The active speakers club

[Andrewjvt]

How does everybody find the bass on actives?

Without a sub. The only ones I've heard are dynaudio xeo, which sounded incredible on the clarity front, but didn't have the same bass as my dynaudio passives........

Which Xeo did you hear? The tiny entry level desktop Xeo 2, the small stand mount Xeo 4, or the larger floorstanding Xeo 6?

There's deeper and well controlled bass on the more expensive Focus XD range, but those are much more expensive.

I've heard the KEF LS50W's and bass seemed OK on them, for such a small enclosure. Some say that the bass is more tightly controlled and has more punch than on the passive version.

z

At this one. I have heard and played with most of the speakers mentioned above, the XEO 4 and 6 I found a bit underwhelming, particularly when you consider the price. The XEO2 is a bit betwixt and between, £1200 for a pair of bluetooth speakers is fair enough but the pro models, the Lyd 5 or Lyd 7 are cheaper and better. Match with a WXC 50 for a very affordable setup.

The Focus XD models are excellent, but at a cost. £4k for the entry level standmount, you have to really buy into the whole 'wireless' thing to makw that worthwhile, nice though.

Generally speaking, I find active speakers are tighter and more controlled in the bass than passive equivilents, this might sound bass light as a layer of overhang or 'bloom' is often missing but when some real bass comes along I find actives to be superior both in terms of bass clarity and punch.

In sound quality terms only how are the lyd range better?

 

[davedotco]

How does everybody find the bass on actives?

Without a sub. The only ones I've heard are dynaudio xeo, which sounded incredible on the clarity front, but didn't have the same bass as my dynaudio passives........

Which Xeo did you hear? The tiny entry level desktop Xeo 2, the small stand mount Xeo 4, or the larger floorstanding Xeo 6?

There's deeper and well controlled bass on the more expensive Focus XD range, but those are much more expensive.

I've heard the KEF LS50W's and bass seemed OK on them, for such a small enclosure. Some say that the bass is more tightly controlled and has more punch than on the passive version.

z

At this one. I have heard and played with most of the speakers mentioned above, the XEO 4 and 6 I found a bit underwhelming, particularly when you consider the price. The XEO2 is a bit betwixt and between, £1200 for a pair of bluetooth speakers is fair enough but the pro models, the Lyd 5 or Lyd 7 are cheaper and better. Match with a WXC 50 for a very affordable setup.

The Focus XD models are excellent, but at a cost. £4k for the entry level standmount, you have to really buy into the whole 'wireless' thing to makw that worthwhile, nice though.

Generally speaking, I find active speakers are tighter and more controlled in the bass than passive equivilents, this might sound bass light as a layer of overhang or 'bloom' is often missing but when some real bass comes along I find actives to be superior both in terms of bass clarity and punch.

In sound quality terms only how are the lyd range better?

I know this is not what you asked, but technically the Lyd are more advanced than the Xeo and without the wireless technology, much better value in my view.

Subjective sound quality is always more difficult to evaluate, I find the Lyds have a more forthright quality with a very 'see through' clarity that I feel elevates them above the Xeos by a fair margin. In this respect I think they are closer to the Focus XD stand mount at a fraction of the price.

As I say many times, they will sound different from comparably priced passive setups, leaner, cleaner and more engaging to me might be forward and lacking in warmth to some one else.

On a very personal level, having made the move to actives over the last 2-3 years, I now find most affordable passive setups to be over warm (bloated sometimes) and lacking in clarity, I can't see me switching back anytime soon.

 

[MUSICRAFT]

Just because something is technically better, it doesn't mean that everyone is going to like it. Kii Threes are an example - there's many split opinions across forums as to people liking/not liking what they do. But we all listen for different things. I saw one mention of the Kii Threes where the guy said they had "no height" above the speaker itself - others wouldn't notice that, so it's down to what you listen out for, the how the drawbacks of any speaker may or may not intrude on what you listen for (and all speakers will have some drawbacks).

