As a Dyn C1 owner all I can say is they are the most natural life like speakers I ever heard. I have never been fatigued by them. In fact 1 problem that I have with them is I have an extremely hard time walking away from them.
That being said I haven't heard B&W's for quite a while now since they never interested me. They are real easy for me to walk away from those.
Just my opinion |
the C1 is not fatiguing at all. one must look to electronics if that is the case. |
I believe that it would be in your best interest to find somewhere to audition the C1's.
I owned B&W Silver Signature's for 10 years. I only replaced them because I wanted a change. I auditioned the C1's as well as Harmonic Precision Caravelle's.
I really liked all three and didn't see much of a sonic difference in the three with my electronics.
I'd take the time and seek out the C1's and sit down and have a nice long listen. I don't think that either speaker is a better choice than the other. It's which one you like better or like the price of better.
Chuck |
I just like a bit of insight of what to expect when I do audition the C1, which probably won't happen for awhile since its a bit far away from where I live. I still have time to decide as I won't be upgrading at least not until a good 4 months later. Anymore comment about soundstage and transparency between the two speaker would be greatly appreciated. Electronics will also be upgraded after the speakers, thinking about Classe CP 700 or CP 800 and Classe CA 2200 or even Pass Labs or if getting integrated amp, maybe Ayon or Mac 6600, depends on budget. Also considering the placement of the speakers which is near wall for me, a rear port would not be as beneficial on the C1 as oppose of the 805 which is front ported. So I don't know..too many considerations and don't wanna make a bad choice. |
Spent time with both and owned the C1, I like both and feel the new B&W is a great move forward. That being said, the C1 is deeper in base, sweeter in mids, more natural in highs, wider deeper soundstage, more detailed and less fatiguing. Wonderful speaker and sometime I wish I had mine back, (but do love my parsifals). Mine sounded great with the Classe CA2200, I think the classe amp is much nicer than the pre-amp and works well with a good tubed preamp. I think the Pass integrated that is class A/B at about 150 watts would also be nice with the C1 but would worry about the pure class A pass at 30 watts. Both great speakers. The C1, one of the finest in my book. |
YOu should read the latest issue of Absolute sound if you have not. They do a review of the new 805 and directly compare it to the C1 |
Hi Ejlif, what was the result of that comparison? did they prefer one over the other? |
Can anyone speak to the room size limitations of the C1? My room is 14x18 with an average ceiling height of 11'. Is that room to large for the C1's? Would I lose their impressive bass or their ability to load the room? |
Peter_s
At my dealer I demoed the C1's in a room that is 15 X 25 and they sounded great. It will depend on the setup and equipment you have. I have to listen nearfield in my room 12 X 26 and there is some loss of bass in the 'sweet spot'. What I found interesting when demoing some interconnects I got a better bass response and a larger sound stage. I ended up buying those Nordost Frey ic's. |
Let me mention one visibly difference between these two speakers - the C1 has the rear bass-reflex port, while 805 has front port. That means, that C1 can not be placed (too) close to the rear wall.
P.S. I am satisfied owner of the C1s and I have never regreted the purchase. |
dynaudio speakers are more revealing than B&W with diamonds ,especialy i high freqeuncies. |
regarding the TAS review, they slightly preferred the B&W in the midrange and high end (a bit more spatial information and detail) but preferred the Dyna in the bass (which they noted is amazing). Also they noted the Dyna may have been easier to set up because they have slightly less dispersion.
fwiw |
"Can anyone speak to the room size limitations of the C1? My room is 14x18 with an average ceiling height of 11'"
If anything, that's a bit on the small side for the C1s. They like a lot of room to breathe |
I can't comment on your quest because I have not heard these speakers but comments like I quoted below worry me. Sorry to the poster to attack your post.
"As a Dyn C1 owner all I can say is they are the most natural life like speakers I ever heard. I have never been fatigued by them."
MANY instruments are fatiguing! If anyone has ever been in a room with a drum set they know what I am talking about. Natural will fatigue you... sorry but it is the truth. Drums are dynamic and brash, so the speakers should be too (and sweet for other instruments). Maybe soft jazz has pretty drums and gentle brush hits but not rock or other types of music. Speakers that make everything non-fatiguing are colored tonally.
I just heard the 802 Diamond this week (back to back with Sophia 3, same system) and the new 802 is outstanding. It has the best tweeter I have ever heard. Both dynamic and delicate at the same time. Very detailed, I could here every brush hit of the cymbals with delicate decay but they also were bright when the music was. On Eric Clapton's unplugged album they tweeters were soft with a huge sound stage. They never seem to compress at any volume either.
With at being said I would not buy the 805 Diamond. I have never heard them but I need bass and the 805s never had enough for my tastes. As always use your own ears. |
There is a Volent Paragon VL-2 for sale right now. I recommend putting that one on your list. |
Yep, the rear port vs the front port is also very important. In my room, the speakers will be near the wall so C1 is at a slight disadvantage for me. Also my cables are bi-wire..the C1 only takes single pair of wires, which is another downside. This doesn't necessarily mean I have given up on the C1, so I'll give it a audition when I'm in the bay area. But at this rate, the C1 would almost have to be at another level than the 805D. Thanks everyone for your replies. It seems 90% of people have chimed in about the C1, so I'm hoping for more 805D highlights. Also the 805D seems lacking in bass??? I had the impression that its very tuneful, tight, and well timed..of course its not at the same level of the C1 in terms of fullness, but its not enough to say the C1 totally dominates in this area vs the 805D, would anyone agree? |
Volent Paragon VL-2 sounds really interesting, definitely on my list. Closest dealership is in NY, but I'm in CA. Any other recommendations are appreciated as well^^ |
A McIntosh 6600 won't work on a C1---i tried it and it hit the power guards. |
Could it be the power guards are getting tripped cause you have them connected to 8 ohms rather than 4 ohms? I know on B&W speakers and Mac, most people usually have them on 4 ohms and the power no longer trips. |
I never write something on this forum so here I am!
As a c1 owner for about 5 years, I would suggest to download a frequency program, and play it in your room on your stereo. Look if there is some loud bass resonance, if this comes close to 30-40hz then it's okay(you won't need a sub!), when it is between 50-80hz, don't buy the c1's, because you kill yourself. The c1's can be very powerfull in the lower bass region. When they come closer then 2" to the rear wall, the sub bass goes up in db, and you lose soundstage. I also tried quit a lot of cables, I think the dyn's are missing musicality and warmth(I play a pathos amp.), with this cables you can give them a bit more warmth and musicality in the end stadium.
My only question; is there live after the c1's, because they are well balanced and 3 dimensional, and the soundstage is quit good with the right cables. ps. I've owned the 52se-focus 140-contour 3.4-c4's(needs bigger room). my room size 17"-24"!!!
I hope you learned a little bit, greetings to you all! |
