Hello Dynaco A25....Goodbye, Rogers and Harbeth

I spent some lovely moments with the Harbeth Monitor 30....times I'll never forget. This is unquestionably my dream speaker system. It's absolutely sick how good these speakers are, and what was really nice is checking in with the Harbeths as a reference and confirming that my amplification, source, and cables truly do sound as nice as I thought they did. I had this pair on loan from an industry professional who would have let me pay them off slowly had I decided to keep them....but frankly I found it nerve racking to have a $4000 pair of monitors sitting in an environment that occasionally finds guests setting their drinks, hairpins, keys, and jewelry on top of my speakers.

Next I decided on a $1000 pair of Rogers LS5/9s....but ended up canceling the transaction for the following reasons: A) They're obsolete and spares would be impossible to find. B) They're not a Harbeth Monitor 30. C) They poly woofers have deterioration issues. D) The seller was incredibly difficult to work with, arrogant and rude, and didn't seem to have any interest in assuring me they would be packed properly. So I passed.

The next speaker I was real curious was the Dynaco A25. It has a reputation for being a "do no harm" type of product. I was able to grab a pair locally for $85. I've spent a little time with them. They don't do anything horribly wrong...they're not bright...but listening to them is an utterly forgettable experience thus far. Dynamics, depth, imaging, resolution, and ability to unravel complexity....they're lacking, but at least they don't screech at me. It's not really a bad speaker, actually, considering that it's actually listenable....which is something I certainly cannot say for 98% of the speakers out there. Don't know where to go from here, but at least I saved $1000 this week. If anyone is curious, I'll post an extended review on these Dynacos after I've lived with them for a few days.

 

Those speakers used good drivers from SEAS. Imaging might not be great as the dome tweeter is 1.5" - a little big for wide off-axis dispersion. Here's a link to some info about Dynaco's speakers: http://home.indy.net/~gregdunn/dynaco/components/speakers/index.html

 

Yes, the drivers are good. That's one of the positive attributes of the speaker for sure. I'm a fan of SEAS drivers. For example, the XL tweeter in the Monitor 30 is absolutely superb. The Dynaco/SEAS tweeter is well behaved and doesn't get out of control. It also sounds natural. I think the large diaphragm is the reason for this...the larger tweeters I've heard tend to be smoother, less spitty, with the ability to render high frequency information that is dimensionally correct. A cymbal sounds like a cymbal with correct image size and ambiance, rather than a miniature composite that comes of as smeared, splashy and brittle. The KEF T52 tweeter is another example of a large diaphragm that works....but of course that tweeter has other problems...

 

I've had a pair of A25's kicking around in various systems for a few years and I'm impressed. You're right that they're not the last word, but in a smallish room with good amplification you'd have to spend a lot more than the $15 I paid to beat them. Ironically, the only system I didn't like them with was the one they were designed for: a PAS3 and Dyna ST70. They were a little shrill in that setup, but then again that could be the PAS because I've yet to find any speaks that work well with that combo in my slightly larger than average living room.

 

I think what they may be telling you is that setup is a little shrill.

 

So here are a few updates on the A25....

1) They seem to be remarkably sensitive to source material. In other words, garbage in...garbage out....and they LOVE vinyl. What is puzzling is that certain discs that I expected to sound poor, sound really good...for example, my West German "Quadrophenia" cd can be excruciating on the wrong speaker system when "The Real Me" is turned up to moderate levels. The cymbal crashes are brutal. The cd sounds so good on the Dynacos that I'm letting in play through...something I rarely do when using this cd for testing purposes. I have a Temptations record that can sound pretty lean, but when the bass kicked in it came alive...was rich and full, albeit not a lot of definition in the lower mid-bass. Then other discs that I expected to sound like god were less than inspiring and some sounded just plain awful. Ween's "White Pepper" sounded decent, but compressed to death. DCC Badfinger "Straight Up" wasn't all that hot....and then the normally wretched sounding "Magic Christian Music" was tolerable. What the heck is going on here? Doesn't add up....
2) The Dynacos definitely have a problem with becoming congested during complex passages.
3) Getting these to image was tricky. They are about as finicky as Quad 57s. FYI, according to me the best placement is to have each speaker toed in and facing you directly on stands with tweeter at roughly ear level. This means that from where you are sitting, you can't see the sides of the cabinet...only the front. The image is still poor, a recessed center image with opaque detail...lack of dynamics and a less than inspiring sense of air and space.
4) These speakers also have a tendency to draw attention to themselves, meaning that while I am listening I am constantly switching my attention back and forth between each speaker, focused on the source of the music to the left or the right rather than an expansive soundstage...which certainly is not there.
5) I can't really decide what I think of this speaker. The Who is kicking away in the other room as I type this and it sounds incredible. The tweeter is not obnoxious(a rarity in every sense of the word), yet I also feel totally uninspired to listen to music when I'm sitting in the "sweet spot". The Harbeths gave me chills and made me(JUST FELT AN EARTHQUAKE)....okay, I"m back now. Just experienced a small tremor. Anyway, back to the Harbeths. They made me smile. I couldn't wait to listen to them. They were musical. The Dynacos are not.....not so far.

