Focus 160s

Sean

Sean

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Joined
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The Dyn forum seems to be a little bare...thought I could post my thoughts here about the Focus 160s.

Upon opening up both the speakers and the Stand6's, I noticed the quality of packing and then units themselves to both be of high quality - the stands are both sturdy and substantial.

The piano black finish on the 160's is quite nice. Assembling the stands is easy and the quality control is pretty high. Holes match up as they should and all of the nuts and bolts form a tight fit with no play.

I snapped some pics as I opened everything up...I'll post them later tonight.

So far, I am enjoying what the Focus 160's have been able to give me. Break in will be long but it will be enjoyable. I have checked out about 4-5 cds which I am pretty familiar with and the sound is musical. It will be exciting to hear what the 'final product' will sound like.

See Supernait 2 thread for more info: http://audioshark.org/integrated-systems-18/delivery-day-2129.html#.Uin1UaxiClA
 
dlb2 said:
Just play some house music for a day or two, that will loosen up those drivers!
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You know it, Doug! I got to listen last night and kept everything powered up overnight. Christine is home today and I showed her how to run everything so they should be getting a little run-in while I'm here at work, too!
 
Sweet Sean! I can't wait to hear how things sound after a few hundred hours. Especially your impressions of the Supernait2. :woot:

Did you say which cables you're using? (I'm too lazy to go back and check!)
 
dlb2 said:
Sweet Sean! I can't wait to hear how things sound after a few hundred hours. Especially your impressions of the Supernait2. :woot:

Did you say which cables you're using? (I'm too lazy to go back and check!)
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I am very excited, too!

I suppose when I talk about the sound from the Dyn's, you can easily give a lot of credit to the SN2, as well. Since both were brought in at the same time, I won't likely be able to separate what each brings to the table, individually, without speculation. The sound (from both the SN2 and 160's) is very musical, something you'll hear from most Naim users. I just have fun sitting down to listen. I like a pretty wide range of music - 90's alternative (stuff I grew up on); classic rock; and some jazz and classical. So far, Adele, Matchbox Twenty, and Dave Matthews all sound pretty good.

No worries, I don't think I have posted my cabling. I went with Naim's NACA5 (5M) for speaker cable and Chord's Cobra interconnect. If you have read about Naim, I am sure you know about Naim gear and how they are designed to use specific cabling. The thing I thought was funny about their recommendation about speaker cable is to use longer lengths. Naim doesn't build in extra inductance networks in the output of the amps, as they handle that at the speaker cable. The longer lengths keep the amp stable.
 
Congrats Sean
Naim and Dynaudio has great synergy and PrAT. Just a quick warning - the sound may change dramatically during the break in process. My original C1's went from very good to horrible to great. But I was warned by my dealer that would happen. He also told me the C1's of all the Dyn speakers went though the toughest break in. When I got the Sig's the break in wasn't as bad so hopefully the new Focus series won't be as tough of a break in process. Just give them at least 250 hrs before making any judgement.
 
octadyndude said:
Congrats Sean
Naim and Dynaudio has great synergy and PrAT. Just a quick warning - the sound may change dramatically during the break in process. My original C1's went from very good to horrible to great. But I was warned by my dealer that would happen. He also told me the C1's of all the Dyn speakers went though the toughest break in. When I got the Sig's the break in wasn't as bad so hopefully the new Focus series won't be as tough of a break in process. Just give them at least 250 hrs before making any judgement.
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Thank you, George. So far the (in)famous Dyn break-in is going well. Looking forward to continue pushing through.

I see you're pushing your C1's with Octave. Their synergy with Dyn is also well documented. Have you been able to compare both Naim and Octave within your home setup? I'd be interested in your comments, if so.
 
I did compare the Naim XS directly to the V70se when I had it. When I bought the C1 sig I bought my dealers pair from the first shipment in the USA. As they broke in (450 hrs) my dealer had a client from California that wanted to hear them with a Naim XS which he had. So Tyler loaned me the XS and P/S with a cd5. Had it in my home for 3 days. I was somewhat surprised how close it sounded to the V70se. With the slight edge going to the Octave having a hair more 'control' in the music. Both had the PRaT that I really liked when I first heard the Naim. I did also notice a slight midbass hump with the XS.

