I wrote some time ago if music via hifi was a destination or a journey. I’ve reached my destination. I recently bought a pair of ex-dem Heritage Specials. Not cheap but in the context of the expenditure on a 500DR system, a modest price. They are aesthetically pleasing. I listen in my living room which is about 21 x 13.5 with a normal ceiling and the usual furniture. That’s a fundamental component of the overall set-up, a fact I ignored for too long. The music produced by the Naim and the speakers satisfies my requirements. I have reached the end of my journey
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I’m not able to hear them but they look lovely from the website, are you able to post pics in situ. What did they replace?
I have a Special 40 with 500 also. I hope you can provide more review. What things you like on this speaker that make it end game for you?
Saw your profile also have Titan 808. Do you mean you downgrade from that?
Dynaudio always pair very well with naim 
. Congrats on your dyn HS purchase
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Let’s see if that will hold water after 5 years. 
I’ve actually reached the end of the journey about 3 years ago with both amps and speakers but am still lurking around even though I have surplus amps and speakers. Currently few brands interest me. With speakers it’s Proac Response D2R, Audiovector R1 Arrete and Dynaudio Confidence 20 and Heritage Special.
I’ve read about the comparison between the Confidence 20 and Heritage Special. Both are said to be excellent although the C20 was regarded to be technically superior. I prefer the looks of the C20 though. The Heritage Special has the advantage when it comes to price.
With amps, I aspire to own the Vitus SIA-025mk2 one day, if I have some luck.
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I did have Titan 808s. Yes, on paper a downgrade but they were too big for the room. I made the cardinal error of thinking that a paper upgrade was a good idea (I moved up from Titan 606s). It isn’t. Rooms play a more important part than is immediately obvious. I enjoy listening to the Dynaudios more than I did the Titans. In a different environment it may have been otherwise. As I stated in the opening post, I have reached the happy position, the end of the journey
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I am away from home so cannot post any photos. The images on the web are a fair representation
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… as to how they sound, they are the best speakers of that size I have ever heard, providing credible bass response and high frequency delivery. They have one physical difference from other bookshelf speakers - they are quite a bit deeper than Kans or Tablettes, both of which I have. They are in a different league from those excellent speakers I grew up with. They are quick. Voice representation is excellent but that goes for many good speakers. Piano is often a challenge but the Specials are as good as I have heard. Each note is distinct and its delay faithfully reproduced. The finish, whilst that should not be so important, is as good as I have seen and even my wife likes the look of them. If you can get to dem them do so. That could be a problem as their production run is over. That could mean a journey and even then you won’t be able to replicate your listening room. I haven’t heard the 40s but I know they are well regarded.
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Always hard to know you’ve reached your destination if you didn’t know what it was in the first place.
I’m always fascinated by the Dynaudio link with Naim and more recently with ATC. Every time i’ve auditioned the former they sound like they have all the right information but in the wrong order. Equally, in recent years we’ve seen lots about ATC on here. I think they’re very decent but i’ve never understood how they might pair with Naim. Pootering about with time on my hands on various occasions (usually before a football match 
) I have now spoken to 4 Naim dealers about ATC and all had the same line i.e. great speakers but they don’t go with Naim at all. All 4 sell ATC and Naim. Wonder what those ears hear that I don’t.
Yes S40 to me is still okay. But the Heritage is using premium components and Mundorf caps and lots of reviews says S40 become muffled when compared to it.
I got to get my hands on one of it to demo. Tks for the insights.
Maybe it’s a bit obi wan kenobi. You will know when you get there
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Glad to help
I have the Confidence 20s. I now have them in a garden room, supplied by a used Nova and a used NAP 250DR which I bought at a great price (presumably the result of the new kit recently launched). I felt their bass response was too light. That’s why I prefer the Specials. I augmented the bass response to the C20s by REL T/9x x 2. The C20s now sound great. It’s different from the main listening source - 500DR with the Specials - just different. I cannot swap them over as the 500 kit won’t fit anywhere else. Old age has few compensations. I guess I have earned it.
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Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning.
Winston C
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Thanks for the post. I presume the Confidence 20s were used with the NAP 500DR when the remark on the light bass response of the speaker was made. Perhaps the downfiring bass port of the C20 has reduced the bass output of the speaker when compared to the rear-ported Heritage Specials.
Disregarding the difference in bass performance between the Confidence 20 and Heritage Special, how do they compare in the midrange and treble? Is there any noticeable difference in the delivery of nuance and detail? In other words which speaker is more transparent and has better clarity, or perhaps both are almost on the same level? I presume the reproduction of tonality of instruments and human voice is the same with both speakers.
What is usual? Most people’s living rooms are different from 2 another!
I’m glad that you’re happy with what you ended up with but I’m curious as to why you didn’t try out the Kudos Titan 505? As someone who auditioned the Heritage Specials and ended up with the 505s instead you would think that they would be the panacea to the 808s being too large.
From what I’ve read, and with bass and scale aside, the 505 most resemble the 808 in the Titan line by merit of their shared tonality and character whereas the 606 and 707 are slightly different beasts in those respects.
Five years? My habituation span is normally a couple of weeks. After that, the sound seems predictable and mildly boring and the old one is forgotten. From that point on, it’s only a tenuous hope in something else.
(But this is true with Naim. With other brands it’s usually a couple of days, if not hours).
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2 sofas, 2 armchairs, curtains, carpets, fireplace, solid walls….
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The usual stuff then.