Dynaudio Focus

[L.T.Bloomer]

Anyone who knows the Danish loudspeaker brand Dynaudio? According to Scandinavian reviews, their stand speakers are outstanding, with 'high end' sound for 'budget' prices.

I've got a sort of mixed problem chosing components for my new hi-fi set-up:

One, there's not much room (nor wife acceptance) for floor-standers, so speakers that might be put on top of furniture has a big advantage. Here Dynaudio has a couple of winners (according to the reviewers). The smallest of these, the Focus 110, are also available with built-in amplifiers (2x50+50W bi-amping per pair), and these sets might be wired to the pre-amp via a subwoofer filtering out the low frequencies. More subwoofers are easily added to the set-up.

Which takes me to the second part of my problem:

I need only one analog input (for my turntable), but several digital inputs (wireless and wired from my Mac, disc players, and preferably a cable TV decoder) - and I want to be able to chose between them with a remote control. Within my budget, that leaves me with 3 alternatives:

XTZ Class A 100D3 integrated amplifier, the new Benchmark DAC1 HDR (DAC1 PRE with remote control), and harman/kardon's new HK990. The XTZ is the obvious budget alternative, the Benchmark probably has the greatest 'hi-fi credibility', while the H/K has a load of functionality.

All three has a DAC based on Analog Devices chips; ironically the highly acclaimed Benchmark seemingly has the less advanced one. The Benchmark and the H/K is about the same price, while the XTZ is less than half of this. The Benchmark needs the active version of the Focus 110, while the two integrated amps will allow me to buy the Focus 140 (if it is distinguishable from the 110 when the bass is left to a sub).

My heart tells me to go for the Benchmark/Focus 110A/sub combination, reason says XTZ/Focus 110 or 140/sub - but then there's all the extras that comes with the H/K, like balanced input, a host of fixed and variable outputs, including digital recording output and two dedicated subwoofer outputs - and a room correction system to match.

I know harman/kardon have been a dirty word in some audiophiles' ears for a decade or so, but the HK990 has got a couple of very positive reviews.

I know the Benchmark and Dynaudio combination will be good, soundwise, but it's comparatively expensive and the functionality is limited. Will the HK990 be a reasonable match for a pair of delicate and demanding speakers like the Dynaudio Focus 110 or 140? Will the XTZ be? Any thought on this from people who know something about it (I know there's lots of mere opinions out there; especially about he H/K)?

 

[Neal Johnson]

Hi LT Bloomer,

I just bought the Focus 110's in Rosewood finish last friday, my wife loves them BTW. I got them used from a friend and I can assure you they are excellent speakers. I don't know if you know what the price of these are but I personally would not call them budget speakers. But I guess that is relative. Here in Europe the 110's are around 1200-1300 Euros, I paid 625 Euros used. The 140's are around 1600-1700 Euros. I replaced a pair of B&W dm602's, 1st edition, and could not be happier. They actually have as much bass as the 602's but are half the size. The treble and midrange are far superior. Imaging, sounstage, seperation etc.. are much more realistic. If you buy Dynaudio I would strongly suggest putting them on stands atleast 1.5 feet away from the back wall. They are rear ported and will need to have the foam bungs inserted in the ports if they are any closer to the back wall or the bass will be to strong. I really can't think of another brand that I think compairs to Dynaudio. Thay are truely fantastic in every aspect, sound, build, astetics. I have not heard the 110a, powered, but I am sure they are even better than the passive 110's. As far as the electronic's you mentioned, I'm sorry but I have no experience with them. I am using a Marantz PM-7001 to power my 110's and they sound great. I sit around 7-8 feet from the speakers. More power would be better but the marantz has no problem powering them to more than satisfying levels. Between the Focus 140's and the 110's...it is a toss up. If I was able to have found as good of a deal as I found with the 110's on the 140's I'm sure I would have bought the 140's. Although I have read many reviews that actually give the 110's a higher mark than the 140's. I would show you some pics if I could figue out how to add them to my post.
Good luck and enjoy!