I never directly compared the SuperNait although I was within a hair of buying one after hearing at my dealer when I was looking to replace my Bryston B100sst. But while I was thinking about it I got a wild hair up my butt to try tubes. My thought was instead of buying a new amp I could just swap some tubes. As it turned out my dealer Tyler at NextLevelav had a customer who changed his order from the V70se to the V80 just after it shipped. He brought it over to my home for a 3 day demo. Well it just crushed the Bryston in every way. So I snagged it and never looked back. I'm having a ball rolling tubes. With the right combo I can change the sound from very detailed and linear to warm and musical. Then I had the opportunity to upgrade the the V110. Figured why not because even though the V70se can use the KT120 it can't deliver any more power. The V110 has a switch on the back to change the plate voltage to 620V (110w) from 540V (70w) so I can use all of my EL34's - 6550's and KT88/90's.
 
George,

Thanks for the info on Octave and your C1 sigs. I miss my Dyn C1's. They are great speakers and I can imagine the synergy with Octave is outstanding. Are the C1 Sigs still competitive or do you expect any new Dynaudio models coming out? I'll have to talk to Tyler about the Octave gear. Does your Octave V110 have the auto shut off feature?
 
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Joe YES it does. Actually the V110 is a modified V70SE that also has switchable plate voltage (540V for 70w to 620V for 110W) with some better caps to better stabilize the input mains power. Otherwise it has all the features of the V70SE. What I haven't done though is compare the V70SE or V110 to the V80 which has better output transformers.

As far as Dynaudio I heard a RUMOR that they will be changing some of the existing lineups faster than in previous years. But for me personally I think the C1 MKII/Sig is a great value at its price point. The only speaker I have heard that I like better is the Raidho D1's. Only monitors work in my room and I can't afford 3 X's the cost of the Signatures for the D1's.
 
Thanks!

I'm back on the Octave website checking their gear out. I've always loved the looks of it.

Dynaudio make amazing speakers and I still can not get over the wide sound stage and wonderful sound of the C1 Sigs that I owned. I always thought I'd move up to the C2's which I think size wise would be perfect for me. Hmmmm. Something to think about.

octadyndude said:
Joe YES it does. Actually the V110 is a modified V70SE that also has switchable plate voltage (540V for 70w to 620V for 110W) with some better caps to better stabilize the input mains power. Otherwise it has all the features of the V70SE. What I haven't done though is compare the V70SE or V110 to the V80 which has better output transformers.

As far as Dynaudio I heard a RUMOR that they will be changing some of the existing lineups faster than in previous years. But for me personally I think the C1 MKII/Sig is a great value at its price point. The only speaker I have heard that I like better is the Raidho D1's. Only monitors work in my room and I can't afford 3 X's the cost of the Signatures for the D1's.
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Congrats on the focus 160s. They are superb speakers. I had a pair in gloss white and they looked stunning. And I felt the sound was shockingly close to the much more expensive c1. The c1 still pulls ahead in resolution, but the focus 160 is a great speaker.

Love to see some pics. I'm thinking about shelling out for some of those stand 6s. Ae they easier to assemble than the stand 4 (which was a bear)? Also, are they easy to fill with sand?
 
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jaxwired said:
Congrats on the focus 160s. They are superb speakers. I had a pair in gloss white and they looked stunning. And I felt the sound was shockingly close to the much more expensive c1. The c1 still pulls ahead in resolution, but the focus 160 is a great speaker.

Love to see some pics. I'm thinking about shelling out for some of those stand 6s. Ae they easier to assemble than the stand 4 (which was a bear)? Also, are they easy to fill with sand?
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Hi Jax,

Nice to see you here. I see you replaced the C1's and NAD....a new sound can always be fun. The 160's are giving me everything I have expected so far and I'm still young in the break-in.

I won't be able to comment on stand construction vs the 4 but the 6's were pretty breezy. Just a few (solid) parts and it didn't take too long despite taking my time. I haven't filled with lead or sand but the manual says you can.
 
Ooo, those do look fab in gloss black! Sweet!

Here's my advice, go download (hi res only of course) a copy of the album "water" by the beautiful girls. Put that on and crank that naim dyn combo. :evil:
 
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