Wilson Benesch ACT1 VS Dynaudio Confidence 5

agree with multiple comments here...

i own the curren model ACT's (full disclosure).

and yes, they don't reproduce the lowest octave. and for many, that's a deal breaker. but for me, i don't mind the lack of deep bass for my listening tastes.

and yes, the ACT's despite their sensitivity level, play very well with a variety of amplification types and power levels. i've used the Creek Destiny Integrated, the Audionet SAM V2, Parasound Halo A21, Synthesis The Theatre EL-34 mono blocks.

the flexibility in amplification is what makes the WB line of speakers great. you can try out so many things and change the sound whenever you want to based on your tastes.

a speaker that can play very well with both solid state and tube is a great thing (for those of us who like both of course).

my dealer used to pair his WB Chimera's (top of the line) with Manley 300B mono blocks.

either way, it sounds great.

Ajazi

The deep bass that all but a few of the most expensive speakers produce is really just junk. Slow, with doubling and lots of cabinet resonance, muddy and it often smears the most important part of the music, the midrange. In addition you end up placing those speakers, not for the best sound staging but just to attenuate the bass so it doesn't overwhelm. Sound familiar anyone?

Sounds_real...

i agree. but i usually just stick to telling people that for my tastes, i don't mind not hearing the lowest octave.

the reason why i take that route (of explanation) is because i know so many people love that "muddy" sound.

; )

The confidence 5 in room response is 33Hz and rolls off from there. In most rooms this is about as much clean bass you would need, and the key wood here is clean bass with definition.

Heard WB a few times, never owned them so I won't comment on their sound.

Owned several pairs of C5 in the past, bought/sold with other speakers in between. Thought I could not do better so kept going back to C5, but at the end I did give up on them.

They have a very nice and sweet tone, midrange and up is really special, so is the bass definition. But it does have drawbacks. Despite its low efficiency, it has pretty good micro dynamic, but lacks macro dynamic. Also, midrange focus is average,instruments always sounds bigger than reality and somewhat diffused. Top end is too sweet in today's standard, lacks extension and transparency when compares to newer SOTA tweeters.

In a small room, that's what C5 is designed for, it can sound very good if you don't mind the imaging and extension drawbacks.

Technology has advanced quite a bit in the past 20 years, you can do better than C5.