Donner Dyna 4 Monitor Review

[SuicideSquid]

I see! I am wondering if my following understandings are correct:
For a speaker with smooth DI curve, user could possibly come up with EQ corrections based solely on the on-axis FR curve and this approach is considered as fairly easy.
For a speaker with not so ideal DI curve, it will be harder for user to do EQ corrections since it will be highly dependent on the actual listening position. Different positions require different solutions because of the fact that on-axis/off-axis curves are not similar at different frequencies.

However, I have been always wondering:
If user's listening position is fixed, is it reasonable to say that doing EQ correction should be a fairly easy thing as well? Since the listen position is fixed and won't change, one could just do measurement at that specific position and optimize the in-room response curve to whatever target right? Even though the speaker being used may have uneven DI which indicates on-axis/off-axis may have different trend, but for that specific position, the portion/ratio of on-axis/off-axis is determined.

I think this is mostly correct; however, you may still run into some issue with unpredictable results because while you're not directly listening to the off-axis response, it's still reflecting around your room and making it back to your ears. Good directivity isn't just about a speaker sounding good when it's not pointed directly at you, it's also about it behaving predictably in your room.

 

[kemmler3D]

If you could get these for $25 and EQ them, that would be a bit of a steal. That would be a fair price just for a cruddy 40w stereo amp.

 

[MAB]

Funnily the on-axis/listening window voicing of these $100 loudspeakers reminds me a bit of current $8000 B&W models, I wonder if it is coincidence.

View attachment 299746
Fig capture: Dyna 4 vs B&W 805 D4 LW from https://www.soundstagenetwork.com/i...&catid=77:loudspeaker-measurements&Itemid=153

The advantage being the Donner's are likely easier to EQ to a reasonable room response.
Thanks for pointing this out. Puts things in context...

 

[Toni Mas]

I see! I am wondering if my following understandings are correct:
For a speaker with smooth DI curve, user could possibly come up with EQ corrections based solely on the on-axis FR curve and this approach is considered as fairly easy.
For a speaker with not so ideal DI curve, it will be harder for user to do EQ corrections since it will be highly dependent on the actual listening position. Different positions require different solutions because of the fact that on-axis/off-axis curves are not similar shapes at different frequencies.

However, I have been always wondering:
If user's listening position is fixed, is it reasonable to say that doing EQ correction should be a fairly easy thing as well? Since the listen position is fixed and won't change, one could just do measurement at that specific position and optimize the in-room response curve to whatever target right? Even though the speaker being used may have uneven DI which indicates on-axis/off-axis may have different trend, but for that specific position, the portion/ratio of on-axis/off-axis is determined.

What you hear at any given listenning position is a mix of direct sound and reverberated sound. If the directivity of the loudspeaker is not correct, both sounds will be tonally different making the speaker sound weird, and eq cannot be applied to both responses because both are different, and whatever the eq the speaker will still sound weird, whatever the eq method used, loudspeaker free field response eq, or overall in room eq at listenning position eq like DRC, DIRAC, etc...

 

[amirm]

question: are all reviews/polls going to find cheap speakers as poor, even if they are OK/comparable to most things within a very limited price bracket. Should price be taken into account with these sub $200/250 a pair speakers?

Everyone votes however they like. There no rules. I personally rarely take price into equation.

 

[Toni Mas]

Regarding price i think that stellar performance can be obtained now at dirt cheap prices in the case of amplifiers, dacs, or even IEM earphones. But i also think that loudspeakers are the exception because you cannot get a stellar performance from poor quality drivers as those used in this and similar case. I dont think that the value of the woofer + the tweeter used here reach 5$, and as the measurements show are both awfull. Especially the woofer, totally unusable for a bass Reflex design (insanely high Qts due to poor motor equipment) and plagued with undamped resonances in all the mid band.

 

[amirm]

Speakers like this are clearly spec'ed out to a vendor to build. Donner knew what to ask for as far as functionality and build. But didn't understand the acoustic aspects of it. Hopefully they will gain the knowledge in the future and get a better speaker for it.

FYI, they own another brand, 'moukey." I have bought one of those as well and will test soon:

This speaker only costs $99 but now have a $20 discount. It is incredible how cheap they sell these things...

 

[Beave]

Yeah, that name.....

You can buy these speakers and have a Donner Party, so to speak. Well, hopefully minus the cannibalism part!

 

[kencreten]

One thing that can be said about this speaker, is that it is a speaker. But now I have virtual ear pain looking at it.

 

[MAB]

Speakers like this are clearly spec'ed out to a vendor to build. Donner knew what to ask for as far as functionality and build. But didn't understand the acoustic aspects of it. Hopefully they will gain the knowledge in the future and get a better speaker for it.

FYI, they own another brand, 'moukey." I have bought one of those as well and will test soon:

This speaker only costs $99 but now have a $20 discount. It is incredible how cheap they sell these things...

Interesting which edges were chosen to be rounded over...

 

[recycle]

They probably sound bad even used as tv speakers

 

[dfuller]

"Active" "High Definition" "Studio Monitor"

Wow, literally nothing about this speaker's marketing is accurate. That's funny.

Speakers like this are clearly spec'ed out to a vendor to build. Donner knew what to ask for as far as functionality and build. But didn't understand the acoustic aspects of it. Hopefully they will gain the knowledge in the future and get a better speaker for it.

FYI, they own another brand, 'moukey." I have bought one of those as well and will test soon:

This speaker only costs $99 but now have a $20 discount. It is incredible how cheap they sell these things...

What the hell is even going on with that driver layout? LOL I cannot.

 

[Maiky76]

This is a review and detailed measurements of the Donner Dyna 4 powered speakers. It was sent to me by the company last year and is now discontinued.
View attachment 299666
The Dyna 4 is surprisingly good looking for a budget speaker and it even sports a small waveguide around the tweeter! Back side shows even balanced interconnects which makes sense given the fact that Donner is a manufacturer of musical instruments:
View attachment 299667

I liked that the power cord that came with it was ultra flexible as otherwise the cable can tug on small monitors like these. Overall, fit and finish is impressive.

By the way, I see the speaker on clearance at very low prices. Someone even scooped one for $25 on Amazon before they ran out!

It is past midnight so this review is just measurements. As you will see, it doesn't merit listening anyway.

Speaker at 425 reviews on Amazon averaging 4.5 stars.

Donner Dyna 4 Speaker Measurements
I perform the distortion tests before starting the full 3-D measurement scan. There, I could see highly exaggerated high frequencies so I measured everything with treble control set to -2 dB:

View attachment 299668

As you see, even with that the response is hugely variable. The small driver plus waveguided tweeter make for very good directivity so equalization should be effective. You can see some of the flaws in near-field response:
View attachment 299671

I could not detect a cut off for the tweeter low frequency which was strange. Wonder what crossover there is.

Early directivity matches on-axis due to good directivity:
View attachment 299673

PIR looks poor naturally:
View attachment 299674

Speaker naturally could not handle 96 dB so I tested it at 80 and 86:
View attachment 299675
View attachment 299677

I was seeing so many resonances that I decided to try it with a weight on top of the speaker. It helped a bit:
View attachment 299676

All the measurements you see were with the weight on top.

Horizontal beamwidth and directivity are good:
View attachment 299678
View attachment 299679

Vertically is not half bad either:
View attachment 299680
But stay at or slightly above tweeter.

Waterfall is not pretty due to all the resonances:
View attachment 299681

Conclusions
The Dyna 4 monitor gets a lot right as far as features, look and build quality. Shame that a bit more attention was not paid to even response as that could have made it a winner. With good directivity, equalization should be effective within the power envelop.

I can't recommend the Donner Dyna 4 but if you can pick one up cheap and apply EQ, it could do the job for non critical applications.

------------
As always, questions, comments, recommendations, etc. are welcome.

Any donations are much appreciated using: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/how-to-support-audio-science-review.8150/

Here is my take on the EQ.

Please report your findings, positive or negative!

The following EQs are “anechoic” EQs to get the speaker right before room integration. If you able to implement these EQs you must add EQ at LF for room integration, that is usually not optional… see hints there: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...helf-speaker-review.11144/page-26#post-800725

The raw data with corrected ER and PIR:

Score no EQ: 2.6
With Sub: 5.3

Spinorama with no EQ:

• Not as Flat as i would expect, maybe because the multimedia usage?
• Easy to EQ to decent response
• Question mark on the consistency across production
• Max SPL?
• Hiss?
• A Decent + EQ might yield a decent desk/dorm system

Directivity:

Better stay at tweeter height or just above
Horizontally, better toe-in the speakers by 5/15deg and have the axis crossing in front of the listening location, might help dosing the upper range.

EQ design:

I have generated two EQs. The APO config files are attached.

• The first one, labelled, LW is targeted at making the LW flat
• The second, labelled Score, starts with the first one and adds the score as an optimization variable.
• The EQs are designed in the context of regular stereo use i.e. domestic environment, no warranty is provided for a near field use in a studio environment although the LW might be better suited for this purpose.

Score EQ LW: 5.2
with sub: 7.9

Score EQ Score: 5.8
with sub: 8.5 (!)