I see the Kii Three’s monitors are getting to you *biggrin*

Perhaps (as an example of course) you should highlight the performance drawbacks of the active speakers you supply.

As we also support Dutch & Dutch Audio I wonder if their Studio 8c monitors are next on the agenda *smile*

I was just making an observation based on what I've seen on forums and heard at the Indulgence Show. I've heard them a few times now and like them, but I'm always wary of making my own views known before I get to hear them properly for myself in my own environment.

As I say, all speakers have shortcomings, but what's the point in mentioning them if most of them aren't noticed by the average user? We all evaluate speakers (or anything else) on our own requirements - if one of those requirements is one of a speaker's shortcomings, then we won't like them.

Oh well I suppose you at least tried *biggrin*

 

[Andrewjvt]

How does everybody find the bass on actives?

Without a sub. The only ones I've heard are dynaudio xeo, which sounded incredible on the clarity front, but didn't have the same bass as my dynaudio passives........

Which Xeo did you hear? The tiny entry level desktop Xeo 2, the small stand mount Xeo 4, or the larger floorstanding Xeo 6?

There's deeper and well controlled bass on the more expensive Focus XD range, but those are much more expensive.

I've heard the KEF LS50W's and bass seemed OK on them, for such a small enclosure. Some say that the bass is more tightly controlled and has more punch than on the passive version.

z

At this one. I have heard and played with most of the speakers mentioned above, the XEO 4 and 6 I found a bit underwhelming, particularly when you consider the price. The XEO2 is a bit betwixt and between, £1200 for a pair of bluetooth speakers is fair enough but the pro models, the Lyd 5 or Lyd 7 are cheaper and better. Match with a WXC 50 for a very affordable setup.

The Focus XD models are excellent, but at a cost. £4k for the entry level standmount, you have to really buy into the whole 'wireless' thing to makw that worthwhile, nice though.

Generally speaking, I find active speakers are tighter and more controlled in the bass than passive equivilents, this might sound bass light as a layer of overhang or 'bloom' is often missing but when some real bass comes along I find actives to be superior both in terms of bass clarity and punch.

In sound quality terms only how are the lyd range better?

I know this is not what you asked, but technically the Lyd are more advanced than the Xeo and without the wireless technology, much better value in my view.

Subjective sound quality is always more difficult to evaluate, I find the Lyds have a more forthright quality with a very 'see through' clarity that I feel elevates them above the Xeos by a fair margin. In this respect I think they are closer to the Focus XD stand mount at a fraction of the price.

As I say many times, they will sound different from comparably priced passive setups, leaner, cleaner and more engaging to me might be forward and lacking in warmth to some one else. 

On a very personal level, having made the move to actives over the last 2-3 years, I now find most affordable passive setups to be over warm (bloated sometimes) and lacking in clarity, I can't see me switching back anytime soon.

Do they have enough power in your opinion?
I'm interested in having a listen (and the jbl708p)
I'm using JBL lsr 305 ATM

 

[Andrewjvt]

Just because something is technically better, it doesn't mean that everyone is going to like it. Kii Threes are an example - there's many split opinions across forums as to people liking/not liking what they do. But we all listen for different things. I saw one mention of the Kii Threes where the guy said they had "no height" above the speaker itself - others wouldn't notice that, so it's down to what you listen out for, the how the drawbacks of any speaker may or may not intrude on what you listen for (and all speakers will have some drawbacks).

I see the Kii Three’s monitors are getting to you *biggrin* 

Perhaps (as an example of course) you should highlight the performance drawbacks of the active speakers you supply. 

As we also support Dutch & Dutch Audio I wonder if their Studio 8c monitors are next on the agenda *smile*

I was just making an observation based on what I've seen on forums and heard at the Indulgence Show. I've heard them a few times now and like them, but I'm always wary of making my own views known before I get to hear them properly for myself in my own environment.

