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Would the dynaudio special 40's be a noticeable upgrade over the ELAC UF5?

Hello

I've been running the Elac Unifi UF5 (towers) on a yamaha A-S801 integrated for a year now and have been mostly happy with the sound but recently I've been looking into upgrading my speakers just to see what is out there, how much better does it get, or what am I going to hear that I'm not hearing now?

I found a good deal on a pair of mint Dynaudio Special 40's for 2K and have been considering getting them, but wondering whether is it going to be a noticeable upgrade or am I better saving longer for a bigger jump like the KEF Reference 1?

My source is Amazon music HDl being streamed from a bluesound node 2i, connected via optical to one of the two integrated that I have home right now
   The Yamaha A-S801
   A McIntosh MA8900 (loaner till next year only)

My Room is an 18x26 open floor plan that opens up to other rooms in the house. The ELAC's are currently places 2ft away from rear wall and 4.5 ft from the sidewalls and my listening position is ~8ft measured from the from the speakers.

As for the McIntosh, I borrowed it from a friend that was not using it since he sold his speakers and will take a few months to get his new set; I connected the ELAC's to it and I had the impression that it sounded nicer, but honestly couldn't pin point and after 2 weeks of listening I went back to the Yamaha and didn't feel I was missing much. When I mentioned that to my friend his answer was: "You need better speakers". So here I am. :)
asilvr

Showing 5 responses by hilde45

hilde45's avatar
hilde45
4,842 posts
 
@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.
hilde45's avatar
hilde45
4,842 posts
 
If you do consider bookshelves, don't forget Fritz. 
http://www.fritzspeakers.com/sound.asp
hilde45's avatar
hilde45
4,842 posts
 
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's avatar
hilde45
4,842 posts
 
+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.

hilde45's avatar
hilde45
4,842 posts
 
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.
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