Neal Johnson

 

[L.T.Bloomer]

Thanks, Neal!

The 'budget' thing is of course related to the sound quality. But the Dynaudio is somewhat cheaper in Scandinavia (where I live part of the time) than elsewhere, anyway.

The main reason why I want 110/140 + subwoofer solution, is that it would save me a lot of trouble if I could put the speakers on top of furniture. That means less than the prescribed distance from the back wall, so the bass has to be cut and left to the sub. This can easily be done with the powered 110A; either with the controls on the speakers themselves, or by feeding them through the sub. With the harman/kardon it could be done with the amplifier's calibration system.

In Scandinavia, amplifier brands like Primare (Sweden) and Hegel (Norway) is often recommended for Dynaudio speakers. None of those offer the digital inputs I need, and matching such amplifiers with quality DACs would pulverize my budget...

 

[Davemcc]

I haven't replied because I'm not familiar with the amp combinations you're talking about. I thought that was the focus of your original post. As for the Dynaudio, I have no hesitation suggesting that you will be happy with the speakers regardless of which amp solution you choose.

I have my 140's only about a foot from the wall but I have some acoustic treatment right behind them. It seems to work out well crossed over to my sub at 80Hz. If you want to put the speakers on furniture, you may be able to use the foam plugs or build a couple of acoustic blocks of mineral wool a few inches thick to place directly behind the speakers to catch the first reflection of the bass frequencies. I don't know if this would be an ideal situation for you but I'm just throwing out ideas now.

 

[L.T.Bloomer]

I had two worries.

I've certainly got rid of one: The Dynavoices will probably sound great wherever I put them, if the lowest frequencies are left to a sub.

That leaves out the XTZ amp, which will send the full frequency range to the main speakers.

As for the second one, if they will sound good paired with a h/k amplifier, it seems like I'll have to find out myself.

Fortunately, I know of at least one shop that sells both Dynavoice and h/k, and will have at least the Focus 140 available for testing.

Unfortunately, noone sells both Dynavoice and Benchmark, and the 110A needs to be ordered from the manufactorer -- so it might not be possible to listen to that combination before buying....

 

[cjmusicdude]

Dynaudio Focus 110A and Benchmark DAC1

Anyone who knows the Danish loudspeaker brand Dynaudio? According to Scandinavian reviews, their stand speakers are outstanding, with 'high end' sound for 'budget' prices.

I've got a sort of mixed problem chosing components for my new hi-fi set-up:

One, there's not much room (nor wife acceptance) for floor-standers, so speakers that might be put on top of furniture has a big advantage. Here Dynaudio has a couple of winners (according to the reviewers). The smallest of these, the Focus 110, are also available with built-in amplifiers (2x50+50W bi-amping per pair), and these sets might be wired to the pre-amp via a subwoofer filtering out the low frequencies. More subwoofers are easily added to the set-up.

Which takes me to the second part of my problem:

I need only one analog input (for my turntable), but several digital inputs (wireless and wired from my Mac, disc players, and preferably a cable TV decoder) - and I want to be able to chose between them with a remote control. Within my budget, that leaves me with 3 alternatives:

XTZ Class A 100D3 integrated amplifier, the new Benchmark DAC1 HDR (DAC1 PRE with remote control), and harman/kardon's new HK990. The XTZ is the obvious budget alternative, the Benchmark probably has the greatest 'hi-fi credibility', while the H/K has a load of functionality.

All three has a DAC based on Analog Devices chips; ironically the highly acclaimed Benchmark seemingly has the less advanced one. The Benchmark and the H/K is about the same price, while the XTZ is less than half of this. The Benchmark needs the active version of the Focus 110, while the two integrated amps will allow me to buy the Focus 140 (if it is distinguishable from the 110 when the bass is left to a sub).

