Dynaudio x38’s

How big is the room,listening habits & volume?..I run Excite X14's with 15wpc.& it sounds amazing...The Dynaudio's are Phase/Impedence corrected so although they are inefficient they present an easy load...

My listening room is approximately 14x27.  I have my system set up on the short side of the room due to a large bay window and the other side of the long end opens up into my dining room.  So it’s a pretty big space especially for a San Francisco apartment.  I have several rugs down but I will eventually put more on the walls to help acoustics.  As far as volume goes,  the nob on my Cronus never goes past a third of the way.  Because the Klipsch are so efficient they get quite loud beyond that point.  Fortunately I’m on the top floor and my neighbor downstairs is old and hard of hearing.   So there is still a lot of volume nob left to turn.

Specs show 88db.sensitivity BUT real world is probably more like 83-85db.4 ohms nominal with Dynaudio's proprietary phase correction crossover means it will NOT drop below 4 ohms at any time & remain close to 6ohms average through most of the frequency spectrum...Your amp is 90wpc.@ 4ohm...Within sane listening levels I would say it should sound pretty amazing!I am a big fan of the latest Excite series speakers & feel them to be world class from the X14 through the entire series....They get a bad rap for being hard to drive but that's just not true any more.They are inefficient but present a very easy,even load to an amp...

Mk1 or Mk2. KT-88s or KT-120s? Any which way, I see no problem. (Own a Rogue and auditioned the X’s.) Going the gently used route, you might make your $$ go even further, but then there are logistical problems with actually hearing the speakers before you buy.

Thank you freediver, that's what I was wondering. I really liked the imaging and great low end. I felt that not only were they great in their price range, but also better or close to some speakers above their price point.  twoleftears,  I have the Mk1.  I am currently running genelex gold lion KT-88's but I do also have a set of Tung-sol KT-120's that I can swap out.  I plan to experiment with the two when I pick up the speakers.  Any recommendations?

Look at the Focals. I’ve got a pair of 1008be2’s that I powered with the Cronus magnum KT 88, lovely sound bass slam with wonderful highs. Used a pair will go for under your budget. 

Thanks for the tip on the focals, I may audition some.

There are some really nice looking focus 340's for sale here on the gon.  Do you think my Cronus magnum would have any trouble driving them?

I heard a pair of Dynaudios auditioned with a Line magnetic kt88. Sounded fine I didn't hear any issues.
At that price you could probably flip them if you didn't like them.

That's kind of what I was thinking.   2K for the used 340's as opposed to 4K for the new x38...  I have heard good things about the focus 340 and I know they have a sensitivity of 87db as opposed to 88db for the x38.  The driver configuration is pretty much the same from what I can tell.

The problem with the 340’s is voicing...Up until the revised Focus/Excite lines the voicing of pretty much all Dyn’s was a slight bump in the lower midbass/upper bass resulting in a touch more warmth & bass slam..The newer voicing is closer to nuetral,especially in the bass/midbass & IMO have a noticeable improvement in low level detail retrieval,possibly due to the new tweeter coating process...If I had your budget & electronics I would buy a pair of Special 40's & stands & never look back...

Very good to know.  I liked the voicing of the x38.  I will also look into the special 40's.  Maybe I can demo them too.