Naim and Dynaudio Thread

Hi-Fi Corner
627

the point is quite clear,

  1. the heritage is way overpriced.
  2. this was certainly not the right time in terms of corona and limited access to dealers to release a speaker that only has 2500 numbers in production.
  3. if the heritage is a return to the original dynaudio sound (with impedance correction and first order crossover) then the company seems to be confused. is there an issue with the new dynaudio sound? why the need for this heritage that seems to go back to the old dynaudio sound?
  4. what I mean by iconic is by comparison to the company’s own so called “legendary speakers”, like the special 25. If dynaudio is trying to create another special 25 (and they claim they are) - it seems like a feeble and ill conceived attempt.
628

Don’t want to mess things up but Heritage Specials are not Special 25s which are larger, have 8 inch woofers and are 3db more efficient.

I agree with you, they are way overpriced !

629

i use evoke 10 in a 4 x 3.4 room and they have a warmth and weight that belies their size, but also open, articulate and sweet detailed highs, on the end of a supernait 2

630

Surely there is only one issue, perhaps split into two parts: how well do they reproduce the music and how does their price compare with an equivalent product? I have Kudos Titan 808s but several Sonus Faber speakers are stunningly beautiful and look like they cost a great deal more but I bought the Titans having regard to the evaluation above

631

at this point for me, it’s also about supporting British hi-fi industry.

If I have the luxury of spending 5,500 GBP on a speaker, I would make every effort to spend my money with a UK based company first.

It will not be that difficult, as UK hi-fi companies make excellent speakers !

It did not matter before that much, but events of 2020 have changed my thinking.

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632

Sure the pimary issue is ‘is it worth the price for you’, which can be broken down in a number of parts, e.g.:

  • Objective sound quality (performance)
  • Subjective sound quality (character)
  • Design of the speaker, does it match the room
  • Size and placeability
  • Exclusivity of the product
  • Resale value
  • Comparable alternatives at same or lower price point
  • Etc…
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633

Well said

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634

St Analogmusic defender of the faith and all things Naim and Chord!!

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635

well I just had the most amazing evening listening to the new KEF LS50 Meta active and passives…

it’s really game over Dynaudio for me, and end of my dynaudio journey after hearing the new Meta technology from KEF…

simply put the KEF Meta LS50 does not sound like a speaker, it’s unlike most speakers I have ever heard other than electrostatics…

all the music I played through them sounds real, fun and engaging…

amazing, just amazing.

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636

@Analogmusic – you know KEF is owned by the Chinese (Gold Peak, who also own Celestion)? And that although designed in England, the LS50’s made in China? Just saying, in case you want to change your buying decision…

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637

These threads are always interesting. People defend the choices they make or are about to make, for a range of reasons. But surely the issues are:

  • does it sound better (if you’re upgrading)?
  • does it sound different but still as good (if you just want a change)?
  • is it worth it to you?

FWIW, I recently had the luxury of being able to spend a daft sum on upgrading my hifi, and tried out a whole range of things. I ended up with some Dynaudios. They seemed to work especially well with the Naim kit.

Are they the best? No. Are they better than other things at their price point? For us, yes. For everyone? No. Are they worth it? For us, yes - for others, maybe not. I now have a system I’m unlikely to grow out of, can use for many many years to come, and, were I to need to sell it, would recoup most of my outlay.

I’ll happily listen to other stuff, and am open to new (or revitalised old) tech changing the game and moving things on (am considering some electrostatics for the other office system, for e.g.).

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638

Firstly I’m not being sarcastic unlike you my opinions are based on real life experience I have heard, bought and owned more Naim Audio equipment then you will ever hear ditto Dynaudio.
Secondly I wouldn’t call the Dynaudio Contour s3.4 either ordinary looking or extraordinarily expensive. Dynaudio build quality at this price point is second to none which is what drew me to them so I’m certainly no ‘Audio Fool’ as you insinuate and not that it is any business of yours I paid less than a quarter of the s3.4’s rrp. What is extraordinary though is the very strong views that you form about things that you have no real experience of and therefore no nothing about.

For instance the Heritage speakers that you ignorantly imply are manufactured in China or by association with China are made cheaply are actually completely hand built in Denmark, the woofers and tweeters are hand built too and the solid wood cabinets are also hand built and hand finished. These speakers are some of the most meticulously built and voiced that you will find, built by a company close to 40 years old and that they are not British means nothing, there is, has and always will be crap hifi built in Britain too.

I would suggest that before you go spouting off in future that you actually take the time to listen to the equipment in question or if you are going to base your opinions on the internet then at least read up properly instead of cherry picking things that fit in with your view.
I get that you really like Naim and Chord and it’s great that you have found a hifi you enjoy but the whole world doesn’t have to agree with you and just because they don’t doesn’t automatically make them wrong or an Audio Fool.

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639

@Bobthebuilder

I think you completely misunderstood my earlier post, which was not directed at you at all.

I did not questions your choice of Contour 3.4 speaker, and you did quite well to pay 25 % of RRP.

Secondly being an audiophile myself - I have sacrificed of many other purchases to build up my 2 hi-fi systems, and parting with large amounts of money (for me) hence, my comment was not to be taken in the way that you took it personally. If an audiophile and his/her money are parted, well that is a fact - nothing foolish about that, it is what it is. This is an expensive hobby if one wants to buy hi-end hi-fi products.

