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Mini Monitors - Dynaudio and JM Labs

After 11 years with my Thiel CS22 floorstanders, I’m ready to make a change and have decided to try out some mini monitors because of room size 15’x17’x7.5’ and the fact that I have a REL Stadium III to take care of the low end. I’ve narrowed my search down to two brands, Dynaudio and JM Labs. I’m looking at the Micro Utopia Be and either to the three Dynaudio models, Confidence C1, Special 25, or Contour 1.3SE.

I listen to pretty much all types of music but the majority being Jazz, Rock, and Alternative. One thing about the Thiel’s that I have always had a difficult time dealing with was that the listening position was extremely critical. The way that I have my speakers positioned, only one person at a time could truly enjoy the music from my Thiel’s. I’m hoping that I can improve my predicament with the speakers listed above as well as moving a step up in the quest for the absolute sound. I believe I have plenty of power to drive any of the speaker listed. A list of my associated equipment is listed “my system”.

Please, your recommendations or comments are welcome if you have compared or owned any speakers listed above.
islandflyfisher
nolitan
865 posts
 
Saki,

I heard the JM Micro Utopia driven with Lavardin IT integrated amp. It sounded very good actually, but in the end I still did find the sound a strifle lean. These French speakers along with Triangle and JM Reynaud have a distinct sound: they are all very clear, clean, but somehow I find the midrange not too be as robust sounding as the British speakers. In may just be my ears preference in the end.But I do have friend and relatives that really love the French sound... They love it & wont change anything for them... YMMV.
saki70
907 posts
 
Nolitan ; I somewhat agree with the light duty midrange thing . I have had JM Lab speakers previosly and found them to be lacking in "toetapping-headbobbing" ability .
This may be attributal to your midrange findings with the 'french sound' especially since adding a sub did not help .
I don't think that amps are an issue as I have heard the JM Lab stuff with some respectable equipment not the least of which was MacIntosh which is known for its musicality .
This aspect is one reason that I am looking at different manufacturers that have the Be tweeter sound such as Usher.
Incidently , I have been told that Usher has now developed a Beryllium midrange driver !
I wonder if anyone at the show has heard it ?
everest_audio
285 posts
 
If you're not thrown off by the Pioneer name, you may want to consider their EX-Series which was developed by TAD (Technical Audio Devices - Pioneer's high-end speaker division). These speakers were developed by the same guy that developed the highly acclaimed $45,000 TAD Model-1.

http://www.pioneerelectronics.com/pna/v3/pg/album/0,,2076_310069828,00.html

They use a beryllium tweeter, but it is used in conjunction with a Magnesium midrange instead of the more expensive beryllium midrange used in the TAD speakers. These speakers have been raved at recent shows when used in conjunction with Bel Canto electronics. Since I'm a Bel Canto dealer, I'm seriously considering looking at evaluating these speakers to possibly add them to our lineup on the suggestion of John Stronczer (owner/designer Bel Canto). I wish they marketed them under the TAD name though sooner than Pioneer.
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