Dynaudio S1.4

[lordemsworth]

Hello all,

I thought I would attempt to elicit opinions on the aforementioned.

I would like to save for the C1s, but with a new baby, it will take some time.

My system consists of a Logitech Squeezebox Touch, Meridian 568 DAC, Audio Research VSI55.

I was running a pair of Cremona Auditors - and man, was I ever happy to own a pair of Sonus Faber! Beautiful boxes that made beautiful music.

Over the last few weeks as I played more and more music, I noticed the treble became a little loose on female vocal (jazz), operatic sopranos, and some orchestral timpani.

Some discs sounded wonderful, and some discs (a very specific set) didn't.

I used to own a pair of Proac 1SCs - never had that problem. I guess the Cremona Auditor (not M) were too revealing in my system. Not sure.

I'm considering a pair of Dynaudio S1.4s.
Any thoughts? Would this be considered a step down? I know that Audio is a funny place. What something costs is not reflective of capability.

Last point - does anyone know if they will be updated this year? I haven't been able to find anything from anywhere.

Thoughts appreciated.

Sincerely,

Lord Emsworth,
Blandings Castle

[lordemsworth]

Does anyone have any thoughts on the S1.4s that they would like to share? Good speakers? Better to save for the C1s? Save a few dollars and grab the Focus 160s instead?

I really thought the Cremona Auditors would be my grail speakers. It was a little disappointing that I ended up selling them in six months.

I primarily listen to the entire gamut of music:
Classical - single instrument sonatas, chamber, piano/violin concertos, symphonic
Modern - 50s through current: rock, alternative, hip hop,
Soundtracks - movies in the last 50 years
Opera - solo recitals to full operas'
Jazz - vocals to trios

My home is absolutely Country Music Free!

I don't like to listen to music very loudly - but do get caught up in the moment.

I was watching an episode of Elementary with my wife (no judging, please). Lucy Liu (Watson) walks in the Holmes character and he is awash in the music of Beethoven's 9th symphony - Ode to Joy.

My wife looks over at me and says, 'That's you. And you're both crazy'.

[harri009]

The S1.4's were the first audiophile grade speaker that I ever heard, years ago, at that time I loved them and thought them to be the holy grail. I purchased a set last year after owning quite a few "audiophile" caliber speakers. The sound was not as I had remembered and they were sold 2 weeks later. I personally am going back to Magnepan 3.7's which I feel are the best speakers for my genre of music, classical, jazz, blues, vocalist. I would suggest going with 3.6's or 3.7's myself.

[lordemsworth]

Yes - I've heard that once some go electrostatics, it is very hard to come back to box speakers.

Lost of stuff comes into play - our own tastes can change, our electronics at the time, etc.

Very much appreciate the input.

[EightZeroZeroDelta]

Very happy with my 160's. They hit heavier than most monitors. The C1's will give you the famous Dyn tweeter that is better than the 160's but for a premium. You will need a high current amp (stable down to 2 ohms) to properly drive any Dyns, especially their smaller box monitors.

[Puma Cat]

Originally Posted by lordemsworth

Hello all,

I thought I would attempt to elicit opinions on the aforementioned.

I would like to save for the C1s, but with a new baby, it will take some time.

My system consists of a Logitech Squeezebox Touch, Meridian 568 DAC, Audio Research VSI55.

I was running a pair of Cremona Auditors - and man, was I ever happy to own a pair of Sonus Faber! Beautiful boxes that made beautiful music.

Over the last few weeks as I played more and more music, I noticed the treble became a little loose on female vocal (jazz), operatic sopranos, and some orchestral timpani.

Some discs sounded wonderful, and some discs (a very specific set) didn't.

I used to own a pair of Proac 1SCs - never had that problem. I guess the Cremona Auditor (not M) were too revealing in my system. Not sure.

I'm considering a pair of Dynaudio S1.4s.
Any thoughts? Would this be considered a step down? I know that Audio is a funny place. What something costs is not reflective of capability.

Last point - does anyone know if they will be updated this year? I haven't been able to find anything from anywhere.

Thoughts appreciated.

Sincerely,

Lord Emsworth,
Blandings Castle

I'm a long-time Dynaudio Contour owner, so maybe I can help provide some useful perspective here (I have the Contour 3.4 floorstanders).

