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For us fans of the 2-way/10" woofer speaker: Dynaudio's new DM 2/10

RadShak1251

RadShak1251

Super Member
Dynaudio DM 2/10

Not exactly cheap at around $1,600 per pair, but if you like rock/pop music & want to crank it (seems weird to use that phrase with this company's products :)) along with the more delicate sonic details still intact, but don't want frazzled ears from speakers that don't share Dynaudio's (IMO) warm top end, this could be the speaker for you.

I think to help keep the price down compared to their other speakers, that is why they used vinyl instead of real wood veneer; it isn't bi-ampable; and especially, the use of a 2-way design saved a chunk of change not just because of the absence of a midrange driver but also since the crossover is usually one of - if not the most expensive - single electronic component of a loudspeaker (plus a midrange driver's crossover usually has around 2X as many parts as the woofer or tweeter).

This British site has a short but thorough review.

They also have a version with an 8" woofer.

These speakers seem like a natural to go along with the new stereo-only gear from companies like Outlaw, Onkyo, Pioneer and now Yamaha.
 
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I dont think I've ever heard Dynaudio make a bad speaker. They are probably the best cone/dome systems I've heard. If the tweeter in that speaker is a D260 (or newer version), it's an outright steal. :music:
 
hey wineslob, how would your ears describe the typical Dynaudio "sound"? BTW, I got to listen to some Dynaudio studio monitors and I thought they sounded a lot different than their home stuff.

Does anyone know what those slots around the dust cap are that all Dynaudio woofers seem to have?
 
RadShak1251 said:
hey wineslob, how would your ears describe the typical Dynaudio "sound"? BTW, I got to listen to some Dynaudio studio monitors and I thought they sounded a lot different than their home stuff.

Does anyone know what those slots around the dust cap are that all Dynaudio woofers seem to have?
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The slots around the dust caps are venting for the voice coil as I understand!
DC
 
The British review seemed a bit snobbish. The last part did sorta make up for the "about as modern as horseshoes and buggy-whips" tone. Not that I plan on dropping $1600 for a modern take on the venerable Advent...

I'm sure it sounds nice but that cash can buy some really nice DIY speakers with *real* veneer. Maybe Dynaudio should look into the DIY market. Nah...
 
They tout the laminate to be tough enough to withstand in-wall cavity mounting, yet it's bass-reflex, presumably rear ported.

That sounds contradictory. Stick a ported speaker into a cavity?

Anyway, I like the design. I love 10" 2-ways, having owned the Advent, the L26, Yamaha NS5, and a Mirage model. All were great.
 
gonzothegreat said:
I'm sure it sounds nice but that cash can buy some really nice DIY speakers with *real* veneer. Maybe Dynaudio should look into the DIY market. Nah...
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I kinda thought the same thing. Every time I see a speaker like this I think I should start a butique speaker company. I've long wanted to build a Bose like system that actually sounded good. I bet you could sell a few of something like that.
 
Fast_Eddie said:
I've long wanted to build a Bose like system that actually sounded good. I bet you could sell a few of something like that.
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You'd have to fight the Bose marketing machine. I've thought about it too but the only way you could make your point is to buy a Bose system and set it up A/B with yours so any prospective buyers could hear the difference. You'd have a hard time convincing people that yours sound better without hearing the A/B as Bose has spent a fortune convincing them that their speakers are better.

Back on topic (ish): possibly the best sounding cone/dome speakers I've ever heard were Dynaudio DIY. They had the 21W54 (no longer available) in a transmission line, a dome mid and a soft dome tweeter. Simply amazing.

Ray
 
RayW said:
You'd have to fight the Bose marketing machine. I've thought about it too but the only way you could make your point is to buy a Bose system and set it up A/B with yours so any prospective buyers could hear the difference. You'd have a hard time convincing people that yours sound better without hearing the A/B as Bose has spent a fortune convincing them that their speakers are better.
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Sorry if I'm threadjacking.

