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13 minutes ago, Sirmorebeer said:

 

I still got you "old" mocha 3.4LE. Perhaps I should post a picture of it to remind you how glossy it looks.;) As for the new Contour, check this 

 

The finish is not too shabby in my book. As for your new C2 what you going to drive them with I wondered?

 

Yep it's nice enough that's for sure ! Hope you are enjoying them !

 

The new Contour Series in rosewood look really nice in pictures, haven't been up close to a set yet though..

 

I have a couple of integrateds to start with, Hegel H300 and Prima Luna HP. I don't think they take quite as much power to drive as the older Confidence and I'm not a big pre/power person, so apart from a Gryphon Integrated coming up, will stick with those for now.

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So I ducked down to Lifestyle Store yesterday for a listen to the special 40's. I was very impressed with what I heard. They had the Special 40's placed on some Dynaudio stands (3 or 4?) in their Devialet room (which by guess is about 3.5M x 4.0M and acoustically treated). Feeding the Special 40's were a pair of Expert Pro 220's configured in mono-block mode.

 

The first thing that struck me was the scale of the sound-stage it managed to produce - their was quite a lot of width and height about the music. In fact prior to listening to the Special 40's I had the privilege of listening to what would have been close to a $AU1M system comprising of top of the range Moon Audio electronics feeding a pair of Evidence Master Platinum's (bucket list stuff) and dare I say it, in the smaller Devialet room I thought the sound-stage thrown up by the tiny Special 40's was on par with the monolithic pair of Evidence Masters. I know that comment may beggar belief. Imaging was very good as you would expect from a pair of monitors in a treated room i.e. pin point. 

 

The second thing that took me by surprise was the tonality of the speakers. I've always found Dyn's to be smooth, refined, and JUST on the warm side of neutral. Having owned a pair of C1's in the past there were times I was looking for a touch more attack when it came to the leading edge definition of some tracks. In contrast I found the Special 40's to be very agile and fast with the upper frequencies leaping out at you, grabbing your attention, while for a moment hanging in the air before an equally fast yet tactile decay. At this point these speakers certainly had my attention.

 

The mid-range was classic Dynaudio, palpable, neutral yet incredibly musical and effortless in it's coherence & alignment with the lively and dynamic performance of the Esotar tweeter. Which in turn brings us to the bass. Which again proved to present an interesting/pleasant surprise. I've always found Dyn's to lay a fantastic foundation when it comes to bass. Indeed some suggest in medium sized rooms one can get away without a sub when it comes to the C1. Obviously this is not the case with Special 40's. But to simply right off the bass performance as lacking due to the proportions of the speaker is to only tell half the story. I currently own some Focus 110's which when compared to the Special 40's appear to accentuate the upper mid-bass. This at times can result in a (fun and engaging) coloration of the sound. Not so in the case of the Special 40's. I found them to be very neutral through the mid-bass and what elements of sub-bass it could muster. If the track was poorly mastered you could hear it i.e. if there wasn't bass there it wouldn't compensate through the slight mid-bass bump I've come to hear in the Focus 110's. 

 

Lastly, if I were to knit pick I'd suggest that to really enjoy the Special 40's at their best you need to stretch their legs. I felt I had to get the volume to slightly above normal listening levels to enjoy the Special 40's in all their grandeur. If your listening space allows you to do this, and your amplification is able to come to the party you will be rewarded with an incredibly dynamic and transparent musical experience.

 

Needless to say lads I put down a deposit for a pair. Apparently delivery will be in 8 weeks. 

 

Caveat emptor:  I'm not entirely familiar with the electronics that were being used and the room was well treated, but, clearly i'm quite smitten by these beauties. 

 

Lastly a big thank you to the young lad at Lifestyle store. I love what Vinod and the team are doing down in North Parramatta. Not least because of their product selection, but because of their clear respect of both the customer and musical experience. Their rooms are beautiful, treated and appointed with some stunning components. I feel very lucky to be able to walk into a shop front and be able to have the sort of experience I had yesterday. This  is to say nothing of the attentive and friendly customer service I also enjoyed. More power to them! :)

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Nice write up Soapy,

 

My favourite bookshelf speaker Dynaudio has produced has been the Contour 1.3se,  i couldn't help but think they were trying to reproduce a newer version of that speaker when I first saw these. Your description of the sound reinforces that is what they were aiming for potentially.

