The Official Dynaudio Speakers Thread

[Twm1988]

"Mids are as sweet sounding on Xcite as they are on Emit, all in all Excite have great tonal balance and if anything a more musical better flowing presentation (less Mechanical for lack of better words) Not to says the Emits are Mechanical but you get the picture. Now price difference between emit and X-cite is quite steep so you be the judge of that can you at least compare in store?

I know a guy who works at Dynaudio has said everyone hearing direct A-B comparison between X-cites and Emit will say X-cite is the better speaker.

Even without knowing which speaker is the most expensive I am sure you would be able to tell which one if the Excite and Emit if you heard the comparison in a blind test.

Just my 2 cents.

It is very difficult for me to describe a speaker as sometimes things can be left to interpretation."




Ok so basically you found the Excite to take everything the Emit's did and do it a little better, without losing anything the Emit's had.

I have compared the M10 and X14's side by side at my dealer's before, but I think my perception of sound has changed so much in the last couple of months that it's somewhat meaningless to think back to how I felt about them in that demo. I can and will do a side by side comparison with the M20's and one of the Excites (X14 or X18) when I return the M20's on Monday. I just can't be sure which of the Excites he will have in to demo, he seems to change demo models quite frequently, maybe because he sells off his demo models often.

I know it's difficult for one person to describe a speaker to another, but I think you, me and Callas seem to have similar tastes, it's just taken me a couple detours, and more time getting more experience to get there.

So, at least I will know what I'm looking for performance wise from the Excites, now that I've become very familiar with the Emit sound having had them at home. If the Excites give me what I'm looking for I will see what my dealer can do for me on X14's with trade-in of Opticon's.

[BigAl87]

Originally Posted by Twm1988

"Mids are as sweet sounding on Xcite as they are on Emit, all in all Excite have great tonal balance and if anything a more musical better flowing presentation (less Mechanical for lack of better words) Not to says the Emits are Mechanical but you get the picture. Now price difference between emit and X-cite is quite steep so you be the judge of that can you at least compare in store?

I know a guy who works at Dynaudio has said everyone hearing direct A-B comparison between X-cites and Emit will say X-cite is the better speaker.

Even without knowing which speaker is the most expensive I am sure you would be able to tell which one if the Excite and Emit if you heard the comparison in a blind test.

Just my 2 cents.

It is very difficult for me to describe a speaker as sometimes things can be left to interpretation."




Ok so basically you found the Excite to take everything the Emit's did and do it a little better, without losing anything the Emit's had.

I have compared the M10 and X14's side by side at my dealer's before, but I think my perception of sound has changed so much in the last couple of months that it's somewhat meaningless to think back to how I felt about them in that demo. I can and will do a side by side comparison with the M20's and one of the Excites (X14 or X18) when I return the M20's on Monday. I just can't be sure which of the Excites he will have in to demo, he seems to change demo models quite frequently, maybe because he sells off his demo models often.

I know it's difficult for one person to describe a speaker to another, but I think you, me and Callas seem to have similar tastes, it's just taken me a couple detours, and more time getting more experience to get there.

So, at least I will know what I'm looking for performance wise from the Excites, now that I've become very familiar with the Emit sound having had them at home. If the Excites give me what I'm looking for I will see what my dealer can do for me on X14's with trade-in of Opticon's.

Aim strait for C-20 , Well you can Compare X-18 vs M20 if you'd like but keep in mind price tag is more-less double while M10 vs X-14 is not quite double but close enough so that should count in the equation considering you get approx 80% of performance with Emit line.

[Twm1988]

Originally Posted by BigAl87

Aim strait for C-20 , Well you can Compare X-18 vs M20 if you'd like but keep in mind price tag is more-less double while M10 vs X-14 is not quite double but close enough so that should count in the equation considering you get approx 80% of performance with Emit line.

Yeah C20's would be nice. I wanted to hear them so badly just to know what they're like, but my dealer just has the Emit, Excite and Focus XD's in

I think I should be able to tell pretty easily which one I like better when I hear them side by side, now that I'm so familiar with the Emits sound.

If I was going in and trying to decide between the two (M10 and X14) pricewise without having the DALI's to trade in I think I would be hesitant to put the extra in for the Excites, but it make sit seem so much less of a big deal in the price gap once you factor in the trade-in. Hoping he gives me a decent amount for the Opticon's. I paid just under 20% off the retail on them, so how much more do you think he would take off? You guys have traded equipment in here and there in the past right? What do you usually get back for trade in from what you originally paid for the product?

[callas01]

Each dealer will vary in my experience.

[BigAl87]

Originally Posted by callas01

Each dealer will vary in my experience.

Thanks Steve, also depends what you bring in and what discount you get on what you purchase, you can play with numbers.