That's exactly the point. You advertise them as "Better than Bose". Put the Bose machine to work for you. Then, as you say, you buy a Bose set up so they can hear for themselves. Not looking to displace or compete with Bose, just sell some decent speakers to some folks. I think working the Bose angle would set you up to sell a few more than if you just made another nice speaker that looks conventional.
 
You advertise them as "Better than Bose". Put the Bose machine to work for you.
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I would LOVE to see another speaker company do this. When people hear that demo, watch the fur fly! I know it would because when I sold HT, we used to show people all the time the difference between the Acoustimass system and the $200 cheaper JBL sat/sub system we used for our demo HT system. People were always skeptical about our claims......until we switched from the Bose to the JBL's. I don't think it's a coincidence that a couple years afterwards, Bose speakers always had their own little display area away from the other brands. :scratch2:

Yea I also wish the Dynaudios weren't so pricey, but they are probably one of the Top 10 speaker manufacturers out there so it's hard for me to get too bummed - at least they tried to keep the price down with those various budget-cutting details. Maybe another manufacturer will get inspired by Dynaudio's effort and sell something priced for a Pioneer/Chevy/Chili's guy like me. :)
 
RadShak1251 said:
hey wineslob, how would your ears describe the typical Dynaudio "sound"? BTW, I got to listen to some Dynaudio studio monitors and I thought they sounded a lot different than their home stuff.

Does anyone know what those slots around the dust cap are that all Dynaudio woofers seem to have?
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Very, very neutral. The D260's I have are close in sound to the ribbons in my Apogees, but dont quite have the detail. They also have some of the best pin-point imaging I've heard. Not correct, but still damn good.
 
RadShak1251 said:
Maybe another manufacturer will get inspired by Dynaudio's effort and sell something priced for a Pioneer/Chevy/Chili's guy like me. :)
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You mean like these? I haven't heard them but I've heard some folks say that they're pretty good. Not Dynaudio, but a fair percentage of the performance at a small percentage of the price. Oh yeah, and they're still available which is a plus.

Ray
 
Found another review of these (May '08) but they tested them mostly in an HT environment. :( Though they did listen to several music dvds, David Gilmour among them, and one 5.1 sacd of Russian ballet suites and an acoustic guitar quartet.

Home Theater Magazine review of the DM 2/10

I really wished they had also done some stereo-only testing with CD, vinyl, etc.

IMO these would make great rock & pop loudspeakers, since their bass response makes it to around 40Hz before slipping downwards (their port can be plugged w/a supplied foam plug however, possibly extending their response). For a system that uses a 10" woofer in such a small enclosure & "only" hits 40Hz, to me that means they very probably have nice-n-punchy bass, something my Talking Heads and Sonic Youth albums would appreciate. :)

FYI: the article states no sub was used in their testing - instead, they used five of the DM 2/10s.* The reviewer had this to say when watching Star Wars III....
They delivered a steady underpinning of bass, but not aggressively enough to annoy. I liked the idea of going subless to limit the bass on an aggressive soundtrack. It left me with enough stamina to appreciate the grieving pageant of the movie’s final scenes.
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These Dynaudios only weigh 28lbs apiece, so are easy to place where needed. And though plainly styled, personally I like their no-nonsense look.

There is also an 8" version of this speaker too.

* FYI: for those unfamiliar with HT receivers, if you go sub-less, make sure to program the receiver accordingly i.e. in the set up menu choose "subwoofer - no". Otherwise ALL the low bass from movies - and CDs, vinyl, etc - will go unheard. That's because when "no" is chosen, the bass management system redirects the sub channel's bass to the left & right front mains.
 
oldhifiguy said:
question: could a midrange spkr be used as a tweeter, like say a 4" or so?
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Yes it can, IMO as long as it can reach up flat to least 15kHz (some say 12kHz works too). Depending on the driver, the high frequencies it produces could be very "tweeter like"........or downright dull.

But usually a high quality 4" driver can sound quite detailed but without being harsh, which is why so many people enjoy owning speaker systems using just one fullrange driver (5.25" to 8" seem to be the most popular).
 
Cone mids used as tweeters beam.

That's largely why dome tweeters were developed, and cones abandoned.

