Opinions on the Dynaudio DM 2/8

I have Dynaudio Excite X12s (with a Naim Nait 5i and CD5i) and am very pleased with them. They replaced Quad 11Ls, which I loved. The Quads were great with my previous electronics (Music Hall a25.2 and cd25.2), but I felt that they were a bit warm and fuzzy with Naim. The Dynaudios are fantastic speakers: tight and punchy but smooth on the upper end, and the bass is impressive for such little boxes. I think the X16s would be worth a listen (and they're nicer looking than the DM series).

I think the Exposure would be fine with the Dyns, either the DM 2/8 or small Excites. The Dyns you are considering aren't better or worse than the Quads, just different. And probably different in a way you will appreciate, especially the DM's - I would say not quite as warm as then Quads and better able to handle transient peaks and sustained loud passages common in rock music. Dyns will act more like a professional monitor when pushed than the 12L2'S - which will be happier playing acoustic music and human voices.

With that said, the little Exposure will start to compress the signal at higher volumes no matter what speakers you are driving - it's personality and performance envelope perhaps more suited to the same music as the Quads. Remember what kind of amps and speakers the Rolling Stones use when they play live...

Thanks, I think the Quads definitely excel with vocals and acoustic music. I don't think I listen loud enough that it gives my amp too much trouble. The volume knob starts at about 7 o'clock and I usually listen at 9 o'clock. The system is in a small room and it doesn't take much to get things up to room filling volume.

I guess cabinet size (volume) has a lot to do with creating big sound. Not long ago I had the Tannoy Mercury F2, which were big speakers for a bookshelf. I loved the sense of scale. I had the PMC TB2i for a couple of days, same thing there. In terms of cabinet volume (I basically just multiplied the w, h, and d), the 2/8 is by far the largest. Second is PMC, then Tannoy and the Excite X16 are almost tied, and then the 12L2 brings up the rear and it is well behind. I don't know if this is the best way to determine which speaker will give the biggest sense of scale, but I think it probably has some merit and it least gives you some idea. If anyone is curious, here are the numbers converted to percentages, with the 2/8 fixed at 100%...

Dyn 2/8: 100%
PMC TB2i: 80.9%
Tannoy F2: 71.9%
Dyn X16: 70.5%
Quad 12L2: 57.7%

This shows just how much bigger the 2/8 is, and how small the Quads are. I guess I can expect the X16 to have a similar sense of scale as the F2 did, which I think would satisfy me. Of course they are $450 more, and I'm definitely intrigued by how huge the 2/8 must sound.

I own both the DM & Excite lines. In their respective price points, they are almost impossible to beat and I agreed with JA of Stereophile that unless you get another pair that costs severeal thousand dollars more.

I have used a NAD 352 to drive both the Excite & DM 2/10 and both pairs sound great with the cheap NAD. Both speakers sounded much bigger than their sizes suggested and threw a huge & dynamic sound stage.

Both DM & Excite lines are 4 ohm loads. I don't know anything about Exposure's capability to drive tough load speakers so I cannot comment.

The Excite X 16's bass is truly amazing & hits very cleanly down to the 40 Hz. The bass is extremely deep given the small size of the woofer. I compared my notes auditioning a pair of PSB T 45 with the X 16. They both go deep but differently. The bass on the PSB T 45 is fuller & more dynamic but I would say the bass on the X 16 is the type of bass that most standmount speaker owners would love to own, deep yet very clean. I auditioned an Enya album that features the Orinoco Flow track.

But given the small size of the woofer, a powered subwoofer is recommended for the X 16 or the X 12 to prevent bass overload.

You will not be disappointed with either the DM 2/8 or X 16. The X 16 is a very handsome speaker and very easy on the eyes.

Unless you are a fan of British brands, I would say the Dynaudio DM & Excite are in a league above the PMC, Quad, & Tannoy.

I have also compared the bass on the X 16 with my brother Totem Rainmaker & my trustworthy backup JBL S-38.

The X 16 bass hits deeper and more punchy and the high is smoother than those of the Totem Rainmaker due to the $600 difference in price and the Dynaudio soft dome tweeter is probably the factor here. Cabinets on both the Dynaudio & the Totem are top notch.

The JBL S-38 is a fun speaker that I love with more dynamic and fuller bass than that of the X 16. However, the high and the mid of the S-38 are not as smooth and revealing as the X 16 of course.

But the folks at Dynaudio somehow managed to voice the bass on the X 16 very, very, very punchy yet with very, very, very accurate bass notes, and from my notes "the bass is just PERFECT for music listening regardless of music genre".

That makes the X 16 as special as its smaller brother X 12, a speaker that had won quite a few favorable reviews in North America.

I can live with both the JBL S-38 & Dynaudio X 16 bass. With the S-38, you don't need a powered sub for music. Of course, the S-38 is almost as big as my Dynaudio DM 2/10 which was designed primarily for movie editing & dance studios where accurate & good sound is a must.

With the X 16, you probably need a powered sub, NOT for the lowest note in terms of bass but for a more pronounced & revealing mid-range and to help the small woofers on the Dyns from being overwhelmed with bass rich materials reproduction like rap or night club music.

I love both the DM & Excite line from Dynaudio. To my ears, they sound almost similar but the DM line is a bit more efficient and that may help if you do not crank your amp too loud.

I am happy to own either Dynaudio or PSB speakers. Both companies make great speakers. You have to pay a little more $$$ for Dynaudio speakers but their cabinets IMO are second to none.