I own a pair of Dynaudio Confidence 3 speakers (not the C3, earlier model made between 1994 and 2002). They are good but I always felt there's something off in the midrange/highs. Very hard to put the finger on it but others have confirmed. Tried them in different rooms (of which one a friend built purposely for music listening, with treatment, lots of room to play with positioning etc), different electronics but that "something" is always there.
After some auditions I did recently I'm convinced that it's not the room, placement but that the speakers themselves are the weak link. I listened to a pair of Morel Octaves (the floorstanding ones) and Raidho X2T. This is the second time I listened to Raidhos and my initial impression was confirmed: the highs are definitely superior and yes, there's something wrong with the highs of my Dyns. It's not a matter of taste, there's a lack of clarity that becomes evident with better speakers and it's way more than a nuance, it simply transforms the music. First listen with Raidhoss was on a first generation with Audio Technology drivers and while the overall sound was different those highs were still there: absolutely clear with no trace of harshness. They make my tweeters sound broken in comparison. The Morels were different but in all honesty better too. Now I'd get Raidhos but I get the feeling (which even someone who sells a pair locally confirmed) that their bookshelves are limited in bass which I'm not willing to give up. The Dyns have 18 cm midbass drivers and in that respect there's nothing missing. I'm not the type to listen to audiophile type of music (think Best Audiophile Voices), good bass is needed for music enjoyment and I pretty much listen to all kinds of music.
So you get the overall picture. I'm convinced this is an inherent linitation of my speakers in midrange/highs and I'm past the point of lying to myself. I'm trying to avoid typical audio magazine lingo but if I'd give up that I'd call it lack of smoothness and transparency. What I found locally that looks interesting:
Morel Octave (the bookshelves)
Opera Callas
Raidho X-Streame (I think they would lack bass, they have 10cm midbasses and reviews say that Raidhos tend to fall apart at higher volume)
Raidho X-Centric (seller described them as strident)
Dynaudio Compound 3
I'm looking for a recommendation that fits most if not all of these criteria:
After some auditions I did recently I'm convinced that it's not the room, placement but that the speakers themselves are the weak link. I listened to a pair of Morel Octaves (the floorstanding ones) and Raidho X2T. This is the second time I listened to Raidhos and my initial impression was confirmed: the highs are definitely superior and yes, there's something wrong with the highs of my Dyns. It's not a matter of taste, there's a lack of clarity that becomes evident with better speakers and it's way more than a nuance, it simply transforms the music. First listen with Raidhoss was on a first generation with Audio Technology drivers and while the overall sound was different those highs were still there: absolutely clear with no trace of harshness. They make my tweeters sound broken in comparison. The Morels were different but in all honesty better too. Now I'd get Raidhos but I get the feeling (which even someone who sells a pair locally confirmed) that their bookshelves are limited in bass which I'm not willing to give up. The Dyns have 18 cm midbass drivers and in that respect there's nothing missing. I'm not the type to listen to audiophile type of music (think Best Audiophile Voices), good bass is needed for music enjoyment and I pretty much listen to all kinds of music.
So you get the overall picture. I'm convinced this is an inherent linitation of my speakers in midrange/highs and I'm past the point of lying to myself. I'm trying to avoid typical audio magazine lingo but if I'd give up that I'd call it lack of smoothness and transparency. What I found locally that looks interesting:
Morel Octave (the bookshelves)
Opera Callas
Raidho X-Streame (I think they would lack bass, they have 10cm midbasses and reviews say that Raidhos tend to fall apart at higher volume)
Raidho X-Centric (seller described them as strident)
Dynaudio Compound 3
I'm looking for a recommendation that fits most if not all of these criteria:
- are bookshelves because I'm listening in a rather small room and IME good floorstanders are too expensive for my budget
- EUR 2500-3000 used
- are easily available in Europe, some brands are very hard if not almost impossible to find here
- have at least decent bass, clear, open highs and midrange but not harsh, capable of good soundstage, especially depth
- just make you not care about equipment, my Dyns failed me at that; for my tastes the X2Ts are get off the merry go round speakers but way outside budget