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Speaker Asylum: REVIEW: Dynaudio Audience 42 Speakers by TKwolek

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REVIEW: Dynaudio Audience 42 Speakers

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Model: Audience 42
Category: Speakers
Suggested Retail Price: $699
Description: 2-way bookshelf
Manufacturer URL: Dynaudio
Manufacturer URL: Dynaudio

Review by TKwolek ( A ) on May 18, 2003 at 09:56:16
IP Address: 12.223.132.240
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for the Audience 42


I was shopping for the small speakers to match my son’s newly acquired stereo system, which is an old Sansui G4700 receiver and Dual CS604 turntable. We tried JBL’s, JMLab’s Cobalts, Acoustic Energy’s mini monitors and Energy’s new Connoisseur floorstanders. Each of them selling for about $500 a pair or less. The JBL’s sounded too generic with a recessed midrange and aggressive treble. The JMLab’s were pretty good, except for the very aggressive treble. The AE’s had a very low dynamic range and low sensitivity. They were unable to provide decent dynamics even with a 100 wpc amp. The Energy’s were the opposites of the name they bare- they had no energy. So we ran to the dealer selling Dynaudio’s. I tried the Audiences 42’s. I liked them right away, so I bought them. When I got home I hooked them up to my Rotel RA980BX integrated. They didn’t sound right. The bass was boomy and the trebles weren’t clear. I moved them farther away from the back wall (about 2’) and placed them farther apart (about 10’). Big improvement. The bass got tight and the midrange clear. After playing them for a few days, the overall sound started to become even better. Today, after 3 months of use, they are really high-end speakers. They have excellent resolution from the bottom to the top, and fantastic dynamics. I can’t even use my Paradigm Studio 60’s anymore. I was pretty happy with them until we got the Dynaudios. The Paradigms compress the sound really badly, and have a recessed and harsh midrange. Crank them up and they start shouting, making their sound very fatiguing. It is hard to believe, but the Audience 42’s can play at a measured 102 dBA without any compression. Listening to them for hours doesn’t cause any fatigue. The louder the sound the better.

They are really outstanding speakers. It is impossible to find better ones except for the other Dynaudios. In my opinion, Dynaudio is, at present, the leading loudspeaker maker. Their secret is in their drivers. The woofers have huge 3” aluminum voice coils, which extract the heat and prevent compression. The tweeters are high-tech soft domes – eliminating the harshness caused by ultrasonic ringing. Some people say that humans can’t hear the ringing, but I don’t believe that. This ringing is responsible for the listener fatigue.

Dynaudio’s also have an excellent sound balance. There is no coloration of any kind. That’s why many people are not excited about them when they first hear them. But stick to them for a while, and you will find out that you are listening to the music, not to the speakers. And that’s what it’s all about.

P.S. I recently bought the new Dynaudio Contour S3.4’s, which are phenomenal. They represent a completely new dimension in sound reproduction. They are not speakers. They are absolute musical instruments. I call them The Mini Evidences. They are so amazing, that it is hard to describe them in words. My review will follow soon.


Product Weakness: The very lowest bass extension is limited
Product Strengths: Dynamics, lack of compression, punchy bass, and low distortion


Associated Equipment for this Review:
Amplifier: Rotel RA980BX and Sansui G4700 receiver
Preamplifier (or None if Integrated): NA
Sources (CDP/Turntable): NAD 502 CD Player and Technics SL D2 turntable
Speakers: Dynaudio Audience 42 and Paradigm Studio 60
Cables/Interconnects: AudioStream speaker cables
Music Used (Genre/Selections): Classical, Jazz, and Rock
Room Size (LxWxH): 12' x 15' x 9'
Time Period/Length of Audition: 3 months
Type of Audition/Review: Product Owner




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Topic - REVIEW: Dynaudio Audience 42 Speakers - TKwolek 09:56:16 05/18/03 ( 6)