Speaker Asylum: REVIEW: Dynaudio Audience 42 Speakers by Russellkishi@aol.com

Model:	Audience 42
Category:	Speakers
Suggested Retail Price:	$699
Description:	2-way bookshelf
Manufacturer URL:	Dynaudio
Manufacturer URL:	Dynaudio

Review by Russellkishi@aol.com ( A ) on December 03, 2003 at 09:43:57
IP Address: 64.12.96.202

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for the Audience 42

I've lived with the Dynaudio Audience 42 since March, 2003. The speakers are now fully broken in, and I am convinced I made the right purchase. Actually bought them for $643 total (including sales tax) as a store demo from The Sound Factor in Pasadena, California. At that price the Audience 42 is a downright steal. I cannot see how anyone can find a better pair of speakers for the price.

I find nothing of significance to criticize about the Audience 42. I actually like their overall sonic character better than the Audience 52, which I auditioned in the store. True, the bass output is limited by physics. But the oversized voice coil and superior construction of the mid/bass driver guarantees a smooth response within the speaker's frequency range. I listen to a broad range of music and am quite satisfied with the amount of bass on offer.

The real strengths of the Audience 42 are the superb midrange and top end. Vocals (both male and female) are reproduced with stunning realism. You get a very tangible sense of both phrasing and breathing on the great Frank Sinatra Capitol recordings. You also get superb delineation of massed voices. I am hearing instruments recreated in ways I never heard before with my previous speakers, including early DCM Time Windows and Tannoy Mercury M2s. Both of these speakers sound bloated and indistinct by comparison. The Audience 42 has them both beat in terms of side to side and front to back imaging. The DCM sounds like a Bose 901 by comparison.

This speaker just delivers an awesome amount of bang for the buck. When I auditioned them, I also spent time comparing the Audience 42 to the $900 B&W CM2, a standmounter of the same size. The Audience 42 had the B&W beat by a significant margin. You can't ask for more from a speaker that cost me less than $650.

Product Weakness: None at this price point. Even the vinyl Rosewood finish looks good to my eye.
Product Strengths: Excellent midrange and treble reproduction. Surprisingly satisfying bass response. Phenomenal reproduction of voices and most instruments. Very good side to side imaging. Slightly less good at front to back imaging. But very smooth sound overall.

Associated Equipment for this Review:
Amplifier:	Sumo Nine Class A power amplifier
Preamplifier (or None if Integrated):	Adcom GTA500 Mc II
Sources (CDP/Turntable):	Arcam CD62T, Rega Planar 2 with Blue Point cartridge
Speakers:	Dynaudio Audience 42
Cables/Interconnects:	XLO Reference
Music Used (Genre/Selections):	Classical, older rock, film scores, traditional pop
Type of Audition/Review:	Product Owner

Product Weakness:	None at this price point. Even the vinyl Rosewood finish looks good to my eye.
Product Strengths:	Excellent midrange and treble reproduction. Surprisingly satisfying bass response. Phenomenal reproduction of voices and most instruments. Very good side to side imaging. Slightly less good at front to back imaging. But very smooth sound overall.