A Dynaudio question

A number of years ago I purchased the entry level DM 2/7's.

For the price point an excellent speaker.

They were moved along a bit ago.
The other week a buddy purchased the Dynaudio Special Forty's.
A lovely looking and performing speaker.

It reminded me of what I loved about my Dyn's and got me thinking a little.

The Forty's are way outta my snack bracket.

So I did a little research and the Focus 160's came up a few times as a pretty nice speaker in the lineage (discontinued now).

So I have put up a couple of Wanted ad's.

In the mean time, I have kept snooping and doing a fair bit of reading.

Locally (meaning Canada) 2 different Dyn speakers have come up on the used market.
Both 1 owner and essentially like new.

Option 1 - Focus 220's (First iteration, not the MK II's)
Option 2 - Evoke 10's with appropriate Dyn stands

Both close in price.

Yes one is a floor stander and one is a stand mount.
One is discontinued and one is a new and present model.

My room .... 12 X 14 with listening chair 7-8 feet from the speaker.
Listen to many different genres of music ... rock, blues, jazz, folk, classical, instrumental
Pic of rest of gear at end.... Luxman L-480 for power

So 2 questions.....

First - would either or both of these be an upgrade over the GoldenEar Triton 7's I am presently running
Second - if so, which would out perform the other - Focus or Evoke

I appreciate imaging, detail/dynamics, pace

Thoughts from experience having heard or owned?
Appreciate any assistance thinking this through that is given.

****Neither can be auditioned - they are over 1500 miles away and locally no dealer

Thx!

 

Yes, they should either be noticeably better than the GE. I would much rather have the Focus 220.
-Bill

 

I would go for the Evoke 10 in that size of room. I currently own S40 and had Focus 140 before that in a similar size room as yours, and they were a bit too overpowering. My feeling is smaller monitors in that space would work really work. I think your L-480 would be just fine with the Evoke 10. My understanding is that the Focus series were a bit more difficult to drive.

 

Luxman + Dynaudio = aaahhh.

 

Well hang on. You HAD Dynaudios and "moved them along"-why? Dynaudio I feel has kept a consistent house sound, so if you weren't thrilled then you won't be thrilled now. They will certainly sound DIFFERENT than your Triton 7s. As for which, well
- I do NOT agree with automatic assumption so many seem to have that small rooms need small speakers. That *may* often be true but it really depends on the room and it also depends on the tuning of the speaker. I'd expect the Focus to have somewhat of a lean sound I'd not be scared to put in a smaller room and experiment with placement.
- If you are satisfied with bass now, changing from T7's woofers and passive radiators in a tower to a small woofer in a small box is not a likely recipe for your audio pleasure.

 

I think that you are way off on this one; sorry. The speakers that he currently has are floorstanders. The Focus 220 is easier to drive than the Evoke 10, looking at the specs, as long as his amp is able to drive a 4 ohm load. I mean, he could always get a sub, but I don't know if his amp would provide the dynamics he desires from a small speaker that is only 84db sensitive. The Focus will go way lower in frequency and has a sensitivity of around 87db.
-Bill

 

Agreed....Dyn do have that consistent "House Sound".
It was not dissatisfaction....at all. Other circumstances were behind the move.

That's why when I heard my buddy's Special Forty's....I had this smile of familiarity.

And I also agree on your "small rooms need small speakers" theory not being a true one.

Larger speakers can (and have for me) worked fabulously in my room.

Thx

 

Thx Bill .... I was going to ask for your rationale from your earlier post as to why you suggested the 220's.

I do not want a sub in the room.....I am not a bass hound per se but I do appreciate tight, accurate bass.

And the 480 has no issue with driving a 4 ohm load.

Thx

 

Has anyone owned the first generation Focus 220's?

Impressions?

Thx

 

I've only heard the newer Evoke and it sounded great. Dynaudio has that house sound that's recognizable throughout their product lines so I think the key consideration is if you prefer standmount vs floorstanders speakers in your room. I made the move from 9 year old floorstanders to my Contour 20's and it took some getting used to in the beginning as admittedly I like bass. The imaging and "intimate feeling" of listening to standmount speakers, however, became a personal preference so I ended up getting a sub and I'm very happy with how it turned out.

I would personally get the Evoke, newer technology, easier to drive, but again it depends on what you prefer.

 

Dynaudio monitors hit hard on the low end and great imaging. Agree with going with latest Evoke technology. I would bet they give the S40 a run for the money.

 

Right size speakers within the constraints of your listening space. Aesthetics are important too for long term contentment.

 

Geez you guys got me missing my Dyns so just bought some Emit M20 . Once you love a Dyn, it's hard to replace them!

 

Truer words have never been spoken.

 

Dyns are good, no doubt........ but so are Sonus Faber, KEF, Harbeth, Spendor........ arghh speakers are tough for me!

Congrats though, you can hardly go wrong with those.

 

Ya I'm a complete speaker nut. Dyns are the first that I've gone back to though, maybe it's love

 

I agree with that. My room is 11' x 17'. I once had Contour S1.4 monitors but found them unsatisfying for large scale orchestral music. They just didn't have the big symphony hall sound I wanted. I moved to S3.4 & they brought a lot more tonthe table, then added a REL sub, and then a second one. Now I have Confidence C2 Platinum with a pair of REL R-328 subs. I love how they play, for everything from solo lute music, to jazz quartets, to rock, to big Mahler symphonies. All very well balanced and most satisfying. Changing my amp at the end of last year to a Naim NAP-300DR was icing on the cake. All still in the same room. We are planning – at some point – to move the system to larger living room (13 x 22), but in the meantime these big speakers sound fantastic where they are.

 

Made a choice yet James ?

 

No....leave me alone!!!!

 

LOL. I think you need an 18 year old rum.

 

Just reviving an older thread to see if a Dyn speaker had been chosen? Saw some Evoke 10 come up used...cuz that's what I need to do, upgrade speakers again...

 

That Luxman won’t work with Dynaudio, not enough power.

 

His profile now lists a pair of Evoke 30.

 

*wonders why he didn't think to check profile
Thanks @timind !

 

My apologies .... I didn't notice this was still active

Indeed you are correct .... I purchased a new pair of Evoke 30's and a Hegel H90 Integrated
Very pleased with the results!

I purchased from a distance so this pic is from the showroom for me to have a good look.