Dynaudio Special 40 - WTF!

[PuX]

There are loads of issues with your view. First the measurements I posted are professional measurements. They are more than sufficient enough to understand these speakers. There is simply much more data concerning these speakers than most. More than enough to know with certainty their issues and that they are not a good value unless the finish is worth thousands to you. In many ways Amir's data is collected in a manner not too dissimilar from those above--it is just that the Klippel automates the microphone placement. What you can't compare are these measurements to the myriad amateur headphone measurements on the internet. You can, for instance, certainly compare Amir's headphone data to that of Sean Olive. More, headphone measurements are not as dependable as those for speakers. There is a high margin of error. Amir has stated this numerous times. You can't fully trust any of them, including Amir's. The measurement technology is not there yet. Part of Amir's project is to figure out the limits of what he considers the best measurement apparatus. This is why he relies on EQ for confirmation. Again, what I think you should do first is learn to understand who actually knows what they are talking about. That you seemingly came to the conclusion that you mentioned about these speakers shows that you are listening to a lot of bad reviewers. We're here to help in this regard. You are absolutely right that both of these measurements can be hard to understand. This seems deliberate on Stereophile's part. But if you have any specific questions about these measurements, just ask.

yep, I don't disagree with any of the above.

I think both the Special 25 and Special 40 are probably good speakers, but both have shortcomings shown in the measurements.

so I will probably keep looking for an upgrade from my current Contour S 1.4.

there are many good reviews of Heritage Special, but I haven't seen any measurements. or at least no measurements from reputable sources.

what's curious about that model is that nobody points out in their reviews that it's basically a modern version of Special 25. at least the recipe is the same - both have an Evidence woofer and a Confidence tweeter. Heritage Special just has newer versions of the drivers.

 

[restorer-john]

what's curious about that model is that nobody points out in their reviews that it's basically a modern version of Special 25. at least the recipe is the same - both have an Evidence woofer and a Confidence tweeter. Heritage Special just has newer versions of the drivers.

Why re-invent the wheel? Dress it up bit, make limited run, charge like a wounded bull and everyone is happy.

Dynaudio were making statement speakers decades before Revel even existed. I remember hearing the Dynaudio Consequence around 1985 at an audio show. Wow, what a speaker.

 

[yamahaha]

I had Special 40's for a few weeks. I liked the speakers but didnt keep them for a reason. There was congestion in the mids that bothered me. Also, doing freq sweeps there were several peaks that howled. Using only my ears.
I owned C1's in the past which I regret selling. I sold because I wanted my lows and I dont like subs. The special 40 did have a lot in common with the C1. The tweeter for instance was astounding. Highs are brilliant. But when things got busy to my ears the freq were smearing. I like the Dynaudio forward mids generally but something was happening that irked me. Reading about cabinet resonances does make sense. They should really address that for the price.
I dont subscribe to the "upgrade" nonsense either. I dont pay big $$$ to a high end manufacturer so I can swap out parts. That's why I pay big money. That's Dynaudio's job.
There will be 100's of audiophiles that say "for the money" .... "you gotta spend more". We're talking several thousand dollars here for a small bookshelf. Thats a HUGE budget to make a top notch speaker. No one needs 10k for such a product. No one is reinventing anything here.

Its a fun little speaker but I couldnt live with the flaws. And I was a Dyn fan so bias was positive to begin.

 

[PuX]

I owned C1's in the past which I regret selling. I sold because I wanted my lows and I dont like subs.

C1 did not have enough bass for your taste?
could it be because of your speaker stands or amp?

 

[yamahaha]

C1 did not have enough bass for your taste?
could it be because of your speaker stands or amp?

Frequency range: 44Hz–22kHz.

 

[PuX]

Frequency range: 44Hz–22kHz.

what confused me is that you got Special 40 later, but it wouldn't have more bass than C1, you'd need a floor standing speaker for that.

 

[yamahaha]

what confused me is that you got Special 40 later, but it wouldn't have more bass than C1, you'd need a floor standing speaker for that.

