Integrated Amp ideas for Dynaudio Special 40's

Hi AZBRD,

My source components,  OPPO-UDP205 (sacd), Pro-Ject RPM 9.2 w/ Ortofon Cadenza mc for vinyl.

The WYRED 4 Sound was good, but the Luxman gave me better sound in all areas with the above source components.

I have Contour 60s (can’t speak to Special 40s) but assuming similar, I don’t think you can go wrong with Luxman, Naim or Hegel. I’ve heard all 3 and wouldn’t have any complaints.  

After all of this, I decided on a simple setup with a Peachtree Nova500.  The SQ is close to my ears (but at times clearly surpassed) and the benefit of removing 2 components while giving me a home theater bypass for movies and clear advantage with WAF. It’s also 1/2 the cost of most other, better sounding options.  

Overall, I’m happy... for now :-)

NAD M32 for sure

This is now old but I have the S40's and love them. I have tested them with a slew of integrated amps. Here is how they rank, the ones I tried...

1. BEST - Luxman 590 AXII - Only 60 watts into 4 ohms but wow Magic here. 
2. NEXT BEST - Octave V40 SE with KT88's and NOS driver and input tubes. Only 40 watts but sounds more powerful than the Luxman and my old 300 WPC McIntosh. Amazing amp with these speakers. 
3. FANTASTIC  - If you want a more romantic sound with amazing holographic imaging, the Raven Audio Nighthawk or Blackhawk VIII are fantastic with the S40's. 


POOR: Anything McIntosh. They do not work well with these speakers. Too dull. I tested these with an 8000 Integrated at 300 WPC that cost $10k. The Amps above sound much better. 

Average: PS Audio Sprout 100. Better than the McIntosh in sound but a tad weak in the bass. Not recommended for optimal quality. 

SLOPPY: I tested 2-3 cheap china made amps from Amazon..noisy, weak, flabby and one failed. Blah. 

These speakers want CURRENT much more than watts. They crave QUALITY over grunt force. Avoid class D with these. Class A is best but A/B is also wonderful. They LOVE tubes in the 40 WPC range. 

Steve, I read some of your reviews on your own website especially the one on the Luxman L-590AXII prior to purchasing the amp. Although I don't own the Dynaudio S40, I find the Luxman Class A amp to be very good indeed. I switched from a costlier Naim pre/power separates to this Luxman integrated and it does a considerably better job driving some Marten Duke 2 speakers.