Not a problem if you only listen on-axis, right?

Nope. Uniform power response also matters, which accounts (again, in part,) for the move to constant directivity and waveguides....
 
Well for casual listening i.e. not "critical listening", IMO cones can still provide enjoyable sound. Though obviously a 4" cone will be quite beamy, compared to a proper cone tweeter, IIRC most of which have a 45 to 60 degree dispersion angle, plenty wide for one person sitting on a couch & which means his head isn't locked into a narrow listening sweet spot (many planar and electrostatic designs are known for this effect, but as a positive side effect their imaging capabilites are excellent since floor, ceiling & wall secondary reflections are practically non-existant).

Also, a down-sloping response past 15kHz helps provide a smoother & less fatiguing sound* (many vintage speakers perform this way, AFAIK which for many was intentionally designed into them; plus many men over the age of 30 can't hear that high anyway). This can come in very handy for sub-standard recordings, something many rock and pop albums are known for, classic and modern.

* part of that harshness has to do with CD's digital playback format, because its frequency cutoff point is directly above 20kHz. But if the digital filter (part of the player's digital-to-analog convertor) is not of high enough quality, "ringing" and phase errors can occur which can creep down into the audible areas below 20kHz, causing some rather unpleasant effects.

This is why so many people were excited about the hi-res audio formats - dvd-audio and sacd - which can have much higher cut off points (and also gentler filters but don't want to get too offtopic here) providing the potential for smoother & more accurate sound.
 
Maybe I'm the only one... but Dynaudio, IMHO, has always been akin to the "emperor's clothes"... i.e., I just don't see what everyone sees in them.

To me, they're lacking in dynamic "snap", they're extremely inefficient... they just sound "dead". Kind of the antithesis to something like a good horn-loaded speaker. Just un-exciting.

I've grown to think that the majority of the problem is the proprietary plastic cone material they use... it seems to just have TOO MUCH damping... kills the leading edge of music, unless you use about a ZILLION watts... then they burn up. I used to go through this all the time, in past years... got to where I just wouldn't recommend Dynaudio drivers to anyone for anything...

Just don't see what all the ado is about. IMHO, I'd bet the Tannoy Precision 8P would just walk all over them... a great 8" dual-concentric. It's got speed, it's got extension, its got fantastic balance, it's got nearly-unbeatable focus and coherency... just a great sounding speaker, for $400 a pair less than the Dynaudios. The Dynaudio might play a tad louder on the bass (it is a 10" woofer, where the Tannoy is an 8"), but other than that, I'm betting on the dual-concentric, any day.

And, BTW- I don't buy the "rolled off top end being better" business, either. Some of the most pleasing, smoothest, best-behaved systems I've ever heard, used Tannoy and LCY ribbon super-tweeters... flat to 45KHz and beyond. The trick is to get rid of artifacts- resonance effects, frequency response jogs and other errors, off-axis problems, and such... if the thing is made properly to behave itself, there's nothing better than having even response up to well beyond audible frequencies... it just INHERENTLY makes the timing (phase/time delay) better...

To h*** with "speakers as equalizers", compensating for bad recordings or incompetent mastering... a speaker should be FAITHFUL to the original signal. If the signal sucks, LISTEN TO SOMETHING THAT DOESN'T SUCK, instead...

Regards,
Gordon.
 
RadShak1251 said:
Well for casual listening i.e. not "critical listening", IMO cones can still provide enjoyable sound. Though obviously a 4" cone will be quite beamy, compared to a proper cone tweeter, IIRC most of which have a 45 to 60 degree dispersion angle, plenty wide for one person sitting on a couch & which means his head isn't locked into a narrow listening sweet spot (many planar and electrostatic designs are known for this effect, but as a positive side effect their imaging capabilites are excellent since floor, ceiling & wall secondary reflections are practically non-existant).
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The dispersion still varies with frequency.

I just don't see the point or value in rationalizing obsolete design concepts and crappy speakers incorporating them when even the cheapest of modern designs have superior performance.

[Headphones do all that stuff better, anyway.... ;) ]
 
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