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Dynaco 25 vs AR 4x - any experience?

sancho22

sancho22

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I have an opportunity to pick up either or both (possibly).
I will listen to them for sure, but curious whether anyone had experince to compare H2H these two?

I would likely run either with Kenny Supreme 500 or Marantz 240. Maybe ven Pioneer sx1250 (at least for a test). Any suggestions on "synergy"?
 
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I think the Dynaco is a little better in all respects - better low end, better mids, more detail in the highs.

The 4x was a good value when sold at about $80 per speaker back in the late 60's, but the A25 is a better speaker.

You will be happy with the A25 only.

Cheers, Snade
 
It just so happens I have and regularly use both pairs. The Dynaco's are at home in my family room, and the AR's here in my office. Overall, I think the Dynaco's are a better sounding speaker, better, more natural bass and a cleaner high end, but I have no complaints about the AR's at all for casual listening. To me the A-25's have a "bigger" sound and better sound stage, and would work better in a larger room than the AR's. But if you can swing it to get both, I recommend them both.

Steve
 
Both excellent speakers, particularly for their modest size. The weakest point on both of them is the high frequency response. The Dynaco has very nice Seas drivers, although the high end rolls off a little bit early. The AR4x has a little more high end, but sometimes leans a little toward "harsh" if the tweeter control is up beyond "NORM" position.
On the AR4x, lookout for the tweeter cone coming unglued from the frame (common problem) and of course the tweeter control pot corrosion issue which causes intermittent dead spots on the control. The Dynaco tweeter control is far less problematic (it is a click stop type) and the tweeters are less prone to age related failure, but that being said I think the AR4x is a better sounding speaker overall with deeper bass response and better highs. The crossover design in the Dynaco uses no inductor coil for the woofer and is a simple 8 mfd (I think) blocking capacitor with a resistor network for the tweeter control while the AR 4x uses a low bandpass coil for the woofer and a 22 mfd cap for the tweeter. This causes an unusually low crossover point for the 4x tweeter (which it is designed for) covering the midrange very well and providing deeper bass response.
If you can get the grill off of the AR's check the tweeter cone and also the woofer edge because a few (very rare few) had foam surrounds toward the end of production. Almost all of them have treated cloth surrounds so the foam rot is rarely an issue and all of the Dynacos have butyl rubber surrounds. Whichever one you buy, change the crossover capacitors to protect the tweeters, and if the AR 4x tweeters are coming unglued they can be reglued with rubber cement or speaker surround adhesive. The pots in the AR 4x's can be disassembled and cleaned, just make sure to reseal the woofers if you work in the cabinets (goes for Dynaco as well).
The Marantz 2240 or 2245 is an excellent choice for either one of those speaker systems, SX-1250 has too much juice. Dynaco A-25 woofers will burn out if pushed too hard, AR not as likely, but don't push it! I'd buy 'em both - one for system A ond one for system B! :thmbsp:

*ADD-ON* I should add that I have and use both systems regularly, so this is not from memory but actual experience - still just an opinion, though.
 
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Thanks guys. I really don't need more speakers but would love to expand my knowledge and understanding. I have way too many speakers as is, so need to get only one. The difficulty is that both are recapped and lokk nice on pictures
Plus the AR 4X's - "Beautiful, upgraded with SEAS 34 MM Tweeters and revised crossover "
 
sancho22 said:
Plus the AR 4X's - "Beautiful, upgraded with SEAS 34 MM Tweeters and revised crossover "
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In that case, nothing anyone says here about the ARs' high end is going to tell you anything. You're going to have to listen to them and decide for yourself.
 
I've owned both- the Dynacos are better in my opinion, although the AR4x are not bad.

The Dynacos to me were to boomy in the bass- an artifact of the aperiodic design perhaps.

That doesnt make it a bad speaker- just not a personal favorite.

A fella I respected once compared the Boston Acoustics A70 to it- albeit less bass (for the A70) and I agree- but still liked the (to me) better balanced A70.
 
Thanks Deli. As you see the AR has a SEAS tweeter and both are re-capped. Will check them out and report back.
 
I currently own both, and my nod goes to.....the ARs.

I find the A-25s to be lacking in bass response...they are great for vocal music, especially female singers, but given all the hype I've read about them I must admit I was a little disappointed. The AR-4xs have a more balanced sound to my ear, and a wonderful bass response for a cabinet that small.

My two cents.
 
poorman said:
I currently own both, and my nod goes to.....the ARs.

