Great Danes
As some of you may know, I've been enjoying my "new" Dynaudio speakers, featured in this other thread: http://forum.polkaudio.com/discussion/174812/the-danish-have-invaded-my-setups#latest
However, I came across a deal I simply could not pass up and I feel it is deserving of a separate thread as it is a substantial upgrade over what I had previously.
I am now the proud owner of a pair of Dynaudio Focus 260 floorstanding speakers in Piano Gloss Black. I took a chance on having these shipped to me and I'm thankful that the seller took the time to pack them well as they arrived safely & without incident.
These were a dealer's "demo" pair so they are already broken in and the seller warned me ahead of time that they have some scuffs & scratches. To me, they have the typical swirls associated with speakers featuring a Piano Gloss Black finish but no blemishes are visible unless I'm shining a flashlight directly on the finish; from the listening position they look fantastic.
Compared to the other speakers I've had in the house over the last year, the Focus 260 has the most articulate high note reproduction without being fatiguing. The details reproduced are really spectacular and the mids are amazing. I feel that this is a very well balanced speaker from top to bottom and the bottom is tight, accurate, and fast. I was using a sub to augment all of the bookshelf Dynaudio speakers except for the M20. The M20 seemed to have a very nice, balanced sound throughout the apartment despite it not being able to reproduce super low notes on its own.
When the Focus 260 got here they achieved the balanced sound but with even more authority in the lower registers than the bookshelf speakers that were paired with the sub. Let me explain that last part; I wasn't able to get the sub to blend properly with the bookshelf speakers in the apartment because my placement options were limited. After doing the sub crawl, I knew where the sub wanted to be placed, I just couldn't locate it there. Because of that anomaly, the bass seemed to be over emphasized on bass heavy tracks. With the Focus 260, I played Tiger by Paula Cole and I was positively giddy, reminding me of how I felt the first time I heard the SVS 20-39 PCi for the first time. I was amazed at well these speakers reproduce every aspect of the music.
The thing that drew me to Dynaudio was the details they reproduce and the holographic, 3-D soundstage they produce. I think that my favorite speakers in the line up are the DM 2/6 & the Focus 260. I don't know why but the DM 2/6 presents an amazing level of detail and the sounstage is wide and deep. The Focus 260 adds to the capabilities of the 2/6 in every way and takes me inside the music. I'm no expert at reviewing gear so I can only relay to you what I'm hearing in my listening environment through my setup. The folks over at the Dynaudio Owners thread at the AVS forum seem to hold the Focus line in high regard, especially the Focus 160 bookshelf speaker and the Focus 260 floorstanding speaker. I can concur with the latter as I haven't owned the Focus 160.
Now, I just have to decide which amp will stay to drive the floorstanding speakers. Decisions, decisions. I also want to thank my wonderful wife for trying to understand this pursuit of audio enthusiasm as there has been a lot of gear moving through here as of late and a lot of items will be moving on soon to make the apartment more habitable. I do look forward to the day when I will have a dedicated listening room with acoustic treatments where these speakers will truly be able to stretch their proverbial legs. For now, they are doing a splendid job where they are and things are only going to get better from here on out.
Focus 260 & Excite X24
Focus 260, Excite X14, & Excite X24
M20, Excite X14, & Excite X24
DM 2/6
However, I came across a deal I simply could not pass up and I feel it is deserving of a separate thread as it is a substantial upgrade over what I had previously.
I am now the proud owner of a pair of Dynaudio Focus 260 floorstanding speakers in Piano Gloss Black. I took a chance on having these shipped to me and I'm thankful that the seller took the time to pack them well as they arrived safely & without incident.
These were a dealer's "demo" pair so they are already broken in and the seller warned me ahead of time that they have some scuffs & scratches. To me, they have the typical swirls associated with speakers featuring a Piano Gloss Black finish but no blemishes are visible unless I'm shining a flashlight directly on the finish; from the listening position they look fantastic.
Compared to the other speakers I've had in the house over the last year, the Focus 260 has the most articulate high note reproduction without being fatiguing. The details reproduced are really spectacular and the mids are amazing. I feel that this is a very well balanced speaker from top to bottom and the bottom is tight, accurate, and fast. I was using a sub to augment all of the bookshelf Dynaudio speakers except for the M20. The M20 seemed to have a very nice, balanced sound throughout the apartment despite it not being able to reproduce super low notes on its own.
