Upgrade - LS50 to Dynaudio Special 40?

[iFi audio]

Right out of the box, the Heritage Special’s low and highs sounded separate, not cohesive. This soon resolved, and the highs and lows became more cohesive as I continued to play it. I hope to have 100 hours of break-in before I seriously judge the sound. Here are some initial impressions.

In the first day of listening, it was clear the sound was fuller and had more resolution than the LS50s. Bass is noticeably deeper as expected, due to the larger woofers, but not as controlled and tight as I want it. It didn’t sound that impressive yet.

Second day I notice the sound was more engaging. The tone was very nice, realistic, and natural. Classical music, which I cannot get excited about with the LS50s, held my attention and engaged me more with the HS. I found myself stepping into the music and noticing the pauses, the texture, and the details of the instruments that I never noticed or enjoyed before. Strings like violin and cello music are very enjoyable. I think the HS provides that fullness and bass depth that was missing from the LS50s. The soundstage does not appear as wide as I would like. It’s confined to the edge of the speakers. Within this space the soundstage is nicely laid out. I find the positional accuracy of sounds is better than the LS50s. There is an effortlessness to how sound is produced with the HS. I find it needs more power. Low level listening is not good with the Naim Nait 5si. I had to turn the volume to at least 9am position before the HS sounded good. I will upgrade the 5si, but not sure what I want yet.

I am now on my third day with it, so I need more time to listen. Will wait until I get home from work this afternoon.

Here’s a picture of the HS.

View attachment 1726862

Very nice score! Fun fact: these not only look vintage but are also tuned this way. They use a first-order crossover, which gives you an excellent phase response.
they should be very holographic when they are burnt in.

 

[Helix Hifi]

Right out of the box, the Heritage Special’s low and highs sounded separate, not cohesive. This soon resolved, and the highs and lows became more cohesive as I continued to play it. I hope to have 100 hours of break-in before I seriously judge the sound. Here are some initial impressions.

In the first day of listening, it was clear the sound was fuller and had more resolution than the LS50s. Bass is noticeably deeper as expected, due to the larger woofers, but not as controlled and tight as I want it. It didn’t sound that impressive yet.

Second day I notice the sound was more engaging. The tone was very nice, realistic, and natural. Classical music, which I cannot get excited about with the LS50s, held my attention and engaged me more with the HS. I found myself stepping into the music and noticing the pauses, the texture, and the details of the instruments that I never noticed or enjoyed before. Strings like violin and cello music are very enjoyable. I think the HS provides that fullness and bass depth that was missing from the LS50s. The soundstage does not appear as wide as I would like. It’s confined to the edge of the speakers. Within this space the soundstage is nicely laid out. I find the positional accuracy of sounds is better than the LS50s. There is an effortlessness to how sound is produced with the HS. I find it needs more power. Low level listening is not good with the Naim Nait 5si. I had to turn the volume to at least 9am position before the HS sounded good. I will upgrade the 5si, but not sure what I want yet.

I am now on my third day with it, so I need more time to listen. Will wait until I get home from work this afternoon.

Here’s a picture of the HS.

View attachment 1726862

Really nice. 86 dB speakers need quality current. From my understanding you have Naim amplifier, it might be they need more break in. I sincerely believe all speakers benefit from break in, give them 50 hours then see. What speaker stands do you use?

 

[Helix Hifi]

I’ve always liked Dynaudio. Really romantic, dynamic sounding speakers. Better then Dali in some areas.

 

[Helix Hifi]

Not surprised you miss the imaging the KEF speakers have, simply because of the coaxial design.

However I like narrower soundstage. I find it less intrusive in the long run. Many speakers have excellent imaging, but sometimes it’s just too much.

Narrow soundstage-better sweet spot.

 

[DT79]

Right out of the box, the Heritage Special’s low and highs sounded separate, not cohesive. This soon resolved, and the highs and lows became more cohesive as I continued to play it. I hope to have 100 hours of break-in before I seriously judge the sound. Here are some initial impressions.

In the first day of listening, it was clear the sound was fuller and had more resolution than the LS50s. Bass is noticeably deeper as expected, due to the larger woofers, but not as controlled and tight as I want it. It didn’t sound that impressive yet.

Second day I notice the sound was more engaging. The tone was very nice, realistic, and natural. Classical music, which I cannot get excited about with the LS50s, held my attention and engaged me more with the HS. I found myself stepping into the music and noticing the pauses, the texture, and the details of the instruments that I never noticed or enjoyed before. Strings like violin and cello music are very enjoyable. I think the HS provides that fullness and bass depth that was missing from the LS50s. The soundstage does not appear as wide as I would like. It’s confined to the edge of the speakers. Within this space the soundstage is nicely laid out. I find the positional accuracy of sounds is better than the LS50s. There is an effortlessness to how sound is produced with the HS. I find it needs more power. Low level listening is not good with the Naim Nait 5si. I had to turn the volume to at least 9am position before the HS sounded good. I will upgrade the 5si, but not sure what I want yet.

I am now on my third day with it, so I need more time to listen. Will wait until I get home from work this afternoon.

Here’s a picture of the HS.

View attachment 1726862

Lovely. I’d love to know how these compare to S40s.

One thing I found with my S40s is that the soundstage narrows and is laterally constrained to between the speakers if they are toed in too much, so If you have done what I did and just set them up toed in quite heavily because that’s how the old ones worked best, then I’d try toeing them out slightly.

Initially I had mine so that they were pretty much ‘face on’ to the MLP (i.e. I couldn’t see the sides at all from where I sit). Now I’ve got them toed in only a little such a that i can see a sliver of the inside sides (if that makes sense), and the soundstage is much wider and airier, extending beyond the sides of the speakers but without any detriment to the solidity of the image between them.

It could always be that they need a little running in too.