Integrated Amp ideas for Dynaudio Special 40's

I have the Special 40 and two amps. 

Hegel H95 - 60W

Pass Labs int-25 - 25W

Sound is so much better with Pass Labs, even if it is half less powerful on paper. Pass Labs int-25 is such a robust and marvelous amp...

Hegel H95, doesn't run in the same league, and the 30 more Watt do not help in any way. Sound is dull and flat compared to the other Class A amp. Anyway, working & driving well the special 40.

Hope this helps ! (even if an old thread....)

Steve, I read some of your reviews on your own website especially the one on the Luxman L-590AXII prior to purchasing the amp. Although I don't own the Dynaudio S40, I find the Luxman Class A amp to be very good indeed. I switched from a costlier Naim pre/power separates to this Luxman integrated and it does a considerably better job driving some Marten Duke 2 speakers.

This is now old but I have the S40's and love them. I have tested them with a slew of integrated amps. Here is how they rank, the ones I tried...

1. BEST - Luxman 590 AXII - Only 60 watts into 4 ohms but wow Magic here. 
2. NEXT BEST - Octave V40 SE with KT88's and NOS driver and input tubes. Only 40 watts but sounds more powerful than the Luxman and my old 300 WPC McIntosh. Amazing amp with these speakers. 
3. FANTASTIC  - If you want a more romantic sound with amazing holographic imaging, the Raven Audio Nighthawk or Blackhawk VIII are fantastic with the S40's. 


POOR: Anything McIntosh. They do not work well with these speakers. Too dull. I tested these with an 8000 Integrated at 300 WPC that cost $10k. The Amps above sound much better. 

Average: PS Audio Sprout 100. Better than the McIntosh in sound but a tad weak in the bass. Not recommended for optimal quality. 

SLOPPY: I tested 2-3 cheap china made amps from Amazon..noisy, weak, flabby and one failed. Blah. 

These speakers want CURRENT much more than watts. They crave QUALITY over grunt force. Avoid class D with these. Class A is best but A/B is also wonderful. They LOVE tubes in the 40 WPC range. 

NAD M32 for sure

I have Contour 60s (can’t speak to Special 40s) but assuming similar, I don’t think you can go wrong with Luxman, Naim or Hegel. I’ve heard all 3 and wouldn’t have any complaints.  

After all of this, I decided on a simple setup with a Peachtree Nova500.  The SQ is close to my ears (but at times clearly surpassed) and the benefit of removing 2 components while giving me a home theater bypass for movies and clear advantage with WAF. It’s also 1/2 the cost of most other, better sounding options.  

Overall, I’m happy... for now :-)

Hi AZBRD,

My source components,  OPPO-UDP205 (sacd), Pro-Ject RPM 9.2 w/ Ortofon Cadenza mc for vinyl.

The WYRED 4 Sound was good, but the Luxman gave me better sound in all areas with the above source components.

The Job Int integrated will smoke everything Peachtree makes. The Nuprime IDA-8 isn't even in the same league as the Job Int.

Hegel H160
I would consider using an outboard DAC and using a Belles Aria.
I would prefer the above, but there is a Rotel RA1592 (has DAC)list on Agon, it is no slouch.
And again,  without a DAC here on Agon, an Arcam FMJ A38.
These will all do a nice job.  

Yes’ my Accuphase A65 ( 60 watts ) drives my Dynaudio Special 25 monitors with plenty of finesse and authority.
My room is 6m X 10m X 3.2 and I can easily do 90 plus db.

I’m curious as to the source components those of you who had Wyred power?  I’m not saying Wyred is not as you describe however my system does sound very good.  My source is Tidal via Bluesound Node 2 (not 2i) through a Schiit Yggi with the analog 2 upgrade. 

Hi Colinga,

"Another question: is ~60 watts sufficient"?

That will be very dependent on your room volume, listening distance, and how loud you play your music. In some case 60 might be just fine.

I have found that these dynaudios thrive on power. My Luxman is 120 watts/8 ohms, my room 18 x 12 x 9. I have enough power to play loud and clear. 

When I had my Wyred for Sound Sti-500 (250/channel) I had plenty, but did not get the richness, dynaudios are capable of.

I tried a 75 watt tube amp (ARC 75si) and did not get good sound.

I use the Luxman 507uxII. A great combination. I has a Wyred for sound on them, and it was very dry and sterile sounding. The class D & G amps did not do it for me.

I use a Wyred STI-1000 v2 with my Contour 20s, this gives the 20’s >700 w/channel which more than enough.  

The Denon is a very robust integrated if you can find one.  It will drive virtually any speaker, double its power into 4 ohms and is very conservatively rated. It also supposedly has a great phono stage  but cannot either confirm or deny as I haven’t used it 

Dynaudio generally like high current and power.

I just listed a Denon PMA 2000 IVR with 80 wpc and 120 amps of current that would drive your speakers quite well. I was using it to drive 86 db Proacs with ATC drivers.

I’ve compared it to Hegel, Peachtree, Vincent and most recently a Wells Majestic. It’s a substantial amp and a bit too big for my rack so I am going with the 160one.

thanks. Another question: is ~60 watts sufficient, or should I be looking for something more powerful to drive and/or optimize these speakers? 

The Nuprime and Hegel are both well-regarded amps. I might also consider the Rega Brio and the Cambridge CXA60. For your budget, as you say, you can also find a tremendous array of second-hand units including some prestige units.