Dynaudio Owner's Thread - Page 549

Originally Posted by CDLehner 

Orbitron, welcome! Did you buy a rack from the 'ole Borderdog? Site looks good; very legit. If you're out there Aaron, congrats!
CD

Originally Posted by Orbitron 

'ole Borderdog? please explain. Brad sent 'ole Borderdog all the equipment dimensions

Originally Posted by jaxwired 

Wow! Awesome system. Talk about skipping right to the end. Shouldn't you start smaller and torture yourself with a dozen upgrades over the course of 5 years or so? Man some people just don't get how this hobby works!

Originally Posted by jaxwired 

Spot on. Let's face it, music appreciation is hardly an exact science. We aren't oscilloscopes, we're people and our brain chemistry is different every single day. That impacts our hearing and our sonic memory.

Originally Posted by callas01 

you know whats funny about your long post....
I went thru that with my Nait 5i. I was happy at first, then after a month, I was like man.... I just blew money on this thing and start to think about selling it. Then I took it out of the system and just used the Integra... yeah the Nait 5i was back in in about 10 minutes. Funny thing was, my wife about 3 weeks ago was like "IDK why you bought it, it doesn't do anything it all sounds the same." So I added my spare cables to the integra, played a March of the Imperials from Star Tracks, I told her, "OK, we are at -14 dbs, ok -7." I put the cables from the Naim in the speakers, played the same song, "OK, here we go...." She Says, "OK smart-A$$, I heard the difference imediately, before you played this song AGAIN!" - "but babe, did you notice the slam of the drum?" - "yes I did, how could I miss it, it "pressurized" the whole room." End of Convo.

Originally Posted by CDLehner 

Right you are Callas; but you almost prove my point, when I'm not sure you weren't trying to dis-prove it.
No one ever said the speakers weren't, in fact, better. Yes...in my long scenario...the $8k might still be better than the $2k; but as people ride this roller-coaster, of up and down...during the so-called break-in period; how many actually put another product in for comparison?
That's one of the reasons I sleep well at night; I never assume the more-expensive, or supposed to be better kit...is, in fact, better. And I always...listen to the old piece a lot (right before a change), hold on to it; listen to the new piece a lot...and then switch back, and trust my quick, fast, first, and immediate impressions. Which...is...better?
Toughest call so far? To let S1.4s go for Special 25s. I went back and forth, back and forth...maybe 4 times, over several months; before I finally just picked. For the record...the $2k whatever, against $8k C1 scenario, does not...in ANY way...reflect my own roller-coaster ride. That was purely a hypothetical, to illustrate what I think is a common reaction to new gear. I loved the C1 Sigs the moment I heard them, and have never doubted whether they were worth 2-times their predecessor. They are!!
CD

Originally Posted by CDLehner 

Be forewarned; entirely different albums!
CD

Originally Posted by callas01 

thanks for the heads up, I bought OK computer cause I knew the karma police song. Ill check into Rainbows also since Jax had that great recommendation before. I think Ill go with Kid A too, just cause then I have more variety.

Originally Posted by jaxwired 

Just wait till they break in.

Originally Posted by Olivier N.France 

[Focus 380]
They've been playing for 13 hours in a row since this morning. If I can keep this pace for... say two weeks, they should be broken in pretty soon .
Seriously, the beginnings with the Contour were much more difficult. The Focus already sound great and BIG, they're an easier load for the Accuphase (P-4100) and as you said earlier, if they are to get even better, wow .

Originally Posted by GTaudiophile 

Wow. I need to demo the 160s. Sounds like they are a logical upgrade to aspire to.
That said I still have no regrets choosing the X16 over Focus 140s.

Originally Posted by drewTT 

Then, just for the heck of it, we fired up some Contour S 1.4s. These sounded excellent as well but a little more "tight" then the 160s. I actually preferred the 160s over these because I listen to more rock music and the 160s fit that style better. I think the Contours would be better for jazz, classical, etc. I was really surprised because I really did think the 160s sounded better then the Contours. Go figure...

Originally Posted by Olivier N.France 

I didn't get to hear the Focus 160 yet but I had the Contour and I think they're more sensitive to the amplifier (source and so on) powering them. I remember a friend brought his 2 Atma-Sphere MA-1 Mk II OTL mono blocks (145 watts each in pure Class A): I couldn't believe how the S 1.4s sounded. Switching back to my Bel Canto REF 500 I had then was a serious downgrade. The Focus - and further more the Excite - are easier to drive and can give you a lot with a not so high end amplifier whereas the Contour - and I suppose, further more the Confidence - really require some serious gear if they are to give their best .

