Dynaudio Confidence C1's and Special 25's

Trevoroptom - I wouldn't worry about being able to sell the Special 25s - They are a great pair of speakers, but are picky with setup and electronics.

I own the S1.4s, and have heard them rightalongside the S25s with a Sim w5 amp. Though the 1.4s are great, I found the s25s to have more lower-midrange resolution, went a bit deeper in the bass, and had more "airy" highs. The sim w5 is a fantastic match for them.

I've had the Special 25's for 18 months now and they've driven me crazy with their forward presentation in my room. They've cost me a lot of money on power cords, interconnects, 3 pairs of stands, new CD player, new amp (now Bel Canto eVo2i). You see, I bought them without hearing them. I had auditioned the 52SE and S1.4 at the local dealer and loved them, so when I saw a pair of Special 25's on here for the same price as the S1.4's I jumped on them.

The Special 25's I think are the odd one out in the Dynaudio range with their forward balance. I ended up getting 2 pairs of Contour SR's to use one as a centre and the other pair as rears, but I tried them out as mains and thought my God, there's that smooth midrange that I was after.

I have now just got in the S5.4's (from here actually, and disappointed in their physical condition, but I won't go there just yet)and they have the same more laid back relaxed balance of the little SR's.

In my room, the 5.4's walk all over the Special 25's. The bass is excellent, the midrange smooth and the treble so much more detailed and airy. I can't believe its the same tweeter.

I've never personally heard the C1's, but I strongly suspect from people I've spoken to, that they are the one to get. I only spoke to someone on the weekend who trialed the C4's at home, and he felt the C1's were the nicer speaker. He just couldn't get the C4's to sound right.

So yes, I'd go C1's.

I should have done this post after I sold the Special 25's, not before. God I'm stupid. No, go the 25's, I have a pair here, excellent condition.

While I cannot give you any impressions re/listening to the Dyns with Mac gear, I have heard the Special 25s and C1s a number of times.

An audiophile friend of mine just sold his Special 25s. He drove them with an ARC VT200 power amp and SAS 10A (all tube) preamp. These were the first pair of Dynaudio speakers I had heard and was very impressed. He listened to alot of female vocals and jazz. The Special 25s did these types of music extremely well with his equipment. One evening, I brought over a pair of Atma-sphere MA1 Mk 2.3 monoblocks to try on his Special 25s. This combination, while a bit shy in the bass (possibly due to the Dyn's 4 ohm load and not using Paul Speltz's zeroformers), was outstanding in that complex musical passages were completely revealed. I could hardly believe a 2 way mini monitor was capable of such sound.

Enter the C1s. I have heard these at 2 different audio establishments. In my opinion, the C1s had a slightly more relaxed, fuller presentation than the Special 25s, something that appealed to me. The Special 25s seemed to be a little more forward, but not harsh or bright. The C1s are the best mini monitor I have personally heard, IMHO.

I too own a pair of C2s. That said, if it were up to me, I would spring for the C1s. To me, they are nonfatiguing and have a great naturalness to them. BTW, the C1s that really sounded good to me were being powered by Chord equipment.

It might depend on what you mean by "presentation", but I think it's a safe bet that either of those newer models would be a significant improvement on the 1.3's - I think they're both improvements without giving up what you like about the 1.3's.

I have a pair of 1.1's and used to use them in my office. I think they're a really special speaker for the price. They didn't need the kind of power or placement consideration that other Dyn's I've had do. I'd say that the C1's and the 25's will be on par with the 1.3's in terms of what it takes to drive them, so I'm guessing if you like the Mc402 into the 1.3's, you'll like it into either of the newer models (I have lots of experience with the Dyn's, none with McIntosh gear).

Both of the newer models have updated and higher-end tweeters - you'd be hard pressed to find a pair of monitors that images like either of these do. I would guess that the 25's will have to be further out into the room to sound better, if placement is an issue - that huge rear port really wanted to be away from the wall when I had them in my 14x19 room for a weekend trial.

If I was choosing, I'd probably opt towards the 25's based on the cheaper price (both new and used), and because I think the C1 is at least odd, if not ugly looking in appearance. I listen to rock, jazz and blues, primarily. If I listened to more classical and vocalists, I'd probably try to convince myself that I like the way the C1's looked and go for them. Currently, I own the C2's myself and I really love the sound and it's character. Even though I've never had them in my room or an extended listen, if the C1 is the monitor verison of this sound, my guess is that I'd really love it.

I don't think you can wrong with either combined with your room and associated gear. -Kirk