As I say, all speakers have shortcomings, but what's the point in mentioning them if most of them aren't noticed by the average user? We all evaluate speakers (or anything else) on our own requirements - if one of those requirements is one of a speaker's shortcomings, then we won't like them.

Oh well I suppose you at least tried *biggrin*

You were so busy trying to be nasty to David that you forgot to throw in an advert.

 

[davedotco]

I have only heard them 'instore' at levels that were pretty loud by hi-fi standards, I was under no doubt that even the smallest model would go loud enough for my needs but then I do not play as loud as I used to.

I still play at reasonable volumes on occasion and the important thing is that there is no change in sound quality as the volume increases but that said, I do not think they are the loudest for the money.

I think this may hamper them somewhat in the pro market though I am not privy to their sales figures. For hi-fi use I think they are great, the bass adjustment is a real help with regard to positioning and the 'Tilt' control is more effective than you might expect. The 3 models cost between £750 and £1200 and give real choice without having to spend a lot extra.

 

[stereoman]

On a very personal level, having made the move to actives over the last 2-3 years, I now find most affordable passive setups to be over warm (bloated sometimes) and lacking in clarity, I can't see me switching back anytime soon.

This is exactly what I thought what the difference between active and passive could be. I wonder now whether I really made mistake going for several passive speakers before, only to sell them further on. I'll try to go for actives next time ( although won't give up on good passive speakers ).

 

[Andrewjvt]

 

On a very personal level, having made the move to actives over the last 2-3 years, I now find most affordable passive setups to be over warm (bloated sometimes) and lacking in clarity, I can't see me switching back anytime soon.

This is exactly what I thought what the difference between active and passive could be. I wonder now whether I really made mistake going for several passive speakers before, only to sell them further on. I'll try to go for actives next time ( although won't give up on good passive speakers ).

A good active speaker can give you a sound quality level at much cheaper price point than a passive set up.

And even then the passive setup has limitations due to the passive crossover that the amp struggles to overcome.
Passive set ups are not very efficient.
That said a good passive set up can be equally enjoyable but once you are used to the controlled sound and non distorted clean sound it's hard to go back like people say.

 

[davedotco]

A lot of hi-fi is about this, you 'expect' certain things from certain system, you get used to hi-fi soundling like, well, hi-fi.

Anything that breaks that mold is treated with a degree of suspicion, class D amplifiers, the better ones anyway, have a crystaline transparency that I really love, yet others really don't seem to like them. Most conventional class a and class ab amplifiers have a familiar 'character' (or maybe range of characters) that enthusiasts expect, when they do not hear this, they think something is wrong.

Good actives are a bit like this, bass clarity and control is often superior but this manifests to some as a lack of (hi-fi) warmth, improved detail resolution in the midband is sometimes described as analytical, you get the idea.

Interestingly it has taken a highly regarded mainstream manufacturer to bring active speakers to the attention of many enthusiasts, yet they have done this with an unusual and deeply flawed design. As has been detailed elsewhere the functionality is poor in a number of areas, gapless playback, lack of Spotify and seemingly flakey software is, to my mind, unforgiveable at the price.

Like others, I would like to see a stripped down version, minus the streaming facilities, but I can see why that is not done, the speaker is heavily reliant on dsp, so digital inputs and analog to digital converters will need to be retained so savings will be minimal.

For any of you intregued by the LS50w but not willing to pay £2k for the pleasue, I strongly recommend you to look at the Equator D5, a small 5inch dual concentric that offers outstanding performance for a very modest £450. Add a WXC50, decent stands and a bit of time on setup and you have an outstanding setup for about £750-850.

https://www.soundonsound.com/reviews/equator-audio-d5

 

[davidf]

You were so busy trying to be nasty to David that you forgot to throw in an advert.

*ROFL*

 

[MUSICRAFT]

*ROFL*

Try as you might however I see the significance and the momentum of the Kii Three’s continues to ruffle your feathers *biggrin*

 

[Andrewjvt]

*ROFL*

Try as you might however I see the significance and the momentum of the Kii Three’s continues to ruffle your feathers *biggrin*

Fallen out of love with your Hegel and ATC have we?
Or are they not flavour of the month?

