Hello!
I don’t want to sell my beloved focus 110 - in my opinion a very special speaker…
I DO want to find a the move up from these - floor or stand mount.
I tried the focus 140, focus 160 - neither could match the sound of the focus 110, and that was a big surprise to me.
Any opinions?
All depends on what works in your room. Changing speakers is fraught with challenges. I went from Dyna Contour 1.8s to Kudos S20s that just seemed to work better in my listening area.
Good luck.
Will be tough to find a replacement for those. What are you looking to improve?
Nothing at all…They’re the first speakers i’ve owned that give me the sound I want no matter what i’m listening to.
Wondering if getting the best dyns available now will be an improvement? special 40? contour? Special 25?
Anyone have experience?
The focus 160 were nearly twice the price and size and not close to delivering the sound the 110’s deliver.
I went from Excite 12 to Focus 160 to Special 40. Each gave me a step up in performance. The move from Focus 160 to S40 was most noticeable for more controlled bass plus a smoother treble. I did a side by side comparison with Contour 20s, which are also excellent and sophisticated. However, for my rock/pop musical tastes, I thought that the S40 had a more dynamic sound that appealed to me more especially in older recordings. A lot with depend on what you drive them with, I have a 250DR which keeps the S40 in line and it could be that they do need a ‘firm hand’ as other people have sometimes commented in order to get the best from them.
I’ve eard the S40 and are stellar. However, it depends on the sinergy with your system. The old cliché: try a demo pref. in your room.
Some say the old Focus line were the last Dyns made with the original Dyn sound. A newer model Dyn may not be what you’re looking for at all. F110 and F220 both supposed to be special speakers. That said I really enjoyed my time with Contour 20 and 30. Also enjoying my time now with Excite X14. Not sure I would recommend X14 over F110.
Were the 160s a dealer demo pair? If so, you should try to find out how much use they have had, as a new pair will need to be run in for a fair while before they will sound at their best.
Just adding that when buying my UQ2 4 years ago, for logistic reason (i couldnt take my MA’s) i tested the Naim with 3 diferent speaker models, one of those being Xcite 14. ( ProAc tablett and Kef ls 50 where the others).
I remember thinking that in terms of tweeter, was by far, the best in group…
Just a quick note on the S40’s - apparently the red is no longer available (although a dealer near me has a red demo pair). From a dynaudio mag -it shows only the grey to be available.
I have the grey S40 and it is fair to say that they look great in real life. They are very stylish and ‘warmer’ than the name grey suggests. Nicely finished and always get positive comments.
I have actually had both of those.
The tablette (the latest version) was incredible with my tube setup, but just not even close to being able to paint such big, loud, dynamic picture as the dyns. The LS50 was great but the midrange too nasal for my likings.
I may give the ascend sierra or kef R3 or S40 a day in court coming up soon.
They’re good, aren’t they?! 
I would be interested to hear what you thought if you reviewed those speakers. I am a creature of habit and am kinda hooked on Dynaudio. There are tracks that become hugely emotive on the S40, probably because their voicing around the vocal frequency range bores right into your heart. To be honest, they are very distracting. You put on the music, start to do some jobs around the house and then end up sat on the sofa gazing at the wall behind them.
This is exactly what the 110s do.
The only speakers I’ve owned that make you forget about finding perfection. You end up just listening to the music.
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