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Looking for a significant upgrade from Dynaco A25 speakers

Since we’re not talking only new, how about some ADS models? L520’s can be had cheap, and they have surprising bass as well as great separation. For a budget of $5-600, one can also find L1090 and 1290’s which are obviously higher models. There’s even some listed on BT for sale.

Edited to add: how did I forget to mention ADS M12's, considering I have a pair on my main system!
 
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NHT 1.5 with the sa2/sw2 amp/subwoofer should be in budget if you can find them. Great highs and minds from the 1.5 and fairly low (28hz) bass. Great imaging and seperation. It's a very underrated combination for the money.
 
jamiecantar said:
In my opinion, and my experience, you wont get satisfying bass from just a pair of 6.5" woofers. youll need to add a subwoofer. but for arouund $500 US. you can get a used pair of JBL L36, L26 or L19 all which are amazingly good at high volumes and great for rock...they are bright speakers, so turning down frequency knob will help with that, but if you like a smoother more velvety sound then british speakers like B&W DM14's or similar would sound great...
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The A25 has a 10" woofer.
 
On the vintage side I think ADS speakers would give you more of that you're looking for. But I also think the Klipsch RP-600m is better all around and something you'd be very happy with, provided they have enough bass for your tastes or you have a sub.
 
rockarolla said:
I did drop in some updated tweeters several years ago. Purchased from marisound, the seas series, dont recall the model. The NAD does drive the Dynacos pretty well. It has some juice even with the conservative watt rating.
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Did you install new caps when you upgraded the tweeters? If the old caps have become resistive and are choking off the highs, you aren't hearing what you should from new, or the old for that matter, tweeters.

Caps are cheap; $10 will cover a set of Dayton or Jantzens.
 
An older pair of PSB Stratus Golds would certainly be a candidate. Can be had for 600 if you look. Also the Stratus Silvers...they run 500 - 600.


Edit: Ahhh forget it, 40 Watts ain't going to cut it with those if he likes loud.
 
The A40XL is better than the A25. Might be easier and less costly than going at the A25 again.
Better woofer, better tweeter, better box design, better crossover, more efficient, and takes more power.
The bass is more extended, more weight, faster attack, faster decay, better pitch definition. Presents as quick, clean and precise. Very nice.
The mid is lush, more energy, excellent timbre and lack of coloration. Presents as great voice and instrument definition. Very nice.
The treble is more extended, smoother, with a very open sound, not dry, grainy or forward. Presents as just the right sparkle and tingle. Very nice.
It's the A25 on steroids.
 
iramegdal said:
And will I need to change crossover?
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The SEAS 27TFFC goes up beyond 20K while the H087 does not (around 17K) and it handles more power (way more). No X-over change required as the X-over point is within the specs of the 27TFFC. You could (If you really wanted) change the cap (5uf), but the ones that I have measured were always still in spec.

I have this same tweeter in my Madisound Signet II speakers (a kit with all SEAS drivers, no longer available), and it is very smooth and can produce some startling clarity.
 
Check out ADS L630's. I have those and also the A25's. More highs on the ADS. Also there are some mods you can do on the A25's to improve the highs. Get rid of the metal cover over the tweeter, and put a felt or foam ring around the circumference of the dome to prevent difraction. There was an article about this in Audio Magazine years ago. Really helps with imaging. I did both of these mods to my A25's and they sound awesome. If you remove the cover to the dome you have to remove one screw at a time, then pry up the corner and replace the screw. If you don't do this, the magnet will come loose!
 
Edit: After reviewing the responses I sat down and really gave my system a listen with my eyes closed to try and get a better understanding and feeling of my thoughts and what Im looking for.

After about of an hour of listing what I came up with is as follows:

Everything sounds very good at a lower volume. Once I get in the groove and start to turn up the volume things start to change. I noticed the music starts to get flat, no real separation in instruments. Vocals sound strong clear. So is it the speakers , source, amplifier that is limiting what I am looking for?
 
You are going to get a lot of opinions on that one...my starting place would be the amplification. The difficulty, of course, is that 'buying and trying' can be fun but is not cost effective. Would be nice if there were other audio guys that would let you audition their systems, first in their rooms and if they were amenable then a trial in your room. If in your room the alternate amp does not change your listening experience then same process for speakers.

I don't think amp suggestions here will actually help you much as your listening is 100% subjective. Your ears don't care about my opinion regardless of how correct I am. :D
 
rockarolla said:
Edit: After reviewing the responses I sat down and really gave my system a listen with my eyes closed to try and get a better understanding and feeling of my thoughts and what Im looking for.

After about of an hour of listing what I came up with is as follows:

Everything sounds very good at a lower volume. Once I get in the groove and start to turn up the volume things start to change. I noticed the music starts to get flat, no real separation in instruments. Vocals sound strong clear. So is it the speakers , source, amplifier that is limiting what I am looking for?
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I have Dynaco 25’s and set them up recently after having not listened to them for probably seven years...and over the time period that has passed since, listened primarily to speakers that are significantly better. I think you probably could benefit from more power (considering the size of the room and distance you sit from the speakers). Also, room acoustics could be a factor for the degrading sound quality as volume comes up. Maybe have a look at this thread where I discuss the system that brought the A25’s out of retirement...

https://audiokarma.org/forums/index...uild-a-small-room-system-for-a-change.881646/

The A25s in that system, even with a 30wpc Pass F5 clone, do a great job with a variety of genres including prog rock and can get decently loud without losing composure. BUT...that’s in a 12x12 room and a listening spot some 7-8’ away. In a 16x20 space and sitting about 12’ away they failed to impress...and that’s what ultimately put them on the sidelines years ago. If you want a big sound that can really reproduce all the complex elements of a band like PT with authority and precision under the conditions your system and set up presents, I think you’re going to need to get a method in place that has the reproduction of low frequency content happening from drivers that are operating strictly in that spectral region ...be it subwoofers (I strongly recommend multiples) or a speaker design that has a 10”-15” woofer or multiple 8” (or possibly even 6.5”) woofers with a mid and high frequency driver or a horn loaded mid/hi driver. The important thing is to not have a LF driver that’s getting up into the mid range too much and/or a HF driver that’s operating very deep into the mid range...and again, it’s the fact that you need to push the speakers a little harder to fill up that large space that makes all I mentioned an issue. And having said that, the speakers you’re considering are all fine options, but not without subs considering your circumstances.

Michael

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Thank you tomlinmgt, I will dig deeper.

Simple tracks with not a lot going on like the tunes listed below are really good.:

Joe Satriani - 1995 CD - Down, down,down
Black Sabbath - CD - Cross purpose - Dying for love

System gets congested:

Dixie Dregs - Im freaking out
Within Temptation - Raise your banner
 
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