Dynaudio Excite X32 vs PMC FB1 vs Silver 8i vs DM 2/6 vs Aegis One

The Beginning 

 My first pair of speakers was the AE Aegis One for £150 in 1999. I had that for about 3 years and I remembered the disproportionately small white driver in a fairly large box providing big and extended but slightly under-damped bass. And the soft dome tweeter is less extended and isn’t too revealing, giving an overall warm sound. Midrange must be good but not as memorable.

What’s amazing today is that one can still find a year 2000 review by Stereophile (link). I have to concur their finding: overall lacked "air." It sums up my memory of that good value box.

When I upgraded to the Monitor Audio Silver 8i, the bass surprisingly wasn’t significantly “more” though I didn’t owned them simultaneously and wasn’t bothered by it at the time of purchase. If anything it might be “less”. The bass port is tuned quite high for such a large box (ok still relatively compact by floorstander standard, at least short and shallow). The overall bass is less extended and the lower bass is somewhat lacking.

This helps to project the beautiful mid and treble and gives the sound a lighter bias. I was drawn by the “airy” sound. Sometimes in the night it can give an eerie 3D surround-like sound as if sneaking from behind you. Other times loud passages can be a bit bright. The metal dome tweeter is revealing and voices, especially from video source, are remarkably clear and precise. But accurate it is not because it does not have sufficiently weight to back it up and leaves you slightly wanting. Piano can sound a bit on the thin side.

Soundstage isn’t as wide and stays quite low. Imaging isn’t great and the centre stage isn’t as stable. One is constantly aware that the piano sound, say, emanates from the cabinets. In other words somewhat boxy. Having used the 8i in 3 different countries and 5 different living room, the current one is the smallest of the five. Unusual positioning and lack of wall reinforcement highlighted it’s deficiencies more. The 8i gives the impression of more sub bass but I realised it’s because it’s slightly less tight and less controlled. The bass not as extended (as the X32 say, more later) but hangs a bit longer perhaps. It feels less coherent, unbalanced.

In fact I auditioned the 2014 Silver 8 and Gold GX 100 from Monitor Audio and although they retained the clear mid/highs and improved the low end quantity and quality, the sound never quite manage to project beyond the boundary of the cabinets and the centre stage still isn’t as alive or go as high as I know possible. The image isn’t as stable as the Dynaudio X32 or Focus 160 which retailed at double the price but was an ex-demo at a comparable price.


I finally decided it’s time to upgrade. It’s not the first time. In the past the 8i has seen off the PMC FB1 which I briefly owned and found to be detailed and sweet but too studio-monitor-like and give less bass, less warmth perhaps. The aim is simple: more bass and imaging and layering/separation of sound. I never liked the look of the 8i anyway with and without the odd-shaped grills. A Dynaudio DM 2/6 has shown me how much bass I have been missing! When playing solo piano pieces or as accompaniment for my children’s piano practice, the wooden hammer and weighty tone feels accurate and resonates like a real piano. The port kicks serious air and the thumping can be felt and though a bit stretched at higher volume for such a small box, gives the impression of copious sub bass!. Not very sensitive and slightly boomy when pushed but still very enjoyable, fun as music should be. Being placed close to the wall (rear port partly covered) and powered only by a 15W Yamaha Microsystem, I’m rediscovering so much more music recently, to quote the usual cliché. It turns out that

Seduced by Dynaudio

Back in 1999 I auditioned the Audience 50 in London and remembered they pack a real punch but has a slightly bright treble. 10 years on, the DM 2/6 seems to have tamed the beast. When I auditioned the Focus 160, the immediacy of the bigger brother and the precise imaging is well balanced by the excellent bass output (driven by Rega Elex-R). It’s a fairly large 20L box, solidly built with a 170mm driver that kicks lots of air but might still struggle to give me that low grunt I’m after in my room (I'm after sub-like vibration!). Convinced by the Dynaudio woofer and house sound, I took a bet on the Excite X32 which is an elegant 2-way floorstander, slimmer and taller than the 8i, but deeper, driven by twin 14cm woofers of DM 2/6 diameter but unknown specification. Surprisingly the drivers has the same marking as the DM 2/6 and I do wonder if they in fact share the same components, wrapped in different cabinets. That’s not necessarily bad because I know how much the DM 2/6 driver can thump and X32 having a pair of them does in fact pump out twice the amount of house shaking bass - not with the Roksan (more later).