 

[radiorog]

Hi Dave, I appreciate your comment and I am sure you are mostly correct. I do have a reservation tho. You say the bass on actives is there, it is just tighter and less boom. However, I believe a lot of us strive for a system that sounds as close to the real experience of hearing the band playing live as we can get. When it comes to bass, this doesnt just have to be heard, it has to be felt. this is what live bass feel like, your body feels it, and it gives you excitemnt, and can seemingly be the driving force of the music.

Here is a great example. I was litening to this album the other night, and the bass in this track, is key the the listening experience, it is the reason why the crowd is cheering and going through a mild state of delerium! The track is Sorrow, on the new David Gilmore album https://play.google.com/music/m/Tl2yjn5alxnzkxrtc2vh4mnnjn4?t=Sorrow_Live_At_Pompeii_2016_-_David_Gilmour

The bass on this track goes right through and I can feel it in my toes, through my chest, and it is gutteral. I beleive this experience would have been impossible on the Xeos, which i cant remember if were the 2's or th 4's, I'll have to pop into shop again.

My point is, I dont feel perfectly tight and controlled bass through a standmount speaker can produce the music accurately. Bass need to be tight enough, controlled enough, but set free, rumbling when needed.

 

[steve_1979]

Hi Dave, I appreciate your comment and I am sure you are mostly correct. I do have a reservation tho. You say the bass on actives is there, it is just tighter and less boom. However, I believe a lot of us strive for a system that sounds as close to the real experience of hearing the band playing live as we can get. When it comes to bass, this doesnt just have to be heard, it has to be felt. this is what live bass feel like, your body feels it, and it gives you excitemnt, and can seemingly be the driving force of the music.

Here is a great example. I was litening to this album the other night, and the bass in this track, is key the the listening experience, it is the reason why the crowd is cheering and going through a mild state of delerium! The track is Sorrow, on the new David Gilmore album https://play.google.com/music/m/Tl2yjn5alxnzkxrtc2vh4mnnjn4?t=Sorrow_Live_At_Pompeii_2016_-_David_Gilmour

The bass on this track goes right through and I can feel it in my toes, through my chest, and it is gutteral. I beleive this experience would have been impossible on the Xeos, which i cant remember if were the 2's or th 4's, I'll have to pop into shop again.

My point is, I dont feel perfectly tight and controlled bass through a standmount speaker can produce the music accurately. Bass need to be tight enough, controlled enough, but set free, rumbling when needed.

Hi radiorog. I've just had a listen to that track (great song BTW) and I agree with youwhen you say that a small standmount speaker can produce the deepest bass notes accurately.

Listening through my AVI DM10 active speakers with the matching AVI 10" subwoofer it feels and sounds really weighty and guttural. With the subwoofer turned off it is definitely lacking the lowest octave or two in the bass. However I don't think that this is because the speakers are active. Even with similar sized 6.5" passive speakers they're not going to be able to produce the kind of deep heavy bass that a large floorstander or subwoofer can.

The problem that you describe is a size thing not an active vs passive thing. Active speakers (generally) have better controlled bass not less bass.

 

[stereoman]

On a very personal level, having made the move to actives over the last 2-3 years, I now find most affordable passive setups to be over warm (bloated sometimes) and lacking in clarity, I can't see me switching back anytime soon.

This is exactly what I thought what the difference between active and passive could be. I wonder now whether I really made mistake going for several passive speakers before, only to sell them further on. I'll try to go for actives next time ( although won't give up on good passive speakers ).

A good active speaker can give you a sound quality level at much cheaper price point than a passive set up.

And even then the passive setup has limitations due to the passive crossover that the amp struggles to overcome. Passive set ups are not very efficient. That said a good passive set up can be equally enjoyable but once you are used to the controlled sound and non distorted clean sound it's hard to go back like people say.