You are confused alright

 

[ryanhere]

Anyone here Actually install Danny's S40 (Crossover Upgrade) and can give an honest Before/after experience? Impressions Writeup ?
If not everything else is a guess AFAIK. If you have not heard it don't trash it.

 

[jaykay77]

Measurements tell part of the story. Best thing to do is listen lol. After 3 pair of revel in my 2 channel room, I went back to dynaudio with the special 40's...ahhh - there's the sound I was missing so dearly. Super stoked on the special 40's.

 

[YSC]

Measurements tell part of the story. Best thing to do is listen lol. After 3 pair of revel in my 2 channel room, I went back to dynaudio with the special 40's...ahhh - there's the sound I was missing so dearly. Super stoked on the special 40's.

I am really interested in the in room measurement. We all know that anechoic flat is good, but in room placement and diffraction could make a huge difference to the final sound

 

[YSDR]

Measurements tell part of the story. Best thing to do is listen lol. After 3 pair of revel in my 2 channel room, I went back to dynaudio with the special 40's...ahhh - there's the sound I was missing so dearly. Super stoked on the special 40's.

Which Revels did you used?

 

[jaykay77]

Which Revels did you used?

concerta2 m16, performa f208, performa 105. I did not dislike them, they sound awesome but i'm preferential to the way dyns sound.

 

[majordan]

Measurements tell part of the story. Best thing to do is listen lol. After 3 pair of revel in my 2 channel room, I went back to dynaudio with the special 40's...ahhh - there's the sound I was missing so dearly. Super stoked on the special 40's.

New member here... But I agree with your assessment that measurements tell only one part of the story. I've been enjoying listening to music both live and in recordings for many years - I'm not an expert, but an enthusiast. The great pianist Vladimir Horowitz made a ton of mistakes, but played with such passion, his performances were always remarkable, as opposed to a more technically accurate performance, but kind of boring. I think of these Dynaudio Special 40 share some of this quality. They might not measure under lab conditions to be "flawless", but my they are so musical. I don't have a huge budget for audio equipment, and my current set up is as much as I've spent on a 2.0 stereo system, but I listen to these speakers daily for hours and just love what they bring.

 

[Kawihornet]

I have indeed expressed willingness to test this mod. I even offered to pay to ship it back. Seeing how Danny makes his entire case using measurements, it is so odd that he doesn't want me to verify his work.

It would be cool to see you do measurements on your super high end system... Word is you have a high end ML system yet I dont see any measurements on here...

 

[40th Anniversary]

I have Dynaudio Special 40s. I'd love them if they were perfect, but they are not. I like them a lot for the bass response and the warm presentation. Overall they are easy to listen to with detailed mids and treble (not too hot = smooth).

I have them powered by two AHB2s, one for each speaker in bridge mode: the detail and soundstage provided by that combo makes them awesome for my smaller home.

The bass reminds me of older Tannoy HPD speakers, on a smaller scale with less impact, but more detail through the mids and highs.
It's easy to fall in love with warm bass. LoL

As I earlier stated, they are "not perfect"; I swap them on occasion with my Triangle Comète 40th anniversary speakers (another 40th, seems like I have a theme on the go here).
Less bass than the SP 40s, but better resolution from the lower registers to the mids. A small sub, like an REL Zero would make a great compliment to the Triangles.
The Triangles offer a wider mid and high frequency soundstage, and they are oh so smooth on top while seemingly more lively.

The "tone" between the two is very different, but once you listen to a few tunes, you ears and brain adapts to the Triangle.

It's easy to go back to the Dyns (from the Triangles) as they are instantly warmer and deeper sounding.
It's harder to go to the Triangles from the Dyns as the bass is lighter and the tone is 'different'.

The perfect speaker for me would have the bass of the Dyns with the resolution and liveliness of the Triangles.
While the treble is very different between the two of them, they are both smooth to my ears.

Don't ask me to pick one over the other as I enjoy them both. The perfect speaker would replace both of them! I don't know what that speaker would be?
A pair of 40th Antal's from Triangle, or, the Dynaudio Heritage?