When the Focus 260 got here they achieved the balanced sound but with even more authority in the lower registers than the bookshelf speakers that were paired with the sub. Let me explain that last part; I wasn't able to get the sub to blend properly with the bookshelf speakers in the apartment because my placement options were limited. After doing the sub crawl, I knew where the sub wanted to be placed, I just couldn't locate it there. Because of that anomaly, the bass seemed to be over emphasized on bass heavy tracks. With the Focus 260, I played Tiger by Paula Cole and I was positively giddy, reminding me of how I felt the first time I heard the SVS 20-39 PCi for the first time. I was amazed at well these speakers reproduce every aspect of the music.
The thing that drew me to Dynaudio was the details they reproduce and the holographic, 3-D soundstage they produce. I think that my favorite speakers in the line up are the DM 2/6 & the Focus 260. I don't know why but the DM 2/6 presents an amazing level of detail and the sounstage is wide and deep. The Focus 260 adds to the capabilities of the 2/6 in every way and takes me inside the music. I'm no expert at reviewing gear so I can only relay to you what I'm hearing in my listening environment through my setup. The folks over at the Dynaudio Owners thread at the AVS forum seem to hold the Focus line in high regard, especially the Focus 160 bookshelf speaker and the Focus 260 floorstanding speaker. I can concur with the latter as I haven't owned the Focus 160.
Now, I just have to decide which amp will stay to drive the floorstanding speakers. Decisions, decisions. I also want to thank my wonderful wife for trying to understand this pursuit of audio enthusiasm as there has been a lot of gear moving through here as of late and a lot of items will be moving on soon to make the apartment more habitable. I do look forward to the day when I will have a dedicated listening room with acoustic treatments where these speakers will truly be able to stretch their proverbial legs. For now, they are doing a splendid job where they are and things are only going to get better from here on out.
Focus 260 & Excite X24
Focus 260, Excite X14, & Excite X24
M20, Excite X14, & Excite X24
DM 2/6
Audio: Polk S15 * Polk S35 * Polk S10 * SVS SB-1000 Pro
HT: Samsung QN90B * Marantz NR1510 * Panasonic DMP-BDT220 * Roku Ultra LT * APC H10
HT: Samsung QN90B * Marantz NR1510 * Panasonic DMP-BDT220 * Roku Ultra LT * APC H10
Comments
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Did you leave that key under the doormat yet?
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Sweet, I'm glad I'm not the only one with the Dynaudio bug
2-channel: Modwright KWI-200 Integrated, Dynaudio C1-II Signatures
Desktop rig: LSi7, Polk 110sub, Dayens Ampino amp, W4S DAC/pre, Sonos, JRiver
Gear on standby: Melody 101 tube pre, Unison Research Simply Italy Integrated
Gone to new homes: (Matt Polk's)Threshold Stasis SA12e monoblocks, Pass XA30.5 amp, Usher MD2 speakers, Dynaudio C4 platinum speakers, Modwright LS100 (voltz), Simaudio 780D DAC
erat interfectorem cesar et **** dictatorem dicere a -
2-channel: Modwright KWI-200 Integrated, Dynaudio C1-II Signatures
Desktop rig: LSi7, Polk 110sub, Dayens Ampino amp, W4S DAC/pre, Sonos, JRiver
Gear on standby: Melody 101 tube pre, Unison Research Simply Italy Integrated
Gone to new homes: (Matt Polk's)Threshold Stasis SA12e monoblocks, Pass XA30.5 amp, Usher MD2 speakers, Dynaudio C4 platinum speakers, Modwright LS100 (voltz), Simaudio 780D DAC
erat interfectorem cesar et **** dictatorem dicere a -
3 Danes now?Magico M2, JL113v2x2, EMM, ARC Ref 10 Line, ARC Ref 10 Phono, VPIx2, Lyra Etna, Airtight Opus1, Boulder, AQ Wel&Wild, SRA Scuttle Rack, BlueSound+LPS, Thorens 124DD+124SPU, Sennheiser, Metaxas R2R
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Congrats that's a beautiful rig!VA HT HK AVR20II, Sony S9000ES CD/DVD/SACD, Polk Audio RC80i / Polk Audio CSi3, 60" Panasonic Plasma, Nordost / Signal Cable A2 / Wireworld / Pangea / Magic Power
VA 2 Channel Focal Electra 926 speakers, Pass Labs X150.5 Amp, Eastern Electric MiniMax Preamp (Tutay mods), Eastern Electric Minimax CDP (Scott Nixon mods), Music Hall mmf 5.1 Turntable, Parks Audio Budgie Phono Pre , Audioengine B1 streamer, MIT S3 IC's / MIT Shotgun S3 Speaker Cables / PS Audio power cables
Noggin Schiit Valhalla, Pangea, Phillips Fidelio X1, Polk UF8000
Polk SDA1c modded
Polk CRS+ 4.1TL modded (need veneer)
Polk SDA2BTL (fully modded)
A/L 1000VA Dreadnought Canare 4s11 SDA cable
SACD Marantz DV8300
Sony S9000ES CD/DVD/SACD
Yamaha YP-D6
Soundcraftsmen PCR800
Audible Illusions L1 Preamp
Vincent MFA based Cocci Tube Preamp
Pho-700 Phono Pre
Signal Cable Silver Resolution IC's -
@Joey_V - close, actually 4 sets of Dynaudio speakers (plus the matching center channel for the Excite series).
