Dynaudio Core 47 Review (Professional Monitor)

[skyfly]

I guess this speaker has a good step response.

A consequence of the good step response is uneven off axis frequency-amplitude curves, I guess.

 

[whazzup]

You have too dominant distortion factors:
1. When the amplifier runs out of power or soft clipping/electronic compression sets in.

2. When the woofer runs out of excursion.

With many powered monitors, #1 kicks in first. Likely they are trying to protect the rest of the system. Result is clicks, buzzing sounds, etc. Very distinct than mechanical excursion limits. Extra amplification removes this barrier and then the woofer becomes the limit. That doesn't make audible noises as early in my experience. Its distortions are limited to lower frequencies so not as audible.

Thanks! I understand #1 can increasingly be a problem at higher SPLs, but what you're saying is, #1 can happen even at low playing levels, say at ~70db / nearfield desktop usage, where the speakers are not near their mechanical limits?

 

[hege]

Thanks, interesting. Chipped in extra $25'er.

 

[Erizo]

I guess this speaker has a good step response.

A consequence of the good step response is uneven off axis frequency-amplitude curves, I guess.

Can you elaborate on step response?

 

[Tangband]

Many use the icePower modules, a few use Hypex or even Pascal. Some use other chip amps. Some use A/B.

This model uses high power Pascal modules, which would seem to be one of its main selling points. Kh310 uses class AB. JBL 708 uses proprietary class D. Genelec is all AB.

I think the dsp modules and input circuitry are more ubiquitous but I'll leave that to someone more knowledgeable.

Regarding new monitors from Genelec, thats not correct. They are all class D , 8030c uses tpa 3118 and more expensive SAM models uses infineon IRS20957S. And yes - they all sound better than previous class A/B models from Genelec.

 

[thewas]

Yes, I believe K&H used it in the O300 and O410, the direct predecessors to the KH310/KH420.

Nope, the D52 was a 2" dome, Dynaudio used to make though nice 3" mid domes though and a variant of their D76 was used in the O300/O410.
https://www.hifi-selbstbau.de/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=296&Itemid=60

 

[amirm]

Thanks! I understand #1 can increasingly be a problem at higher SPLs, but what you're saying is, #1 can happen even at low playing levels, say at ~70db / nearfield desktop usage, where the speakers are not near their mechanical limits?

Of course not. At that level, neither the amp or the driver are at limits. I suspect though that no one plays anything at 70 dB SPL. If you did, the bass would not be audible at all as that is the threshold of hearing!

 

[FeddyLost]

It's kind of disappointing performance.
Looks like most of design team stuck in 1990s, didn't give a s### about result or had extremely tight production/cost restrictions.
Like "we need flat baffle because waveguides is for Consequence 10 times more expensive, we will not machine tweeter plate to keep it closer to mid, we'll use low order crossovers despite we design dsp-based speaker, we'll use existing amp and backplate just because we have them already" and so on.
Most probably we'll never know what exactly was going on due to NDA, but at least it's not Boeing and mediocre speaker design will not kill people.

About detail retrieval without flat FR ... it's a disputable question, but it depends a lot on exact speaker duty (creativity, arranging, mixing, fixing track issues or final mastering) and i'm not sure that all will be extremely good here due to strange FR, distortion at high power and unknown distortion of 500w class d at typical powers (i.e. much less than watt for this mid).
End-user must evaluate this product in his use case and working environment.
Dynaudio thought that it's "good enough".

 

[Frgirard]

Dynaudio has the tools to do it right. Dynaudio since its acquisition would it have become a cash machine?

 

[whazzup]

Of course not. At that level, neither the amp or the driver are at limits. I suspect though that no one plays anything at 70 dB SPL. If you did, the bass would not be audible at all as that is the threshold of hearing!

Sorry getting more confused! Haha....

I'm just trying to understand your initial comment 'Extra amplification power is really helping at lower playback levels'.

What is being helped? If at low volume, distortion is inaudible as you said, then the extra amp power is not helping anything?

By 'lower playback levels' do you mean listening to the speakers at low volume, say ~75db at a desktop scenario?

I think I'm reading your extra amplification comment the wrong way, but I'm not sure what you're trying to say.

PS: if anyone knows what Amir really means and correct my understanding, please feel free to chip in so I don't have to bother him anymore...

 

[Johannes AU]

A bit surprised by the measurement data .......

 

[sarumbear]

Boohoo. I remember when Dynaudio used to sell just raw drivers, then they stopped and only made their drivers available through complete loudspeaker systems. Maybe they should go back to selling their raw drivers.

Back in early 90s while designing the SILVER 5L speakers we auditioned various manufacturers’ drive units that are within the range of our design criteria. Unit after unit we rejected Dynadio drivers as “not sounding nice”. Their sound was not as musical as similar units from SEAS and ScanSpeak, which we also auditioned. We couldn’t explain why as the MLSSA measuring system we had at the time was not showing much difference between other brands’ units. At the end we choose SEAS who were also excellent in supporting us by modifying their stock drivers to exactly match our specs.