 

i agree re: Lifestyle store and Vinod, they are good to deal with, very efficient and professional. The rooms are also very well appointed, uber high end product aside they may be Sydney's best listening shop.

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On 8/2/2017 at 8:43 AM, Galactic Soap said:

Needless to say lads I put down a deposit for a pair. Apparently delivery will be in 8 weeks.

 

Thanks for write up GS. Dyn fan myself. What finish did you go for?

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Fantastic Soapy. They had that monster Moon amp / Evidence Masters setup at the recent hifi show. Comparisons to that set up say a lot!

 

Agree about the shop, they have also really improved the car audio service, some super nice high end installations coming out of their now.

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1 hour ago, AudioGeek said:

They had that monster Moon amp / Evidence Masters setup at the recent hifi show. Comparisons to that set up say a lot!

Unfortunately they didn't play the same kind of music on both systems when I was there, so it was hard to compare.

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  • 4 weeks later...

Anyone heard both the Dynaudio Special Forty and the ATC SCM 19's? I am in the market to buy a set of stand mounts and have narrowed my choice down to the ATC SCM 19 speakers. Albeit I am interested in the new Special Forty as an option I am not so sure having owned the Dynaudio Focus 160's which I found grossly overrated given the rave reviews. With my Focus 160's the bass was all over the place and placement was critical. So much so I eventually had to move them along. So I am wondering if the so-called "Special" Forty's are not just another Focus 160's rehash at twice the price. The reason I am looking at the ATC SCM 19s is that apart from their rhythmic sound, excellent midrange and extension, they are sealed units and very forgiving when it comes to placement.

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@Jude Dred I own the ATC SCM 19 and Dynaudio Contour S1.4 LE, and have heard the Dynaudio Special 40.

In my opinion the 40 has a similar bass and mid range as the LE, but the upper mid range is move obvious and less laid back, and the treble sounds a little more even. I think the LE creates a better sound image though.

The 19 owns both of the Dyns in the mid range and resolves more mid range detail than anything else I have heard at the price.

The 19 doesn't throw a wide sound stage, but the treble is detailed. Bass goes lower and punches harder on the two Dyns than on the 19, but the 19 is faster and more precise.

Hope that helps.

I think as long as you can get 30cm from the back wall (50cm would be better), and 70cm from side walls, you'll be fine with the 40, as long as you don't have a wall directly behind you to reinforce the bass.

Another thing is the bass can be balanced out by an amplifier or source component. On my Naim amp the Dynaudios are a bit heavy handed, but on my Lavardin amp they sound more balanced.

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Hi Audio_file,

 

Many thanks - very grateful for your input which I find very helpful. I loathe to go to dealers for demo's as one has to always remind oneself that those setups are geared to impress (and sometimes mislead) and most are far detached from the reality of the average home. Your input puts me back on track for the ATC SCM 19's but if anybody else would like to add anything, I'm all ears. BTW if I go for 19s the I am thinking of complimenting them with a sub-woofer at a later stage. All I have read to date are dealer / shows / distributer / magazine reviews and casual perceptions on the Dynaudio Forty's  and would really like to hear what owners have to say. It was that mistake I made with the Dynaudio Focus 160's that led to a bad buy - I based my choice on magazine reviews and a dealer demo but as a owner, in my home, they were not good at all.    

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Hi Audio_file,
 
Many thanks - very grateful for your input which I find very helpful. I loathe to go to dealers for demo's as one has to always remind oneself that those setups are geared to impress (and sometimes mislead) and most are far detached from the reality of the average home. Your input puts me back on track for the ATC SCM 19's but if anybody else would like to add anything, I'm all ears. BTW if I go for 19s the I am thinking of complimenting them with a sub-woofer at a later stage. All I have read to date are dealer / shows / distributer / magazine reviews and casual perceptions on the Dynaudio Forty's  and would really like to hear what owners have to say. It was that mistake I made with the Dynaudio Focus 160's that led to a bad buy - I based my choice on magazine reviews and a dealer demo but as a owner, in my home, they were not good at all.    
I listened to the Focus 160 when I decided what to get leading up to my 19s. I didn't think it was bad, I quite liked it. My only gripe was an uneven treble and a slightly boring mid range on some songs, but this might be amplifier matching. If you don't like the bass on the 160, I wouldn't recommend either of the two Dyns I mentioned. They do bass in a very similar manner, and their gains over the 160 are in the mid range, treble, and sound stage, not that much in the bass. Although both kick harder than the 160.

