choice VA Haydn Grand or Dynaudio Focus 110??

I was in a very similar situation to yours recently. I have Musical Fidelity a3.2 integrated and a3.2 cd player. I was looking for a speaker upgrade. I first listened to the VA Haydn Grands. I then listened to the Dynaudio Focus line. The Haydn's have a very beautiful veneer and finish. They have a smooth and inviting sound. The Focus line may not have quite as nice a finish but aren't too far behind. However, they are a very nice looking speaker. I think their drivers, particularly their tweeter, are superior. I think the same could be said for their crossovers. To my ears they have greater detail and imaging.
Last Saturday I went one step up and bought the focus 140's with matching stands. They should be delivered early this coming week.
The 110's are about $300.00 more than the Haydn's. Both are definitely worth a listen before you decide.

Valinar,

So I guess you feel the Focus 110's will have much more
detail than the Haydns?

Hi... just checked...actually the price difference between
the 110's and the Haydns is only $105.00, with the Haydns
retailing for 1295.00 and the 110s for 1400.00.

Since its very difficult to find a shop that carries both
VA and Dynaudio, there is no way to do a A-B comparison.
So, I found a shop in Phila. PA called David Lewis Audio
that carries Dynaudio, Proac, Sonus Faber. I plan on heading
out there on Monday to audition the 110's....about 45 mins
from me in Princeton, NJ.
I will let you know what I think.

Make sure to check out the SF Concertino Domus. Not nearly as good looking as the VAs, it is a little more open and detailed. I had the VAs in my home for a few days audition and while the build quality and appearance is superb (best looking small speaker I've ever seen) they were ultimately a little too warm and lacking in enough detail. The tonal quality was excellent and I can understand someone loving their sound. The presentation was such that it's simply a matter of taste, but they weren't close enough to mine. I was very tempted to buy them on looks alone though. Best cabinet work and finishing of any speaker I've ever seen.

Let us know how the 110s sound. I've never been able to warm up to Dynaudio's rather cool and lean overall sound. A little too detailed and resolved for my tastes. I had trouble finding the body of the notes. Beats were a little uninvolving, too. I'd like something between the VA Grands and the Dynaudios I've heard.

Tomryan,
You suspect the SF Domus may be that sound between
the VA Haydns and Dynaudio??

Trekker,
I've not heard the Domus in my house which is the only way I can really tell about something. I'm going to try and borrow them this week and see what happens, but the dealer also wants me to try a couple AVI speakers. This is a British company who only sells through this store (Overture Audio in Ann Arbor, Michigan). They are the importer and also the only dealer. The smallest (the Neutrons) sounded quite nice and are the size of a Spendor 3/5. More open and dynamic than the Spendor and, at least in the store, they created life sized images. The Spendors I owned a couple years ago didn't do that.

Main problem with the AVIs would be resale. Since no one's heard of them, I can't imagine being able to sell them. VAs, SFs, and Dynaudios sell themselves.

I think you should forget about AVI.

Resell value of Vienna Acoustics is not high either but might be better than AVI.