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Two-Channel Speakers Dynaudio X16 Bookshelf Speakers - Page 5: Conclusions about the Dynaudio X16 Bookshelf Speakers
Two-Channel Speakers Dynaudio X16 Bookshelf Speakers - Page 5: Conclusions about the Dynaudio X16 Bookshelf Speakers
Two-Channel Speakers
| Dynaudio X16 Bookshelf Speakers - Page 5: Conclusions about the Dynaudio X16 Bookshelf Speakers |
| Written by Tyler Stripko |
| Monday, 20 April 2009 00:00 |
|
Page 5 of 5
Conclusions The Dynaudio X16s really grew on me during the time I had them in my home. Their overall accuracy and revealing nature in the midrange and treble proved to be a blessing with well-recorded source material as well as a bit of a curse when playing back lesser quality sources. Fortunately, the X16s had just a touch of musical sweetness that kept all but the most poorly recorded tracks from sounding too harsh. Bass response, imaging, and sound staging were excellent as well. The biggest compliment that I can give the X16s is that they give you a window into the decisions that were made in the mixing booth, both good and bad. The X16s are also revealing enough to expose any poor sounding equipment in your signal chain. As to Dynaudio’s goal of making the Excite line compatible with lesser amplifiers such as the typical A/V receiver, I think that they have succeeded. With the X16’s rather low 87dB efficiency rating, just make sure that your receiver’s amplifier section is capable of providing solid power (I’d say 150+ watts) into 4Ohm loads and you should be fine at any sane listening level. If $1600 is within your budget for a pair of bookshelf speakers, I highly recommend that you give the Dynaudio X16s a thorough listen. You may even like them better than competing tower speakers in this price range! Comments (9)
how does it compare?
written by Jaina , April 20, 2009 There are a myriad of bookshelf speakers that are similarly priced or lower. I was just wondering how this stacks up to the competition. How does it compare to the paradigm studio 20, signature s1s, svs mbs-01 or any other competitive bookshelf speaker?
Which subwoofer and what Amplifier?
written by Getus , April 21, 2009 Which subwoofer would you recommend with these speakers? A Dynaudio Sub or SVS? I'am debating the svs sb12-plus or the Dynaudio 250 sub. And what amplifier? Class A/B or class D? At which power ratings? I'am debating for a Rotel 15 serie or a Emotiva amp. Thanks in advance!
Other bookshelf speakers
written by Tyler Stripko , April 21, 2009 Jaina, I haven't heard the SVS bookshelves, so I can't comment on those. I've got a lot of experience with Paradigm, so I can comment on the two models you mentioned. I currently have a pair of Paradigm Studio 20V3 speakers that I use as a reference point. Technically, I would have to say that the X16s are a "better" speaker than the Studio 20V3s. They are certainly more accurate, with better detail in the midrange and treble. Bass was actually deeper/tighter on the X16s, though "fuller" sounding on my Studio 20s. The Studio 20V3s are a bit more forgiving of poorly recorded or harsh music, though the Dynaudios really shine on well recorded stuff. The X16s were also more revealing of source components, which is a direct result of the excellent transparency and accuracy of the X16s. The extra efficiency of the Paradigms was noticeable, at least with the receivers I tested with. The newer Studio 20V4s are a better speaker than the V3s in my opinion, so the gap narrows. I am anxiously awaiting hearing the new Studio V5s, and I have a feeling that they will be even closer to the X16s, though the price is getting closer as well. I haven't heard the Signature S1s (which have met with near universal praise), but I have spent a fair amount of time with the Signature S2V2s, which are a phenomenal speaker at their price range and at least size/driver wise, a closer fit to the X16s than the S1s(though about twice the price of the X16s). The beryllium tweeter in the Signature line is incredibly detailed, yet still very smooth. The Signatures are IMHO a more "expensive" looking speaker, with their curved cabinetry and glossier finishes. My best recommendation would be to try and listen to these speakers yourself, in a properly set up audio shop. If you can find a dealer willing to let you perform an in-home audition, that would be even better as you get to hear them with your source components in your room (which makes a huge difference).