I'm going to try some more experiments:
A) redoing the crossover with an oil cap
B) perhaps removing some stuffing behind the woofer to liven up the midrange
C) try some different taps on my amplifier
D) Beatles "white album" UK vinyl

To be continued.............

 

Amp fully warmed up now....these speakers are sounding real nice now. Nilsson "Without Her", some Beck from "Sea Change", and the mono version of The Pretty Things "SF Sorrow" sounds divine. Now I'm thinking that I may actually be onto something here. What an interesting speaker this is.

 

Had a pair...nice, but nowhere near what I have now....(BG Z-7's - a truely nice set of speakers!)
Gary (gort Gary) and I tooled around with changing the Caps and re-wireing them...nice stuff...but...the change was limited....
I have a friend who swears by these speakers for doing midrange nicely....They do...to a point....they are smoother on the top end partially because they can't really reproduce with extension up there....

I would think these are a nice neutral sounding speaker for a secondary system....I have never monitored off of them....maybe they could serve that purpose nicely....

 

How did your experience with them compare with my impressions that I've described here?

 

Pretty similar in fact....

I just thought that my equipment was being held back from shining with them...they were great, but I am really quite satisfied now!

 

I asked a veteran audio dealer friend of mine how A-25's sounded; he answered one word - "homely".

A question: do the connections in back take banana plugs?

If I can find a pair in good nick for under the average price, I'll buy 'em.

 

I've got a pair and to me,they're just...Meh. Had them hooked up to a Fisher 800c and a Eico ST70. They were not great, bud not bad. I swapped them out with a pair of AR4X's and was very, very happy. AR's are more fun sounding, especially when listening to sixties garage bands.

 

Olde thread.
And and a interesting one.

 

I've had a similar experience with garbage in - garbage out Celestion SL6si monitors.
Turned out they were even more unforgiving that even that.
But for some reason, they loved early Japan pressings, and very few later cd's. Jeff Buckley's Live At Siné 2 cd reissue was absolutely stunning. Despite that, I couldn't take the overall performance of these speakers, and they remain disconnected.

 

The Dynaco A-25s were my first hifi speaker and I loved them for a long time. I then went to some Polk model 10's which my wife really loved. If your wife likes them, says buy them, and you like them as well....we have a winner!!!!!!!!!!

 

How much $ is "too much" for a set of A25s?

 

I acquired a pair of Dynaco A50 from my dad, they are currently sitting around collecting dust.
I need to open them up and recap them and give it another listen.

 

The A25s are a very nice speaker. I used to have a pair and a roomie had the A35s. I actually preferred the A25s except at very high volume, then the A35s were better mannered. But those A25s served me well including several years when they were my main front speakers with a Dynaco 400 amp. After that, they were the rear speakers in a quad setup with Koss CM1030s as the fronts. I still prefer the Koss sound and use those as my main speakers to this day, but everytime I hear the Dynaco A25s I want a pair again.

 

Is $200 too much for a pair in great shape (cabinets look new)?

 

That isn't a bad price, but try for $150 or so unless they really are in rare condition. $200 isn't unusual, especially if you don't pay much to ship them or can go get them nearby. Try to audition them if you are picking them up, certainly. If the grills can be pulled easily, check the woofer surrounds. Take a very bright flashlight (torch) if you need to have a look at the speaker cones through the grill fabric. I also wouldn't think you'd want one--at that price--in need of anything other than possibly some new caps in the crossover.