I find the A-25s to be lacking in bass response...they are great for vocal music, especially female singers, but given all the hype I've read about them I must admit I was a little disappointed. The AR-4xs have a more balanced sound to my ear, and a wonderful bass response for a cabinet that small.

My two cents.
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:scratch2:
Hmmm, time to pull the AR-4X's out again and give them a "real" listen. Perhaps I judged too quickly - what are you driving them with? :scratch2:
 
poorman said:
I currently own both, and my nod goes to.....the ARs.

I find the A-25s to be lacking in bass response...they are great for vocal music, especially female singers, but given all the hype I've read about them I must admit I was a little disappointed. The AR-4xs have a more balanced sound to my ear, and a wonderful bass response for a cabinet that small.

My two cents.
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Bass response as in control, or amount?

The ARs are not as boomy- boomy is a term I'm using regarding my feelings. But I'd say the Dynacos have more bass extension.

It's a great speaker, but not one I fell in love with. The ARs are also great, but to me, the highs were a bit screechy. This was after an L-pad bypass done by a knowledgeable friend. This may have had an ill effect on them.




Either way, both speakers are winners. But I feel there are better options out there.
 
I have both, and very much prefer the A25. Just a more open, balanced sound to me. I'm not really a fan of the AR-4x, though I love the AR-2ax and AR-3a. Along the lines of the AR-4 is the Epicure 100 and Genesis 1 (which were designed by Burhoe, who did the AR-4x, if I'm remembering correctly..which could not be the case). I like the Genesis 1/Epicure 100 much better than the AR-4x. I find they take what was good about the 4x (good bass response in a small cabinet) and added a much better tweeter, the much-discussed epi inverted dome.
 
thedelihaus -- I'd say control. To me the AR's bass is nice and tight, especially on jazz recordings with acoustic bass.

I'd agree with posters who describe the A25s as more "open" sounding. The A25 certainly has a better tweeter. Their bass response just didn't do it for me, though.
 
poorman said:
thedelihaus -- I'd say control. To me the AR's bass is nice and tight, especially on jazz recordings with acoustic bass.

I'd agree with posters who describe the A25s as more "open" sounding. The A25 certainly has a better tweeter. Their bass response just didn't do it for me, though.
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I'll (fully) agree with that....
 
I do agree that the AR 4x can be kind of screechy or harsh. As an experiment I added a small Vifa dome tweeter with a 3.3 mfd cap and a 6 ohm dropping resistor to soften the output and changed the 22 mfd cap for the original tweeter to an 8 mfd (like the original AR 4 had) and backed the control pot down to just below NORM. I'm sure I'll get alot of crap for it, but I've got to tell you these make great 3 way speakers. I can't hear any holes at all, and the harshness is totally gone. The highs are extended up to 20,000 hz and they sound beautiful. Next I'm going to try replacing the AR 4x tweeter with the original AR 4 tweeter (which is the midrange for the AR 2ax and also the tweeter for the AR 2). Yep, another pair of bastardized AR speakers :D
 

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audiojones said:
I do agree that the AR 4x can be kind of screechy or harsh. As an experiment I added a small Vifa dome tweeter with a 3.3 mfd cap and a 6 ohm dropping resistor to soften the output and changed the 22 mfd cap for the original tweeter to an 8 mfd (like the original AR 4 had) and backed the control pot down to just below NORM. I'm sure I'll get alot of crap for it, but I've got to tell you these make great 3 way speakers. I can't hear any holes at all, and the harshness is totally gone. The highs are extended up to 20,000 hz and they sound beautiful. Next I'm going to try replacing the AR 4x tweeter with the original AR 4 tweeter (which is the midrange for the AR 2ax and also the tweeter for the AR 2). Yep, another pair of bastardized AR speakers :D
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Hey if you like them better that way, then why care what others think? Shounds like you did a good job:D
 
audiojones said:
I do agree that the AR 4x can be kind of screechy or harsh. ...
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Good- it's not just me, then.:yes: :)

audiojones said:
...As an experiment I added a small Vifa dome tweeter with a 3.3 mfd cap and a 6 ohm dropping resistor to soften the output and changed the 22 mfd cap for the original tweeter to an 8 mfd (like the original AR 4 had) and backed the control pot down to just below NORM....I can't hear any holes at all, and the harshness is totally gone. The highs are extended up to 20,000 hz and they sound beautiful...
Click to expand...



I love the woofer's performance in these.


And since I felt as well the top end could use some improvement- remember, these were sold at a price point so some compromises were made- I'm completely supportive of what you did- took a good speaker and made it (possibly) great.:thmbsp:
 
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