Exactly. I bit regret I did not turn to actives a long time ago when I should have done so...

 

[radiorog]

 Hi Dave, I appreciate your comment and I am sure you are mostly correct. I do have a reservation tho. You say the bass on actives is there, it is just tighter and less boom. However, I believe a lot of us strive for a system that sounds as close to the real experience of hearing the band playing live as we can get. When it comes to bass, this doesnt just have to be heard, it has to be felt. this is what live bass feel like, your body feels it, and it gives you excitemnt, and can seemingly be the driving force of the music.

 Here is a great example. I was litening to this album the other night, and the bass in this track, is key the the listening experience, it is the reason why the crowd is cheering and going through a mild state of delerium! The track is Sorrow, on the new David Gilmore album https://play.google.com/music/m/Tl2yjn5alxnzkxrtc2vh4mnnjn4?t=Sorrow_Live_At_Pompeii_2016_-_David_Gilmour

 

 The bass on this track goes right through and I can feel it in my toes, through my chest, and it is gutteral. I beleive this experience would have been impossible on the Xeos, which i cant remember if were the 2's or th 4's, I'll have to pop into shop again.

 My point is, I dont feel perfectly tight and controlled bass through a standmount speaker can produce the music accurately. Bass need to be tight enough, controlled enough, but set free, rumbling when needed.

Hi radiorog. I've just had a listen to that track (great song BTW) and I agree with youwhen you say that a small standmount speaker can produce the deepest bass notes accurately.

Listening through my AVI DM10 active speakers with the matching AVI 10" subwoofer it feels and sounds really weighty and guttural. With the subwoofer turned off it is definitely lacking the lowest octave or two in the bass. However I don't think that this is because the speakers are active. Even with similar sized 6.5" passive speakers they're not going to be able to produce the kind of deep heavy bass that a large floorstander or subwoofer can.

The problem that you describe is a size thing not an active vs passive thing. Active speakers (generally) have better controlled bass not less bass.

Hey Steve, cheers for reply. Yeah I'd be very interested to hear it on your set up. Recently found that hifi corner stock the dm10 so will have to pay a visit soon. I agree the size thing is very important, and a main issue, but I was sort of comparing my standpoints with the only actives I have heard, the dynaudio xeo (2or 4, not sure). And the actives jus sounded too boxy and limited to me. Very clear, but the bass I have in my standmounts didn't appear to be present. The bass on my speakers may not go as low as a sub, bit they go deep, and the bass sounds tuneful but also warm and resonant, as bass should, imo. I was thinking without that bass "feeling", the music simply isn't being recreated accurately. I do expect larger actives to address this, I just need to get out and hear a few more.

 

[Andrewjvt]

 Hi Dave, I appreciate your comment and I am sure you are mostly correct. I do have a reservation tho. You say the bass on actives is there, it is just tighter and less boom. However, I believe a lot of us strive for a system that sounds as close to the real experience of hearing the band playing live as we can get. When it comes to bass, this doesnt just have to be heard, it has to be felt. this is what live bass feel like, your body feels it, and it gives you excitemnt, and can seemingly be the driving force of the music.

 Here is a great example. I was litening to this album the other night, and the bass in this track, is key the the listening experience, it is the reason why the crowd is cheering and going through a mild state of delerium! The track is Sorrow, on the new David Gilmore album https://play.google.com/music/m/Tl2yjn5alxnzkxrtc2vh4mnnjn4?t=Sorrow_Live_At_Pompeii_2016_-_David_Gilmour

 

 The bass on this track goes right through and I can feel it in my toes, through my chest, and it is gutteral. I beleive this experience would have been impossible on the Xeos, which i cant remember if were the 2's or th 4's, I'll have to pop into shop again.

 My point is, I dont feel perfectly tight and controlled bass through a standmount speaker can produce the music accurately. Bass need to be tight enough, controlled enough, but set free, rumbling when needed.

