New Dynaudio Heritage Special..?..!

7k bucks for a wooden box. looks like a DIY job done in the garage.

@kenjit  Sure, dude...whatevs...;-)

smoke some more snake oil and see if you can detect sonic differences of silver AC cords into stand mount active monitors....right...ok...

I’ll be in the garage.

7K for a small monitor speaker is way over my budget.
I’ve owned a few entry level Dyns and appreciate Dynaudios in general. But 7K? I guess if one buys them and keeps and enjoys them for a very long time...Makes the LS50 Meta seem like a bargain.

Not a fan of the looks

The triumph of marketing over engineering.

The ridiculous price tag is what makes them "special."

These hark back to the old Contour for sure. I looked at the link that you provided, and was very surprised at how much they talk about the veneer and the finish. When the show the cutaway, its pretty much the same old thing that you'd expect. I like the looks, some won't; but I can't see the value just to have one of 2500. Nice drivers, but I don't think that they're gonna change the world. 

Kenjit go away!

The total cost of parts used is about $100 for a pair of these. Tweeters, woofers, a handful of capacitors and inductors and a bit of wood. They buy the wood in bulk so they get it far cheaper. The drivers are made by them so they are cheap. Markup is $6900. Only 2500 made? Poppycock. They could make ten times that amount if they wanted to.

b_limo,
You're taking his bait. Better to just ignore him. He's well aware of the cost of those parts.

I know, but its so hard for me at times.  Ugh

If anyone knows of a good condition brown Special One, please let me know.

well, kenjit, I’m sure glad you don’t have budgeting responsibilities here...😉
that’s not quite how business works on earth. But, thanks for playing.

agree that $7k is a wee high and, in western civilization, we do not begrudge those who seek to make a fair profit. 
My sense is the marketing team didn’t want this speaker to take share from the Contour 20i ($5300 or so) so had to,price it above to offer a clear choice. