Dynaudio Heritage Special

[TankTop]

I have Heritage Special number 182. I can't see myself replacing them. They've been great.

One of the speakers (clear coat) finishes is starting to dry up and deteriorate on the top. Does anyone know what I should treat it with to restore lacquer or finish. I want to be careful not to damage further but if there is way I can nurture it back to health that would be great.

Any advice is much appreciated.

I had S40’s and the soundstage was massive but lots wrong with that speaker. Now I have Contour 20’s and they are neutral, don’t do anything wrong but they don’t wow me. How is the soundstage on the Heritage as well as the dynamics? I used a Umik 2 and measured the S40’s at 47hz @ 97db. S40 had an amazing bass and the most amazing tweeter, if only they didn’t have so many flaws. I’ve demoed many speakers at hi fi stores and it seems like they always either the speaker to play “safe” for the masses. How dynamic, how’s the soundstage and imaging etc… of the Heritage Special?

 

[P4st_revival]

hello everyone

1st post so be gentle

have previously owned 1.3se and the special 25 so kind of have an idea what these heritage speakers will sound like. however, interested to know if anyone has heard the following speakers and how they would compare to the heritage.

gershman studio mk2
avid reference 4
neat acoustics mfs ultimatum
wilson benesch discovery
aretai contra 100s

 

[olympic_smooker]

I had S40’s and the soundstage was massive but lots wrong with that speaker. Now I have Contour 20’s and they are neutral, don’t do anything wrong but they don’t wow me. How is the soundstage on the Heritage as well as the dynamics? I used a Umik 2 and measured the S40’s at 47hz @ 97db. S40 had an amazing bass and the most amazing tweeter, if only they didn’t have so many flaws. I’ve demoed many speakers at hi fi stores and it seems like they always either the speaker to play “safe” for the masses. How dynamic, how’s the soundstage and imaging etc… of the Heritage Special?

I used to demo S40 and then HS, both at home. And now live more than a year with HS.

After switching from S40 to HS, I don`t remember huge soundstage changes (please keep in mind it was a long time ago).
The very evident positive changes with HS were:
- midrange, which was exactly in place in HS compared to an unnatural dip on S40. All the vocals on S40 sounded too distant to me.
- high frequency - I`m very sensitive to HF, and this was for the very first time then I was completely in love how they sound on HS. Very natural, super detailed but without any fatigue. In that aspect S40, sounded detailed but harsh and metallic. I spent two weeks with S40 trying to love them, but afterward made a return.

As for the dynamic and bass - I found S40 more dynamic, bassy, and easier to drive.
HS can go deeper in bass and do better in terms of bass quality, but they don`t hit as fast and hard as S40 does.
Don`t get me wrong, HS special isn`t slow, bass thin and overly analytical, there is no night and day difference to S40, but S40 is leading.

If you want the dynamic and slam, you have to dig into good amplification synergy with HS or just look at the other speaker with a "fun sound". On the bright side of this, HS really instantly reacts to any changes in amping or source section, so it`s all about finding your preferred combo.
I found some middle-ground solution, to keep all the naturality and tone richness of HS with added dynamic and more meat - paired them with Naim apming and KEF KC62 sub.

 

[JaimeAC]

wow ! thats pure class A. What is your opinion of Class A vs others on pairing with Dhs? I believe the Devialet are primarily class Ds.
Also, did you look into
- pairing with Schiit audio products ? they have an Aegir which is class A {not comparable to your L anyday}
- pairing with the Purifi's 1ET400A/eigentakt technology based amps ? eg NAD c298
... I am trying to incrementally work out the best combination with my Dhs units

I’ve paired the heritage specials with a PS Audio BHK 250 and WOW WOW

 

[Veidi2002]

Hi there,
just wanting to throw in my setup.
Until now I could not see a combination of Cambridge Audio Evo 150 and DHS. Me from my side am very happy with this combination.
I have one electronic component I have to connect. No cable issues and so on.

I really love the HS.

