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Dynaudio C-4 or Revel Salon 2

I'm thinking of getting either one of these speakers to use in my current system which includes Innersound Ref 500 (500 watt amp) and Innersound ref preamp. The Innersound components aren't all that well known but I ultimately chose them over my Parasound JC-1/Ayre K1x combo so I feel like my electronics are up to the task. I have a Nottingham Dais table and MHDT Paradisea + DAC fed from a mac mini music server. Cables will likely be addressed after the speakers are chosen.

My room is huge 26x19 and opens into a kitchen and upstairs so needless to say getting overwhelmed with bass won't likely be a problem. Auditioning these in home is out of the question so I'm going to be taking a leap of faith here.

I have had Von Schweikert VR 4SRs, Dunlavy 4s and currently have Dynaudio S3.4 in this room. I've had various other smaller speakers as well. The bass was the best with the Von Schweikerts.

I want a speaker that hits hard and can rock the house. I listen to all kinds of music and even some (gasp) mp3s even. Most listening is not done seated in the sweet spot but just sort of playing music all the time that I am home. So the sound out of the sweet spot is very important not to be dull or lifeless.

I think I have a pretty good grasp on the Dynaudio house sound. I have a set of Audience 42 speakers in my bedroom hooked to a Creek Destiny integrated and the punch I get from those speakers in my bedroom is what I want in my big room. I hear the Dynaudio as slightly laid back. I have bought a set of Revel M20s to see if that might help me get a grip on the Revel sound a little before I take the plunge on one of the two brands.

I have read quite a bit about how the C-4s can overwhelm a room with bass. I don't think this will be a problem for me and is one reason I am thinking of them. But will they do rock good? I really like the looks of the C-4 over the Revel but I have a feeling that the Revel might just be a little more of what I am looking for. Basically a speaker that can put out some big bass, will rock and sounds pretty darn good on anything else too.

If anyone has some opinions on these speakers against each other I'd greatly appreciate it.

Thanks, Ryan Stratton
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Showing 2 responses by odokme

odokme
5 posts
 
Sorry very old thread I know, but I had the same dilemma a couple of months ago and got Revel Ultima Salon2's, (I have listened Dynaudio Sapphire's found them somewhat bright and "lifeless" hence the choice of Salon2s)

Now you have probably made your choice, what do you think

Thanks
Caner
odokme
5 posts
 
Hi, I did not have time to respond past couple of days.
Here is what I think: Dynaudio C2's probably are not a contender to Revel Salon2's. The C4's on the other hand probably are. Sapphires were not (I auditioned them extensively and prefer my current setup). And to answer Vinw, I haven't listened C4s as they were slightly more expensive than the Salon2s and I had no more room to go otherwise I would end up getting divorced. That was the reason of my original post asking Ryan how he compares the two.

On the other hand to Rower30, I have Gamut D3i pre amp and D200i power amp that I think matches with Salon2s very very nicely. By experience, in no way 150watts is good enough for this range of speakers (and I do not play loud). The same probably applies to C4s as they are not known to be efficent speakers. I think 200w/ch is bare minimum in this range otherwise you end up loosing significant detail. So I totaly do not agree with the generalization that "smaller amps sound better"

Now having said all of this, and this is very subjective, I find Contour S 5.4 the most bang for the buck in all Dynaudio range (I used to have Dali Helicon 400 MkIIs and listened to Contour 3.4 and 5.4 for comparison). Above that you get more detail and more clarity for a significant more sum of money, from what I heard from people that owns and trades high end gear frequently. Some but not all of them also mentions what I confirmed by listening Sapphires (lifeless). And yes definitely to my ears they are unnecessarily brighter than Salon2s. I know this is subjective but this is what I think.
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