Most of us on the Naim forum have spent a lot of money on this hobby. No regrets for me.

It is what it is.

640

as for stating that my knowledge about Dynaudio speakers is limited, or how they’re built - not sure on what basis you can say this. Same for Naim - I have heard almost all their products extensively over the last decade - and owned quite a few myself. I am not a Naim box shifter, so haven’t bought and sold what you have.

Some people live in countries where it easy to sell Naim boxes on the secondary market so that does help !

However I do like my Naim products very much and learnt how to get the best out of them which I bought so never really felt the need to sell them on. However I remain aspirational for a NAC 52 or 552, who knows one day…?

As for Dynaudio speakers I have owned 3 of them for a number of years, and I am not waking up anymore excited to listen to my hi-fi anymore. I have auditioned extensively a number of Dynaudios all the way to the top evidence platinum ones.

I remember unboxing the Focus 260 with great excitement a few years ago - but I was disappointed the moment I hooked them up. I thought these would need 500 hours, but a few years gone now and many thousands of hours, they are just still a disappointment.

for me the parting of ways with Dynaudio I think it boils down to the fact, that I have slowly come to realise that the dynaudio sound is a bit “clinical” - some of the sparkle that I hear on voicing of British speakers (Proac, Kef, B&W) is not there. The same sparkle that I hear from live music. No matter which Dynaudio I have heard, it doesn’t sound like live musical instruments to my ears.

I think some hi-fi reviewers refer to this as high frequency “bite”. All Dynaudios I have heard are just too smooth for my taste.

It hit me a few days ago - I remember my first audition of a Naim amplifier (202/200) back in 2006 with a B&W 805S - it was amazing.

so a few days ago I played the same songs I played that day (and I only remember because that audition was so remarkable for me) - only this time with a much better source and Naim amplifier (282/250DR), and what came out my focus 260 was nowhere near what I heard from those mighty B&W 805s (the massive vocal projection in front of the speakers and quite a punchy bass as well as the sheer speed of the 805s), even though my source (chord Dave) and amplifier (282/250DR) cost much more than what was used for audition.

My opinion.

Although the sound is rhythmic, there is a strong dynaudio voicing (to my ears) that comes from every Dynaudio speaker that I heard, and it just isn’t what I am looking for anymore.

641

When you say not like a speaker what exactly do you mean please

642

The music seemed to be free of the confines of the box and there was a vibrancy that was closer to live music.

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643

I just noticed this paragraph and i think it’s interesting. For me for instance, the Dynaudio sound is the opposite of clinical and i got rid of a pair of B&W floorstanders because i found them too clinically sounding. The sparkle as you name it, or more prominent treble as i would name it, makes some speakers sound too rational or surgical for me, rather than lively as you might call it. Many Dynaudio speakers or the Spendors i currently own have less of that ‘sparkle’ but as a consequence feel warmer, more personal and inviting to me, which i personally like.

And perhaps as our ears get older and the more subtle highs of some Dynaudio speakers are more easily missed, then speakers with more pronounced treble could become more appealing, to compensate for some of the subtlety in the higher ranges that we can discern less easily.

For anyone interested, Steve Guttenberg has a nice video up on Youtube where he describes how the new Meta filter on the LS50 accomplishes this.

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644

about hearing changing when older… I don’t think that is the reason I am moving on from Dynaudio…

…my audition of the KEF meta LS50 confirmed my reasons. I was engaged with the music and listened for 2 hours in the showroom till it closed… you really have to hear one yourself to understand.

Coming home after that audition and listening to my Dynaudio excite 16 confirmed it again…

The KEF Meta LS50 seems to gone one step closer to that elusive trait of not sounding like a speaker, and moving one step closer to disappearing and leaving more of the music to enjoy.

on the KEF Meta LS 50 Norah Jones vocals sounded the way she should, also as I remember hearing on speakers like B&W … Or a Sonus Faber Olympica…

How come Dynaudio speakers are never fatiguing no matter what the recording? How is that possible?

What I found particularly interesting is Steve Guttenburg’s review of 2020 speakers and his awards. The shortlist also included the mighty Dynaudio contour 20i, which he said was an excellent speaker

but the winners were the KEF LS50 Meta and … the small B&W 607 S2 anniversary edition !

Yes competition is tough but it forces companies to innovate - and I am thankful for innovations like the meta material used in the Meta LS50… it’s a game changer for me.

645

This meta thing is only a bit of plastic with various sized tubes, it’s hardly a cure for coronavirus. I very much doubt it is a game changer and there are quite a few speakers that can get out of the way and let the music flow. I hardly think a bit of plastic in a budget Kef is a reason to write off Dynaudio. Preferring one speaker to another is simply about preference rather than one being better than the other, and sometimes it’s good to have a change.

I thought the heritage speakers shown further up the thread look fantastic - simple, understated and oozing quality. So much nicer than weird curvy things with shiny bits and writing all over them. They look like proper speakers.

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646

Audition the new KEF Meta LS50 either active or passive and you will understand

I dare you not to buy them once you hear them :sunglasses: