The central image of the noise signal was narrow and stable, without any splashing to the sides at some frequencies. The drivers of the Special 40 do exhibit better control in certain respects; the Buchardts tend to slightly soften detail. . I've done many budget speaker reviews. Dynaudio is a very reputable brand that lives and breathes audio equipment, … Another thought if budget is an issue is to find a used pair of Focus 160’s and buy a better amp. But i am wondering if the newer Dynaudio Evoke 20 will offer similar performance / similar sound signature for a lower price. The Special Forty is classic Dynaudio: all the craftsmanship, attention to detail and total love of authentic sound you’ve come to expect. The Sapphire was the last Dynaudio speaker to spend time in my listening room until I wrote about the Contour 20 ($5000–$5750/pair, depending on finish) in our May 2017 issue. 01/06/2020 Dynaudio Confidence 50 Review . i prefer a speaker that sounds natural like the ones i own and love. One reviewer found them to sound slightly "glassy" at times, but with my NAD M32 and the right cabling, I don't have that problem. Like new set of Dynaudio Special 40 in grey listed for $2200 on USAM today. My Confidence C1s did the same thing, but they were nearly $10k/pair. Special indeed If I sat so that my ears were above the tweeter axis, the sound had a slightly hollow quality. As with all small speakers, setting up the Special Fortys involved placing them close enough to the sidewalls and/or the wall behind them to get respectable low-frequency extension, but without the bass definition becoming obscured by room resonances, or the accuracy and stability of stereo images being degraded by close-spaced reflections. i've owned "bookshelf" speakers from Focal (1007), B&W (Matrix 805), KEF (LS50w) and others, and these are by far the most satisfyingly musical standmounts i've heard in my system. Connect a two-pole (+/-) loudspeaker cable to the binding posts, located at rear of 2. The Dynaudios fill my entire room with sound that extends outside, above, below and behind the speakers. These are the 2020 model. It is very revealing but does not have an "analytical" sound. Not sure what they are typically going for new, there was a sale at Amazon for $2399 a couple weeks ago with free shipping, so maybe it's not a great deal for a used set, but does include shipping and paypal. As I wrote back then, "For a central listener, one has an absolute yardstick for assessing the quality of stereo imaging, without any reference to musical debate, the 'real thing,' direct/reverberant ratios, concert hall acoustics, the subjective experience, emotion quotient, or any other philosophical red herrings. You have researched the LS50 Nocturnes quite a bit. Perhaps I shall. Bummed about this review. To me, the Dynaudio Special 40 seems very clearly to be less than the sum of its parts. I could not see any signs of wear. These Speakers weigh in at only 10 lbs each yet they have rather largish panels. To me, the Dynaudio Special 40 seems very clearly to be less than the sum of its parts. I found this to be the case with John Martyn’s ‘Head and Heart’ (BBC Radio 1 Live In Concert) where the thrap of his guitar strings had lots of power while his voice was full of warmth. :-). But for me, I've spent my dollars on a well designed 3 way speaker system that has no such problem. The price in Australia hasn't yet been set, but the US price converts to AU$3,802. What are all you dynaudio owners use as amplification? Black Friday deals: see all the best offers right now! The Dynaudio Evoke 20 is a highly capable and revealing loudspeaker that let’s you know exactly what’s going on in the music but does so in a warm, relaxed fashion, this doesn’t stop music that’s frantic or intense sounding the way it was intended but it means that less refined recordings don’t sound harsh or … It’s not that there is a lot wrong with the Special Forty - it's just the design seem a little too familiar. It’s the connoisseur’s choice – a simple pair of passive Hi-Fi speakers. If that’s the case, then of course they are not going to call this out in the review because it’s simply not objectively true, and not true to the majority of other listeners who like those other speakers just fine and don’t find them “exaggerated”. The mid/bass or woofer has a one-piece cone and dustcap made of magnesium silicate polymer that sits in a chassis designed for maximum ease of airflow again. I admit that your written description of the ATCs appeals to me (except for the agressive part). The review specifically mentioned “The Special Forty's top octave was a touch on the mellow side” and “This recording's rich, warm balance was complemented by the Dynaudio's clean, fatigue-free high frequencies.”. I still cannot fathom how Stereophile has it in Class A (restricted lf) with the likes of Wilson and Magico. Two years later the Dynaudio Special Twenty-Five had sold out. ... (Max budget on amplifier or amp/streamer combined would be £2,500 - £3,000 by the way). No point shoulding ourselves to death. The motor system has also been tweaked. Our 40th anniversary speaker might look simple, but there’s some serious tech lurking inside… all designed, engineered and assembled in Denmark. And the KEF's are better braced-less panel resonance. They sounded great without any issue. A third approach is to acknowledge the deficiencies of a particular product you already own and choose not to replace, and find other components that can help compensate for and balance out the deficiencies. The stands' central pillars are filled with a mixture of sand and lead shot, and the speakers were decoupled from the stands with small pads of Blu-Tack. Something needed to be tried, so I hooked up a Naim Uniti Nova integrated amp and streamer that I will get round to writing about soon, this proved a much better match all round, its 80 Watt amp has just the right balance of power and agility to bring out the best in the Dynaudio. Beautiful speakers. I am a proud Dynaudio special forty owner. But it isn’t about looking back, misty-eyed, at past glories and leaving it at that. Connecting 1. If our designers loved working on the Contour 20 and 30, the Contour 60 was an even bigger ticket for them. They who are not busy being born are busy dying. You try another amp. The Special Forty is classic Dynaudio: all the craftsmanship, attention to detail and total love of authentic sound you’ve come to expect. Dynaudio Special 40 Rev II £ 2,699.00 Celebrating 40 years of existence, Dynaudio have done what they’ve done at at key moments in the past and thrown all their latest tech into a ‘celebration’ product. I listen a moderate volume levels. Blue Note surely knew how to capture music back in the sixties. As long as the narrow central image produced by a 'double-mono' signal remains narrow and central at all frequencies, then the system must be inherently accurate as far as stereo is concerned." I have raved on about how great I think the special 40 is in the system pics thread, so I won’t bore you with that again, apart from to say that they are great! "He not busy being born, is busy dying" ............. Bob Dylan :-) .......... "There is nothing so stable as change" ............... Bob Dylan :-) ........... Now for me, that saying is one slap in the face. hopefully an I'm hoping to get some advice of more experience members on what kind of amp will works well in driving this perticular speaker well at a very reasonable volume. Dynaudio Special 40 pricing information. $2,999.00. But they are simply more fun to listen to and they give me a more “real” experience that I can listen to for longer with less fatigue. The engineers worked on improving airflow and damping behind the 28mm tweeter dome - the idea is to reduce back-pressure as the diaphragm moves, increasing detail and lowering distortion. On the other hand, many people say amps is amps. We can still use all the other capabilities of the Nocturnes, which I mentioned. The Dynaudio Special Forty’s set a new standard for me in the $3,000 price point. Today the unpleasant hardness still remains. I want details, transparency and bass control soundwise. 2 Amplifier loudspeaker outputs (example). Bass is equally good. This looks like a typical Dynaudio but costs a little more than most models with a six and a half inch mid/bass driver, and it comes in a rather nicer box with a high gloss birch finish in grey or red lacquer. Both speakers are great and the fabled Dynaudio break-in period is real. The Special 40’s are indeed very special. No listening time on these. Black Friday is ON and these are the best deals! Why not check out the Heed Elixir or Rega Brio? I have about 50 hours of break in on them. The Special Forty is a two-way, reflex-loaded, standmount monitor that leverages design elements drawn from more costly Dynaudio models, starting with an inherently phase coherent first-order crossover network said to incorporate the firm’s unique phase and impedance alignment technologies. The new KEF LS-50 Nocturnes are powered wireless speakers, for $2500 ........ Everything we always wanted (and then some more) ........ May be JA could review them? That 17cm mid/bass unit still uses the company’s traditional MSP (Magnesium Silicate Polymer) cone – it’s a one-piece cone using the large dome in the middle to aid rigi… There is very precise imaging on the ATCs but mainly within a space that is confined between the speakers. This is probably my last speaker purchase. But, think about this ........ no need for amp, pre-amp ......... all the wires ........ may be not even any DAC. I want details, transparency and bass control soundwise. The fact Dynaudio has a released a loudspeaker at this price with the degree of cabinet resonances revealed here has me absolutely baffled. I was pleased with the extra detail and bass extension (after my Excite X12s), but after listening a week or two, I wrote their customer service rep, assuming there must be a problem with my pair: they sounded consistently hard and forward in the upper midrange. Type: 2-way, reflex loaded, standmount loudspeakerSensitivity: 86dB (2.83V/1m)Impedance nominal: 6 OhmsFrequency range: 41Hz – 23kHzBox principle: Bass reflex rear portedCrossover: 2-wayMid/bass driver: 170mm MSP coneTweeter: 28mm soft domeDimensions (W x H x D): 198 x 360 x 307mmWeight: 8.1kgFinishes: Grey Birch/Black, Red Birch/Black, Dynaudio UKT +44 (0)1638 742 427www.dynaudio.com, integrated ampspreampspower ampsphono stagesheadphone amps, floorstanding speakersstandmount speakers, interconnect cablespower conditionersturntable accessoriesequipment standsspeaker standsheadphones, special-forty-close-up-lifestyle-grey-birch-02.jpg. Only 1 left in stock - order soon. I do like the graphics--are they any different INSIDE than the regular LS-50 wireless ? Anyway, I will keep this post short. Nothing wrong with that, but this may not exactly be neutral from a measurement standpoint. Dynaudio Special 40 for sale. Two finishes are available: Grey Birch High Gloss and Red Birch High Gloss. http://us.marantz.com/us/Products/Pages/ProductDetails.aspx?CatId=HiFiComponents&SubCatId=0&ProductId=PM8006. I own both the Special Fortys and the ATC SCM19 v2 currently. I am the second owner. Esotar Forty tweeter – This DSR precision-coated 1.1" soft-dome tweeter is unique to the Special Forty. Dynaudio's 25th-anniversary Special Twenty-Five ($5200/pair) was previewed by John Marks in his January 2003 The Fifth Element" column, with a very positive Follow-Up review from me in June 2005. This demands that drivers behave well outside their nominal passbands—Dynaudio says that this was a design priority, that the tweeter's raw response "extends comfortably down to around 1kHz," and that the woofer "can easily handle frequencies up to around 4kHz." Since Dynaudio was founded in 1977 and we’re in 2010 now, this jubilee model should really be called Special Thirty-Three. It’s the connoisseur’s choice – a simple pair of passive hi-fi speakers. Only 1 left in stock - order soon. I understand that they need closer to 200 hours to really begin to sound their best. Of course that would increase the total cost. My pair is a kind of pinkish-maroon, certainly not what I was hoping for or expecting. Definitely more relaxed in the treble region than the ATCs. I also note that you mention an overly-emphasized upper midrange in several different places in your review. I owned special 40’s, and they are a great all around speaker that do every genre quite well. Like new set of Dynaudio Special 40 in grey listed for $2200 on USAM today. That neutrality is not for everyone, but for me I do like it very much, as the treble is not hot at all and actually quite sweet sounding if the speaker has the world famous Esotar2 tweeter (Contour range and above and the new Special 40). Many movies and albums are mastered on Dynaudio studio monitors and to my ears they sound tonally neutral. I know it can be somewhat disappointing to read a negative review of something you've already purchased and hear that an expert find's it somewhat "flawed." The speakers have been well cared of in a smoking-free and animal-free home. Skanderborg, Denmark | November, 2020 - Dynaudio has launched its new, limited-edition Heritage Special passive stand-mount loudspeakers – handmade from top to bottom, inside and out, at its headquarters in Denmark.Started as an ‘off-the-radar’ project and developed under top-secret conditions at Dynaudio Labs, it’s now ready to be unveiled. Dynaudio… My amp is and old NAD C272 -- 150 watts into both 8 or 4 ohms -- and I realize that price-wise it's not in the Special 40s' league. The new Special Forty anniversary speaker draws on 40 years of cutting-edge research – and brings it totally up to date with Dynaudio’s most celebrated techniques and technologies. I bought the Red Birch. Dynaudio didn’t just plonk in the units from the C1 - the drivers have been fettled, with markedly improved results. I'm trying to decide whether to upgrade may amp, as per their suggestions, or get a different speaker. Listening They may very well have been voiced in the crossover to compensate as many other speaker manufacturers do. It's good that your pair of 40s doesn't sound congested. Actually, when I unpacked the Special Fortys, I was reminded not of the Contour 20 but of Dynaudio's no-longer-available Focus 110, two of which reside in the office of Stereophile publisher Keith Pray. Tested a full eight feet out into the listening space. One reviewer found them to sound slightly "glassy" at times, but with my NAD M32 and the right cabling, I don't have that problem. The Special Forty is classic Dynaudio: all the craftsmanship, attention to detail and total love of authentic sound you’ve come to expect. 