Proac vs Dynaudio audition at home

[Analogmusic]

Had the good fortune to borrow an old Proac D2 and compare that against my Dynaudio Excite X16.

System, Chord 2qute/vertere interconnect/202/200DR/NACA 5

played a number of songs, ranging from Dua Lipa, Bon Jovi, Post Malone, Def Leppard.

Soon the differences become apparent.

The D2 is a brighter speaker than the Dynaudio

Bass is good in the proac. Clarity is good, some might say that it appears to have clearer midrange.

But in the end the Dynaudio is different, it has an absolutely neutral tonality and tuning.

and this was apparent to me when playing Dua Lipa concert (link below), the Dynaudio is a bit more fun to listen to (to my ears), although the proac is no slouch. I like how the Dynaudio renders Dua Lipa’s amazing vocals more on the Dynaudio (again, the proac is no slouch)

The Dynaudio just seems more balanced, more composed, and more enjoyable. It is rear ported, I have close to the wall, throws out an amount of bass that I like very much (even though Dynaudio advise not to have it this close to the wall). But I like it this way. No subwoofer needed !

The proac is front ported, probably more neutral in the bass. But I like have the bass boosted this way with my Dynaudio close to the wall, and having a rear port. the Dynaudio bass driver is capable of going down to 40HZ flat (-3 db). Not many floor standers can do this in the same way,

Result : although a lot of people would probably go for the proac, but for my taste, especially in terms of rock and dance music, I would choose the Dynaudio. Have lived with it for many years now and it just does the trick of letting me enjoy the music. It is a fun speaker to listen to for hours and hours…

Dua Lipa - Cold Heart (Live at Capital's Jingle Bell Ball 2022) | Capital

[duf666]

@Analogmusic

It is a fun speaker to listen to for hours and hours…

One of the great quality of Dynaudio’s speakers !
I’m still enjoying my 20+ years Audience system (122, 122c, 42w).

[Collywobbles]

Target stands used to be a standard recommendation for Proac to give their best. Seriously heavy. I think with good reason.

[ianrmack]

I had a pair of proac tablette 50 signatures for 15+ years in my kitchen bookshelf system. 10 years ago I compared them to Dynaudio Focus 140s. The Dyns are still here.

Also have a pair of Special Forty’s and Heritage Specials. They are neutral and uncolored. Easier to build a repeatable upstream system IMO.

[Analogmusic]

speakers are very subjective, it all depends on the room. As is stands, the Dynaudio just works better in my room, which doesn’t have much in terms of carpets, but it may well be completely different outcome if the room was full of carpets. for anyone reading this, it is just my ears, and what I like, it may not be what works for your system, ears, and most importantly, room !

having said all this, Dynaudio are engineered in a specific way (the clue in is the name), and they are musical, engaging, dynamic speakers, while maintaining a flat and neutral tone (many movies and albums are mastered on Dynaudio monitors) so this is what I like. Many people do not like the neutral tonality. at one time I used B&W 805s, and loved it (bass, mid, highs - great sound), but now I am not sure I would go back to that sound now. Or, maybe I would. But the Dynaudio just does it, so I need to do another comparison someday…

[ryder]

There are too many good speakers out there and we can usually settle with only a pair in the main system. For the more fortunate, additional (surplus) speakers are rotated in the system if there is a requirement for a different listening experience.

The Proac D2R, Dynaudio Heritage Special and Audiovector R1 Arrete are few speakers on my mind although I have reached the end of the journey with my system about two years ago. Sometimes we can’t have it all.

Proac vs Dynaudio. For me it would be the Heritage Special and much cheaper Response D2R.