A Must Hear under $5,000

The Dynaudio Excite x36 is a must hear for anyone looking for a loudspeaker in the $5,000.00 range. This loudspeaker does several things really, really well. It does some things better than any speaker costing $3,800.00 has any right to do. For example, the x36 does the "disappearing act" incredibly well. Set up properly (more on that later), the Dynaudio casts a spookily-realistic, goosebump-inducing soundstage. Make no mistake, as other reviews have mentioned, the mid-and-upper ranges are its wheelhouse, but with proper amplification (again, more on that later), the bass is very good as well. More important to me, the bass these speakers produce is of the of the highest quality; super-tight, and with a delicious dollop of decay. These speakers image as well as any loudspeaker I've heard under $10,000.00, and I've heard a lot. The imaging is truly pinpoint; each instrument delightfully delineated within the soundstage. And these speakers are LIGHTNING FAST! As in planar fast. I auditioned these speakers in my smallish listening room for a week before pulling the trigger. Initially I was underwhelmed. Typical 3-way tower. I experimented with toe-in, rake and distance from back-and-side walls in an effort to give them the benefit of the doubt. It paid off. In spades! This speaker is VERY sensitive to positioning. I suspect this is at the root of the so-so review issued by WHAT Hi-Fi. You must invest time in getting the toe-in, distance and rake just right. I never really put much stock in the "move 1/4 inch at a time" practice, but with this speaker it REALLY makes a difference. Likewise with amplification. My BAT VK-500 solid state amp produces 250 wpc into 8 ohms, 500 into 4 ohms, and more importantly, a stout 75 amps. These speakers really respond to the juice, and they are so revealing that lower-quality upstream components will be quickly exposed. The one thing that everyone whom has heard this speaker agrees upon is that the Excite x36 are a master at detail retrieval. Wow. As you've heard many people say many times about audio components, I really did have to plumb my albums and CDs to look for new detail and nuance that I hadn't heard before. It's a blast. Lastly, the other big impression this speaker makes is the DEPTH of the soundstage. I have heard speakers in hi-end shops pull this off before, but never in my listening room have I been able to conjure the DEEP presentation the x36 create. I sat there chuckling, shaking my head, thinking, "It's like my listening room is 50 yards deep!" Needless to say, at week's end I bought them. Highly, highly recommended fellow music lovers!

Associated gear
Balanced Audio Technology VK-500 amp (with BAT-PAK)
PS Audio PCA-2 preamplifier
Cary Audio 303/300 CD player (tubed/ss)
Rega RP3 turntable
Ortofon 2M Bronze MM cartridge
Dynaudio Excite x36 loudspeakers
PS Audio X-treme balanced interconnects
Audioquest Hyperlitz Midnight III speaker cables