6 reviews available. The benefit is said to be a reduction in second-order harmonic distortion. While the Special Twenty-Five was a fairly large, stand-mounted, two-way speaker, Dynaudio's 30th-anniversary model, the Sapphire ($16,500/pair), was an unusual-looking floorstanding design. I have tried a lot of amplifiers: Hegel h190, roksan blak, gato dia 250, moon 240. I just love to sit there and look at them. The thing about Dynaudio is that they don't "demo" very well, especially in comparison to, say, B&W (you will often find these two brands in the same showroom) in that they don't have that initial "exciting" sound, but are very smooth and refined. Maybe your dealer could make the swap less painful. I have the Focus 160’s and will probably hang on to them when I get a pair of Contour 20’s (or maybe Contour 30 floor standers). As its name suggests, the limited-edition Special Forty was launched to celebrate the Danish loudspeaker company's 40th anniversary. I am happy you like them. And they were second hand too. And voices are just sublimely smooth with perfect body, compared to the ATCs which are leaner and slightly grainier though the mids (in comparison). Owner’s Manual Special Forty Connecting SPEAKERS Fig. (Tube warmth and bloom are examples of same.). I prefer 50s and 60s jazz. I am currently using Dynaudio Special 40 speakers with a Hegel Rost amp and JL audio subwoofer. I had already asked for a pair for review before I flew to AXPONA; they arrived just as I was finishing up my review of the Wilson Alexia Series 2 speakers for our July issue. Maybe. Dynaudio Special 40: They don’t sound massively different in character to be honest. Sitting inside the woofer's voice-coil is a hybrid magnet system: a powerful neodymium magnet to provide the drive energy, and a ferrite magnet to direct that energy where desired. and as he and others have said, the finish is spectacular, particularly in red. The best amp I have ever heard drive Dynaudio is The Gryphon but that might be out of your budget. 1 Binding posts at rear of cabinet (example). By Mani, February 17, 2018 in General Hi-Fi Discussion. "The stereo image was superb," I wrote in my. Also Dynaudio cannot recommend a specific amount of output wattage for your Dynaudio loudspeakers, because it really depends on the power demands of the room size and listening volume. Put aside the gorgeous finishes – the options are Birch in either grey or red gloss – and there seems little to differentiate the Fortys from a stack of products the company has made in the past. The Focus 110 used to sell for $1500/pair, and the Special Forty reminded me of it because while a little larger than the '110, the '40 has an enclosure of the same shape, with sidewalls that taper toward the back and a large, flared reflex port on the rear panel. The Special Forty is classic Dynaudio: all the craftsmanship, attention to detail and total love of authentic sound you’ve come to expect. The Special Forty does have a large reflex port in the back but so do other speakers such as the Q-Acoustics Concept 500 that works so well with this amp in this room. I bought the 40s based on only one or two very early positive reviews, and on Dynaudio's reputation for quality speakers. EDIT: Oh and I forgot the big wide open soundstage on the Dynaudios, which is not a strongsuit of the ATCs at all. I note that both with pink-noise and on the in-room response, JA pointed out emphases in the upper midrange. Dynaudio Special 40 for sale. Smooth and musical vs. incisive and dynamic and to me, somewhat aggressive. Skanderborg, Denmark | November, 2020 - Dynaudio has launched its new, limited-edition Heritage Special passive stand-mount loudspeakers – handmade from top to bottom, inside and out, at its headquarters in Denmark.Started as an ‘off-the-radar’ project and developed under top-secret conditions at Dynaudio Labs, it’s now ready to be unveiled. If you have a small room or don't listen to music particularly loud, this won't matter so much. Anyway, I will keep this post short. In their ability to reproduce a stereo image, the Dynaudio Special Fortys are indeed "inherently accurate.". After listening to a pair of Dynaudio Special Forty speakers i am very tempted to buy a pair in red birch. I'm convinced. Beautiful treble and surprisingly robust bass, given the speaker size. The enclosure's inner surfaces are also veneered, to increase stiffness and prevent warping. Dynaudio Special Forty Loudspeakers Price: $2999 USD per pair. ; Dynaudio's best 6.7" woofer yet – The ultimate incarnation of our legendary 17W75 MSP woofer, with an AirFlow Basket and hybrid magnet system. Only 9 left in stock - order soon. There are obviously other factors at play e.g. I do like bass so decided to see how well the Special Forty would cope with the deep but timely low end on Leftfield’s ‘Inspection (Check One)’, this turned out to be a very good idea and resulted in some excessively coherent and entertaining sounds emerging from what seem like rather small cabinets for the depth of bass produced. (If the owner finds the bass excessive, foam plugs are supplied to block the ports.). No no no, they said, there is no problem with the crossover or the tweeter at the bottom of its range. Put aside the gorgeous finishes – the options are Birch in either grey or red