If you want more my dealer offers to put things in consignment also but he will sell higher than what you ask but that could take more time.

[Twm1988]

Originally Posted by BigAl87

Thanks Steve, also depends what you bring in and what discount you get on what you purchase, you can play with numbers.

If you want more my dealer offers to put things in consignment also but he will sell higher than what you ask but that could take more time.

Thanks guys that helps.

I'd assume he'll give me a set price for the Opticon's and then maybe we can negotiate a bit on the price of whatever I want to upgrade to. I'm sure he would work me out a better deal for the X14's than the M10's, but obviously will still be more money out of my pocket in the end to go with the Excites than the Emits.

If we can come to a fair deal for both of us, I think I will try to go for the Excite X14's. Worst case scenario where I bought the X14's and took them home and didn't like them as much as the M10's, I'm sure he would let me do one last trade and get the M10's and M15 center and be done with it. But hopefully, as you said Olivier, once you hear the Emit and Excite side by side (and know what your looking for now) it should be an easy choice between them.

Will let you know what happens, pretty sure he said he was in on Monday, but if not then will be Tuesday for sure. Want to be sure he's in there so I can return these M20's and also talk to him about the next move all in the same visit. I want Dyn's ASAP!!! Lol.

[BigAl87]

Originally Posted by Twm1988

Thanks guys that helps.

I'd assume he'll give me a set price for the Opticon's and then maybe we can negotiate a bit on the price of whatever I want to upgrade to. I'm sure he would work me out a better deal for the X14's than the M10's, but obviously will still be more money out of my pocket in the end to go with the Excites than the Emits.

If we can come to a fair deal for both of us, I think I will try to go for the Excite X14's. Worst case scenario where I bought the X14's and took them home and didn't like them as much as the M10's, I'm sure he would let me do one last trade and get the M10's and M15 center and be done with it. But hopefully, as you said Olivier, once you hear the Emit and Excite side by side (and know what your looking for now) it should be an easy choice between them.

Will let you know what happens, pretty sure he said he was in on Monday, but if not then will be Tuesday for sure. Want to be sure he's in there so I can return these M20's and also talk to him about the next move all in the same visit. I want Dyn's ASAP!!! Lol.

What about Emits with a great pair of stand as i realize it is missing greatly in your system just a thought, Some Target Stands like HR 60 would nice with them, Target is owned by Bryston so your dealer could get them unless this is not the Dealer that sold Bryston. In that case you could pair them with Dynaudio stands like the Stand 3x.

[Twm1988]

The thought did cross my mind... Emit M10's, some stands and maybe a nice set of speaker cables too...

Guess I have a few options to consider. We'll see what happens.

Bryston/Anthem dealer is a different store, they carry tons of stuff; Sonus Faber, Revel, Wilson, Magico, Focal, Paradigm. So would have to see what the Dyn dealer has for stands. My Dyn dealer has about 10 brands, mostly European stuff and a few British like KEF, Harbeth and ATC.

How much are the Dyn stands, do you know CDN prices?

[BigAl87]

Originally Posted by Twm1988

The thought did cross my mind... Emit M10's, some stands and maybe a nice set of speaker cables too...

Guess I have a few options to consider. We'll see what happens.

Bryston/Anthem dealer is a different store, they carry tons of stuff; Sonus Faber, Revel, Wilson, Magico, Focal, Paradigm. So would have to see what the Dyn dealer has for stands. My Dyn dealer has about 10 brands, mostly European stuff and a few British like KEF, Harbeth and ATC.

How much are the Dyn stands, do you know CDN prices?

The Stand 3 will be more expensive I Think US price is like $449 so Cnd would be around $549.

Target HR60 would be $389, MR60 $549, I have MR50 for the Totem Fires. those were $519 but you would want 60cm stand for the Emit 10 or X-14 as the speaker is much smaller.

Add a $6 pouch Boomix of dried sand

[Twm1988]

Originally Posted by BigAl87

The Stand 3 will be more expensive I Think US price is like $449 so Cnd would be around $549.

Target HR60 would be $389, MR60 $549, I have MR50 for the Totem Fires. those were $519 but you would want 60cm stand for the Emit 10 or X-14 as the speaker is much smaller.

Add a $6 pouch Boomix of dried sand

Ok cool, thanks. Would probably be hoping to be in the $300-400 range for the stands, so that puts a couple of them into play. I'll see what kind of deal I can get him to put together.

Also thinking I could go M10's for L/R and get the X24 center and then it's more futureproof if I want to move the M10's to surround and get X14 fronts. The M15 center is $1000 and the X24 is $1200, so it seems almost silly to go for the Emit center channel unless I'm sure I don't want to go with Excite at some point.

