I second Ttowntony. Both of these speakers are a bit much for the 325bee. They will make noise, and it may not be a bad noise. But they will start to sound like real music when used with a high current amp with 100 watts or more per channel.
I listened to the Model ones with the 250W/ch Musical Fidelity A5 integrated and CDP and it was a great match.
Listened to the 140's with a Creek 80W/ch integrated amp and Simaudio CDP and they sounded a little thin. Listened to the same speakers with an Audio Research pre/amp pair with about 130W/ch and they really sang.
As I recall, the Totems imaged a little better, and the Dynaudios had a bigger sound. They are both great speakers. |
Have to agree with rumadian and Jaybo.
On the Naim Front - I have never yet heard a pair of speakers that the Nait 5i integrated could not drive to comfortably loud listening levels and still make it sound like (real) music, including: Quad 21L, Devore Gibbon 8's, Totem Arros, Hawks & Forest, Epos M16 and Naim's own SL2. Note that these are all small floor standers and may be slightly more efficient than the smaller monitors you are considering. These speakers are all ass kickers by the way, just in case you are ever looking for a bit larger box.
Other random notes:
Another Dynaudio monitor that I have been impressed by is the Audience 52. This is a bigger box than the Focus 140, and sounds like it. I listened carefully to this speaker driven by a Rega P3 TT and a PrimaLuna ProLogue 2 integrated tube amp, and was QUITE IMPRESSED. The ProLogue is only rated at 40 W, but was easily able to drive the 52's. This amp might also work well with the 140's since they have the same sensitivity rating (86db). Not sure the used price for this amp is below $1000 yet, but it's worth a look.
I also demoed the Dynaudio Audience 72 floor stander with NAD separates driven by an NAD cd player, and that combination sounded very nice, although the NAD amp (C272) was packing considerably more horsepower than a the C325. Again, the little NAD will make pretty noise with either the Totem 1's or the little Dynaudio Focus, but you will just need a more capable amp to extract the total goodness therein. |
Amended position on the Totem Model 1's and 50W amplifier.
Not sure if this comes too late to help, but I happened to listen to the Model 1's today driven by the Music Hall Trio all-in-one system which claims 50W/channel. The combination sounded pretty good - with any sins being those of omission, rather than the Model ones pointing out any glaring deficiencies in the amp or CDP. So the Totems at least seem to be fairly forgiving. This may also say something about the quality inherent in Music Hall's new "lifestyle" system, which I thought comported itself fairly well next to the mid to high level Naim gear on hand for comparison. |
"Btw, what do you Gs think of the Dynaudio Audience 72/72SE?"
Love em. Listened to these compared to similar sized and priced Triangles and Revel Speakers and found the 72's to work better and sound more balanced and "natural" with relatively modest NAD separates (C162/C272) and CD player (C542). I think if you were using significantly more revealing electronics, they may not give you every thing that say, the Focus or Contour line would, but I don't think they will sound "bad" either. Highly recommended at this price point.
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Hieule5,
What is a "Denon AVR midget"??? |
Budt wrote:
"The Model 1 Signatures frequency response is rated from 50Hz to 20kHz +/- 3dB, with a sensitivity rating of 87dB/W/m. They are also a 4-ohm load and in my experience, not the easiest speaker to drive."
Which is why I was surprised that they sounded as good as they did with the 50W/Channel Music Hall Trio system, and says something about the amplifier section ability to step up to a lower impedance load. |
Hieule5,
OK. It depends on the size of your "midget". A Denon 280X or higher model should definitely be able to drive the Audience 72/72SE just fine. A Denon 230X "midget" might sound passable. Any smaller Denon "midgets" definitely not recommended, current too low and THD too high (don't believe the high power ratings on HT receivers).
THX rated receivers are best, and I recommend people buy a great used receiver rather than going for a newer model with all the latest decoding bells and whistles but a lesser power supply and amplifier sections. Let your DVD/Bluray player do the heavy lifting on both video and audio decoding and use the powerful receiver to drive the speakers. |
Lush,
If I worked for George Lucas, I would probably have a better stereo...
