Mr Frank Posted October 10, 2007 Share Posted October 10, 2007 On Saturday 15/09/07, two friends and myself were very generously given the opportunity to audition the brand new model Duntech DSM-15 speakers at the Sydney factory. Kiat at Duntech arranged this audition along with a brief "factory tour". I must sincerely thank Kiat for sharing his industry knowledge, Hi Fi passion, and valuable time with us. By the way, the legendary Duntech Sovereign speaker is still available at about AUD $30,000/pair, albeit with an "improved" crossover network and updated Dynaudio drivers, compared to the original model. Duntech will only sell the Sovereign direct to the consumer, not through retailers. RRP for the DSM-15 is AUD $12,000/pair. The associated test equipment was; Plinius 9200 Integrated amplifier with 200W/channel output@8ohms and Plinius CD-101 CD player. This is the relevant link. http://www.duntech.com.au/images/all.html I was quite surprised to discover that the DSM-15 is actually a stand mount design utilising a dedicated matching stand, which can be mass loaded. For our test the stand was indeed filled with sand. Kiat confirmed that the speaker cabinets are made overseas due to prohibitively high Australian manufacturing costs associated with curved cabinets. He pointed out the extremely high standard of cabinet fit and finish which was in fact obvious. The top enclosure which contains the drivers(1 x Dynaudio 5 inch mid/woofer and 1 x Scanspeak 1 inch tweeter) is quite small, and I was very sceptical when Kiat had claimed a quasi anechoic bass response down to 42 Hz at -3dB. Test CD's included: 1. Burmester Art For The Ear, Burmester Audiosysteme, Vorfuhrungs CD III 2. Master Female Audiophile SACD/CD Hybrid Disc 3. Renee Olstead - Self titled album 4. Evanescence - Fallen 5. Avril Lavigne - Let Go 6. James Mayer - Room For Squares CD's 1, 2 and 3 were predominently used for our listening tests. Test conditions were very difficult for the small DSM-15 due to the "open factory floor" environment, but bass was still somehow surprisingly well extended. Bass was also extremely tight and clean with no discernible overhang. These speakers really did have quite satisfying bass output especially with the Cello, even when compared to a small floor standing design, so I attempted to quantify their response with a "subwoofer test disc". At 40 Hz input test signal, bass output was reasonably strong, but audibly improved at the next increment of 50 Hz. As far as I could tell, with this crude test, bass response should be close to Duntech specification. The second most obvious characteristic which struck me was the amazing transient attack displayed by the DSM-15 speakers. I have never experienced such a sense of realism or dynamic range with speakers of this size. Guitar string plucks, piano key strokes, drum stick cracks, all had great immediacy helping to create that "live" sensation. The quiver of female voices could easily be heard, and both transparency and detail were very good. The soundstage was very wide and deep, but imaging remained solid and focused. These speakers were almost always neutral, but did become somewhat "lively" when fed with very bright recordings. They do however punish poor quality recordings like Avril Lavigne's - Let Go, which sounded very harsh and noisy. After sampling this CD, everyone present demanded that I remove the disc. Both of my friends said that they noticed the midrange voicing was a "tad" on the warm side which gives the DSM-15 speaker a "valve like" sound, but personally I did not perceive this. I am definitely no expert, but have attempted to give my opinion on these "landmark" new Duntech speakers. I hope that this "review" is helpful. Thanks again Kiat. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drizt Posted October 10, 2007 Share Posted October 10, 2007 A timely review considering the GTG next weekend Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Frank Posted October 10, 2007 Author Share Posted October 10, 2007 A timely review considering the GTG next weekend [/b] I know that you will all enjoy the experience! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Seow Posted June 21, 2011 Share Posted June 21, 2011 I haven seen any Duntech owners around... I been using mine for years and till today am pretty happy with my duntech sovereign. Sharing your expeience here. Currently mated with audio research d250. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wooferocau Posted July 28, 2014 Share Posted July 28, 2014 I was wondering how many SNA members own or have owned the Duntech Sovereign speakers ? Any pics of your Sovereigns, please post here. Thanks. Some pics of mine.. 14 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest kab Posted July 28, 2014 Share Posted July 28, 2014 Borrowed a pair for while, magnificent but way to big for my room. Settled on Duntech Crown Princes instead. cheers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wooferocau Posted July 28, 2014 Share Posted July 28, 2014 Borrowed a pair for while, magnificent but way to big for my room. Settled on Duntech Crown Princes instead. cheers. Any chance you could post a few pics of your setup? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest kab Posted July 28, 2014 Share Posted July 28, 2014 (edited) Sure i,ll give it a go. Mind you its not as tasty as your setup. cheers Edited July 28, 2014 by kab Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joz Posted July 28, 2014 Share Posted July 28, 2014 Oh yea baby. Never heard them but would love to one day. Hope to some more pics if they are around here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest kab Posted July 28, 2014 Share Posted July 28, 2014 Any chance you could post a few pics of your setup? Here you go. Sorry for the crappy quality pictures. I'm not a photographer, obviously. http://imgur.com/a/ekabO#2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alistairm Posted July 28, 2014 Share Posted July 28, 2014 Love the pictures guys. I lusted after these speakers for a long time. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter_F Posted July 28, 2014 Share Posted July 28, 2014 I don't own set but wish I did. The best speakers I have heard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muzzagruzz Posted July 28, 2014 Share Posted July 28, 2014 That system looks stunning. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter_F Posted July 28, 2014 Share Posted July 28, 2014 Settled on Duntech Crown Princes instead. Tough compromise! I have also heard the Crown Princes too, also an outstanding speaker. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TLL Posted July 28, 2014 Share Posted July 28, 2014 Very nice setup, my pair is driven by 2 pairs of mono blocks, one pair of class D amp driving the 4 woofers, the other EL34 PP driving the rest. My room is too small though, but still enjoy the sound out of the sovereign. Have upgrade/replace the x'over components, made quite a difference.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TLL Posted July 28, 2014 Share Posted July 28, 2014 oh, sorry for the upside down photo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest kab Posted July 28, 2014 Share Posted July 28, 2014 Tough compromise! I have also heard the Crown Princes too, also an outstanding speaker. Yes the crown princes are more room friendly i've found. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Telecine Posted July 28, 2014 Share Posted July 28, 2014 oh, sorry for the upside down photo Let's see if we can fix that: 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Telecine Posted July 28, 2014 Share Posted July 28, 2014 Here you go. Sorry for the crappy quality pictures. I'm not a photographer, obviously. http://imgur.com/a/ekabO#2 Worth uploading: 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Art Vandelay Posted July 28, 2014 Share Posted July 28, 2014 Here you go. Sorry for the crappy quality pictures. I'm not a photographer, obviously. http://imgur.com/a/ekabO#2 Nice amp too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest kab Posted July 28, 2014 Share Posted July 28, 2014 Nice amp too. It certainly is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gee Emm Posted July 28, 2014 Share Posted July 28, 2014 Oh yea baby. Never heard them but would love to one day. Hope to some more pics if they are around here. Joz, don't you already have the SGR version Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joz Posted July 29, 2014 Share Posted July 29, 2014 Joz, don't you already have the SGR version Ummm? Spose so :lol: 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brenden Posted July 29, 2014 Share Posted July 29, 2014 I used to hang around the local hi fi shop a lot when they had the Sovereigns back in the 90s . They were fantastic . If I had a big room (and was single ) I would get some . I can still recall the wonderful ease in the bass that only big speakers can project . Nice CD KAB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avalon27 Posted August 6, 2014 Share Posted August 6, 2014 love them speakers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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