On 02 Sep 2004 21:20:06 GMT, ohawker (Andy
Evans) wrote:

Needing to replace my Magneplaners for lack of space (cue - SMGs for sale), I
strolled into Audio T and heard the following:
Dynaudio 52 (2 way bookshelf)
Dynaudio 52SE (2 way bookshelf)
B&W (2 way bookshelf)
PMC GB1 (transmission lines)

The B&W had the most lively mids and full mid-bass but a rather strident edge.
The PMc were surprisingly good. The 52SE were the best and most detail (subtle
stuff the others just didn't catch) and the 52s were right behind, uncoloured
but a trifle more bland. Result - on present auditioning I'm looking for
something in the Dynaudio range. But what? Bookshelf or thin floorstander?
Which range - contour, audience, any other? Any past superceded models that
were classics? anything for sale. Advise me, all you Dynaudio experts. And, of
course, is there anything small that is substantially better (notably more
detailed)? Andy

I've listened to a very wide range of 'minimonitor' speakers up to a
couple of grand or so, and while I favour the B&W N805 or ATC SCM 20
if you want to spend that much, the Dynaudio 52SE is otherwise the
best I've heard, and is one of those truly exceptional designs which
opo up from time to time, like the original B&W 805 - and indeed the
ATC SCM20. The only real alternative IMO at the price point is the ATC
SCM12, but that sounds so different that you'd need to audition both.
I've not heard any floorstander up to the same price limit which can
come even close to these speakers in overall sound quality, and if you
combine the 52SE with a good sub, you can rival the very best at *any*
price.

--

Stewart Pinkerton | Music is Art - Audio is Engineering

Thanks for the info, Stewart. you wouldn't happen to know how the 52SE compares
with speakers using allegedly better mid-bass units like the SEAS Excel and the
Accuton ceramic, and also full rangers such as the Jordan JXS92?

=== Andy Evans ===
Visit our Website:- http://www.artsandmedia.com
Audio, music and health pages and interesting links.

On 03 Sep 2004 09:49:53 GMT, ohawker (Andy
Evans) wrote:

Thanks for the info, Stewart. you wouldn't happen to know how the 52SE compares
with speakers using allegedly better mid-bass units like the SEAS Excel and the
Accuton ceramic, and also full rangers such as the Jordan JXS92?

Well, taking sensible price into acccount, the ones I've heard have
been the B&W 'free edge' midrange in the CDM9 and N804, and the JMLab
'W' cone in the Elektra 906 . You could also make a case for the
Wharfedale 7 series ceramic driver. Aside from the JMlab, I would say
that there are other problems with those speakers which prevent the
best being made of the driver. The B&W is probably the best example,
since the magnificent N800 uses the same midrange driver as the CDM9,
but certainly doesn't have the same sound, even in the midrange! To be
fair, the N804 is a top-class speaker for the price, but we're up to
£2.5k here, so getting a bit silly by comparison - even if you added a
decent sub to the 52s! On reflection, I should have included the JMlab
Elektra 906 and of course its big brother, the new 907Be, as these are
of similar quality to the Dynaudio 52SE, but with a noticeably warmer
balance which you may prefer - or not.

I've heard the Bandor and Jordan (and of course Lowther) single
drivers over many years, and they simply prove the point that one
driver can *not* cover ten octaves! Most of the better designers will
acknowledge that three octaves is about it for any cone/dome driver if
top quality is to be maintained, hence my enthusiasm for top-class
'minimonitors' combined with a killer sub, which you can homebuild for
less than a grand - probably the only area left in hi-fi where you
really can build better than you can buy.
--

Stewart Pinkerton | Music is Art - Audio is Engineering

hence my enthusiasm for top-class
'minimonitors' combined with a killer sub, which you can homebuild for
less than a grand - probably the only area left in hi-fi where you
really can build better than you can buy.