In fact, I used 2.1 sound in my HT system - I am more into audio right now.
I simply suggest THX as a simple way to assure you are getting a used mass marketed AVR that has the best chance to drive demanding speakers. These are typically the top of the line for any mass marketer and have the best preamps and power supplies in THEIR line. In the ultimate hifi sense of quality and performance, I would agree, THX is not "best".
Straight from the horses mouth below. Believe what you choose.
From THX website:
"THX CERTIFIED AV RECEIVERS
THX Certified Receivers are the centerpiece for great home audio systems. THX certification ensures that receivers can truly unlock the power of surround sound and deliver crystal clear movie, music and game experiences to your home theater or media room. By definition, a receiver is the combination of a pre-amplifier and a power amplifier.
Pre-Amplifier:
A THX Certified Pre-Amplifier not only goes through rigorous performance tests, but also embeds THX patented technology features. Through various combinations, these features are used in THX Listening Modes to give you the best possible playback experience - correcting acoustic errors that occur in the translation of content from the movie studio to your home.
Power Amplifier:
A THX Certified Power Amplifier is put through a series of performance tests that addresses items such as low noise, distortion, crosstalk, high output current and voltage. In addition, THX has interoperability requirements such as gain structure, sensitivity, loading and output. A THX Certified Power Amplifier works with any pre-amplifier and speaker system however, when used with other THX Certified components, you are assured of seamless compatibility." |
Ablang,
Great reviews and interesting account. Thanks for the follow-up. |
Ablang,
On further reflection - while your review is really well written, I find myself completely disagreeing with your description of the Dynaudios - this is not how they sounded to me on an extended listen with high end ARC tube gear, which might lean a bit to the warm side, and all kinds of source material. I got no sense of congestion in the mids. I found the 140s to be completely neutral and wonderfully musical on all kinds of recordings. I came away thinking "what a wonderful HiFi bargain - nice box, nice sound".
Which makes me wonder - are you sure your speakers were completely broken in? Even if you purchased them used? In Wes Phillips' Stereophile review he goes on about how there was a night and day difference between the speakers sound early in life compared to after many hours of intense breaking-in. Phillips' description of the sound before break-in is closer to yours than his description and my experience after more complete break-in. Here's the link:
http://stereophile.com/standloudspeakers/506dynaudio/
Excerpt below:
"I placed the Focus 140s on 26"-high, aggregate-filled stands and faced 'em straight ahead with no, or extremely minimal, toe-in. This placed their tweeters at ear height for me. Then I waited. And suffered.
How come? Dynaudio had told me up front that the 140 requires lots of break-in. Unlike with many loudspeakers, however, breaking in the 140 for a long time did not result in a small difference between good sound and better. It was more like the difference between god-awful and astonishingly good. Out of the box, I found the 140 veiled, murky, and pretty hard to listen to. After about 100 hours of playing music, they might have actually sounded worsefortunately, when it comes to pain, humans have short memories. But after the 140s had played 250 hours' worth of full-range, dynamically challenging music, I walked into the house after a day spent elsewhere and listened in amazement. I heard musicand I saw that it was good.
Considering how good the 140s sounded once I'd broken them in, I'm almost tempted to minimize how unimpressed I was by them at first. Almost. The problem is, given the scant hours of play any given demo speaker receives in a hi-fi shop, you may never hear a properly broken-in pair until you've taken them home and endured that long, heart-stopping trial by fire. If you buy a pair, hang in there. There's one heck of a payoff. Eventually.
Although the Focus 140s come with foam port inserts, I didn't use them, preferring their tonal balance unplugged; however, the inserts may come in handy in some rooms. To my ears, the 140s sounded best well away from the walls. Moving them closer to the room boundaries did reinforce the midbass, but in that area they required little boost."
With all that said and posted, the Vandersteens are great speakers, and I think you will be very happy driving them with the big NAD amp. Happy listening :-) |
Thanks for the reply. Some stuff just sounds better together. Enjoy! |