I would be reluctant to add a sub to the 19s, you'll be challenged to find something that won't ruin their agility. They aren't lightweights and unless you have a massive room or listen to organ music, you might be satisfied. They have a slow bass roll off.

If the 19s don't go low enough and you want a fast agile bass that reaches lower, I'd recommend considering the PMC twenty5.22. (not the twenty.22)


Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

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Guest rogerthat
On 23/09/2017 at 4:24 PM, Jude Dred said:

Anyone heard both the Dynaudio Special Forty and the ATC SCM 19's? I am in the market to buy a set of stand mounts and have narrowed my choice down to the ATC SCM 19 speakers. Albeit I am interested in the new Special Forty as an option I am not so sure having owned the Dynaudio Focus 160's which I found grossly overrated given the rave reviews. With my Focus 160's the bass was all over the place and placement was critical. So much so I eventually had to move them along. So I am wondering if the so-called "Special" Forty's are not just another Focus 160's rehash at twice the price. The reason I am looking at the ATC SCM 19s is that apart from their rhythmic sound, excellent midrange and extension, they are sealed units and very forgiving when it comes to placement.

What amplification will you be using? I could live with either of those speakers but the amp (& room) would be the deciding factor if already purchased.

 

Also don't forget that Dyns with those big rear ports need lots more room to breathe than the sealed ATC.

Edited by rogerthat
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Guest rogerthat

Just read you post properly. Obviously you already know about Dyns and 'those ports'.

 

Re-reading you bass requirements, I doubt you will be happy with the Dyns. I had SCM11 for a while and against my C1's the bass was much tighter on the SCM11. Sealed enclosures will always beat ported for that tight bass sound. They do not sound as deep/extended though. In the end my favourite amplification suited the C1s better and I got a wad of room treatment to assist with the bass and so the ATC got moved on.

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First,

Hi Audio_file, and once again, many thanks. I intend going with the ATC SCM 19's. I am very happy that you feel the 19's do not need a sub-woofer - and I think my room size is ok. I did listen to the PMC twenty5 23's and they were really nice but a tad harsh (not as rhythmic as the 19's) for me for me in the treble ranges - bass was awesome. And like ATC, the PMC twenty5 series are easy to place. I was led to believe I would have the same issue with the 22's. But PMC are definitely not to be discounted and their build quality is impressive.  

 Rogerthat. Am using a Supernait 2. I was also looking at the 11's but thought they were lacking in bass but the 19's were really good all round. I am very reluctant to go for most rear ported stand-mounts as they are not room friendly and have to be precisely placed to get good sound. Dynaudio no exception. With many rear-ported speakers, it seems one has to buy the speaker then build the room to suite. Ridiculous.  

 

Edited by Jude Dred
spelling mistake
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Guest rogerthat
On 25/09/2017 at 4:26 PM, Jude Dred said:

Rogerthat. Am using a Supernait 2. I was also looking at the 11's but thought they were lacking in bass but the 19's were really good all round

Yes I agree. I did not mean to suggest the SCM11 as a candidate but just wanted to suggest that ported bass might not suit you. SCM19 has the same tight bass as the SCM11 but obviously more of it.

 

On 25/09/2017 at 4:26 PM, Jude Dred said:

With many rear-ported speakers, it seems one has to buy the speaker then build the room to suite. Ridiculous.  

 

Yes this is my story unfortunately. BUT the SCM would have required room treatment for me anyway. Treble was a bit too bright without it and room modes still present even with sealed design (all brick walls, concrete ceiling & MK1 so different tweeter). All rooms benefit from treatment, it's just getting nice looking treatment that is the issue.

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1 hour ago, rogerthat said:

Supernait 2 + SCM19 would be a match made in heaven. I would consider that a reference back end. Only the source to worry about after that.

I haven't heard this combination, but you might be right. I've thought of listening to a SuperNait 2 with ATC SCM 40 before.

I preferred the tonal balance of the Nait XS2 to the SuperNait 2 on my old Jamo D830, but the ATCs are less treble heavy than the Jamos, so it might be a different story.

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