Trading Dynaudio Contour s5.4's for ???

Preamp is a Theta Casanova, fed digital SPDIF from CD player (and for casual listening, computer running iTunes).

Are there any tube preamps that accept digital signals (i.e. have good DACs in them)?

One speaker that comes to mind is Sonus Faber Cremona. I am a Sonus Faber fan and own many of their products, Cremona is definitely on the warm side and too warm for my taste even, so I gave them to my parents. Amati Homage strikes a better balance to my ears, but you might find it too thin if you think Dynaudio is thin sounding.

Traditional Dynaudio is warm and full sounding, but not the newer line, so people should not assume based on their dated experience in this case. One of the older Dynaudio that combines warmth, detail, and speed all in one is Confidence 5. They don't play that loud, don't go very deep, and requires a million watt to sound right, but its a very fine sounding speaker and one of my all time favorite.

I have auditioned the Dyn's with Sim's W5 amp and could call their sound somewhat analytical but wouldn't call it thin. What strikes me as kind of strange is how you describe the sound of the Dali Helicon's in comparison to the Dyn's. I own a pair of 800's and went from SS(Sim Gear) to Tube amps to make them sound a bit warmer. I've owned a pair of Dynaudio 1.3SE's before I bought the Dali's and they sounded actually warmer than the Dali's. Did you audition the Dali speakers in your listening room? I am a little confused over your statements.

There are no tube pres that I know of that have a built-in DAC. Given the design ethos of most tube-oriented companies, building in a DAC is as likely as Yasser Arafat returning from the grave and converting to Judaism. Some may offer separate tubed DACs, but to integrate them would seem to deviate from the sonic purity they strive to achieve.

I like the idea of you trying some other cable options and perhaps a good tube pre in the mix before trading the speakers. I've heard them driven by that limited edition Musical Fidelity tube gear and they were beautifully rich and warm. I've also heard them with solid state Musical Fidelity and they sounded like fingernails on a chalkboard. My sense is that they're very dependant on the signal you're feeding them, but not a weak link.

Try Totem Mani 2's instead of the Dynaudio's. I did some back to back listening tests when shopping a while back. The totem's were amazing at bringing a three dimensional sound stage, very forward and engaging midrage (I like this). Top end was very airy. The mani's also had some amazing slam in the bass region.

Although totem uses Dynaudio woofers (with some tweaks of their own), they employ a metal dome tweater from Seas. For me, I never took a liking to the Dynaudio tweeters. The Dynaudio woofers can be outstanding when implemented properly as Totem has shown.

All together the Mani2's were on a completely different level when compared to the Dynaudio's. I agree with you in that they seemed analytical and thin. Somehow, Totem, when matched with great amplification, can bring music listening to an "emotional" experience. Completely engaging speaker.