Compared to the 8i, sound is more forward and warmer. Treble is less extended and some high level details aren’t as revealing or as sparkly. It’s just less prominent and less fatiguing. Soft silk dome tweeter can be easily damaged though and both my DM 2/6 and X32 came with one dome slightly indented.

The main itch with the 8i that is scratched and soothed by the X32 is loosely termed as imaging, soundstage or boxiness. If you google around, you’ll find that soundstage is the 3D space (HxWxD) created in front of you and Imaging is the accuracy of the instruments/performer within the space. My believe is boxiness is the destructor of the other two and one cannot exist without the other. Although with the 8i, some centre stage can still be detected.

With the X32, you get stable, precise imaging within a large soundstage. Naturally I have to sit quite central to get that effect. The cabinets easily disappear even when you stare at them. The soundstage extends wide beyond the outer boundary and soars slightly above cabinets. (I have heard the KEF R300/500 and a bit surprised that they are being described as creating too much height). I understand it’s necessary to project the centre image slightly forward in order to create some depth. And X32 midrange is slightly forward but wow, the sound goes very far back, giving a great sense of the room ambiance. DM 2/6 offers similar depth but less width and height. Complex passages aren’t totally well defined or easy to follow compared to more expensive standmounts like Focus 160.

The second improvement I was after is bass weight to back up mainly piano and guitar music. The bass goes lower, albeit slightly, and can be felt more readily. Together with the precise imaging, solo pianos gain added extra body and presence, and a taste of the Focus 160 sound, goosebumps and all. Piano sounds more like a real piano.

Bass Class

The DM2/6 driven by the Yamaha seems to add extra fat bass resonance to give even more body to the sound that I like. So I connected the X32 to the humble class D Yamaha micro in the living room and incredible super saturated bass poured out of the X32 to my delight. Yes it was uncontrolled and thick but less strained or muddy then the DM 2/6 when the bass gets some serious kicking. And X32 plays louder which to my suprise, suggests that it is more sensitive than DM 2/6.

Even the rear port which was calm and polite with the Roksan suddenly kicks and blows with every bass note that the Yamaha gives out. It is said that the efficiency of class D over class AB esp when pushed to the current drawing limit of low bass is more capable to meeting that demand. I dared not believe until I heard it that a 15W micro can sound more fun than the 85W amp and DAC costing 10 times more. By now I had thrown away the audiophile badge and rule book.


I’m glad with my latest audition outcome and enlightenment. In fact the more I listen to acoustic stuff that wasn’t part of my audition tracks, the more I’m amazed at the presence created by the X32. I’m happy with the X32 for the price I paid for it, enough for me to let the 8i go for less than half of that, after 15 years of faithful service. Is it twice as good as 8i? I think so. And the RRP suggests so. Not sure I’d be as satisfied if I had paid the RRP though. The X32 isn’t bass shy but I feel if money no object I’m certain to prefer even more punch (and grunt) from a Focus 260 or Contour S3.4 with their dual 170mm drivers. And I know firsthand that the Esotec2 tweeter is cleaner and more resolving. The itch has already started...

In fact, I reconnected my Cyrus DVD8 in a head-to-head with the Cambridge DacMagic 2 MKII and discovered, or should I say "recovered", a lot of the missing "air" in the X32:) Imaging further improved and treble is more extended with clearer sounding cymbals. Voices regain extra nuances and overall presentation sounds less congested.What hasn't changed is the slightly forward midband. So it appears that my source is a weakness in the chain.

Eureka

Perhaps the speakers can't do it all. E.g. DVD8 reveals more air and top extension, the humble class D Yamaha micro reveals the thick organ-shattering deep bass. On to the next chapter in chasing the perfect sound for me. Partner the X32 with a combination of resolving DAC and a bassy amp, preferrably in one box!


X32 Pros:
Sounds more balanced and versatile
Good bass for the size.
Not too fussy about placement.

X32 Cons:
Treble could be sweeter and more revealing
Small cabinet footprint lacks stability
Complex passages lacks resolution.


PS: Actually my first pair was Paradigm One in 1997 powered by Marantz.

PS: All the speakers here are powered by Roksan Caspian which the right channel is now acting up, rendering the volume control useless but still cherished. The source is Dacmagic 2 MK II. In the audition Rega Elex-R and CD player was used.