New Dynaudio Heritage Special..?..!

I was at a dealer who has had this line f speakers for many many years.  I told him that they were never on my wish list.  He told me that they have now come out with an "i" version of their lineup and he felt that they would sound excellent.  I did not get the opportunity to hear them but they are supposed to be a complete change from the other models and not just an upgraded product for what it is worth.

@bgchiu  - I've heard a good number of monitors - most of the Dynaudio line and several at different price levels from the major brands such as Mission, Elac, and Klipsch.  A few high-end more exclusive brands at dealers that are impressive at first and then...maybe too much of a good thing?  Also several professional powered speakers.

If you want a V-curve, that is not these speakers.  They are basically flat, maybe a little mid-range centric.  Very, very good tone.  Very fast tweeter and woofer - resolution is excellent.  Music that can congest a lesser speaker is well resolved on the Heritage Specials.   Bass is fast; the speakers can give some punch when the track calls for it.  Some music may sound a little thin and you wonder about the bass, then you hear it on the next track.  This makes you realize some of the perceived bass on the previous track was perhaps slower woofers on your old speakers. Treble is not fatiguing - took at least 20 hours to break in though.  These speakers are going to expose what is driving them - if there is harshness in the chain, that is going to come through. The flip side is that if by V-curve you mean you want to hear everything, these will do that without the typical penalty.

They are extremely addictive with the speed and tone - you just want to keep listening.  Driver coherence is excellent as well. Really, it is the 'just one more song' addictive nature to these speakers that is special. I've had them long enough now to know this is not just novelty but are just really satisfying.

I just placed them in my big room system tonight - they've been in my office system.  In the big room (20'x30') they play loud enough and imaging is great - and this without me playing much with placement.  Just put them where my other speakers go and wow, it just works. Speakers disappear with the right track and soundstage extends beyond the speakers.

If you like Dynaudios, I suspect you will like these.  For me they are perfect.

@wjob, thank you for the thorough assessment and breakdown of your experiences with the Heritage Specials.  Your description of each aspect is tipping me over the edge to 'Yes.'  I'm going to schedule an appointment with a local dealer to demo them and will keep you posted!  Enjoy those speakers and please feel free to share how your experience goes!

@bgchiu  - enjoy the demo!  Be sure to give yourself time - when I first listened to them, I thought "this is different."  The speed makes things sound a little different in a way that is hard to describe at first.  Also, note that I bought the Dynaudio Stand 20s with the speakers.  A natural combination. 

No affiliation to Huff, Dynaudio or anyone else but I was in Denver last month and went by Crescendo, the Wilson Audio and Dynaudio dealer. Demo’d the Heritage Specials driven by DCS front end through Audio Research Ref6se and Ref160m monos. The Heritage Specials are damn good speakers. I presently have Wilsons and Devores at home and the Heritage Specials are an extraordinary achievement. They play in that league for sure and they can fit in the boot of your car.

Now, some may believe that a stand mount speaker shouldn’t cost $7,000 and that’s all fine and well. What these speakers are capable of is quite simply extraordinary though. Who knows how they would sound when not driven by $90,000+ of front end gear, I didn’t ask them to hook them up to another setup. The store personnel however didn’t hesitate to hang them off the end of that rig and everyone in the store stopped what they were doing. They punch waaaay above their weightclass. Another customer was there demoing some Sasha DAW’s and we both looked at each other and just shook our heads at what we were hearing. Heck, the Transparent Ref speaker cables cost more than the Heritage Specials!

Will they change the audio industry? Probably not but to summarily dismiss them would be a mistake. Of course, no deep bass but what was there was really there. The mid and upper bass was quite convincing in a large demo room, the midrange and the upper end was sublime. Go listen, they may not be your cup of tea, they may be at a pricepoint below or above what you are looking to spend but they are absolutely a bargain in my opinion.