 

[JaimeAC]

Hi there,
just wanting to throw in my setup.
Until now I could not see a combination of Cambridge Audio Evo 150 and DHS. Me from my side am very happy with this combination.
I have one electronic component I have to connect. No cable issues and so on.

I really love the HS.
View attachment 276604

Interesting combo! Class D amplification I hear is coming a long way … how’s it sound?

 

[Veidi2002]

Interesting combo! Class D amplification I hear is coming a long way … how’s it sound?

Before this Combo I had Dynaudio Focus 110 plus Sub 250 driven by a Nad c325bee and a Cambridge CXN V2. I upgraded this with the Cambridge Evo. This upgrade was already phenomenal.
In January I had the oportunity to buy the HS, which were 4 weeks old. I couldn‘t resist.
This upgrade was more than just new loudspeakers. It was a whole new world.
I can‘t think of a better stage and sound reproduction.
The room resolution as well as the stage and voices are so outstanding.
Even the missing Sub is no issue.

I heard other expensive setups, but this one is the best I ever experienced, when it comes to mid / treble reproduction.
Nevertheless I would like to compare it with a Hegel H190 or PassLabs 25 some time to be sure, that I am not missing something here.
But currently I am happy as can be

 

[watchnerd]

S40 had an amazing bass and the most amazing tweeter

The HS tweeter is even better.

 

[FireFly88]

I like the look of the Heritage but do not like the wood finish on them, at the price they are asking I would rather see them in a Grey Oak or Mocca. Maybe some day, they did that with the Special 25 later and came out with a revision of them much later. Just a FYI anyone looking for a pair of Special 25 with new tweeters PM me, I bought a pair and the guy selling to me didn't pack them well. So lucky for me Tweeters where covered for free, and now I have a woodworking friend is going to make them scratch free and look like new again.

 

[watchnerd]

I like the look of the Heritage but do not like the wood finish on them, at the price they are asking I would rather see them in a Grey Oak or Mocca. Maybe some day, they did that with the Special 25 later and came out with a revision of them much later. Just a FYI anyone looking for a pair of Special 25 with new tweeters PM me, I bought a pair and the guy selling to me didn't pack them well. So lucky for me Tweeters where covered for free, and now I have a woodworking friend is going to make them scratch free and look like new again.

It wouldn't look retro / heritage in grey oak, though.

 

[JaimeAC]

Before this Combo I had Dynaudio Focus 110 plus Sub 250 driven by a Nad c325bee and a Cambridge CXN V2. I upgraded this with the Cambridge Evo. This upgrade was already phenomenal.
In January I had the oportunity to buy the HS, which were 4 weeks old. I couldn‘t resist.
This upgrade was more than just new loudspeakers. It was a whole new world.
I can‘t think of a better stage and sound reproduction.
The room resolution as well as the stage and voices are so outstanding.
Even the missing Sub is no issue.

I heard other expensive setups, but this one is the best I ever experienced, when it comes to mid / treble reproduction.
Nevertheless I would like to compare it with a Hegel H190 or PassLabs 25 some time to be sure, that I am not missing something here.
But currently I am happy as can be

Love it! Yes these HS were such a big upgrade in comparison to the Buchardt S400 special editions, was quite surprised. Mine are fed by a McIntosh pre-amp + PS Audio BHK 250 amp and I’m also happy .. hard to think of taking it a step further but if anything I’d look to room acoustics now .. happy listening

 

[PuX]

Maybe some day, they did that with the Special 25 later and came out with a revision of them much later.

after the big deal they made about making only 2500 pairs, that would be unlikely.

maybe if they called it something new it would be possible but still kind of bad for reputation since it's a limited series. Special 40 is not a limited series btw. Special 25 - not so sure if they ever claimed the exact number.

 

[P4st_revival]

My Dynaudio Heritage Specials. #0020. Arrived last weekend.

Heritage 2 by Rob Moores, on Flickr

Heritage 1 by Rob Moores, on Flickr

hi, what feet are you using with stands?

 

[P4st_revival]

Close up of the white stands.

