Dynaudio 52se - best integrated amp at low volume?

Hate to say this but Dyns do not love low volume. I have had Contour 1.1 and still have Audience 42. They are great speakers, but like to be turned up to sound their best.

Agreed

Yes I heard the 52se's sounded pretty undynamic and average until you wound the volume up to a level you would'nt want to listen too for hours... good party speakers...

Sim Audio I5. It's slightly forward nature is a must for dyn's. It will help open up the soundstage. Don't worry, they have plenty of power for the room size, and going by the results from the aragon, power isn't the problem. If you look around you'll find many positive comments about Sim/Dyns going well together. The other choices may be too laid back. But I echo the other comments, you might be expecting too much at low volume for these speakers.

Best is a relative term but based on the following review http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/volume_11_1/cayin-265ai-integrated-amplifier-3-2004.html , Class A amplification may be the best way to achieve what you're looking for. It appears that the power hungry Dyns benefit substantially from full current availaility at all times regardless of volume setting.

BTW, no need to spend an arm and a leg either.:)

Jet

Actually, a class A amplifier won't deliver any more power to the speaker than an AB1, AB2, or a B of the same rating.

To explain it in simple terms, the tube/transistor in a class A circuit has to do all the work. It biased in the middle of its operating range where it is the most linear. The drawback to this are that it is in operation all the time, drawing full current even when there is no work to do. Since the devices never get a chance to cool down, this also makes the circuit more expensive to build. You need sturdier devices, larger heatsinks, etc.

In class B, the work is split up between multiple devices. When one is working, the other is not and has a chance to cool down. If there is no signal, neither device is conducting. While this allows the same work to be done at a much smaller cost, this kind of circuit introduces a very small amount of distortion when the devices are swapped. This is called crossover distortion.

So the difference between the classes is really a trade off between linearity and operating efficiency. It doesn't have anything to do with how much power is delivered to the speakers. The class A amplifier will waste alot of power to gain a slight advantage in accuracy.

I think the problem might be the Dyn itself. I may be prejudice but the entire Audience line always seem like very unmusical. Nothing about them that connect with the listeners.
For the price of a 52se, there are so many exellent speakers out there.

Sim Audio i-5. It's punchy and energizing enough to forget the word "anemic" at all.