Dynaudio Heritage Special

[watchnerd]

For example the KEF R7 use Walnut wood

The KEF R7 may have a walnut veneer, as does the Heritage Special, but I guarantee it is not made of natural walnut inside.

 

[MustBeDeaf]

@watchnerd thanks for sharing with us your dealer demo experience.

Can I ask you for comparisons between a few other Dynaudio speakers? I really love the look of the Heritage Specials but I'm curious about their performance relative.

What you liked more from the Heritage and what you liked least from the following:

Confidence C1
Special Forty

I've owned both of these. I really, really regret selling the C1s...but it looks like I might be able to get better performance by going HS instead of a used C1.

Can you tell me more about the tweeter? What ways do they differ in sound from other Dynaudios or even other speakers you've heard?

Also really curious about the midrange especially at the crossover point too.

Thanks very much for your time and I appreciate any information you can provide.

 

[watchnerd]

@watchnerd thanks for sharing with us your dealer demo experience.

Can I ask you for comparisons between a few other Dynaudio speakers? I really love the look of the Heritage Specials but I'm curious about their performance relative.

What you liked more from the Heritage and what you liked least from the following:

Confidence C1
Special Forty

I've owned both of these. I really, really regret selling the C1s...but it looks like I might be able to get better performance by going HS instead of a used C1.

Can you tell me more about the tweeter? What ways do they differ in sound from other Dynaudios or even other speakers you've heard?

Also really curious about the midrange especially at the crossover point too.

Thanks very much for your time and I appreciate any information you can provide.

I haven't heard the Confidence C1 in a while, but I would say that it just doesn't scale as well with complex music at high volumes as the newer models -- the Contour 20/20i is superior in this respect, the Confidence 20 better still. The tweeter is also showing its age vs the Esotar 2i, Esotar 40, and Esotar 3 -- it sounds a tad under-damped and less precise, a little fuzzier like there is just a wee bit more driver breakup and resonance. It's also pickier about toe-in than the more modern models, suggesting the directivity might be less good.

The Special 40 bass tuning is just slightly fat and plump, with a higher Q, which gives it the impression of sounding deep from a small box in a small to medium sized room, at the expense of some bass accuracy and ability to play loud in larger rooms -- the driver is being asked to do a lot for its size and cabinet volume, so it eventually runs out of gas at higher volumes in a big room. In a small room, you're not likely to hit the limit before it gets louder than you want to listen.

The Special 40 is also tuned a bit more "pleasant" than neutral -- the Contour 20 sounds more neutral and studio monitor like. The Special 40 is just slightly more laid back / down-tilted than it is accurate.

 

[MustBeDeaf]

Thank you for that.

Can you compare those Dynaudios mentioned to the Heritage Special? What's different? What's better? Worse?

What are some sound characteristics of the Heritage Special that stand out to you?

 

[watchnerd]

Thank you for that.

Can you compare those Dynaudios mentioned to the Heritage Special? What's different? What's better? Worse?

What are some sound characteristics of the Heritage Special that stand out to you?

I wrote up a bunch of notes here already:

https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...dio-heritage-special.17831/page-6#post-612378

 

[MustBeDeaf]

I read that. But there was nothing regarding how they sound, the most important part.

 

[watchnerd]

I read that. But there was nothing regarding how they sound, the most important part.

This is ASR.

I'm a biased listener with a known attraction to the brand and model.

My subjective impressions are tainted by cognitive bias.

Also, unfamiliar room, so bass in particular is an issue to judge.

 

[MustBeDeaf]

This is ASR.

I'm a biased listener with a known attraction to the brand and model.

My subjective impressions are tainted by cognitive bias.

I understand this is ASR and I understand there is bias, in different forms.

I think everyone on this site can appropriately put your subjective impressions within context.

Your experience listening to the speakers does matter more, or at least it should, than measurements because ultimately you are going to be listening to your favorite music from the speakers and not test tones.

So yes your subjective impressions do matter a lot to me in getting an idea of how they sound, in context of other Dynaudio models. Of course the usual caveats that come with ASR I suppose.

I wish this forum would be more balanced between subjective critical listening, sharing those in clear, understandable language without the typical audiophile jargon AND an appropriate methodology on how to measure components and what the measurements show.

 

[MustBeDeaf]

Like the following here is extremely helpful.

If you can do that for the Heritage, I'd be most grateful.

I haven't heard the Confidence C1 in a while, but I would say that it just doesn't scale as well with complex music at high volumes as the newer models -- the Contour 20/20i is superior in this respect, the Confidence 20 better still. The tweeter is also showing its age vs the Esotar 2i, Esotar 40, and Esotar 3 -- it sounds a tad under-damped and less precise, a little fuzzier like there is just a wee bit more driver breakup and resonance. It's also pickier about toe-in than the more modern models, suggesting the directivity might be less good.