Got any designs for one of they in mind Stewart?. Like a web URL?...

cheers
--
Tony Sayer

On Fri, 3 Sep 2004 17:59:13 +0100, tony sayer
wrote:

hence my enthusiasm for top-class
'minimonitors' combined with a killer sub, which you can homebuild for
less than a grand - probably the only area left in hi-fi where you
really can build better than you can buy.

Got any designs for one of they in mind Stewart?. Like a web URL?...

Google on 'dipole subwoofer', and enter the world of *real* bass
power! I'm planning a pair of Adire Tempests used in shorted coil
mode, in a roof-space plenum chamber, driven by a 250 watt 'plate'
amplifier. That's good for better than 115dB in-room from 20 Hz up!
--

Stewart Pinkerton | Music is Art - Audio is Engineering

Stewart Pinkerton wrote:

On Fri, 3 Sep 2004 17:59:13 +0100, tony sayer
wrote:


hence my enthusiasm for top-class
'minimonitors' combined with a killer sub, which you can homebuild for
less than a grand - probably the only area left in hi-fi where you
really can build better than you can buy.

Got any designs for one of they in mind Stewart?. Like a web URL?...


Google on 'dipole subwoofer', and enter the world of *real* bass
power! I'm planning a pair of Adire Tempests used in shorted coil
mode, in a roof-space plenum chamber, driven by a 250 watt 'plate'
amplifier. That's good for better than 115dB in-room from 20 Hz up!

Do you mean dipole subwoofer as in:
http://www.diysubwoofers.org/dipole ?

If so, it's a waste of a good driver.
Any configuration with an enclosure is better, even if it is
the loft or the cupboard under the stairs.

I finally found a CD with some bass:
A "C" at ~16.35Hz, though only at -20dB.
Saint-Saens: Symphony No. 3 in C minor, Organ. Telarc CD-80274.
Now I have an incentive to go the extra half octave!

--
Eiron.

I finally found a CD with some bass:
A "C" at ~16.35Hz, though only at -20dB.
Saint-Saens: Symphony No. 3 in C minor, Organ. Telarc CD-80274.
Now I have an incentive to go the extra half octave!

Please never let me get like this as NIHL gradually takes its toll.


Martin (Ask not for whom the bell tolls, cos you can't ****ing hear it! Ha ha"
--
M.A.Poyser Tel.: 07967 110890
Manchester, U.K. http://www.fleetie.demon.co.uk

On Sat, 04 Sep 2004 21:17:42 +0100, Eiron wrote:

Stewart Pinkerton wrote:

On Fri, 3 Sep 2004 17:59:13 +0100, tony sayer
wrote:


hence my enthusiasm for top-class
'minimonitors' combined with a killer sub, which you can homebuild for
less than a grand - probably the only area left in hi-fi where you
really can build better than you can buy.

Got any designs for one of they in mind Stewart?. Like a web URL?...


Google on 'dipole subwoofer', and enter the world of *real* bass
power! I'm planning a pair of Adire Tempests used in shorted coil
mode, in a roof-space plenum chamber, driven by a 250 watt 'plate'
amplifier. That's good for better than 115dB in-room from 20 Hz up!

Do you mean dipole subwoofer as in:
http://www.diysubwoofers.org/dipole ?

No. Sorry, that was a brainfart. I did *not* mean dipole, I meant
Infinite Baffle (IB) subwoofers. Go to www.klone-audio.com and check
out the 'Shiva' designs. Two Tempests are similar in swept volume to
four Shivas. In 'shorted coil' mode in an infinite baffle arrangement,
they are flat to 20Hz without EQ and are comfortably driven by a
single 250W/4ohm 'plate' amp, being Xmax limited up to 30Hz and
producing some 115-120dB in-room from there on up. The Xmax figure
predicts about 115dB at 20Hz in-room, which should be enough for even
the most diehard home cinema fan!
--

Stewart Pinkerton | Music is Art - Audio is Engineering