Dynaudio subwoofers
 

Figured I'd make a thread dedicated to Dyn subs.

Thing is, Dyn subs don't seem very common/popular, so it's hard to find comments or reviews about them. My impression that I've gleaned from the little comments I've found about the previous models (250, 500 and such) is that they're pretty good, but not necessarily the best for the money. Then again I often see something like JL F112 suggested instead of the top Dyn subs, even though you can actually almost get two new SUB 600 units for the price of one F112? :eek:

Regardless of absolute price vs performance, I just have this inexplicable draw towards Dyn subs. One thing is of course that they are, in fact, Dyns :D Another is that I like their simple design, while some other brands are not to my liking on that department.

I guess at some point it'd be my wish to get a sexy-looking Walnut SUB 600 to match my Walnut C1s and to round out the frequency response range. But the price of 2000 euros puts it out of my reach for the moment. A SUB 250 MC could also be nice for my secondary system, though it lacks the exterior finish options of the more expensive 250 variants (apparently the only differences being the finish options and "lesser" amplifier section, but the price is around 45% lower!). Now if I could only actually decide on the final speaker setup of the secondary system...! :sigh:

Oh, and a "fun" fact - I was originally about to buy a rosewood SUB 250 to go with my rosewood Audience 42s, but then I went insane in the membrane and bought the C1s instead!

Anyway, without further ado, what are other people's experiences and opinions about Dyn subs?

Oh, one thing I forgot to bring up... a downside with the Dyn subs is the lack of selectable input. What I mean is that it has an LFE input as well as a full-range input. If you'd have both connected, you couldn't select which one to use.

For example, I now use my C1s with the Puccini for stereo listening, and with an Onkyo TX-SR308 for surround use. If I were to connect my USB DAC to the subwoofer, and then then run the signal from the sub to the Puccini, and also have the sub connected to the Onkyo at the same time... what would happen if both amps were sending a signal at the same time? Would something break, or would the sub choose one signal to output, or...? Questions, questions.

Obviously, this problem could be bypassed by disconnecting either the LFE or full-range cables, but compared to the competition, like REL subs, it's basically an extra unnecessary step.

I have also always wondered about the Dyn subs. I never see them used, don't know anyone who owns one either. I don't see why they wouldn't be as top notch as the rest of the speakers they make.

As far as using one sub with two systems, I do that but maybe not the best way. At first I was constantly climbing behind the system and swapping the sub cable. But then I found my old Archer A/V Switchbox I used 25 years ago to couple a VHS, Betamax, Stereo and TV together back when there was no other way. I hooked up the switchbox and placed it on top of one of my amps so I can just flip a switch and use it as 2.1 or with the HT doing 5.1.

With my Dynaudios, I rareley use the sub in 2ch but when I swap in my Clearfields I do use it.

My Sub20A filled in the lower notes quite nicely with my 52SE. I got that setup NIB (sub, speakers, stands) for $2000.

I've heard nothing but great things about the Dyn subs. I know that Tyler Mueller and Brad Bossman have used them very effectively in their customers' applications and setups.
Tyler says the Dyn sub is one of the few subs, along with REL (and I presume JL), that are fast enough to keep up with Dynaudio's loudspeaker drivers, which are amongst the fastest dynamic drivers on the market.

The Dyn subs didn't meet my needs because I use the same sub for 2-channel and home theatre on my REL; I use the Speakon cable from my stereo amp and an interconnect for the 0.1 LFE channel from my Arcam AVR. The REL lets me set a different crossover point for each.

Sweet.

I wouldn't mind finding a pair of 52SEs for L/R Fronts for home theatre use.

Yup, that's indeed an unfortunate downside. For me as stated they'd be paired with the same speakers and use the same crossover point, but at least at this time, two different amplifiers.

I'm not sure if later down the line I'll just migrate to a single amplifier for simplicity's sake. That amp would then need to be a more powerful surround amplifier, or alternatively a pre/pro and power amps. But my problem with these options is the usually bad energy efficiency (even just a pre/pro gulps nearly twice as many watts than my current all-in-one surround amp). I could just go stereo-only I guess, but I'd rather keep the surround option... besides, surround lets me keep more speakers "on display" :music:

I have a Dynaudio Sub 500 for the home theater system, which otherwise consists of a 7 channel Arcam AVR driving Dynaudio Audience speakers. The Sub 500 is really quite an awesome beast, and sounds terrific. I have measured 110 db at 1 meter coming off it while playing the opening of LOTR The Two Towers (where they recap Gandolf battling the Malrog) and it was barely breaking a sweat.

My two-channel music system is in a different room; in fact, a different floor. At one point I tried using the Sub500 (and it is not easy to carry it up a flight of steps) with the two channel system. Try as I might I just couldn't get it to integrate properly. I used the line level input and no matter how I tried different settings I just couldn't keep it from pumping like mad. Not that my plan was to take it out of the HT system anyway.

I ended up getting a REL for the music system. It has a high level input that connects to the amp's speaker outputs and is much easier to integrate for music. The Sub500 only has LFE and line level inputs. What I also don't like about the Sub500 is that all adjustments are done with the tiny remote it comes with. I like having the remote for adjusting from the listening position. I wish the REL had that. However, you can never visually see where settings are relative to what they have been before, and if you lose the remote you are screwed and can't adjust anything (I already lost it once, and had to unplug the Sub until I could find it).

Yeah, I can imagine a remote-only settings system could be problematic. It seems the SUB 600 only has backpanel settings, and no remote, same as the SUB 250. I suppose having both would be nice.

When I was supposed to buy the SUB 250 instead of the C1s, I also looked at REL subs too. For the amount of settings and connections they surely are better, but... I'd like something that has at least somewhat similar looks compared to my speakers. Also, even the REL R-528, closest contender to the SUB 600 in price, doesn't match the 600's frequency response. The C1s already go low, to 30 Hz... so if I were to buy a new, "proper" subwoofer, it has to go low. Maybe I'm just picky but -6dB @ 21Hz in-room response isn't that great from a sub that costs 1690 euros. Sure, it'd probably handle the lower end much more effortlessly than the C1 currently does, but it's not like I feel the C1 is straining itself. And if just for a bit more I can get a sub that goes to 18 Hz @ -3dB? The latter just seems to make more sense, despite the lack of connection options.

I do suppose a REL with speaker-level inputs might be an easier match for my secondary system though. Then again if I go back to surround for said system, even my current sub (only has 1x RCA input) would do for now. But who knows in the long run, I'm so indecisive about these things, especially what with the nonexistent budget and all, not to mention my OCD with at least reasonably matching speaker sets look-wise. I hate being bothered by such things, because it makes utilizing my A42s hard given I have no matching pair for them, nor a matching pair for the C1s either. Bah! My only matching surround speaker set now is the two black PSB Alpha B1 pairs, which would then need a black sub to go with them (given they'd be with my computer which is black too, accessories and all!), something my current sub isn't ;) Add a Walnut SUB 600 and Walnut Focus 160s for the C1 set and it'd be done, except then the A42s would be orphaned, an idea which I'm not fond of ;) Color OCD for the suck!

Years ago I bought a “B” stock Sub 250, for use with my Special 25s when watching movies. The synergy with the Dyns was fantastic, and it did a great job with cannon fire (think Master& Commander) and such. But I found unless I was playing classical music with a full orchestra it wasn’t really necessary. I still have it, and may bring it out again, but this time I’ll pair it up with my Marten Dukes. Like the S25s, I just can’t seem to part with it.