The Special 40 bass tuning is just slightly fat and plump, with a higher Q, which gives it the impression of sounding deep from a small box in a small to medium sized room, at the expense of some bass accuracy and ability to play loud in larger rooms -- the driver is being asked to do a lot for its size and cabinet volume, so it eventually runs out of gas at higher volumes in a big room. In a small room, you're not likely to hit the limit before it gets louder than you want to listen.

The Special 40 is also tuned a bit more "pleasant" than neutral -- the Contour 20 sounds more neutral and studio monitor like. The Special 40 is just slightly more laid back / down-tilted than it is accurate.

 

[watchnerd]

I understand this is ASR and I understand there is bias, in different forms.

I think everyone on this site can appropriately put your subjective impressions within context.

Your experience listening to the speakers does matter more, or at least it should, than measurements because ultimately you are going to be listening to your favorite music from the speakers and not test tones.

So yes your subjective impressions do matter a lot to me in getting an idea of how they sound, in context of other Dynaudio models. Of course the usual caveats that come with ASR I suppose.

I wish this forum would be more balanced between subjective critical listening, sharing those in clear, understandable language without the typical audiophile jargon AND an appropriate methodology on how to measure components and what the measurements show.

Unless I were doing a direct head to head comparison, which I did not during my audition of the Heritage Special, I'm relying on audio memory.

And I've already written as much as I feel qualified to say based strictly on audio memory.

If I had listened to these models head to head it would be different.

 

[watchnerd]

Like the following here is extremely helpful.

If you can do that for the Heritage, I'd be most grateful.

Those notes were based on memories of direct head to head comparisons I've made in the past.

I did not do a listening test of the Heritage Special vs any other speaker from any maker. I listened only to them.

 

[MustBeDeaf]

Unless I were doing a direct head to head comparison, which I did not during my audition of the Heritage Special, I'm relying on audio memory.

And I've already written as much as I feel qualified to say based strictly on audio memory.

If I had listened to these models head to head it would be different.

And you also relied on that audio memory to give descriptions on how those other two Dynaudio models are.

Why is the Heritage Special any different?

 

[MustBeDeaf]

Those notes were based on memories of direct head to head comparisons I've made in the past.

I did not do a listening test of the Heritage Special vs any other speaker from any maker. I listened only to them.

Yup you listened to them and ordered a pair. You clearly liked them from a demo.

So what was it about the demo you liked that made you want to purchase a pair?

 

[watchnerd]

Yup you listened to them and ordered a pair. You clearly liked them from a demo.

So what was it about the demo you liked that made you want to purchase a pair?

They looked cool.

They evoked memories of Dynaudio models I wanted when I was younger but couldn't afford.

They're an homage model -- and I bought because I liked the homage experience.

 

[MustBeDeaf]

They looked cool.

They evoked memories of Dynaudio models I wanted when I was younger but couldn't afford.

They're an homage model -- and I bought because I liked the homage experience.

So you bought a pair purely on looks?

There's nothing wrong with that BTW;.

 

[Frank Dernie]

It's the first time I've also seen Persian carpets used as sound treatments.

I have used them for over 20 years.
I love Persian carpets
I only have one though on the opposite wall to a large French window to acoustically balance its curtains.

I think the biggest problem with getting good sound nowadays is the fashion for stark interiors and particularly no carpet.
I have never heard tolerable sound in a room like that.

 

[watchnerd]

So you bought a pair purely on looks?

There's nothing wrong with that BTW;.

Yes and emotion.

Which I stated upthread, where I said, before the audition, if I liked the way they looked, they gave me a warm fuzzy, and they sounded more-or-less as good as the Contour 20, that I would buy them.

And they ticked all those boxes, so I bought.

 

[MustBeDeaf]

Ok great. Congrats on purchasing a pair.

So they sounded on par with your Contour 20s. Did you notice anything about demoing the Heritage that jumped out at you more that you don't hear on your Contours?

 

[watchnerd]

Ok great. Congrats on purchasing a pair.

So they sounded on par with your Contour 20s. Did you notice anything about demoing the Heritage that jumped out at you more that you don't hear on your Contours?

I already wrote this upthread, with commentary about the toe-in, directivity, tweeter, and maybe the bass (but hard to tell in different room).

 

[MustBeDeaf]

I already wrote this upthread, with commentary about the toe-in, directivity, tweeter, and maybe the bass (but hard to tell in different room).

That you did, mostly in comparison to their size and quality of cabinet.

However this:

• I'm reluctant to comment on the bass given how much of that is room dependent. But it sounded very different in the bass. As a bass player, I think of this as body vs strings.

Is vague.

How did it sound very different?