Dynaudio Audience 8

The contour used the esotar 2 tweeter. I demoed the audience 80 at home for a week (think A82 with a rear facing port) and They were good speakers at their price, but there's no free lunch and the tweeter in the audience line isn't as resolving as the esotar in the higher up models meaning not the last word in transparency in the Dyn lineup.

Oh also the 30’s have a 2 1/2 way crossover versus the 8’s that have a straight 2 way. Less phase shift on the 8’s. 

The Audience 8 was replaced by the Audience 70. Not much difference between the two except a beveled plinth and front ports on the 70. The 8 had rear ports. Those were then replaced by the Contour 30 produced today. The 30 of course has the new esotar tweeter while the 8 has the old esotec. 
Excellent frequency response, power handling, and sensitivity. Probably the nicest part is due to its simple 2 way crossover, the 8 has minimal phase shift and therefore are probably some of the most accurate speakers out there. 
Crossovers and woofers are solid. Tweeters are quite fragile though, and if you can get a pair with good tweeters, grab them.  I am amazed - they can rock the house easily and also create a 3D soundstage that is dead accurate.  I find they can easily overpower a room. Caution, they will expose the flaws in your source material and signal path. 

If you can find a nice condition set of Audience 82, grab them!  I use a pristine maple set of them in my bedroom system.  Here is a link to the specs:
https://dynaudiodata.blob.core.windows.net/media/2383/audience82.pdf
The 82 is the flagship of the Audience line, rated down to 27 Hz(-3dB).  I also like that it employs the dedicated mid range driver.

Audience 8 speakers are similar to the Contour 30 speakers. They sound great. Much less expensive since they are MDF with laminate as opposed to MDF with veneer. Definitely worth considering if you get them in good shape. 

To clarify, I did not mean to imply the Audience speakers I heard were not good--they were. But the Contour line at the time seemed such a step up in quality that it's hard to compare the two. Also a step up in price, so it all makes sense.
I felt that the brand "got serious" at the Contour line--YMMV.

While Audience is the entry level to the Dynaudio line, they are good speakers. I have owned Audience 52s in my home theater and would tend to agree with Ejlif's observations. They sounded good with Rotel electronics in my HT, but when I put them in my big rig and heard them with Lamm ML 1.1s, a Jadis preamp and EMM Labs source they really sounded excellent, very easy to listen to, just lacking a bit of refinement, ultimate dynamic range and, of course, bass. The Audience line is not as well-damped or refined as their higher priced offerings, but as Ejlif said, they let you forget about the gear and enjoy the music.

The Audience 8's appear to be an earlier version of the Audience 72 that is still being sold today as NOS by some dealers - around $750 each if you check Ebay. The Audience 8 is a medium sized tower with 3 drivers - 1" tweeter and 2 x 6.5" mid-woofers. The Audience line was eventually replaced by the Excite line. While the Audience line were Dynaudios entry line, they are definitely HIFI.

If you can hear them, are in good shape and within your budget, then consider them. If your serious about wanting Dyns, the new 72's at $750 each are a good buy and a well regarded, highly musical speaker too. Good luck!

I don't know the Audience 8 but I've owned a lot of Dynaudio speaker all the way from the Audience 42 to the C4 and they've all been great probably most impressive of all was the Audience 42 which I paid something like 300 bucks for and was a seriously great sounding speaker. They to me all retain a certain house sound which I would call smooth and liquid. All the Dynaudios I've owned need good amps cheap ones do them no good. Not like I've had a lot of cheap amps but for instance an Outlaw 2150 just did not work with the Audience 42. When I stepped it up to the Creek Destiny those speakers really came to life and they did as well with a Sim Audio i5.3 integrated as well. I think Dynaudio speakers excel when you are out of critical mode just chilling and listening to music without worrying so much about tweaking and trying to achieve better sound at all times. They are a great set it and forget it speaker.

I've heard several speakers in Dynaudio's Audience range, and I'd consider them to offer quite a high level of fidelity. I've never heard of the 8, though.

-Bob

I'm not absolutely certain but I think they were made in the early part of the previous decade--about ten years ago. I also believe they were the entry level line, not exactly hi-fi. The better small speakers of the time were the MkII monitors followed later by the SE and then the Special 25 series.

Can anyone confirm or correct this info?