A
large profiled port vents the enclosure on its rear panel. Only a single set of
terminals is provided, as Dynaudio considers its network design a crucial
performance factor
Maximum excitement
With its latest Excite range seen at last
summer’s Munich High End show, Dynaudio says it aims to ‘provide a touch of
luxury at affordable prices’. It’s not the first loudspeaker specialist to look
towards owners of middle-market, modestly-priced amplifiers (and AV receivers)
and claim to deliver hi-fi heaven at less than other-worldly prices. However,
it is better placed than many to trickle-down engineering from its more
expensive designs, as it manufactures everything in-house, developing and
building drive units to suit each model. If the X38 is a bit too large for you
there’s a smaller two-way floorstander in the range. The 93cm-tall Excite X34 ($3,363.40)
sports the same 27mm fabric-domed tweeter married with two 14cm bass/mid
drivers. The line-up also includes a compact standmount/bookshelf model, the
28.5cm tall X14 ($1,513.53) featuring the 27mm tweeter and a solitary 140mm
bass/mid unit; and there’s a centre channel speaker for AV systems, the X24
Center ($1,042.65) where the tweeter is combined with two 110mm drivers. Excite
models come in satin black; walnut and rosewood veneers with black grilles; and
satin white with grey grilles.
Standlautsprecher
Dynaudio Excite X38
Packing a punch
With appropriate music recordings the Excite
38 packs a serious punch. Bass is tremendously tight and fast, with subjectively
fine extension too, given the speaker’s modest proportions. Naturally it won’t
flap the bottom of your trouser legs in the manner of a heavyweight high-end
monitor or well set-up subwoofer, nevertheless low frequencies are sufficiently
plentiful to give a good sense of musical realism when listening at moderate
sound pressure levels. The midband has good presence, making the X38 an
excellent monitor for analysing a recording’s fine detail when you want to
critically ‘listen in’, while the tweeter exhibits plenty of sparkle without
fatiguing hardness – so the sound rarely appears analytical or matter-of-fact.
Kick off your shoes and relax to the music, rather than deliberately focusing
on a recording’s technical quality, and the X38 sounds comfortably relaxed and
colourful.
Dynaudio
Excite X38 Review 3
No, it doesn’t sound overtly coloured. When
I say its delivery is ‘colourful’ I mean that the speaker paints rich tonal hues
rather than serving up a clinically bleached rendition of instrumental timbres.
In a manner not too dissimilar to some ATC monitors I’ve enjoyed listening to
over the years, the sound is crisp and tightly controlled while simultaneously warm
and inviting, encouraging prolonged and hugely entertaining listening.
Hearing a recent free download track from
Channel Classics, ‘Sans Parure’, by trumpeter Eric Vloeimans performing with
the Holland Baroque Society from the album Old New & Blue[SACD, CCS SA 35613],
showed the X38 to be capable of creating a creditably wide and deep sound image
when given room to breathe.
With the X38s positioned a metre or so free
of boundary walls in my listening room, the speakers almost 4m apart and 6m
away from the listening seat, I was able to enjoy a large-scale image of the musicians
performing at the end of my room. The instrumental timbres appeared deeply-coloured
and rich in texture, with the acoustic ambience of the setting portrayed
beautifully in this immensely atmospheric and brooding piece. Furthermore the
X38’s execution of fine detail admirably revealed the improved realism when
playing the track at higher resolutions.
