Optional Dynaudio - How does it sound?

[Dr Block]

Morning All,

Just ordered my first VW - R36 Wagon and as one of the options, ticked the Dynaudio upgraded sound system.

I'm interested in hearing some thoughts regarding the Dynaudio, how does it sound?, are you better of getting an aftermarket system installed? etc

My current ride is a Lexus IS250 Sports Luxury which has a Mark Levinson sound sytem which i've found to be superb. Unfortunately, when test driving an R36 it only had the standard sound system. As i drive a lot in my car for business, i enjoy having a good sound system as i'm quite into music.

Looking forward to everyones opinons on the Dynaudio upgrade.

Cheers,

Dr Block (the legend that became a beer)

[MattyT]

Usually, anything with the name Dynaudio attached to it is pretty darn good.

[GTI2708]

I just got the new MK6 GTI with standard speakers and i set them up to my liking. To tell you the truth, i wanted to go the dynaudio....but i'm sort of glad i didn't. The speakers that come standard in the GTI are very good and i'm glad i saved the money. Let me know how it sounds when you do get them tho.

[Brendan_A]

I've had Dyn's fitted in another car and have a Dynaudio home theater system and they are the best sounding speakers! Very crisp and clear. If i had the option i would have had them. For the little extra is cost you couldn't buy front and rear Dyn's and a power amp at a car audio shop. You won't be disappointed!

[G-rig]

I know Northfield up here have installed various speakers including Dynaudio in Passat's for people that didn't get factory ordered Dyns. I don't know the differences but the after market 3-way set is approx. $1500 as well. I assume the VW option would be a cheaper set made for VW given the price of other options.

Either way you wouldn't get the most out of them with the factory AMP so it would be worth upgrading that too.

I just got the new MK6 GTI with standard speakers and i set them up to my liking. To tell you the truth, i wanted to go the dynaudio....but i'm sort of glad i didn't. The speakers that come standard in the GTI are very good and i'm glad i saved the money. Let me know how it sounds when you do get them tho.

Have they improved the audio system since the MK5?

[GTI2708]

Have they improved the audio system since the MK5?[/QUOTE]

I don;t know to be honest. I haven't had a Mk5. But i think they're pretty good personally...but i mean you seem like a speaker enthusiast so it's probably good you did go for them.

[G-rig]

Have they improved the audio system since the MK5?

I don;t know to be honest. I haven't had a Mk5. But i think they're pretty good personally...but i mean you seem like a speaker enthusiast so it's probably good you did go for them.[/QUOTE]

It's hard to comment without hearing the factory Dyn's but they weren't an option in the MK5 (Golf) anyway. They would be good if you didn't want to pull the car apart or do anything else as the MK5 system is a bit disappointing (compared to the 10 year old A4 i had with Bose).

[MattyT]

This is pure conjecture, but it may be that the factory dynaudio system is tuned specifically for each car? If so that would sound miles better then the aftermarket option.

[ope126]

Morning All,

Just ordered my first VW - R36 Wagon and as one of the options, ticked the Dynaudio upgraded sound system.

I'm interested in hearing some thoughts regarding the Dynaudio, how does it sound?, are you better of getting an aftermarket system installed? etc

My current ride is a Lexus IS250 Sports Luxury which has a Mark Levinson sound sytem which i've found to be superb. Unfortunately, when test driving an R36 it only had the standard sound system. As i drive a lot in my car for business, i enjoy having a good sound system as i'm quite into music.

Looking forward to everyones opinons on the Dynaudio upgrade.

Cheers,

Dr Block (the legend that became a beer)

Here is some futher info for you;

http://www.dynaudio.com/eng/auto/variant.php

[G-rig]

This is pure conjecture, but it may be that the factory dynaudio system is tuned specifically for each car? If so that would sound miles better then the aftermarket option.

It's hard to say how much better they would sound or what the extent of the tuning is as the link doesn't say exactly but guessing the crossovers may be set a little different but wouldn't be anything like after market tuning. What you're paying for is better quality and sounding speakers on the most part.

No doubt they would be better than the standard speakers if they are anything like the stock 3-way's in the mk5 golf which the crossovers are pretty poor.

[plasmod3]

Hmmmm you do know that you can buy the dynaudio system later on if you find the stock speakers not to your liking...they don;t sell for much on ebay. Getting an experienced person to fit it is paramount though & the key question if you want it down the track.

