Dynaudio resolution


Years ago I bought a pair of dynaudio audience 80's to replace my kef r105/3's and while I was more than a little impressed with the bass I couldn't help but notice mid/tweeter resolution was lacking. That was many moons ago(kef's are long gone). I returned the A80 and got the kef's refoamed. now i'm buying and trying full range speakers on the 2nd hand market and remember how great the bass was from those dyn's. Is the esotar tweeter a hi rez tweeter? Do current models have the top to bottom resolution of the other top brands? and how sensitive are they to partnering components? say price range of a used pair of C4's. Tks Steve
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Hi Steve,

The drivers used / made by Dynaudio are considered pretty high quality, but they are often out looking for a way to make their speakers stand out so depending on the model and age you will find different frequency profiles for different types of listeners.  You will find U or W shaped profile among them as well as more neutral examples.

The biggest issue, like with many speakers, is how absorptive your room is at different frequencies and how reflective it is. Before you go too crazy with speaker swapping take a look at your room acoustics.  Better rooms will make a lot of speakers sound better.

One other brand you might like to look into if you are into "high resolution" which to me usually means high treble, is Dali.
I just bought a set of Excite X-44 and have been listening to them for two days.  I'm wondering if Dynaudio voiced them more so for home theater setups than for purely audio setups.  I say that because they just seem a bit too hot in the upper mid range, which is causing me a bit of discomfort with loud female vocals.  The bass is decent, but I'm not sure it is as strong as the set of Audience 82s that I have in my bedroom.  I need to take them to the bedroom and compare them side by side to the Audience 82s.  I'm wondering if, as home theater became so prominent and market dominant, Dynaudio tipped up the response in an effort to achieve the dialog clarity needed in home theater.
I was reading on another forum the esotar tweeter is a word and doesn't mean each line of speakers gets the same esotar tweeter. like kef back in the day all their tweeters were t33 but each line was a different t33. Is the esotar 2 in the contour the same esotar 2 in the confidence like or focus line? 
Many speakers designed to be flat are so boring to listen to. I always liked the bass Dynaudio could get from their designs but there's got to be fans out there that have gone up the chain that can describe the audible differences from series to series.
What I love about Dynaudio is their overall neutrality.
allows me to assemble a system up stream that is also neutral or I can adjust components to achieve the sound I want knowing that the speakers will be truthful.

but, their product range is huge.
from $700 to $7000 in just monitors alone with everything in between.

I also like them as they, to me, look good and I like the finishes.




The special 40s have an esotar tweeter and its definitely hi-res and fun sound while still feeling neutral and true to the source, and  non fatiguing. The best of all worlds imo
I listened to, and greatly enjoyed the soft dome Esotar II tweeter on a pair of Dynaudio Sapphires from 2011 to 2016. They were not fatiguing like I find many metal domes to be. I did have Excite X-12s a few years but they offered far less of course.
Lately the Dyns at trade shows (RMAF for me) seem punchier than what I knew from before (my impression). The sound, although not offensive, did not appeal to me.

I did buy Scansonic MB2.5s in '14 and Borresen's sealed tweeter bested the Esotar II. It was more detailed without being trebly at all. Nothing ever hurt coming out of it. Later with the Raidho D2's better ribbon I heard new things on 20yr CDs the Sapphires never played. Truly stunning to have a CD collection take on a new, more-vibrant life.

Take your time figuring it all out. Good advice to check/work on the room if possible. Many eschew good DSP equalization or bass correction but personally I'd never live without it now. You will not recognize your speakers. If done properly I feel that, dollar for dollar, it will trounce anything else you can spend your money on.
I've had many a set of Dynaudios including the C4s.  I do think of Dynaudio house sound as a bit on the mellow side but in the best possible way.  I think Kef is that way too a little bit but more of a dry sound.  If you are looking for very sharp treble I don't think Dynaudio is the way but they are very musical and great speakers.  I've owned maybe 10 or so Dynaudio models and they were all good.  They do need a great amp to sound good though maybe more so than other speakers.  

Thanks for the reply's. The new contour line is beautiful but way out of my comfort zone pricewise. There are some attractive deals on this site and while I'm not worried about Dyn's reproducing bass I really don't know how high up the ladder to go. musicaddict, like you i've had speakers that offer another layer of information on old recordings and a hot tweeter can reveal the highs, but a truly hi res speaker will put the information in the right space, the contrast between notes is lost with a hot tweeter. not sure if I said it right, but yes, how far up the dynaudio line do I go to get that resolution