gloss – and there seems little to differentiate the Fortys from a stack of products the company has made in the past. The Contour 20 is an elegant-looking, two-way, stand-mounted speaker, and now I'm about to audition another: Dynaudio's Special Forty. I reviewed the Sapphire in January 2009, recommended it "with a bullet," and warned that "the remaining 300 pairs of Sapphires won't hang around much longer.". The only way we all will know is, if you review them ......... Don't wait for the boss .......... Get them and review them :-) .......... Hello, KEF? They've never sounded harsh or forward, but neutral in the best sense of the word. In addition because of differences in cable geometry and materials which, in turn, affect capacitance and inductance as well as the ability to convey signals effectively, different cables sound different with different components. While one could arguably achieve even higher performance if one had very large sums of money to invest, the Special Forty is so good and in so many ways that it will encourage listeners to ask, “why spend more?” Many movies and albums are mastered on Dynaudio studio monitors and to my ears they sound tonally neutral. The Special Forty's enclosure looks stunning, with unusual striated veneers finished in high gloss. On that point, there is of course the additional cost of stands to factor in. Dynaudio has made any number of two-way standmounters, of this size and with drive units that look pretty much identical to the ones used here. I have raved on about how great I think the special 40 is in the system pics thread, so I won’t bore you with that again, apart from to say that they are great! Verdict after owning these speakers for quite a few months: Absolutely BRILLIANT. Looking at the measurements taken at the listening position when I prepared the spatially averaged response (see "Measurements," figs. Back in 1993, I remember buying a product they called the Variovent, which was a special fiberglass-filled port you could put on your custom-built speakers to convert a closed-box tuning to an "aperiodic damped cabinet." Dynaudio Special 40: They don’t sound massively different in character to be honest. The Special Forty's internal wiring of OFC copper is sourced from van den Hul, and electrical connection is via a single pair of high-quality binding posts below the port. Another option I am considering is to upgrade the Hegel Rost amp to a Yamaha AS3000 amp. I am 65. And I find it helps to toe-in the speakers until they face almost directly at you. Hey All, So I've set aside a budget and a lot of time for my first surround sound setup. I am planning on an upgrade. boundary and especially rear wall reinforcement which can ameliorate the suckout/ cancellation issue in the lower midrange. i believe this is an important distinction to make when reviewing speakers. For those who enjoy the technical skinny: “The Special Forty woofer is based on Dynaudio’s classic 17W75 MSP model. It’s a nuisance that you can’t match amps and speakers by looking at the specs, all they really tell you is approximately how much power is needed, but the crux of a really good combination has little to do with that. ... (Max budget on amplifier or amp/streamer combined would be £2,500 - £3,000 by the way). They did not sound natural as is often a Dynaudio signature characteristic. Tweeter covers were never removed. As my room is somewhat asymmetrical—behind the right-hand speaker, two steps lead to a raised area—I ended up with a slightly asymmetric placement. Voice on a Captain Beefheart track stood out really well and drums were strong and er, drum tastic for want of a better term, but then the drummer in the Magic Band was called Drumbo (John French). It is unfortunate about the cabinet resonance. Before I bought these I tried both the KEF LS50 and the Buchardt S300 MKII SE. Dynaudio Special 40 Bookshelf Speakers Grey Birch Pair with Stand 20 Stands Pair 5.0 out of 5 stars 2. Unless perhaps this is a means to compensate for the floor-bounce cancellation characteristic of all standmount designs (in most rooms). Mr. Atkinson, you note that "not one other reviewer had noted an over-lively enclosure or any congestion in the midrange." The drivers of the Special 40 do exhibit better control in certain respects; the Buchardts tend to slightly soften detail. Dynaudio’s award-winning anniversary speaker, Special Forty, has been given a makeover with two stunning new finishes. . As I explain in my 1981 essay on stereo imaging, while dual-mono pink noise is certainly not music and doesn't present a "soundstage," it is supremely capable of revealing a pair of speakers' precision of imaging. The passive LS50 is one of the most overrated audio products ever. You need to put everything together and listen. But putting it onto the end of my ATC P2, a 150 Watt power amp with vice like grip, resulted in a bass heavy balance that while it had plenty of physical presence and power didn’t really have enough get up and go. Still not a perfect speaker, but