My heart tells me to go for the Benchmark/Focus 110A/sub combination, reason says XTZ/Focus 110 or 140/sub - but then there's all the extras that comes with the H/K, like balanced input, a host of fixed and variable outputs, including digital recording output and two dedicated subwoofer outputs - and a room correction system to match.

I know harman/kardon have been a dirty word in some audiophiles' ears for a decade or so, but the HK990 has got a couple of very positive reviews.

I know the Benchmark and Dynaudio combination will be good, soundwise, but it's comparatively expensive and the functionality is limited. Will the HK990 be a reasonable match for a pair of delicate and demanding speakers like the Dynaudio Focus 110 or 140? Will the XTZ be? Any thought on this from people who know something about it (I know there's lots of mere opinions out there; especially about he H/K

The Dynaudio Focus 110A, Benchmark DAC1Pre works a treat. No need for matching power amps etc,. Note, I also have a Dyna Sub250 as well. The real benefit is its flexibility and sound quality. For CD I plug the analogy output form the an arcam CD player into the analogy input on the DAC1 Pre. For High res audio(24/192) I plug the macbook pro into the digital USB input DAC1 using a usb digital input. And finally, for streaming itunes wirelessly (and this is the real winner, as far as flexibility is concern) I use the digital output on an airport express straight into the DAC1. I love this system...

 

[cornelius]

I've also been considering the Benchmark/Focus 110A combo. It's a great 2-channel minimalist system. From what you've listed, I'd definitely go with this set up!

I recently demoed the passive 110s (the store doesn't sell the active option). I've heard Dyns before (both in studios and stores) and always liked them a lot. But, I think it might have been the demo room, because I wasn't blown away by them. With all of the speakers I heard, there was a bit of an upper-mid honk going on. Anyway, it was a quick demo, so I'm going back with some of my cds to try them again. I have read that the active version is better than the passive ones, which doesn't surprise me...

A few days after I heard the 110's, I went to a different store and tried out a pair of Harbeth P3-ESR's. Now those monitors immediately sounded great to me. L.T., maybe give those a try? I'm still going to go back and check on the 110's, but the Harbeths are going to be hard to beat.

The Harbeths are know for their accurate and natural mids. I love lo end as much as the next guy, but I'm learning that it's better to err on the side of a little less bass. The Harbeths don't have deep bass but that's ok, I don't want to deal with all the room problems anymore that comes with it. I think it's more important to have a speaker that gets the mid-range right. You can always add a sub later...

Anyway, that's been my latest experience, thought I'd share since we're basically looking for the same thing

 

[haraldo]

I don't have Dynaudio's myself, but I auditioned a bunch of different speakers in different shops under quite controlled situations....

The Dynaudio's always stand out in a positive way, if it's small bookshelf speakers, floorstanders, or whatever model....

For some reason I seem to like the models with smaller woofers even more than the one with 8" woofers, this may be coincidence or due to amp - speaker matching....

However, Dynaudio's is a safe bet and easy to recommend

If you could afford Contour S 1.4 ..... they're simply stunning speakers, but large for bookshelf speakers, well.... performance is jaw-dropping
Well... they're not active speakers, but combined with the benchmark and a set of Class D amps, you should be smoking
I believe the Contour S 1.4 is quite a significant step up in quality and performance from the Focus range.....
But then again.... this perhaps will crunch your budget......

Some people around here also really recommend the Yamaha pro amps, even for consumer use.... they're quite affordable... and probably matches or betters the amps in the Active Dynaudio's
http://www.yamaha.com/yamahavgn/CDA/ContentDetail/ModelSeriesDetail.html?CNTID=15252&CTID=227600

I have no experience with the active Dynaudio's so I can't comment on these.......

 

[jmy2469]

DynaudioFocus

I just upgraded my old Paradigm V5 Monitors, all bookshelves, to the Dynaudio Focus. I have the 220MKII's and 200c in the font,and have the 110's in the rear as my surrounds. Driving them I have the Arcam AVR 600. Could not be happier. Sounds awesome. Very happy with the upgrade,worth every penny