[BigAl87]

Originally Posted by Twm1988

Ok cool, thanks. Would probably be hoping to be in the $300-400 range for the stands, so that puts a couple of them into play. I'll see what kind of deal I can get him to put together.

Also thinking I could go M10's for L/R and get the X24 center and then it's more futureproof if I want to move the M10's to surround and get X14 fronts. The M15 center is $1000 and the X24 is $1200, so it seems almost silly to go for the Emit center channel unless I'm sure I don't want to go with Excite at some point.

Keep in ming you could mix them true but you could also go with x-28 later, All I am saying is I do believe for Hollywood or movies highly doubt you'll notice a big difference in perf. between the 2 speakers.

In theory the X-24 is slightly beter but for Ht it is not likely to be a big game changer between the 2 speakers.
Spend the $200 on the stands.

[Twm1988]

Originally Posted by BigAl87

Keep in ming you could mix them true but you could also go with x-28 later, All I am saying is I do believe for Hollywood or movies highly doubt you'll notice a big difference in perf. between the 2 speakers.

In theory the X-24 is slightly beter but for Ht it is not likely to be a big game changer between the 2 speakers.
Spend the $200 on the stands.

Hmmm ok, lots to think about

I think the Excites will need to really impress me and step up above the Emits a good bit to push me to getting them. It is tempting to just stick with the Emits and get the front 3 speakers, and stands and maybe some speaker cables. Would also be able to get another pair of M10's for surrounds much sooner that way and fill out all 5 speakers.

Like you said, I think maybe for movies it won't matter as much and either speaker line will make an excellent system. Excite line is a bit tempting for the option of the larger center as well, but I've been happy with the output of my RC Mini center with its 4.5" drivers, and the Dyn center's should still sound bigger with their better quality drivers and much larger cabinets than the Energy center channel.

Will all come down to the audition, and what I can get out of him deal-wise. Thanks for pointing all this out before I get in there and start dealing!

BTW, you still loving the C30's? Anything you aren't happy about with them?

[callas01]

I suggest that you go with the Emit M15 either way. The difference in the X24 and M15 is really just the cost of the veneer and a small tweak to the crossover. The Emits M10 & X14s are basically the same with just a few tweaks, mostly the crossover and veneer.

[BigAl87]

Originally Posted by callas01

I suggest that you go with the Emit M15 either way. The difference in the X24 and M15 is really just the cost of the veneer and a small tweak to the crossover. The Emits M10 & X14s are basically the same with just a few tweaks, mostly the crossover and veneer.

Agreed but my poin to that was simply the fact that with music, it is more noticeable so for that reason i would never pick X-24 over Emit M15 as it Hollywood is more on explosions for which we have not to any reference for while the better x-over for music will make a difference to reproduce pianos cymbals and so on.

Strictly movies i do not see the point going for X-cites period but if twm wants to spend the $ for the upgraded port and x-over, magnetic grills then I think with music it's worth the price if you can afford it but i will keep saying 80% of performance for nearly half price is something to keep in mind, I'd pick M15 with M10 and get stands.

When you say veneer what are you talking about exactly Steve case Satin Black on X-cites looks exactly the same and there is no discount for choosing Satin Black.

X18 vs M20 is whole different story as both speaker don't have the same size. I think the M10 is Slightly taller than the X-14 by maybe a quarter inch.

[BigAl87]

Originally Posted by Twm1988

Hmmm ok, lots to think about

I think the Excites will need to really impress me and step up above the Emits a good bit to push me to getting them. It is tempting to just stick with the Emits and get the front 3 speakers, and stands and maybe some speaker cables. Would also be able to get another pair of M10's for surrounds much sooner that way and fill out all 5 speakers.

Like you said, I think maybe for movies it won't matter as much and either speaker line will make an excellent system. Excite line is a bit tempting for the option of the larger center as well, but I've been happy with the output of my RC Mini center with its 4.5" drivers, and the Dyn center's should still sound bigger with their better quality drivers and much larger cabinets than the Energy center channel.

Will all come down to the audition, and what I can get out of him deal-wise. Thanks for pointing all this out before I get in there and start dealing!

BTW, you still loving the C30's? Anything you aren't happy about with them?

All I can say is they rule, Best speaker have owned for all rounder and they can rock like crazy. They can do finesse when called for.

The Forest Signature is my favorite for vocals but the C-30 is just such an amazing speaker altogether, it never loses its composure and sounds dynamic as hell. It has and excellent x-over which allows the tweeter to truly shine and that tweeter is a fine piece of art and it is the reason why Dynaudio can use such high quality x-over on the Contour and Confidence line.

Iam looking forward into hearing the special version of that tweeter Dynaudio put in the limited edition Special 40.