better. These speakers are not edgy in the treble IMO and I would not judge them by a Hi-Fi show listening session - I’m sure the room and the other equipment used would have had a significant impact on what you heard and what you typically hear at home. I have always liked stand mounted Dynaudios, ...not into tubes, but please continue with suggestions, all. If you listen too much off-axis, it emphasizes the upper-midrange hardness that I found so unpleasant. Dynaudio Special 40 Bookshelf Speakers Grey Birch Pair with Stand 20 Stands Pair 5.0 out of 5 stars 2. There's also what Dynaudio calls an "aero-coupled pressure-release outlet" under the voice-coil to minimize resonances, while the neodymium magnet is small and light. I thought that for the price, these speakers were too good to be true. Its sensitivity is given as 86dB which is lower than average especially when you take the six Ohm load into account, so it should be partnered with a reasonably powerful amplifier. I ended up with the ports open, which gave the best bass extension without comprising definition. Which is a good thing because that’s where all the detail comes from. Like the tweeter, the Special Forty's woofer has a voice-coil wired with aluminum, to keep the moving mass as low as possible. Fig. Any idea if they sound different from the non-wireless LS-50, which Stereophile has covered extensively? 04/24/2020 New Dynaudio Series Contour i Dynaudio has updated the 2016 Contour series and is now launching the new Countour i family. i've had a pair for about a year, and have used them with amps from Musical Fidelity, Peachtree, Icon, Lyngdorf, and a classic marantz receiver. You sound sold on them. ....... BTW, they won't obey voice commands or tell the outside weather or broadcast the latest news (or can they via you know who?) Alas this compact monitor still goes by Special Twenty-Five as it did eight years ago when the Danes celebrated their 25 th anniversary. Item: Dynaudio Special 40 - B Stock Location: Sydney, Northern Beaches Price: $2,900 $2,500 + Fees + Shipping Item Condition: 9/10 - Excellent, under 8 months old Reason for selling: Consolidating second system Payment Method: Pickup - Cash, Paypal, COD Only Extra Info: PRICE DROP TO $2500 I purchased this pair of special 40's from the lads at the LIfestyle Store a little over 8 … I’m thinking of selling the ATCs...the Dynaudios are just eminently wonderful music makers. Hi everyone my user name is mani I'm new to this forum. However, I believe, in a larger room the Dynaudio's will outperform them in the bass and power range. I'd like to review the LS-50W--the pretty ones please, with the android markings. But the Aerials, to my ears, were seriously lacking in bass weight. ; Classic Dynaudio Crossover – This is a variant of the first-order crossover used in Dynaudio's other classic two-way speakers. The Dynaudio Special Forty is a wonderful stand-mount monitor and terrific value. Dynaudio Special Forty monitor speakers reviews, information and images. The Dynaudio Special Forty speakers decked out in grey and red birchwood veneers. Extracting this stellar low frequency performance is Dynaudio’s 17cm MSP mid/bass driver. It has a deeper soundstage as well. It’s a three-way design. I listened to the Special 40's at AXPONA.... Bowers & Wilkins 705 Signature loudspeaker, GoldenEar BRX (Bookshelf Reference X) loudspeaker, Analog Corner #304: SAT XD1 record player, Acoustic Geometry Room treatments (before & after), My current and likely the last home audio setup, Fascinating wiev by Verity Audio Sarastro, Recommended Components: Fall 2020 Edition. We learn and move on... unless we want to stop learning. They’ve got bass response that fools you into thinking you’ve got a pair of floorstanders. And spatially beautiful. JA is probably the only one able to notice details like this, I've seen Stethoscopes in pictures of his Work Area. Thank you for your review, more honest than most, and more honest than the impression the Dynaudio customer service reps gave me. I’ve had the ATCs going on a year now, and the S 40s for about 4 months. Every speaker has a different sound. I don't hear that congestion that JA hears but maybe we don't listen at the same levels or same type of music. I sat the Dynaudio Special Fortys on 24"-tall Celestion stands, which placed their tweeters 35" above the floor. Ditto for every amplifier / integrated amplifier / preamplifier / DAC / turntable / cartridge. I have tried a lot of amplifiers: Hegel h190, roksan blak, gato dia 250, moon 240. ; Classic Dynaudio Crossover – This is a variant of the first-order crossover used in Dynaudio's other classic two-way speakers. What about these new LS-50 Nocturnes? I have just placed an order on a dynaudio special 40 which will arrive by the end of next week. I have several stand mounted Dynaudio's in out mountain home, including a pair of Focus 160's. But Mission QX-2 is a speaker that has a lot of resemblances to the buchardt s400 and dynaudio special 40. Dynaudio Special 40 for sale.