The Yamaha is a $900 integrated. The speakers are about $1750/pair. I've heard neither, but if this was all you had, I'd recommend improving the power. But you have good power in the MAC gear. They should sound better with the MAC gear but if they don't, I see why your friend would say get better speakers.
Here's the thing: I've heard the Special 40. It's a great sounding speaker, but it deserves a really good amp. I don't think the Yamaha would do it justice. You could get a pair on trial and see what you think and upgrade the amp later.
OR: You might also consider trading in both amp and speakers. The Dynaudio Evoke series sounds pretty great, too, and along with a new amp for them, you might wind up spending the same as the Special 40's but the amp/speaker synergy would be overall, better. Consider the Dyn Evoke 10 or 20 along with a good integrated with some power. |
@hilde45 thanks; I wouldn't not limit the speaker purchase solely on the need to upgrade the amp. While Yamaha may or may not be the best I can also upgrade it later and I can still use the McIntosh MA8900 for a few more months; So when I return the mcIntosh and go back to the Yamaha I find it not to be enough, I can get a new amp to go with it.
If focusing on speakers alone; My question is whether the Special 40's are a noticeable enough of an upgrade over the UF5's making it a worth purchase or if I'm better off waiting and upgrading speakers later to a tier above. |
@asilvr Well, the 40's are not easy to drive, but I thought they sounded magical. Really great. I'd just hate to see you get them and then have them lose their magic when you defaulted to the Yamaha. |
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45 years experience under my belt I would buy the speakers and change the amp later .
The better the speaker the more revealing . Get the speakers but be aware they will reveal much better the sonic differences between the Yamaha and Mac .
The dynaudios merit something like a pass lab , krell or Hegel . Something that will tell the the speaker what to do with a iron grip...pass labs keeps coming to mind. Take care friend and stay safe . |
One more thing...try to get a dealer that will let you hear the amp in your system before buying . If not get another dealer if possible . Sonic differences sometimes are very obvious but sometimes take time to hear . The problem is that that which at the beginning is subtle in the long run is very obvious while the ear gets acostume to it . |
+1 mcmvmx. Focus on the speakers first. You have two amplifiers to use with them. Maybe take your Yammy 801 to a couple dealers and audition speakers with it. Any chance you could audition the 40s with the 801?
Though the 40s are a good deal. they may not be the best deal for you. Have you auditioned them, or other speakers? |
I should add that speakers add much to the character of a system, more so than other components. One has to understand what character best suits oneself first, then seek a speaker having the best quality of that character based on budget. Higher quality speakers tend to 'call' for higher quality components to drive them.
I own the Yamaha A-S701 which I use in a 2ndary system. A very good amplifier at it's price point. I would think it capable for identifying a speaker of choice. After living with it driving a much higher budget speaker one might likely want to search for an upgrade in amplification.
Again, identify speakers 1st.
Good luck in your quest. |
+1 @mesch and @mcmvmx
Controlling the conditions of the auditioning is crucial.
And P.S. about the 40's -- I heard them in sequence with the others I mentioned in the Evoke line. There is really a different sound in the 40's but they are clearly Dynaudio siblings.
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hilde,
Curious to what you mean about different sound to the 40s? Colored but fun? Did you find the 40s were superior to the Evoke?
Thanks |
Probably an upgrade in SQ, but I would be concerned that the Dynaudio’s are a much smaller speaker and won’t fill your room like the floor standers, even if they may be more refined and revealing ECT. I have floor standers (Tekton) in a similar sized room (16 x 30), and when I put in my Dynaudio Emit 20’s to compare they sounded like a small speaker in a big room. I really like the Dyn’s in the smaller room, but not so much in the large room, they still sounded refined, but the bass dropped off dramatically.
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Here's my experience with the Dynaudios:
Evokes: I listened to them in a couple rooms -- both pretty large, at a dealer in Colorado. 25 x 16 feet at least. The startling thing about the Evokes were how big they sounded -- really room filling. I also had the Evoke 30 floor standers at my home (similar size room but lower ceilings); these were decent but not as interesting to me. They certainly didn't sound as "big" as the floorstanding Focal 936's I tried in that room. My guess is that dtapo is making a valid point, here but don't underestimate the Evoke 10, 20.
Regarding the 40's, I heard them at that same dealer. They had a kind of midrange nuance, subtlety, soundstage holographic magic not present in a lot of other speakers. I don't remember what the amplifier or DAC was with those speakers, but they were different. So, take the description for what it's worth -- I cannot say for sure the role played by electronics. |
Try the recent Golden Ear BRS speakers. At $1600 or so per pair, they are very reasonable. I have seen several great reviews for them and have their Triton 1s and Triton 5s and think very highly of them. |
The Dyns should should great with that esotar tweeter! The evoke uses the esotec. Problem is, you probably want larger speakers to fill a room that size.
I’d look at $2,000 speakers that will fill that room AND be an upgrade over the elacs (the special 40’s are an upgrade, just possibly big enough).
Like others said, and yourself, upgrade the amp later. Use your buddies Mac on your new speakers. |
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Thank you all for the great responses; I've decided to skip on the special 40's for now mainly due to the size of the room. I really don't want to deal with adding separated subwoofers.
I will look for new floor standers instead. Thank you all again. |
