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Dynaudio C4 speaker equipment matching

My first post, looking for advise.

My system includes:

Plinius CD101 CDP
Plinius Tautoro Pre Amp
Two Plinius SA-103's running in bridged mono configuration
Nordost Frey interconects(2m) and speaker cables(4m) Nordost Thor power conditioner and Brahma power cords (2m) attached to all equipment
Finite Element Signiture racks
Ceraballs and Cerabases
Dynaudio C4 speakers on spikes

The room is untreated and large, 12ft ceilings, 23ft long and 28ft wide. Speakers are 4ft from the wall rear wall. Listening is normally at moderate levels.

I listen to rock, male and female voices, acoustic guitar, a little RAP and techno. Broad taste.

I have a very large sound stage, which I love, though sound is to forward for my liking.

I am looking for more dynamic's, increased depth in the sound stage and greater bass control. I was thinking of starting with the CDP, was thinking of WADIA 861SE, Esoteric SA60/UX-01 or similar and was also thinking of going to Nordost Valhalla cables, though the pair I tried did not make a significant difference, to my suprise.

I was told that changing to a copper power cord on my preamp might help with depth of sound stage. Would appreciate any advise as to the weak links in my system and upgrade opportunities, biggest impact first. I want to keep the SA-103's amps.
jon47
keithr
1,306 posts
 
for cables, i've used Supras for years with Dyns and they are cheap and great as they are very neutral. you don't need to spend more---and i would never put a networked cable on a Dynaudio. they are used to tame bright speakers. and Dynaudio is definitely not bright. i wouldn't use Cardas either which is usually a smooth sound cable (i tried Golden Reference on my old Wilson system and didn't really care for it).

but none of what you want has to do with cables, so i would work with speaker placement and room first. in fact, selling all of your Nordost gear and using it for room treatments will put you in the right direction.

btw, i listen to a lot of house music on mine and dj some :) the C1s have tremendous bass, and i've thought about upgrading to C4s, but they are quite big beasts.

KR
missioncoonery
1,215 posts
 
Jon47..Again, I agree with Gundam..Sell the Nordost and get treatments if $$ is a factor..Thats the starting point before you change gear or cables etc.Second, speaker/seat placement..The C4s are a hard speaker to get right in most rooms and ive struggled.Ive had mine since Nov 08 and they are not quite right for my taste but getting close..IMO the C4s work better with a warmer cable(and ive tried a bunch). Cardas is a good one to audition first.I want a system to sound accuarate but musical if that makes sense,that was totally lost with Nordost ..If you dont address the room first cable changing wont do much..If it was my system I would replace the amps after that and add a quality tube pre.I love a tube pre with solid state,and im a old school guy with 25 years of tube amp use.Cost and hassel got me off that band wagon about 7 years ago when I retubed a Jadis defy7..Im running a Mac 402 at present,which alot swear by with Dynaudio...For me the Pass x250.5 is the ticket from the amps ive owned or tried,just my opinion..Let use know how it working out and enjoy the music
keithr
1,306 posts
 
i've had Pass 250.5 on my Dyns as well and it works very, very well. MOSFET amps in general work better than bipolar transistors in my view, though ahven't tried the Krells which are a popular match with Dyns
dave_b's avatar
dave_b
3,159 posts
 
OK, I owned the C4's and they need every ounce of juice the SA-103's are capable of putting out. A new CDP will do nothing for your problem. Nordost cabling is just not that musical and dynamic sounding compared to some other offerings available (stick with copper). Room placement would yield smoothest response by using the long wall and spreading them apart to at least 11 or 12 feet with a listening position of about the same distance or just slightly farther. A Transparent MM powerlink will yield greater dynamics for just about anything you connect it to and will address line noise and contamination (MIT AC2 also works well). Cardas, Kimber, MIT, Transparent etc..are all musical cables and will vastly increase your enjoyment and involvement with your music.
jon47 OP
33 posts
 
From a logistics perspective (room treatments in parallel) I borrowed some MIT MA interconnects and Cardas Golden Reference speaker cables (only had one Golden Reference interconnect in stock to lend me) After many hours of changing and listening, the combination that worked best was the Cardas Golden Reference speaker cables and MIT interconnects. WOW, what a difference! Much better control and realism. The harshness of the Nordost is gone (so is some of the air arounf voices and intruments unfortunately) I will borrow another Cardas interconnect and some MA speaker cables and continue listening. Will let you know the outcome...but going in the right direction now. I have been searching for decent looking and effective room treatments, in parallel...still looking...suggestions most welcome! Also, placed cerabases under the speakers...made a noticable improvement to the base control. Also moved the speakers out from the wall another foot and spent some time on placement...I had too much toe in and speakers a little to close together...depth of soundstage is improving.
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