My Line Arrays and Dynaudio monitor - where to go


I’m close to pulling the trigger on a pair of Dynaudio Confidence C1’s but I’m hesitant.

I was at the CES show in Vegas to listen to a variety of speakers. We (wife and I) came away with the feeling that we weren’t getting what we wished for in our current line array speakers. There seems to be an emotional bond to the music that just doesn’t get communicated in some types of music. Some speakers we heard at the CES show had a 3D holographic image that was just mesmerizing. In particular the Dynaudio monitor line and the Opera monitor. Vocals as well were realistic and the image was simply “you are there” quality and this was the line under the Confidence series. Also great were the Silverline Boleros.

The line arrays I have are great and an unbelievable bargain but sometimes feel that the sound staging which is rather flat, vocals which are less than human and overall high frequency energy which is a bit unbalanced IMHO.
A few days before the show I dropped my Oppo BDP83 SE player off with Rick Schultz of Tweakaudio for some additional mods. He offered a solution to the excessive HF energy by felting around all of the tweeter drivers, there are 12 of them. I allowed a few days of break in for the player (caps were involved in the mod) then felted around the drivers. Between the mods which were spellbinding by themselves and the felting (done afterwards), we have some amazing sound coming from the line arrays. These may be the most dynamic speakers I’ve ever heard and I’ve heard a lot of them. Now I seemed to have tamed the HF problem as well. Imaging had greatly improved though not nearly the level of the Dyns or other fine speakers we’ve listened too. Vocal too still aren’t to what I’d wish they be. As well these line arrays are giants, 28 drivers in all and reaching at least 6’ high. But these speakers swing dynamically with bass way down low and highs into the Netherlands.

Reading the reviews on the C1’s they appear to be a world class speaker with amazing bass capabilities given the right amplification. I use Nuforce 9 SEV2 monoblocks (soon to be V3’s) and a Cary SLP05 tube preamp. My amps will register 160 watts with a damping factor of 4000. The perform amazing bass duties on the line arrays, stunning in fact. The Dyn’s from what I’ve read need current. I’m unsure how current equates with the Nuforce’s. I’m unsure in fact in I won’t miss the dynamic capabilities of the line arrays. I thought if I missed the low bass on the C1’s and go locate a HQ sub which, doing double duty as a HT system, wouldn’t be a bad idea anyway.

Just curios what the knowledgeable folks in this forum thought about a speaker change and in particular the Dynaudio C1’s.
desalvo55

Showing 5 responses by mapman

If you feel you need to change, you are on a good track.

Dynaudios are hard to beat and C1s are very good Dyns.

From the specs you provide on the Nuforce, I think your amp should do just fine as well.

I use a fairly juicy 120w/ch Musical Fidelity A3CR these days on my Dynaudio Contour 1.3mkiis and that is a very good pairing.
I do not see Dynaudios discounted much at all when I encounter them at dealers. They are a gold standard in the high end audio world it seems.

I had to go used and bought a pair off Ebay in order to gain admission into even the Contour series which is mid-line. Confidence line will not come cheap new but in this economy, who knows what kind of discount is possible.

I would hope most dealers provide some means of eliminating financial risk to potential customers who are willing to shell out the bucks IF they like them in their own listening room, which is the only place that matters, but I'm sure policies will vary.
Desalvo,

I do not have line arrays but I have a pair of Dynaudio Contour 1.3 mkii monitors and other larger full range designs. The Dyns have fantastic, almost unbelievable bass for such a small box, however, small monitor designs are inherently disadvantaged in comparison to larger designs when it comes to impact and overall dynamics in the low end. They are just not able to shake the rafters the same as a equally good larger design in general. The difference may only be noticeable to many when the two are heard side by side. The solution, if it is an issue to the listener is typically to add a good sub. That usually brings the best of both worlds to the table in regards to imaging, detail and finesse from amonitor coupled with a fully capable bottom end.

Subwoofer aside, I think more power and current in general will always benefit the Dynaudios regardless as well.
" I think lots of power and solid state is the way to go, but there are a lot of choices. "

No doubt. SS power (and current) is the ticket.