IsoAcoustics feet rather than the included spikes.

View attachment 115484

hi, have you filled the stands? also could I please ask which gaia feet you are using?

 

[torpedia]

Hi guys.

Last week I got a new set of Dynaudio Heritage Special speakers. The local hifi store told me that the model was sold out, but after a couple of days Dynaudio kindly informed, that they were willing to deliver one of their own ten pairs, not planned for the market, having "special" serial numbers.

I am now number #144 in the club of "exclusive" Dynaudio Heritage Special members! I don't know if this was just great storytelling or if this number is special for Dynaudio! Do any of you have an idea what this number means? I have an idea that it is a kind of a spiritual number, reserved by the CEO's woman Just kidding, the most important thing is that I succeeded to get a new set of this wonderful speakers, directly from the factory in Denmark, now when they are sold out. I also bought the black Dynaudio Stand 20, with plates designed for this speaker. I love these speakers retro look and the craftsmanship they put in to this speaker. Probably because I’m a big fan of Danish furniture, created by designers like Hans J. Wegner and Arne Jacobsen. Classic furniture design and craftsmanship combined with great sound - what's not to like!

The Dynaudio Heritage Specials are paired with a Vincent SV-737 Class A/AB amplifier, in a main stereo setup, and they are an even better match than the GamuT L3 speakers, which are mounted with some of the finest units from ScanSpeak. The Esotar 3 tweeter sounds better imho than the 15 year old Ring Radiator D2904. They doesn’t goes as deep as the GamuT speakers, but their sound has more attack and accuracy and I don’t need deep deep frequencies in my relative small listning room (18 m2, where I am sitting in a triangle of 3 x 3 metres, with around 40 cm from speakers to the walls). The final result is a more dynamic, wider and detailed soundstage and a great match to the Vincent amplifier. I will not go into more details, about the sound, which I think is already very well described in this thread.

The rest of setup is a MacBook with Apple Music streaming loseless to a Bluesound Node X streamer. They are connected digitally via coax, but I can easily switch to analog, to compare DAC's. I prefer the built-in DAC in the Vincent SV-737 even the ESS Sabre in the new Bluesound Node X also is doing well.

Years ago I was using a set of Dynaudio Focus 110 speakers paired with a Vincent SV-237 Class A/AB amplifier, which is a bit warmer than the more neutral and bigger SV-737. Switching to the Dynaudio Heritage Special was a natural move for me, since I have always liked the neutral sound from the Dynaudio speakers and great reviews convinced me that this was a great upgrade, even it was the first time I did not listened to a speaker before a buy! The Dynaudio Focus 110 is today connected to the telly and a Yamaha RX-A1080 surround receiver and they are still doing great as front speakers in a small surround setup.

I am also the happy owner of the active KEF LS50 Wireless II speakers, connected to a M&K Sound V10 sub, used for casual listening in my home office during work hour and when surfing the Internet. Even they are doing very well, the combo with Vincent SV-737 + Dynaudio Heritage Special is a great example of what the extra cost is worth.

This was my first post in this forum, sorry if it became a little bit too long

 

[watchnerd]

hi, what feet are you using with stands?

IsoAcoustics GAIA II feet:

GAIA Series

Floor standing speaker isolation feet for improved sound clarity and openness.

isoacoustics.com

 

[watchnerd]

hi, have you filled the stands? also could I please ask which gaia feet you are using?

I didn't fill the stands.

I have them on a tile floor and the GAIA feet act almost like suction cups, so there isn't a lot of vibration.

 

[Angel II]

Sorry if I'm off topic. I was considering buying Dynaudio Evoke 20 or JBL HDI 1600/4309 speakers, what do you recommend? I like fun speakers like my Polk Audio ES20 (not flat). I listen to any music genre except classical music. The amplifier I would use is the Atoll IN80 Signature. Thank you!!

 

[matro5]

Hi guys.

