Dynaudio Focus compared to Vandeersteen 3a Sigs?

I've owned the Focus 110 and 140 and Vandersteen's 2CE Sig II and 1Ci. I prefer the Vandersteens by a long shot for two reasons. First, over time I came to realize that both sets of Focus speakers were slightly colored in the midrange, making voices in particular sound a little unnatural. The second reason is that as smooth as the Dynaudio tweeter is it can be a little slow, which I noticed on music with very fast percussion instruments like shakers and maracas. It was almost like the speaker was falling behind the beat. I'm not a speed/detail/attack freak by any means--if anything I go for a more relaxed and "musical" presentation. I never quite got the PRAT thing till I realized the Focus speakers had poor timing.

Haven't heard the new Focus series. They do have an upgraded tweeter, so they might be worth giving a listen.

What kind of budget are you considering? The DM 3/7 are $1995 and the Excite X32 are $3000. The new Focus 260 jump to $4900. I just picked up a pair of the discontued Focus 220 MKII for $2495 (original list of $3600). I have listened to the DM 3/7 and a friend of mine is considering those but I told him for another $500 I thought the Focus 220 MKII offered more detail and a tighter bottom end.

Ablang thats for your input very helpful.

Mwheeler,

My budget is $4K for fronts hence I am in the range for the Vandys Treo and Dynaudio Focus. I need to make sure matching center channel and surrounds match and do not get expensive.

thanks

I have to respectfully disagree with Ablang's remarks about the tweeter in the Dynaudio Focus series. Dynaudio is known to make some of the best tweeters in the world and most reviews of the focus series (especially the newest version) talk very positively about them. There's a lot of things you can say about Dynaudio but bad tweeters isn't one of them. Thousand of recording studios around the world rely on them so if there was an inkling that they were "slow," someone would have figured it out by now. Also, this would be the first time I've ever heard a tweeter could be either slow or fast (which I think is actually impossible with todays technology.)

Anyway, I would recommend the Dynaudio's simply because I believe they are the most natural (accurate) sounding speakers made. Horns sound like horns, and strings like strings. Also, their speakers are known for impress bass even in smaller enclosures. Soundstage is good but not great in my opinion. I believe the Vandy's are much better in that regard.