Getus
written by Tyler Stripko , April 21, 2009 Since I haven't personally heard either of those model subs, I am hesistant to say which would mate better. Just going by specs, the SVS will probably offer deeper extension and higher output levels as it is a noticeably larger subwoofer with a bigger driver and amplifier than the 250 Dynaudio. Technically, the Dynaudio Sub500 would be a better comparison with the SVS pb-12plus. One of our other reviewers is currently working on a review of a full Excite surround system with the Sub500, so you may want to wait for that review. As for amps, this is a very personal preference. My Wyred4Sound ICEpower amp sounded very good with the X16s, but I'm sure that almost any quality Class A/B amp will work as well, such as Emotiva. Knowing Rotel's typical "house sound," I'm pretty confident that a Rotel/Dynaudio combo would be musically satisfying as well. As always, I recommend trying to demo the units together at a good dealer or better yet, in your home. As for power, due to the X16's rather low sensitivity, I would look for an amp that can put out a minimum of about 150 clean watts at 4ohms. 200 clean watts would be better, particularly if you have a larger room. Just keep in mind that the X16 is still a bookshelf with only a 6.5" mid-woofer, so you won't be able to drive these to 110+dB levels, even with 500 watts of power. With a good sub, they can crank pretty loud though!
Thanks
written by Getus , April 23, 2009 Mr Stripko, Thanks you for your reply. It is much appriciated! I want to mount the speakers to the wall because of space limitasions. With that in mind will i be better of with the x12 or the x16? Or is the stand you mentioned really necessary for the optimal sound experience? Thanks!
Stands and wall mounting
written by Tyler Stripko , April 23, 2009 Getus, Being that both the X12 and X16 are rear-ported speakers, neither one is really ideal for wall mounting. What you could do is pick up a wall mount bracket like the B-Tech BT-77, which will give you at least a few inches of clearance between the rear port and the back wall. Your bass might get a little "boomy," but you could then use the included foam plugs to help alleviate that. If you really need to mount speakers flat up against a wall, I would search for a true "on-wall" speaker. A good pair of speaker stands is always a great idea for a bookshelf speaker, but you don't need to go with the matching Dynaudio ones (though they are very nice). There are many other brands of stands (Sanus and Target come to mind) that may fit your budget/aesthetics better. I prefer a stand that can be filled with sand or lead shot, as this cuts down on resonances and also makes the stand/speaker much less prone to tipping over.
Positive Feedback
written by SJ , April 26, 2009 Just writing to say how much I enjoy the reviews on your site. It's refreshing to see AV reviewers actually testing the gear they write about! :) I thought Jaina's question was a bit silly as you clearly stated that these Dyn's compare excellently with both bookshelves and floorstanders at their price point. If you are highly recommending that, at $1600, these are worth a "thorough listen" then obviously they are going to compare very well against similarly priced and cheaper alternatives from Paradigm and others. :) Your response to the above question was also very enlightening, thank you.
Not at all power hungry
written by Jan , April 30, 2009 You write, "At 87dB efficient at 4ohms, the X16s aren’t the most sensitive speaker and will require a lot of amp power to crest the 95dB+ point." It's actually pretty easy to calculate exactly how much amp power these speakers will require to reach 95 dB. The answer is 6.3 watts. I don't think your receiver was clipping. A sensitivity of 87 dB is pretty common for a speaker of this size.
Amplifier power
written by Tyler Stripko , May 01, 2009 Jan, The Excite line was developed for use with "lower priced amplification," i.e. A/V receivers and smaller integrated amps. As such, sensitivity and current draw (as well as things like phase angle) come into play. With the Excites being a 4ohm speaker, this automatically places a higher current draw on a amp. As Secrets' benchtesting of some recent receivers has shown, some of these units have some real problems with 4ohm loads. While 87db sensitivity is not "low," it is still on the low side and puts further stress on an amp. As for the wattage figures, I'm not exactly sure how you are reaching the 6.3 watt figure, but it sounds like you are using a calcuation with the SPL mike about 2 feet (or less) from the speaker (that's some serious near-field listening:) ) All of my measurements were taken at my listening postion, which was roughly 4 meters from the speakers. A great source for information on required power can be found here: http://www.crownaudio.com/amp_htm/amp_info/how_much_power.htm As well as Crown's handy little calculator for figuring out how much power you really need. I used this for years for DJ'ing gigs and found it to be remarkably accurate: http://www.crownaudio.com/apps_htm/designtools/elect-pwr-req.htm If you plug in 4 meters (my measured listening distance), with 95dB of desired output at the listening position, and an 87dB efficiency, you see that 201 watts of power are required. Mind you, this is with only 3dB of "headroom," which is pretty conservative for a music/home theater system. The Marantz SR6003 puts out about 100 watts at 8ohms, so 4 ohm output into only 2 channels is most likely somewhere between 140-170 watts (we didn't bench test the amp section so this is strictly an educated guess on my part). I could start to hear some harshness creeping into the sound starting at about 93-94dB, which fits in perfectly with the 201 watts (for 95dB) calculated above, as the SR6003 was driven steadily towards clipping. Write comment
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