Dynaudio Audience 122 vs 72?

[SpunkyDDog]

Hi all!

I've been reading this forum for a while and decided to create an account to ask this nerve racking question(s)... What's the difference in quality of sound between Dynaudio 122 and 72, and will either run fine off of a Yamaha RX-V663?

I recently went to a local dealer (or should I say the ONLY dealer in the state) that sells several high-end loudspeakers. As with every other knowledgeable person in this forum, I understood that auditioning loudspeakers is more important than purchasing something blindly (deafly?). That's why my wife and I really-really enjoyed listening to the amazing Dynaudio sound. "Unfortunately", they only had the 72 and 52’s on the floor, of which I love the sound. We only listened to music since the room wasn’t setup for theatre, but I’m sure they’ll do fine for movies without issue. In our area, they’re going for $1900/pair which is a lot considering our budget of $2k (maybe wiggle room after consulting with the wife aka CFO), but I’m looking at building up to something. With that said, I looked online and found a less-used pair of 122’s and 122c for about $1500. Understanding that they’re from the same company and similarly resemble the 72’s, I’m assuming they’ll produce the same sound? I’m eager to know, without the ability to hear them, that if I decided to go with this purchase of the 122’s if it would be a smart/good/expected choice…

Thoughts?

As a very side note:

Originally I thought I was going to buy the Klipsch synergy series from the big yellow tag store. But after much reading from this fabulous forum, I leaned that the Reference series (62/82) would be a better option than the Synergy series in sound and quality. Well, to my surprise, I was wrong about this. The quality of sound coming out of the Reference series was noticeably better than the Synergy series, but oddly missed something and the horns were VERY harsh, much harsher than I originally imagined. In fact, my ears were feeling a little painful after just some simple auditioning (and I'm not one to listen to speakers at their max). My wife and I felt that the mids were not very apparent and some movies auditioned were poor reproduced in the actors’ lines. The Klipsch speakers were clear and crisp, especially during music sessions, but without those mids, it left me feeling a little empty. So, needless to say, I was pretty disappointed and am glad I didn’t buy them online though their price point and reputation seemed very good. I guess it’s not the sound I’m looking for.

Man… I’ve been looking for a sound system for the past year now that I think about it…?!

 

[cbraver]

They are to be matched with the 122C center channel that has been around for a long time. Magnetically sheilded, and basically it seems they are marketing it / have designed it as the home theater solution for the Audience line...

The nominal impedence on them is 6-ohms, versus 4-ohms for the 72s and 82s, making me believe that the idea is so people don't have to run seperates. You're Yahama would maybe struggle with a 72 or 82, whereas with the 122 it should be okay. The woofers on the 122 are a little smaller as well, 15cm versus 17cm.

So, I think this all comes down to people buy 72s and 82s and then pair them on 6-ohm stable amplifiers which eventually die because of the difficult load. I lost my Pioneer for that exact reason, before I knew any better. People will tell you on this forum (I assume correctly), that you don't need much wattage to power a home theater, but you do need to pay attention to impedence and having an appropriate power supply for the job.

If you get the 72s or 82s, you'll need a powerful amplifier(s) that is 4-ohm stable... the Yamaha RX-V663 probably won't work for so long. It might be okay with the 122, but, even on those the impedence gets down to 4-ohms at certain frequencies... so, I don't know. Dynaudios are tough to drive, you need some iron to power them (click on my signature to see what I did with my 70s)

 

[SpunkyDDog]

Thanks for your thoughts/experience CBraver...

Hmmm... So if I still use my yammie, how would one recommend the setup to increase the power needs for the impedence of 4 ohms? Is there an AV receiver out there with similar features of the RX-V663 but supports speakers such as the Audience 72's?

Basically, I bout the RX-V663 and it's still in it's package, so I might be able to return it. It was a crazy amazing deal from the yellow tag store, mostly because of coupons and reward zone deals.

I'm leaning toward the 122's just because of the price at this point... I'm hoping that someone with knowledge of the 122's and 72's could tell me if I'd notice a difference really...

Is there a similar sounding speaker of the 72's out there? In reality, I'm trying to go for a HT type setup, but like I said, I'm building up to it. The room is about 14' x 23' and the TV/couch is face the shorter length if that helps anyone for suggestions...

Man I'm a mess right now!

 

[cbraver]

Thanks for your thoughts/experience CBraver...

Hmmm... So if I still use my yammie, how would one recommend the setup to increase the power needs for the impedence of 4 ohms? Is there an AV receiver out there with similar features of the RX-V663 but supports speakers such as the Audience 72's?

Basically, I bout the RX-V663 and it's still in it's package, so I might be able to return it. It was a crazy amazing deal from the yellow tag store, mostly because of coupons and reward zone deals.

I'm leaning toward the 122's just because of the price at this point... I'm hoping that someone with knowledge of the 122's and 72's could tell me if I'd notice a difference really...

Is there a similar sounding speaker of the 72's out there? In reality, I'm trying to go for a HT type setup, but like I said, I'm building up to it. The room is about 14' x 23' and the TV/couch is face the shorter length if that helps anyone for suggestions...

Man I'm a mess right now!

Well, if you wanted to use the RX-V663, you could use the pre-outs on it and buy a 4-ohm stable amplifier. As far as 4-ohm stable receivers, I'm pretty sure Denon's higher end stuff is. But, for that cost, I'd probably get a seperate amplifier. A lot of people here like those Emotiva's for the money, although I don't have personal experience owning one. Maybe someone else will chime in.

Dynaudios are a rare breed of speakers in my opinion, and it's difficult to recommend a brand that sounds similar to them. M&K is about as close as I can think of, but they are in reorganization right now, but even S-150s are 4-ohm speakers. Triad and Genelec (which are active, so, you'd just use the pre-outs on your Yahama and not need to get an amplifier) are also great and very nuetral sounding. Notice, that these brands are all studio monitor manufacturers as well, so, I'd say your preference is a very neutral and dynamic speaker.

Honestly, if I was in your shoes, I'd look at getting an amplifier to run from your pre-outs and get the Dynaudios if you like them. You could search around here for 4-ohm stable amplifiers. Sunfire and Rotel come to mind.