receivers go. Do they pair well with Dynaudio's? How would you compare the entry level Arcam (360 or 380 I think) to the NAD 758 or Anthem 310/510?

You would have to compare the Arcam 380 as the 360 is discontinued but I would think Arcam is probably a step further in terms of performance but the room correction vs the Anthem for instance is not as great, Arcam is a pretty good pairing with Dyunaudio, it would cost you $500 morey for a 380 than it would for a MRX 510. Retail is $2300 for that unit but it's extremely musical not clinical at all.

Now I would hope those 380 are as stable as my AVR400, I know they had bad issues on the AVR600 and Rded can tell you about it.

[Twm1988]

Wow, ok I didn't know the entry Arcam was so much. When you say the Arcam is very musical not clinical at all, does this imply the Anthem is a bit clinical in comparison?

I want to try to stay away from the clinical/bright sound and I would sacrifice a bit of detail for a smoother, warmer musical sound.

[BigAl87]

Originally Posted by Twm1988

Wow, ok I didn't know the entry Arcam was so much. When you say the Arcam is very musical not clinical at all, does this imply the Anthem is a bit clinical in comparison?

I want to try to stay away from the clinical/bright sound and I would sacrifice a bit of detail for a smoother, warmer musical sound.

No not really it does not mean that, I just command you to audition an Arcam receiver for music and compare it to any integrated you want and rest assure you will be very surprised on how musical Arcam receivers are as they are built for music before being built for HT.

Arcam's position on this is if it sounds good with music it will sound even better in HT as Pianos, Cymbals Drums are more difficult to reproduce with accuracy than any sort of explosions or screeching tires. Just go out there an audition it's the best thing to make your own opinion.

[Twm1988]

Yes, of course an audition of each receiver is a must.

You have me very intrigued with the Arcam now. I am in the mindset that I want to find the best receiver I can now so that it will last me for a long time. I'm sure the NAD and Anthem will be excellent performers, but need to hear the Arcam and even if it's a bit more expensive, if it's performance is worth it then I think I could go that way.

So my top three to hear are Anthem, NAD and Arcam. Probably also the Marantz 6008 just to satisfy my curiosity, but I don't know if I really should even bother with the Yamaha now. My Paradigm dealer carries Anthem of course and also NAD and Marantz, so I will try to hear those three and then have to take my favourite of the three over to another dealer to compare with the Arcam.

I have read a number of reviews at WhatHifi on several Arcam models and they seemed to find the Arcam great at fine detail and refinement, but their soundstages were smaller and lacked a bit of dynamics and punch. That's mainly why I passed over Arcam from the start, but like you said the only way to know for sure is hearing it in person.

[BigAl87]

Originally Posted by Twm1988

Yes, of course an audition of each receiver is a must.

You have me very intrigued with the Arcam now. I am in the mindset that I want to find the best receiver I can now so that it will last me for a long time. I'm sure the NAD and Anthem will be excellent performers, but need to hear the Arcam and even if it's a bit more expensive, if it's performance is worth it then I think I could go that way.

So my top three to hear are Anthem, NAD and Arcam. Probably also the Marantz 6008 just to satisfy my curiosity, but I don't know if I really should even bother with the Yamaha now. My Paradigm dealer carries Anthem of course and also NAD and Marantz, so I will try to hear those three and then have to take my favourite of the three over to another dealer to compare with the Arcam.

I have read a number of reviews at WhatHifi on several Arcam models and they seemed to find the Arcam great at fine detail and refinement, but their soundstages were smaller and lacked a bit of dynamics and punch. That's mainly why I passed over Arcam from the start, but like you said the only way to know for sure is hearing it in person.

Maybe musically vs other integrated amplifiers but honestly AVR for AVR...
The new arcam models all received tremendous reviews including the $1200 integrated A19.

I quote What Hi-Fi on the AVR400

Accomplished in stereoWhere stereo music is concerned, the AVR-400’s about as accomplished as any multichannel device we’ve heard at this money.

That same low-end diffidence hampers Goldfrapp’s Strict Machine a little, but timing is good by prevailing standards and the Arcam demonstrates impressive organisational skills too.

There’s fluency and fluidity to the way it delivers music, and a degree of immediacy that most rivals can’t touch.

Read more at http://www.whathifi.com/arcam/avr-40...VrymMo68lcI.99

Accomplished in stereoWhere stereo music is concerned, the AVR-400’s about as accomplished as any multichannel device we’ve heard at this money.

That same low-end diffidence hampers Goldfrapp’s Strict Machine a little, but timing is good by prevailing standards and the Arcam demonstrates impressive organisational skills too.

There’s fluency and fluidity to the way it delivers music, and a degree of immediacy that most rivals can’t touch.

Like its stablemates, this Arcam is an enticing all-rounder for those who value stereo performance as much as home cinema thrills. If that sounds like you, the AVR-400 is persuasive in the extreme

As I said I value the Music a lot and no other AVR gave me that kind of sound.

[callas01]

Originally Posted by Twm1988

Wow, ok I didn't know the entry Arcam was so much. When you say the Arcam is very musical not clinical at all, does this imply the Anthem is a bit clinical in comparison?

I want to try to stay away from the clinical/bright sound and I would sacrifice a bit of detail for a smoother, warmer musical sound.

This is an interesting post because you say you want something warmer and more musical, but you'll be using the AVR 95% of the time for HT.

I still think the NAD will have the sound you prefer. There's no way to know for sure if you will need a power amp until you know how hard you're pushing your system.

[BigAl87]

Even if the 757 is discontinued it may still be available at discount prices. It is still posted on Nad's website.

[BigAl87]

Originally Posted by callas01

This is an interesting post because you say you want something warmer and more musical, but you'll be using the AVR 95% of the time for HT.

I still think the NAD will have the sound you prefer. There's no way to know for sure if you will need a power amp until you know how hard you're pushing your system.

One word, Audition

[callas01]

Originally Posted by BigAl87

One word, Audition

OF COURSE!!

I got to hear the NAD AVRs and Anthem 225 and MRX300 at the same dealer. Im not saying that Anthems are bright or anything, I found the MRX richer sounding, which is still kinda warm, but with more sparkle in the top end. The 225 to me seemed less warm and more dry.... the NAD IMO was the warmest with the smoothest most relaxed highs. which carried over to the 326BEE IA.