Since we have a Naim and Harbeth thread, what about a Naim and Dynaudio thread? It is commonly held that Naim and Dynaudio go well together, so this thread can be a single place to put any Dynaudio-related discussions.
Anyway, I will keep this post short. I have raved on about how great I think the special 40 is in the system pics thread, so I won’t bore you with that again, apart from to say that they are great! I will repost a pic of my special 40s with my 272/250, so there is a pic to begin with.
I will agree. A great combo. My Contour 20 with 272/XPSDR/250DR sound great. I will be replacing my Totem Mites with Evoke 10 of 20 to go with my Qute at some point this year.
Not “more” bass per say, but bass extension…better bass. Subs bring a lot to the table for enhancing everything else. They help improve the soundstage (bigger, more well focused) and bring out midrange textures, especially woody textures in acoustic music. One of my favorite demos for the subs is to play Bach’s Solo Sonatas and Partitas for Violin. After the music starts and the listener gets comfortable with it I turn off the subs. The soundstage drops out and the instrument sounds less woody. That demo got me approval to buy the first sub when I played it for my wife.
More subs make it all even better. REL recommends two subs for stereo systems.
I see, some owners of other speaker brands would advise against the use of the subwoofer(s), I own a pair of the Harbeth 40.2 and I do not see why I need any additional subwoofer.
My Dyns go to 28 Hz -3db. The RELs go to 22 Hz -6db. I already had the RELs when I got my Confidence, since I used them with a pair of Contour S3.4s before. I didn’t even consider not using the subs when I upgraded my speakers. One day I turned them off for a moment. It was very short moment indeed. My dealer convinced about using them, even for large floor standers like I have. They were right.
Another lover of Dynaudio I’ve owned Excite 32, Contour 3.4 and just had a set of Contour 1.8 mk2 briefly (cosmetically not good) and all sounded fantastic with Naim.
Yet another big fan of Dynaudio. I auditioned all the usual suspects before buying Special 40s to go with my Nova. I was certain I wanted floorstanders when I started auditioning but the Special 40s just stood out as more dynamic. In grey finish they also look good.
I have owned my Contour Mk 2’s for over 12 years now and they’re great. My only gripe is they need a lot of space to avoid bass boom which I temper with gaffer tape over the rear ports and even a mild toe-in will result in harsh treble response. In all other respects they punch well above their weight with my 200/282/CDX2 and LP12 set-up.
I’m thinking of the Special 40’s and today it was suggested to me that they are a ‘limited edition’ and are beginning to run low on availability, especially the Birch Red. Anyone know if this is correct or are they a standard part of the range?
I have read many online reviews about the S40 and there is hardly a negative word written about them. So my question to owners is what is not so good about the S40, what are its weaknesses. Or is it really ‘flawless’?
I use a pair of Dynaudio Audience 52s with a Nait 3 in my family room system…I have had the Nait for 24 years and the Dyns are the best speakers I have had on it …beating Keilidhs and ES11s…they really tame it.
I still have my old pair of Audience 52SE in my home office. I’m using them with an old Arcam AVR (ugh, Arcam!) with a dead digital board. I once had them playing on a UnitiQute and that was a fantastic combination.
I started my Dyn journey with focus 160’s,owned C1 MK11’s,owned special 40’s,still own excite 12’s and XD 600’s.Most of these were paired with Naim gear,ranging fromUQ2,SN2,272/XPSDR/250DR.Now I use an NDS/XPSDR directly into my XD 600’s.Match made in heaven really,Dyn and Naim.
I have my Contour 3.4’s powered by a UnitiQute at the moment and in a room only 16m squared so nothing as it should be really, underpowered and in a room to small and yet they sound fantastic.