Hi radiorog. I've just had a listen to that track (great song BTW) and I agree with youwhen you say that a small standmount speaker can produce the deepest bass notes accurately.

Listening through my AVI DM10 active speakers with the matching AVI 10" subwoofer it feels and sounds really weighty and guttural. With the subwoofer turned off it is definitely lacking the lowest octave or two in the bass. However I don't think that this is because the speakers are active. Even with similar sized 6.5" passive speakers they're not going to be able to produce the kind of deep heavy bass that a large floorstander or subwoofer can.

The problem that you describe is a size thing not an active vs passive thing. Active speakers (generally) have better controlled bass not less bass.

Ja

I agree
I wanted to say so but you beat me to it.

Passive equivalent speakers will only sound more basey to the untrained ears.

They cannot sound more real as the added bloom is distortion not the recording.

When the base is in the recording they will sound base with force (in the limitations of driver size/cabinet size/design

 

[stereoman]

A lot of hi-fi is about this, you 'expect' certain things from certain system, you get used to hi-fi soundling like, well, hi-fi.

Anything that breaks that mold is treated with a degree of suspicion, class D amplifiers, the better ones anyway, have a crystaline transparency that I really love, yet others really don't seem to like them. Most conventional class a and class ab amplifiers have a familiar 'character' (or maybe range of characters) that enthusiasts expect, when they do not hear this, they think something is wrong.

Good actives are a bit like this, bass clarity and control is often superior but this manifests to some as a lack of (hi-fi) warmth, improved detail resolution in the midband is sometimes described as analytical, you get the idea.

Interestingly it has taken a highly regarded mainstream manufacturer to bring active speakers to the attention of many enthusiasts, yet they have done this with an unusual and deeply flawed design. As has been detailed elsewhere the functionality is poor in a number of areas, gapless playback, lack of Spotify and seemingly flakey software is, to my mind, unforgiveable at the price.

Like others, I would like to see a stripped down version, minus the streaming facilities, but I can see why that is not done, the speaker is heavily reliant on dsp, so digital inputs and analog to digital converters will need to be retained so savings will be minimal.

For any of you intregued by the LS50w but not willing to pay £2k for the pleasue, I strongly recommend you to look at the Equator D5, a small 5inch dual concentric that offers outstanding performance for a very modest £450. Add a WXC50, decent stands and a bit of time on setup and you have an outstanding setup for about £750-850.

https://www.soundonsound.com/reviews/equator-audio-d5

Thanks for the recommendation and explanation of the active sound. If I understand this correctly ( pls do not laugh ) it is a bit like these good bluetooth speakers that incorporate own inbuilt small amps ? If so I think I'd love the sound for its clarity and punch. The other day I heard the new Pioneer DJ monitor active speakers playing on display. I was really astounded what I heard...a punchy, mid range clear, quick precise sound.

By the way can you explain how one can connect ( in this case of your recommendation WXC50 with Equator D5 ) to this TRS. WXC - MIXER - SPEAKERS ? Some have these RCA useful inputs but most have XLR and TRS instead of RCAs.

 

[davedotco]

A lot of hi-fi is about this, you 'expect' certain things from certain system, you get used to hi-fi soundling like, well, hi-fi.

Anything that breaks that mold is treated with a degree of suspicion, class D amplifiers, the better ones anyway, have a crystaline transparency that I really love, yet others really don't seem to like them. Most conventional class a and class ab amplifiers have a familiar 'character' (or maybe range of characters) that enthusiasts expect, when they do not hear this, they think something is wrong.

Good actives are a bit like this, bass clarity and control is often superior but this manifests to some as a lack of (hi-fi) warmth, improved detail resolution in the midband is sometimes described as analytical, you get the idea.

Interestingly it has taken a highly regarded mainstream manufacturer to bring active speakers to the attention of many enthusiasts, yet they have done this with an unusual and deeply flawed design. As has been detailed elsewhere the functionality is poor in a number of areas, gapless playback, lack of Spotify and seemingly flakey software is, to my mind, unforgiveable at the price.

