Review: Dynaudio 122 Speaker
Category: Speakers
Let me just start off by saying that these are the best speakers I have owned. I have owned these for a little over a month now and they keep getting better and better. These speakers take 200+ hours to break in. Upon hookup, these sounded flat, harsh and lacking in bass which I was fully anticipating. After 5 hours of music, they began to sound better and have continued to improve dramatically.
I have owned and auditioned a good number of speakers but none that have been able to reproduce high frequencies so clearly, smoothly and sweetly as these Dynaudios. The tweeters are amazingly smooth and non-fatiguing which is a must for me since I listen to alot of violin pieces. Notes from Perlman and Zuckerman's instruments literally float through the air. I am seldom WOWed by speakers now but I was WOWed by its ability to harness and deliver the emotion of the music when I heard the Dynaudios. I judge a speaker by its ability to accurately reproduce orchestral music and big band jazz because of its musical textures/layers that add a level of complexity that other music lacks. I have not been disappointed by the Dynaudios yet.
Also vocals come through so clear and lifelife. Listening to Natalie Merchant's Tigerlily is a total new experience with these speakers. The imaging is incredible. The soundstage is very deep and wide which I was not expecting given the physical size of this speaker. I was always under the impression that to get big sound, you needed big speakers. Boy, was I wrong. The dual 4.75" mid/woofers pump out very full mids and a surprising amount of bass even when driven to loud volumes and do not distort like most other speakers I have encountered. These speakers will NOT hit the last octave but no speaker this size will but what bass is present is balanced and full meaning that for most music, a sub is not necessarily needed. Movies greatly benefit from a capable sub.
Strengths? Everything about the sound of this speaker is a strength.
There is one "weakness" if you can even call it a weakness. These speakers are accurate. They put through exactly what is on the source. If the source material sounds bad, the speakers will tell you so. In order experience these speakers at their full potential, they need good clean power due to their low sensitivity and 4-6 ohm rating and a good source which unfortunately means that many folks will need to upgrade their current receivers and players. Hey, use these as an excuse to get better equipment! The other weakness is the vinyl veneer. While it is excellent for vinyl, I would prefer that these came in real wood but entry level Dyns only come in vinyl. If money was no object, I would've sprung for the Contours or Confidence line in Bird's Eye maple finish! Those are so gorgeous. Something to work towards. Happy listening!
Associated gear
Newcastle AVP-9080R pre/pro
ATI AT2505 power amplifier 250W x 5ch
Infinity HPS-1000 sub
Carver SD/A-360 CD player
Nak BX-2 cassette player
Pioneer Elite MJ-17D Mini Disc player
Toshiba 2200 DVD player
Similar products
Thiel CS1
Thiel CS1.6
Dynaudio Audience 72
B&W 604 S2
B&W 603 S1
Diva 6.1 by Swan
Def Tech BP10B
Let me just start off by saying that these are the best speakers I have owned. I have owned these for a little over a month now and they keep getting better and better. These speakers take 200+ hours to break in. Upon hookup, these sounded flat, harsh and lacking in bass which I was fully anticipating. After 5 hours of music, they began to sound better and have continued to improve dramatically.
I have owned and auditioned a good number of speakers but none that have been able to reproduce high frequencies so clearly, smoothly and sweetly as these Dynaudios. The tweeters are amazingly smooth and non-fatiguing which is a must for me since I listen to alot of violin pieces. Notes from Perlman and Zuckerman's instruments literally float through the air. I am seldom WOWed by speakers now but I was WOWed by its ability to harness and deliver the emotion of the music when I heard the Dynaudios. I judge a speaker by its ability to accurately reproduce orchestral music and big band jazz because of its musical textures/layers that add a level of complexity that other music lacks. I have not been disappointed by the Dynaudios yet.
Also vocals come through so clear and lifelife. Listening to Natalie Merchant's Tigerlily is a total new experience with these speakers. The imaging is incredible. The soundstage is very deep and wide which I was not expecting given the physical size of this speaker. I was always under the impression that to get big sound, you needed big speakers. Boy, was I wrong. The dual 4.75" mid/woofers pump out very full mids and a surprising amount of bass even when driven to loud volumes and do not distort like most other speakers I have encountered. These speakers will NOT hit the last octave but no speaker this size will but what bass is present is balanced and full meaning that for most music, a sub is not necessarily needed. Movies greatly benefit from a capable sub.
Strengths? Everything about the sound of this speaker is a strength.
There is one "weakness" if you can even call it a weakness. These speakers are accurate. They put through exactly what is on the source. If the source material sounds bad, the speakers will tell you so. In order experience these speakers at their full potential, they need good clean power due to their low sensitivity and 4-6 ohm rating and a good source which unfortunately means that many folks will need to upgrade their current receivers and players. Hey, use these as an excuse to get better equipment! The other weakness is the vinyl veneer. While it is excellent for vinyl, I would prefer that these came in real wood but entry level Dyns only come in vinyl. If money was no object, I would've sprung for the Contours or Confidence line in Bird's Eye maple finish! Those are so gorgeous. Something to work towards. Happy listening!
Associated gear
Newcastle AVP-9080R pre/pro
ATI AT2505 power amplifier 250W x 5ch
Infinity HPS-1000 sub
Carver SD/A-360 CD player
Nak BX-2 cassette player
Pioneer Elite MJ-17D Mini Disc player
Toshiba 2200 DVD player
Similar products
Thiel CS1
Thiel CS1.6
Dynaudio Audience 72
B&W 604 S2
B&W 603 S1
Diva 6.1 by Swan
Def Tech BP10B
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