Originally Posted by CDLehner 

I'm not saying this is the case between Contours, and the new Focus and Excites...because I haven't heard the new Focus and Excites yet (although I suspect it is); but I always look at a speaker as having a "floor" and "ceiling", based on what's in front of it. Just to illustrate the point, let's assign maximum values to each speaker; let's say the Excites' ceiling is 65, new Focus is 70, and Contour 75 (again, entirely arbitrary). If the gear I have in front of each of these is a "70"...well then I might walk away preferring something other than the Contours...even though they have the highest theoretical ceiling...because I didn't maximize their performance. It would be like test-driving a Porsche and a Toyota...but doing so, by driving them both 60 miles per hour. Assuming they all have different tonal characteristics, you might actually prefer the sound of the Excites or new Focus, because all things being equal, you got relatively the same performance out of all 3. And that's not to say that the Contours might not truly sound a little "dark" to some; I think they do (remember, one man's "dark" is another man's "neutral"). But, if you heard them at their best, the other attributes might...might...off-set that a bit, and still make it the better, all-around speaker to you.
OTOH, I think sometimes "better" speakers, might have the potential for lower "floors" too; because that ultimate transparency can be a double-edged sword.. I certainly felt this way about the Special 25, for example. It's floor to ceiling...again, using my inapplicable number system...would be like, in my mind, 25 to 90! With the right gear, right room...right material...the sky was the limit; these speakers can thrill like nothing I've ever heard. But here was my problem: even if you buy the right gear...system match and all that jazz. And even if you spend a lot of time, money, and effort...setting up your room just right; can you always just listen to well-recorded material? I can't; that's the tail wagging the dog to me. Some can; I imagine some audiophiles, just look for well-recorded stuff to listen to. Of course I like it when good music and well-recorded sound come together...that's a real treat; but if I love a title, and that title sounds like sh*t...that's my tough luck, because I'm not going to not play it because it sounds awful on my system.
That's how I view the Dyn line. As ONF suggests: Excites and the new Focus, have a narrower floor to ceiling; doesn't take much to make 'em sound good, never sound too bad. Contour and Confidence, little higher ceiling...but they need more in front of them (that power and current we always talk about?). Special 25s? They get their own category...lol; trickiest speaker I've ever owned!
Maybe when we audition, we should ask for the best electronics in the joint? Don't put the "mid-line" stuff with the Excites, just because that's more in keeping with the price of the speakers. Sure, that's what dealers will do...because that's what dealers do. But I'd say...if I'm comparing Excites and Focus, or Focus and Contour...let me hear each with the best gear in the joint; that way, I don't ever have to worry about feeling I didn't wring the best out of each. Then, OTOH...you might be in for a big let-down when you get home...lol. Damn this hobby!
CD

Originally Posted by jaxwired 

Let me save everyone a lot of time by summarizing this long post. Olivier, CD is saying your electronics suck.

Originally Posted by callas01 

I guess Im kinda fortunate that I could hear the X16s with gear that is way above their price then what you would normally buy for those speakers and compare it to speakers way above their price range, before I bought my speakers. I was surprised that the X16s were able to sound even better as the gear got better. Of course they have their ceiling, and they are more forgiving of bad music and gear, but they are still faithful to great gear and great recordings, which is what I have found with all Dyns, the better the gear, the better they get, and the higher up the Dyn ladder you go, the higher up the food chain you can go with higher priced gear ceiling. At the Open House when I bought the Excites I got to hear them on the Octave V40SE after just hearing the C1s and contours, my buddy and I were like, its amazing that a speaker that cost significantly less then those others can perform at such a high level that the fall off is less then expected. You dont expect a speaker thats 1/5 the cost to play at 2/3 the level of the more expensive ones.

Originally Posted by jaxwired 

Olivier,
I've got speakers that look pretty much the same as your but I'll be damned if I didn't just find myself lusting after your speakers, lol!
Love the way you have them setup.

With no wall you will get very clean bass from those big woofers.

My only suggestion would be to move to a closed back cabinet for your electronics so your living room doesn't have to look at all those cables.

Originally Posted by Olivier N.France 

I totally agree with that. Just saying that the 'lower' series (DM, Excite, Focus) can already sound great with average gear. Contour, Confidence (and Evidence), in my humble opinion, require superior gear from the start.
My first Dynaudio were the Excite X16s, I ran them with a cheap Yamaha receiver (Yamaha RX-397 if I remember correctly) and they sounded great. Not sure the Contour S 1.4s would sound great with the same receiver. What I mean is just higher series are more demanding, which doesn't mean lower series benefit from high gear.
That's partly the reason I went 'down' from the Contour S 3.4s to the Focus 380s. In a sense, it was a downgrade, but not with my given gear (I fear the Accuphase would have been short with a pair of Contour S 5.4 and their 87 dB sensitivity).

Originally Posted by jaxwired 

Let me save everyone a lot of time by summarizing this long post. Olivier, CD is saying your electronics suck.

Originally Posted by CDLehner 

Really? I know you gave me the wink and all; but that's what you took from my post? Man, that is not what I was saying at all.
CD

Originally Posted by callas01 

Completely agree, the contours would sound terrible with the yamaha. I first had the X16s on a $400 Sony receiver, then a $1000 integra receiver, and now a $1600 IA. And every step up has been a very good improvement to show what the speakers are more and mire capable of. But I agree, the floor for the contours and up is higher, and so is the ceilings.