Last week I got a new set of Dynaudio Heritage Special speakers. The local hifi store told me that the model was sold out, but after a couple of days Dynaudio kindly informed, that they were willing to deliver one of their own ten pairs, not planned for the market, having "special" serial numbers.

I am now number #144 in the club of "exclusive" Dynaudio Heritage Special members! I don't know if this was just great storytelling or if this number is special for Dynaudio! Do any of you have an idea what this number means? I have an idea that it is a kind of a spiritual number, reserved by the CEO's woman Just kidding, the most important thing is that I succeeded to get a new set of this wonderful speakers, directly from the factory in Denmark, now when they are sold out. I also bought the black Dynaudio Stand 20, with plates designed for this speaker. I love these speakers retro look and the craftsmanship they put in to this speaker. Probably because I’m a big fan of Danish furniture, created by designers like Hans J. Wegner and Arne Jacobsen. Classic furniture design and craftsmanship combined with great sound - what's not to like!

The Dynaudio Heritage Specials are paired with a Vincent SV-737 Class A/AB amplifier, in a main stereo setup, and they are an even better match than the GamuT L3 speakers, which are mounted with some of the finest units from ScanSpeak. The Esotar 3 tweeter sounds better imho than the 15 year old Ring Radiator D2904. They doesn’t goes as deep as the GamuT speakers, but their sound has more attack and accuracy and I don’t need deep deep frequencies in my relative small listning room (18 m2, where I am sitting in a triangle of 3 x 3 metres, with around 40 cm from speakers to the walls). The final result is a more dynamic, wider and detailed soundstage and a great match to the Vincent amplifier. I will not go into more details, about the sound, which I think is already very well described in this thread.

The rest of setup is a MacBook with Apple Music streaming loseless to a Bluesound Node X streamer. They are connected digitally via coax, but I can easily switch to analog, to compare DAC's. I prefer the built-in DAC in the Vincent SV-737 even the ESS Sabre in the new Bluesound Node X also is doing well.

Years ago I was using a set of Dynaudio Focus 110 speakers paired with a Vincent SV-237 Class A/AB amplifier, which is a bit warmer than the more neutral and bigger SV-737. Switching to the Dynaudio Heritage Special was a natural move for me, since I have always liked the neutral sound from the Dynaudio speakers and great reviews convinced me that this was a great upgrade, even it was the first time I did not listened to a speaker before a buy! The Dynaudio Focus 110 is today connected to the telly and a Yamaha RX-A1080 surround receiver and they are still doing great as front speakers in a small surround setup.

I am also the happy owner of the active KEF LS50 Wireless II speakers, connected to a M&K Sound V10 sub, used for casual listening in my home office during work hour and when surfing the Internet. Even they are doing very well, the combo with Vincent SV-737 + Dynaudio Heritage Special is a great example of what the extra cost is worth.

This was my first post in this forum, sorry if it became a little bit too long

Would love to see some pics of your setup if you have any! I have to imagine that Vincent is a nice match for the dyns.

 

[matro5]

i'd hate to be the downer here, but there has been quite a few ppl having ear pain after listening HS for a while (avs forum), link to measurements from last page seems to confirm this, the treble is hot on these.. Sure there is a different kick and presents people seems to be suprised about, but people who love them either like more hot treble &-|| sound just blends well with their room, or use softer sounding amplifiers like macintosh / Luxmann etc. to compensate.

for Dynaudio lover, i would look for Confidence C1/C2 and such as alternative to your contour 1.3, but if you love you contours, why not keep on loving them, it's all about harmony -> speaker, room & you

oh and try dirac, if you haven't already, it's the biggest & cheapest improvement one can make in their system

Just seeing this post and have seen most of what's on AVS. From what I can tell it's basically one person on AVS who seems to prefer an exceptionally laid back sound who has been very vocal about the excruciating pain he suffered at the hands of the HS tweeter during a demo but I can't really find anyone else to corroborate that opinion. It's certainly not some sort of fact that the treble is hot.

Also, fwiw, and just my opinion obviously, but hot treble certainly doesn't describe anything I've heard my 2+ years of enjoying them every day.