Donner Dyna 4 APO EQ LW 96000Hz
July182023-111214

Preamp: -4 dB

Filter 1: ON HPQ Fc 46.48,    0.00,    1.15
Filter 2: ON PK Fc 130.18,    -5.22,    1.09
Filter 3: ON PK Fc 707.24,    3.01,    1.29
Filter 4: ON PK Fc 2311.54,    -1.72,    2.83
Filter 5: ON PK Fc 3186.42,    4.53,    1.82
Filter 6: ON PK Fc 7334.05,    -3.95,    1.87
Filter 7: ON PK Fc 9662.85,    -2.18,    4.47

Donner Dyna 4 APO EQ Score 96000Hz
July182023-111214

Preamp: -2.4 dB

Filter 1: ON HPQ Fc 45.48,    0.00,    1.15
Filter 2: ON PK Fc 130.64,    -5.02,    0.84
Filter 3: ON PK Fc 661.91,    2.32,    1.22
Filter 4: ON PK Fc 2382.29,    -2.99,    4.03
Filter 5: ON PK Fc 3331.87,    3.44,    1.68
Filter 6: ON PK Fc 7287.37,    -5.62,    1.49
Filter 7: ON PK Fc 9985.52,    -2.43,    4.91

Spinorama EQ LW

Spinorama EQ Score

Zoom PIR-LW-ON

Regression - Tonal

Radar no EQ vs EQ score
Huge improvements from a low start

The rest of the plots is attached.

 

[thewas]

"Active" "High Definition" "Studio Monitor"

Wow, literally nothing about this speaker's marketing is accurate. That's funny.

At least at that price and market range nobody takes it seriously. On the other hand newer B&W with similar responses as I showed above also use the marketing that they are used in famous studios XYZ...

 

[TonyJZX]

has anyone pointed out that "Donner Diner" seems to be a pretty funny phrase?

"Donner Diner for Four please"

also one thing I would note is that many of these companies will erase any mention of these products once they have gone EOL... more ephemeral products

for similar price Edifier MR4?

 

[Toni Mas]

Speakers like this are clearly spec'ed out to a vendor to build. Donner knew what to ask for as far as functionality and build. But didn't understand the acoustic aspects of it. Hopefully they will gain the knowledge in the future and get a better speaker for it.

FYI, they own another brand, 'moukey." I have bought one of those as well and will test soon:

This speaker only costs $99 but now have a $20 discount. It is incredible how cheap they sell these things...

It is not that they dont understand the acoustic part of the story, but rather that they dont care about anything but the business, and sadly this is what mass market is all about, and the best selling products are most of the time the worst pieces of junk a factory can produce, but are quite appealing to the public at large, mainly because have plenty of highly seductive "features" for peanuts. Moukey and similar brands have lots of expertise in this field.

Btw popular brands like Moukey or Donner and more "elitist" ones likeTopping or SMSL seem to live in totally different worlds, and for sure, their customers too.

 

[Digby]

interesting to think that the amount of time that went into the review and subsequent comments left, is probably about the same amount of time ALL buyers of this product have spent thinking about it, just some perspective.

 

[TonyJZX]

if you're interested in a moukey 3 way with walmart

Robot or human?

maybe ebay

Moukey Passive Bookshelf Speakers (Pair), Black, M20-3 | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Moukey Passive Bookshelf Speakers (Pair), Black, M20-3 at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!

www.ebay.com

maybe randy

to me these dont look like cheap crap (yes I know invariably these will be cheap crap)

the 3 way design will be designed in a way where the PR dept. asked for a 3 way.,.. where a conventional tweeter woofer would do just as well

BUT one would be interested to see how a 3 way bookshelf goes?

and those rounded corners dont look cheap (like Q-Acoustics?)

 

[Toni Mas]

BUT one would be interested to see how a 3 way bookshelf goes?

At this price point you can easily imagine the quality of the six drivers involved, without mentioning the crossover...

When we spend only 100$ on an amplifier or a dac, the chips inside are state of the art and the performance practically always almost stellar, and many of us question the added value of more expensive stuff.

But when it comes to speakers if you have a look at it, what's inside the cabinet is always bound to be ridiculous crap!

[Listening test] Moukey 20-1 - bookshelf loudspeakers

Moukey 20-1, two-way bass reflex bookshelf loudspeakers - a listening test by Lucio Cadeddu on TNT-Audio, Internet HiFi magazine, www.tnt-audio.com

www.tnt-audio.com

 

[TonyJZX]

well that's an interesting line of thought...

we like the Fosi V3 because it just does... ONE thing... with a vol. knob. - that's it... for $100

but for $99-$120 can you really expect a decent powered speaker quasi 'studio monitor' - there's an amp, crossover in there

and by the same token can you expect these guys to design and make a decent 3 way crossover? plus those six drivers... for $99??? DELIVERED???

I feel like the fact it has any kind of reasonably accurate sound is amazing.