Dynaudio Excite X14 loudspeaker Associated Components

Sidebar 2: Associated Components

Analog Sources: VPI TNT IV, Rega Planar 3 turntables; Immedia, Syrinx PU-3 tonearms; Koetsu Urushi, Clearaudio Virtuoso Wood cartridges.
Digital Sources: Lector CDP-7T, Creek Destiny CD players.
Preamplification: Vendetta Research SCP-2D phono stage, Audio Valve Eclipse line stage.
Power Amplifier: Audio Research Reference 75.
Loudspeakers: Dynaudio Excite X12, Epos Elan 10.
Cables: Interconnect (all MIT): Magnum M3, MI-350 CVTwin Terminator, MI-330SG Terminator. Speaker: Accent Speaker Technology Blue Thunder. AC: manufacturers' own.
Accessories: Various by ASC, Bright Star, Celestion, Echo Busters, Salamander Designs, Simply Physics, Sound Anchor, VPI.—Robert J. Reina

COMPANY INFO
Dynaudio A/S
US distributor: Dynaudio North America
1852 Elmdale Avenue
Glenview, IL 60026
(847) 730-3280
ARTICLE CONTENTS

COMMENTS
Anon2's picture

This product looks interesting, as does the Stereophile-endorsed Focus 160. Any thoughts on what some minimal amplification/digital requirements might be for this speaker -vs- the Focus 160?

This comment section holds a lot of promise to be a good forum to exchange pre-purchase advice. This is especially true since dealer visits have become less tenable due to time constraints, and less comfortable since the economy has headed south.

I'm just waiting for the day when Dynaudio relents and puts the Focus series on e-commerce; the DM series is already there, as is all of KEF's products. I'm sure B&W probably gets regular calls from e-commerce sites. How long until they relent? Once this happens, then we'll have regular comments and testimonials from actual users, versus the decreasing amount of knowledge obtained from increasingly tense and rare dealer visits.

Any thoughts on the Excite X14 -vs- Focus 160 would be good. We "can trust our ears" in the end, but advice before we spend the entire Saturday driving to the dealer would be good (for us and the dealer). Even in large cities, dealer visits aren't what they used to be. Let us hope that the comments section in Stereophile can help.

DarkStar_64's picture

I'm sure the Epos are very nice, but I would like to see, or hear rather, how the Excite 14's stack up against the Stereophile Class A rated KEF LS50' s. The KEF' s have the same price point as many, many other stand mounts, and Stereophile has tested quite a few stand mounts since the LS50' s debut, but have yet to use them as a comparison model. Are the KEF LS50' s so good that they would simply blow away the competition?

Xyriut's picture

The LS50 has excellent mids, but weak lower mids/upper bass. They do vocal well, but not rock, r&b, or even country. This is in a well treated room, and proper placement (the most optimal for what the LS50s could reproduce).

On the flip side, the cheaper KEFs don't do bass or mids very well because it seems their emphasis is on bass (ie: Q300).

The Polk mentioned below would fare better against both KEFs, IMHO of course.

Casmar's picture

I had the KEFs in my room for a month, so I could compare them with the Spendor LS3 5a, and the Dynaudio excite X14. Well, the KEF reproduce voice very well, not as well as the LS3 5a, but a bit better than the Dynaudio. Between the KEFs and the Spendors, I preferred the latter in my smallish room. But overall the Dynaudios were by far the best reproducers of a vast range of music. They can reproduce piano quite well, while the KEFs distorted heavily. By now, I tend to read a lot bewtween the lines when reading product reviews. Needless to say I returned the KEFs.

slowpoke's picture

How would you say that these compare to the Polk Audio RTI A1? Very similar types of bookshelf speakers, and I'm having a hard time deciding.

MacProCT's picture

Every year, we at the Connecticut Audio Society have a speaker shoot-out of 'monitor' speakers (although occasionally some small floor standers sneak into the competition).

During our 2015 blind speaker comparison (speakers hidden behind speaker grille cloth, level matched with white noise) we had 8 speakers in the running, including the Dynaudio Excite XC 14. Our listening panel of approximately 25 members, ranked the XC 14 below the average for this collection of speakers.

That collection included two speakers that ranked highest: KEF LS-50 (which is at the same price point) and Dynaudio Confidence 1 (which is much more expensive).

Another interesting point is that, in studying the members rankings of the speakers (on 1 to 10 scale), the XC 14 was among the speakers to have the widest range of rankings on their performance. That means that there was no consensus among our members on this speaker. Unlike the LS 50, which earned a very close grouping of member opinions -- indicating much more of a consensus of opinion.

Chris Hart
VP & Secretary, Connecticut Audio Society
Where Connecticut's Music and Hi-Fi Enthusiasts Connect
http://www.ctaudio.org

Xyriut's picture

Otherwise, perhaps you'd make the results of these meetings available...

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