Like others, I would like to see a stripped down version, minus the streaming facilities, but I can see why that is not done, the speaker is heavily reliant on dsp, so digital inputs and analog to digital converters will need to be retained so savings will be minimal.

For any of you intregued by the LS50w but not willing to pay £2k for the pleasue, I strongly recommend you to look at the Equator D5, a small 5inch dual concentric that offers outstanding performance for a very modest £450. Add a WXC50, decent stands and a bit of time on setup and you have an outstanding setup for about £750-850.

https://www.soundonsound.com/reviews/equator-audio-d5

Thanks for the recommendation and explanation of the active sound. If I understand this correctly ( pls do not laugh ) it is a bit like these good bluetooth speakers that incorporate own inbuilt small amps ? If so I think I'd love the sound for its clarity and punch. The other day I heard the new Pioneer DJ monitor active speakers playing on display. I was really astounded what I heard...a punchy, mid range clear, quick precise sound.

By the way can you explain how one can connect ( in this case of your recommendation WXC50 with Equator D5 ) to this TRS. WXC - MIXER - SPEAKERS ? Some have these RCA useful inputs but most have XLR and TRS instead of RCAs.

Generally I would use phono to TRS jack. The simplest way is to order a pair of phono to mono jack plugs of the appropriate length. The mono jack will short the ring to ground which is exactly what you want, a 3 metre pair from Designacable with locking RCAs and Neutric jacks will cost about £33 + shipping.

 

[stereoman]

Ok , I see now. Thanks Davedotco. Will go for actives.

 

[Andrewjvt]

Dynaudio lyd 8 v Adam x8
Please discuss your opinions
And also those that know the sound of both please give me some insight on the presentation of these.

 

[Paulq]

I'd also be really interested to hear anyone's views on the ATC SCM19as.

 

[davedotco]

Dynaudio lyd 8 v Adam x8 Please discuss your opinions And also those that know the sound of both please give me some insight on the presentation of these.

I have little hands on experience with the Adam A8x, though I am quite familiar with the A7x, similarly, what limited experience I have with the Dynaudio has been with the Lyd 5.

I can therefore only offer compaisons of a very general kind, I would say that the Lyd have a presentation that edges slightly more to the hi-fi side of the spectrum, the Lyd 5 presents quite like the Xeo 2 but with a bit more presence. The A7x, on the other hand has a more hear through transparancy, take a little time to get the tweeter levels correct and the results are remarkably open and airy.

A word of warning, both models you mention are capable of prodigeous bass output, some people will buy them for that reason but I find them a bit difficult unless you have a large or well treated room. Remember though, this is a personal view and represents the way I like my music presented, ie without even a hint of 'bloom' or artificial 'warmth'.

 

[Andrewjvt]

I'd also be really interested to hear anyone's views on the ATC SCM19as.

Very very good but expensive.
I'd rather go the the ATC scm20asl as it's a standpoint has a better amp and is sweet as ever.
I'd buy one tomorrow if I had the cash

 

[Andrewjvt]

Dynaudio lyd 8 v Adam x8 Please discuss your opinions And also those that know the sound of both please give me some insight on the presentation of these.

I have little hands on experience with the Adam A8x, though I am quite familiar with the A7x, similarly, what limited experience I have with the Dynaudio has been with the Lyd 5.

I can therefore only offer compaisons of a very general kind, I would say that the Lyd have a presentation that edges slightly more to the hi-fi side of the spectrum, the Lyd 5 presents quite like the Xeo 2 but with a bit more presence. The A7x, on the other hand has a more hear through transparancy, take a little time to get the tweeter levels correct and the results are remarkably open and airy.

A word of warning, both models you mention are capable of prodigeous bass output, some people will buy them for that reason but I find them a bit difficult unless you have a large or well treated room. Remember though, this is a personal view and represents the way I like my music presented, ie without even a hint of 'bloom' or artificial 'warmth'.

Going to try and arrange a session