The S1.4 is a very fine two-way standmount, and arguably the best-made and performing standmount in it's price class. You will it's performance to be very neutral, but musical and not at all analytical AFTER you have fully run it in with 300 hours of play if you buy it new. It is superior in performance to the Focus 140/160 standmounts, though not by much for the latter. The S1.4 probably has better bass extension and has a superior cabinet and baffle construction. It will surprise you with it's bass extension and would provide full range performance when paired with a sub that's fast enough to keep up with it (Dyns are exceptionally fast dynamic driver speakers, on par with electrostatics). You will also find the S1.4 to have a very integrated "whole-cloth" presentation. It will not be as good performing as the Confidence C1, which has a superior tweeter (one of the best soft-dome tweeters made by anyone, the Esotar), even more bass extension, and more forceful dynamics. But the C1 is considerably more expensive than the S1.4.

Either way, you can't wrong with either, it all depends on your budget. If cost were no object, the Confidence C1 II is one of the finest standmounts made by anyone at any price, so that's your reference.

[Puma Cat]

Originally Posted by harri009

The S1.4's were the first audiophile grade speaker that I ever heard, years ago, at that time I loved them and thought them to be the holy grail. I purchased a set last year after owning quite a few "audiophile" caliber speakers. The sound was not as I had remembered and they were sold 2 weeks later. I personally am going back to Magnepan 3.7's which I feel are the best speakers for my genre of music, classical, jazz, blues, vocalist. I would suggest going with 3.6's or 3.7's myself.

If you purchased your S1.4s new last year, and only kept them two weeks, then they did not receive sufficient run-in time for you to get an accurate representation of their performance, which is why the sound was not as you remember if the ones did originally hear were fully run in. All new Dyns need a solid 300 hours of run in time to come on song and break in. And that's a very accurate figure, 300 hours, not 200 or 250 hours. At 300 hours they come on like flipping a switch; 300 hours of run-in equates to 100 days if you listen 3 hours a day, or 50 days if you listen 6 hours a day.

More importantly, all Dyns go through a period of not sounding very good at all around 75-200 hours. Ironically, many people sell them at this point rather than giving them the time they need to run in fully and never actually hear what their speakers are truly capable of.

[lordemsworth]

Pumacat - thank you for the insight.

It's funny - I've been reading Soundstage for 15-16 years. Their reviews are always very good, and you can tell all the writers are really into the hobby.

SoundStage! Equipment Review - Dynaudio Contour S1.4 Loudspeakers (11/2004)

I've pasted the review of the S1.4s, and it seems that the author just wasn't able to give the speakers enough time to break-in before his review needed to be complete.

[Puma Cat]

Originally Posted by lordemsworth

Pumacat - thank you for the insight.

It's funny - I've been reading Soundstage for 15-16 years. Their reviews are always very good, and you can tell all the writers are really into the hobby.

SoundStage! Equipment Review - Dynaudio Contour S1.4 Loudspeakers (11/2004)

I've pasted the review of the S1.4s, and it seems that the author just wasn't able to give the speakers enough time to break-in before his review needed to be complete.

it's not at all uncommon, Lord Hemsworth. In fact, the Dynaudio NA customer service rep, Mick Tillman (a personal friend) says that it is very common for customers to return their Dyns at the "not-sounding so good phase" because they are convinced the speakers will never improve....they can't comprehend that a speaker that sounds bad can actually improve to be sublime...he cautions them specifically to hang in there and just give it time.

Unfortunately, it's really hard for some folks to do that.

Personally, after having burned in multiple Conrad-Johnson teflon-cap components, 300 hours seems like a piece of cake...

[harri009]

Originally Posted by Puma Cat

If you purchased your S1.4s new last year, and only kept them two weeks, then they did not receive sufficient run-in time for you to get an accurate representation of their performance, which is why the sound was not as you remember if the ones did originally hear were fully run in. All new Dyns need a solid 300 hours of run in time to come on song and break in. And that's a very accurate figure, 300 hours, not 200 or 250 hours. At 300 hours they come on like flipping a switch; 300 hours of run-in equates to 100 days if you listen 3 hours a day, or 50 days if you listen 6 hours a day.

More importantly, all Dyns go through a period of not sounding very good at all around 75-200 hours. Ironically, many people sell them at this point rather than giving them the time they need to run in fully and never actually hear what their speakers are truly capable of.

They were used, while this does not guarantee that they had 300 hours on them they had been used. The main thing i didn't like about them was the dark character of Dynaudio. The reason they didn't sound like i had remembered was because I had build up Dynaudio in my mind for years and once I had the opportunity to own for the right price I jumped on them, only to realize I had already surpassed . IMHO