Dynaudio Sapphires

Category: Speakers

Okay, part of this is just to want to stand up on a hilltop and shout, "I've not only heard these, I bought a pair, they're in my LR, and I get to listen to them as much as I want!" But, of course, the real reason I'm posting this is that I've been a long-time Dyn fan, and was dying to get some feedback on how these sounded, as the news of them coming out has been out there for a while, but nothing more than grainy photos has shown up until fairly recently, and I figured there are others who'd like at least some feedback.

I'd put this in the Reviews, but I'm not really trying to write a review - even after 10 years of reading countless reviews, I can't bring myself to use the type of descriptive language a review usually contains.

First off, this speaker is drop-dead gorgeous. The pictures I've seen don't come close to doing it justice. I got the third darkest finish - the wood is beautiful, the new high-gloss finish is fabulous, the cabinetry is beautifully proportioned and very interesting.

Even right out of the box, this speaker is very coherent - the sound is big, and the drivers sound extremely well integrated. I've got maybe 100 hours on mine, and the bass is already easily the best I've ever experienced - there is much "more" to a kick drum than I've had the pleasure to have in my system before. There is no problem following the bass lines in any song. The whole sound has got body.

The sound is probably a little more forward than in my previous Dyns, the C2's and, most recently, the C4's. At first, I was fearful that this might result in a smaller soundstage that the C4's, but after a couple weeks I don't think this is the case. The soundstage is definitely more at ear-level than with the C4's, which had a slightly elevated soundstage, presumably due to the placement of the drivers. The two Confidence models, and definitely the C4's, have more distinct air around the instruments, but I think I prefer the presentation of the Sapphires - even studio CDs sound more like a band on stage. My guess is that some of this is due to the Confidences incorporating the DDC technology in their crossovers to control their radiation pattern - more direct sound, less indirect sound - which the Sapphires don't use.

I haven't ever owned or extensively listened to the Temptations or Evidences - the dealer, who used to own the Temptations, described these as, of course, being "this close" to the Temptations. A few comments on other threads suggest that there is still a reason to go to that step in terms of sheer performance. Personally, my hesitation has always been the sheer size, and having room to support that size. I love that these are size friendly while still giving such phenomenal performance. You definitely don't need to sit as far back from these as you do from the C4's.

I haven't had the chance yet, and they're not broken in enough yet, to do full justice to Whole Lotta Love live, an experience that just floored me on the C4's. Drum thwacks on the C4 almost knocked me off my seat more than once.

All in all, a fascinating speaker. Priced so closely to the C4 and only making 1000 pairs is certainly an interesting thing. I love the C4's, and if they weren't so easy to sell, I would have loved to keep both pairs for a while to do a deeper comparison. The combination of the incredible performance, the coherent sound, and the absolutely stunning looks got me though.