I do have monitor audio pl300s for my home with a bryston audio dac & leema amp so i appreciate good music...given my background i can say that the current stock speaker setup is quite good & to my liking. The main thing is to have the sound in front of you rather than to the back & you can set the balance to achieve this. If you are really keen on sound get the cd changer with your sat nav as the cd changer has superior dac + 32x oversampling. The speakers....well they work well just out of the box without an upgrade imho. If you are keen on good speakers go for the dynaudio esotars...or the focal bes (they are like the diamond domes of B&W) ....much more impressive than a dynaudio setup.

btw i listened to the dynaudios & compared it to the monitor audios before i made my buying choice.....the dynaudio lacks....convincing & the accentuation of subtle detail. Different amp (although same price range) i give you that but the difference was quite astonishing.

[Dr Block]

Hi Opel,

Thanks for posting the link. I'll check it out whilst i'm @ work today.

Cheers,

Dr Block

[Dr Block]

Hi Plasmod3,

Thanks for the detailed reply to my query. You obviously know your stuff when it comes to audio be it in car or at home by the sounds of things!

You've certainly given me some food for thought should I find the Dynaudio not quite to my liking. I've certainly been spoilt these last 3 years by the Mark Levinson set up in my Lexus and am hoping to achieve something similar with the Dynaudio in my soon to be forthcoming R36.

I appreciate your time and thoughts and after I get my car might pick your brain further should I feel the need to tinker with the sound system.

Cheers,

Dr Block

[G-rig]

Hmmmm you do know that you can buy the dynaudio system later on if you find the stock speakers not to your liking...they don;t sell for much on ebay. Getting an experienced person to fit it is paramount though & the key question if you want it down the track.

I agree, it's not that hard to fit them later and I highly doubt the after market set would be any worse in fact they would be better. You could also get some sound deadening at the same time (although not as necessary on VW compared to other cars) but a good quality install is important as you say. Still hard to know if the VW ones are even Esotecs or something else.

The speakers....well they work well just out of the box without an upgrade imho. If you are keen on good speakers go for the dynaudio esotars...or the focal bes (they are like the diamond domes of B&W) ....much more impressive than a dynaudio setup.

Whilst I wouldn't mind some Esotars they are an overkill for the car given the listening environment. Better off getting the imaging & staging right and driving the Esotecs properly as i've done with an active setup (amp for each speaker) and by adding an Audison BitOne.1 DSP. Helps to lift the sound up and get it in front of you on the dash and is a more hi-fi sound.

Not only that, the Esotars are a lot more expensive. Not sure if the Passat use a 2-way or 3-way system but the Esotar tweeters alone are $1700, and a 3-way set costing $4500 vs $1600 for the Esotecs.

Dynaudio pricelist

btw i listened to the dynaudios & compared it to the monitor audios before i made my buying choice.....the dynaudio lacks....convincing & the accentuation of subtle detail. Different amp (although same price range) i give you that but the difference was quite astonishing.

I assume you're talking about the home audio speakers which i haven't yet hear but most people rate them. Would help to compare on the same amp and i found with my car speakers they took a while to loosen up and sound good, pretty flat out of the box.

Who sells Monitor Audio's for the car here, wouldn't mind having a listen?

You've certainly given me some food for thought should I find the Dynaudio not quite to my liking. I've certainly been spoilt these last 3 years by the Mark Levinson set up in my Lexus and am hoping to achieve something similar with the Dynaudio in my soon to be forthcoming R36.

Dr Block I don't think you'd be too disappointed and nice as a factory option to save pulling the car apart. There is some more information on the system in the link below (but you have to highlight the text to see it properly). Still hard to know how it would compare with good after market install techniques, and some dynamat usually helps the midbass.


http://www.dynaudio.com/eng/auto/VW/vw.htm

[Brendan_A]

I had Esotars in one of my previous rides.Straight out of the box they sounded ordinary, the tweeters were very high pitched. They take about 100Hrs to loosen up and they sound awesome after that. The thing is installing Esotars in a car is that they take up a lot of room. The tweeter is 4 inch wide and very deep! Dynaudio and VW would know what they are doing with the install and tuning. It would be a sweet sounding factory install.