@amirm ’s comment on sound quality reminded me our experience.

 

[dfuller]

Nope, the D52 was a 2" dome, Dynaudio used to make though nice 3" mid domes though and a variant of their D76 was used in the O300/O410.
https://www.hifi-selbstbau.de/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=296&Itemid=60

Ah! Appreciate the correction.

 

[ctrl]

So, a few notes... as always, rather negative points. I leave the positive points to the manufacturer to highlight

The very uneven directivity has already been mentioned. Part of it is conceptually due to the driver placement on the baffle, but a significant part is also due to driver selection and crossover frequency selection.

Here is a comparison of the horizontal frequency responses (0°, +-30°, +-60°), normalized to the axial frequency response, of the Neumann KH310, identical concept, with the Core47.

These are dramatic differences. The 4'' midrange driver of the Core47 radiates much too wide around 1.2kHz and 3kHz.


Somewhat disappointing is that the breakup of the midrange driver is not treated despite DSP. Actually, one tries to attenuate such resonances to below -30dB to exclude their audibility as far as possible (However, I have to say that I do not know the radiation behavior of the midrange driver at different angles.).



The idea behind the marketing statement is good in itself:

With crossover points at 475Hz and 5.25kHz, Core 47 delivers so much more of the critical vocal range in one driver than typical designs, ensuring your mix decisions on vocal balances and dialogue subtleties are made with confidence.

Source: Dynaudio
The only problem is that the fundamental tone of the human voice is in the 100-1000Hz range. Thus, the midrange covers the most important harmonics of the human voice, but half the fundamental range is missing.
A good 4-5'' bass-midrange driver can possibly be used from 150Hz and up to 2.5kHz without any problems. Would actually cover the most important ranges of the human voice much better with that. Why the high crossover frequency of almost 500Hz to the midrange driver of the Core47 (because of IMD, Doppler distortion)?

 

[Gurkerl]

Performance looks ok on paper, but with that price tag I'd also consider the KH310 instead.
Makes me wonder how the cheaper cousin, the LYD-48, compares to this?

 

[sarumbear]

…here is the near-field response of the drivers and port:

View attachment 142485

Front ports always cause more grief than rear ones in speakers and here is no exception. It is transmitting multiple resonances which while controlled, still serve to mess things up (relatively speaker).

@amirm correct me if I’m wrong but one assumes the woofer is driven by one of amplifiers while the midrange & tweeter by the other, through a passive crossover. Then why have they used a very slow low pass filter on the woofer’s amplifier? Within the total cost of the electronics, the extra parts required for a higher order filter is negligible. A steeper filter would reduce the messy port resonances as well.

I can’t get my head around the design of this speaker.

 

[Exprymer]

Hello! Very disappointing considering it's an DSP speaker.
I wonder if it's possible to take a look at the impulse response of the speakers. Maybe the designer sacrificed FR flatness for better time response. Those 2 are very difficult to get at the same time, even for DSP based speakers.
As for the Directivity... well. Waveguides are missed.

Dynaudio has a very large R&D facility with a crazy Anechoic Chamber. These "flaws" are not supposed to happen.

 

[stevenswall]

the LYD 5 is one of the best speakers ever tested here...

Seems like in the review it's beaten out by an low end JBL for a fraction of the price, and a Neumann at the same price, and a Kali IN-8 for a few hundred less.

If a company doesn't produce something best in class, or significantly cheaper than others, then they need to improve on price or performance unless their target market cares more about aesthetics or brand loyalty.

 

[sarumbear]

Hello! Very disappointing considering it's an DSP speaker.
I wonder if it's possible to take a look at the impulse response of the speakers. Maybe the designer sacrificed FR flatness for better time response. Those 2 are very difficult to get at the same time, even for DSP based speakers.

Impulse response and frequency response are the same thing. One is measured in time domain and the other in frequency. They are directly transformed to each other via Fourier Transform. A certain FR will always have the same IR, or visa versa.

 

[temps]

Seems like in the review it's beaten out by an low end JBL for a fraction of the price, and a Neumann at the same price, and a Kali IN-8 for a few hundred less.

What are you even talking about... Again, it's the 4th best speaker (by preference score, with sub, as all monitors in that size class require one) ever tested here. It's far less distorted than all three of those monitors you mentioned, so it's actually usable as a studio tool... the JBL doesn't even have adequate headroom at 85dB. The Kali is miles behind the LYD, a complete disaster on-axis. The Neumanns are cute toys, great for an alternate setup, but as your only monitors.... LOL

If a company doesn't produce something best in class, or significantly cheaper than others, then they need to improve on price or performance unless their target market cares more about aesthetics or brand loyalty.

the LYDs are, in fact, significantly cheaper than their direct competitors. Here, the 5 is $200 less than an 8030, the 7 is $470 less than an 8040, and the 8 is $1,130 less than an 8050.