Trading Dynaudio Contour s5.4's for ???

Something like this: http://cls.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?spkrfull&1128653896
Silverline uses Dynaudio drivers in many of their speakers, but they sound more musical/less exacting than the Dynaudio speakers, which I also find to be too analytical. They reproduce beautifully, but to my ear they have no warmth at all.
Good luck,
Howard

Madfloyd - Before changing speakers, I would focus on the room. Good dynaudios like yours have very meaty mids but room acoustics are very crucial. What is your room like? Have lots of space around the speakers, nothing in between them? Have you dealt with sidewall reflections? Windows around? (not good) ALso - Ive found a tube preamp is a MUST with dyns. What preamp are you using? A SS preamp with your bryston would not be optimal for the dyns.

I have the 5.4's and I wouldn't decribe them as thin. I only got them from here actually, a few weeks ago, and they're a lot warmer than the Special 25's they're replacing. I also have the little Contour SR's, and they're a little warmer still (with a Velodyne DD15 sub). The treble is nicer, smoother more detailed on the 5.4. Better than the S25 even though its the same tweeter. In fact the treble is nicer on the SR's than the S25's in my room, and the SR's have the lesser tweeter.

I have no problem with the 5.4's midrange. The S25's were definitely too forward for me.

For your interest, I'm using the BelCanto eVo2i and Arcam FMJCD33.

Hey Ian,

1st off, remove the MIT cables from the system, get some cheap $1ft speaker cables because you now have direct experience with how the MIT's can mess with a good speaker system. Your DALI experience also reflects how disasterous these cables can be with quality speaker systems. That is step one.

Another easy to check item is to make sure that your L & R distances are set the same on the Casanova, having them set to different distances (even .5ft) can greatly effect the sound for two channel playback. Creating strange phenomena like you have experienced with the DALI's and Dyn's.

Address these two issues first than we can look into room issues. I have direct experience with the symptoms you describe and they were fixed by addressing the two issues above.

Once these two variables have been removed, we can look at room interaction.

The speakers are in a large, irregular room. Front wall is about 22 feet wide. Room is 18 feet deep on one side, the other side extends into a 24 foot long kitchen. On one side of the front wall is a hallway leading to another room.

Room is carpeted. Speakers are about 12 feet apart. Between them is a small stand with a 50" plasma. In the one side of the rear of the room (where it doesn't open up to the kitchen) is a sectional couch (material, not leather).

The only thing in the way of sound is a wood coffee table (I know, far from ideal).

Anyhow, I don't think sidewall reflections are coming into play since the speakers are not close to any, and while I can see deep bass being affected by room nodes, I don't think the room is really coming into play when it comes to midbass or lower midrange. Other speakers in the same position (Revel Performa F50's, Dali Helicon 400's) had plenty.

But hey, I'm open to trying anything.

Ian