I started with the smalles base model from a few years back which is now out of production- the DM 2/6. By far, my favorite small bookshelf / mini-monitor. Then I moved "up" to the Excite X14 & I picked up the matching X24 center channel. These are every bit as good as the DM 2/6 with a beautiful rosewood veneer finish. The tweeter is a newer design as is the midbass woofer and the crossover. The cabinets on the X14 are deeper than the DM 2/6 as well.
The last Dynaudio bookshelf to make its way here is the Emit M20. The Emit is a step down from the Excite but the M20 features a larger midbass/woofer and a much larger cabinet. The Emit series is an updated version of the DM series with newer tweeter and woofer etc.
Then, I scored with the pair Focus 260 floorstanding speakers. The Focus series is out of production but many people, more familiar with Dynaudio than I, hold them in very high regard.
@lightman1 - Russ, there's no door mat to leave the key under my friend. Plus it's an apartment building in Chicago with a lot of people coming and going.
@txcoastal1 - yes, well, when I find something I like, I have to go through a process of elimination to find the line I can afford that gets me where I want to be. lol. I'm looking forward to the day a set of the C1 Platinum's make their way into my listening room with an amp capable of driving them to their full potential. I'm also looking forward to hearing the new Contour series at AXPONA 2017 in April!
@MrBuhl - thank you for the kind words! It's a work in progress
To all - Coming soon to a thread near you, my first turntable since the mid '90's! Audio: Polk S15 * Polk S35 * Polk S10 * SVS SB-1000 Pro
HT: Samsung QN90B * Marantz NR1510 * Panasonic DMP-BDT220 * Roku Ultra LT * APC H10 -
Looks great!!! I finally heard the c1 and after I'm done with my dac shootout, that's next to save up for.Klipsch The Nines, Audioquest Thunderbird Interconnect, Innuos Zen MK3 W4S recovery, Revolution Audio Labs USB & Ethernet, Border Patrol SE-I, Audioquest Niagara 5000 & Thunder, Cullen Crossover II PC's.
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Which DACs are in the shootout?Looks great!!! I finally heard the c1 and after I'm done with my dac shootout, that's next to save up for.
Audio: Polk S15 * Polk S35 * Polk S10 * SVS SB-1000 Pro
HT: Samsung QN90B * Marantz NR1510 * Panasonic DMP-BDT220 * Roku Ultra LT * APC H10 -
My current w4s dac2, LH labs Vi Infinity, and the dac that's built into the Lumin D1 with sbooster power supply.
I ordered a vi tube dac 3 years ago and since it's still not done. They are sending me the SS VI version to hold me over until it's done.Klipsch The Nines, Audioquest Thunderbird Interconnect, Innuos Zen MK3 W4S recovery, Revolution Audio Labs USB & Ethernet, Border Patrol SE-I, Audioquest Niagara 5000 & Thunder, Cullen Crossover II PC's. -
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That's an interesting way to put it. Thanks, I am quite pleased with their aesthetics and their soundIf the Dane's sound as good as they look, your in a good place.
Audio: Polk S15 * Polk S35 * Polk S10 * SVS SB-1000 Pro
HT: Samsung QN90B * Marantz NR1510 * Panasonic DMP-BDT220 * Roku Ultra LT * APC H10 -
im thinking of adding a DAC to my setup again. Not sure as the one in the P5 seemed to be doing just fine.My current w4s dac2, LH labs Vi Infinity, and the dac that's built into the Lumin D1 with sbooster power supply.
I ordered a vi tube dac 3 years ago and since it's still not done. They are sending me the SS VI version to hold me over until it's done.
Audio: Polk S15 * Polk S35 * Polk S10 * SVS SB-1000 Pro
HT: Samsung QN90B * Marantz NR1510 * Panasonic DMP-BDT220 * Roku Ultra LT * APC H10