[callas01]

My point is this, if he's wanting a wood veneer then he'd have to go with Excites. However he's been taking home black speakers? So either way he goes M10 or X14 just buy the M15 center channel. For HT there's not going to be any noticeable difference.

For 2 channel I think he's going to need to hear the differences and decide which voicing he prefers between the Excites and Emits.

[BigAl87]

Originally Posted by callas01

My point is this, if he's wanting a wood veneer then he'd have to go with Excites. However he's been taking home black speakers? So either way he goes M10 or X14 just buy the M15 center channel. For HT there's not going to be any noticeable difference.

For 2 channel I think he's going to need to hear the differences and decide which voicing he prefers between the Excites and Emits.

I was wrong about M10 being taller by a quarter inch it is taller by 2/5 inch but X-14 is 2/5 on an inch deeper. or 10mm or 1cm

[callas01]

We are having our upstairs flooring redone this week. So I took the 260/210C over to the neighbors for outta site storage. I then brought down the Dali's to the living room. The first thing the wife commented on was that everything sounded off. Turns out the system sounds boxy and closed in by comparison to what we are use to downstairs.

[BigAl87]

Originally Posted by callas01

We are having our upstairs flooring redone this week. So I took the 260/210C over to the neighbors for outta site storage. I then brought down the Dali's to the living room. The first thing the wife commented on was that everything sounded off. Turns out the system sounds boxy and closed in by comparison to what we are use to downstairs.

that makes sense your wife has good ears She got accustomed very well to specific sound and now she has a problem with boxy sounding speakers

Did she ever hear the old Paradigm in the living room?


Th Focus is super open indeed, it does not beam like other speakers and this is also one of Totem Forte, They don't beam either but in general it's far to get same quality as Dynaudio specialy in lower end model as Dynaudio can reuse their older generation drivers.

There is great quality speakers out there probably just as good but don't sound like what i want.

[Twm1988]

Originally Posted by callas01

We are having our upstairs flooring redone this week. So I took the 260/210C over to the neighbors for outta site storage. I then brought down the Dali's to the living room. The first thing the wife commented on was that everything sounded off. Turns out the system sounds boxy and closed in by comparison to what we are use to downstairs.

Yeah, that's kinda how I felt after using the Emits for a week and then at the end switching back to the DALI's for a day I just felt the presentation of the DALI's was 'off'. I wouldn't say the Opticon's were boxy, but definitely something in the mids had that 'canned' sound to vocals and the spatial presentation sounded a bit artificially enhanced.

Was a long day, but I ended up doing pretty well I think. My dealer didn't have the X14's in but had the X18's. Kinda worked out better though comparing the X18's and M20's anyway. Spent a coupe hours with 2ch music and then did a couple movie demo's just running in 2ch as well.

I found the Excite's to have the extra clarity and definition/precision I was looking for with the Emit's, and the Excites really didn't seem to loose any on the energy that the Emit's had. I would say the Excite's balance is a bit better, like you have said before Olivier. Emit's just sounded a little 'off' going back and forth between them. Emit's sound is maybe a touch more neutral and the Excite's had a touch of sweetness to them, which I liked. Even comparing the Emit's to the Energy's at home here, I found that I liked the Energy's tone a little better because of a similar touch of sweetness like the Excites have. Emit's sounded a little dry in comparison to the Excites, like they were missing a little of the proper tone color or whatever you want to call it, like they're missing a little of the human voice's heart and soul, and string instruments as well sound more organic with the Excites.

I also found that I did notice the difference in tone and clarity even with movie soundtracks. Of course explosions and gunshots sound equally good on both, but the things were familiar with like voices, dialogue and the film score's and soundtrack and certain things like rainfall and waves crashing and water flowing has a more organic and 'liquid' sound to it. The realism is just better with the Excites.

These things were enough for me to know that I wouldn't be happy enough going with the Emit's. I will say, just like Olivier, the Emit's probably can't be beaten in their price range, but the Excites take everything they do and improved it across the board. No, they're performance is not twice as good, like the difference in price would suggest, but they are the better speakers to be sure, and with the trade-in and discount off the X14's on top of that I had no hesitation going for them!

My dealer gave me basically 90% of what I paid for the Opticon's, and then also moved off the MSRP of the X14's. I had a number in my head of what I was willing to pay to go for the X14's and he was able to come 95% of the way there, so I was really pleased overall.

Emit's with stands and cables was tempting, but I thought to myself I will be happier with the better speakers and still using my own stands until funds allow to upgrade them too. Basically get the best speaker I can afford now and buy the rest of the items (stands, cables) in pieces along the way.

P.S. - that's awesome you love the C30's that much Olivier!!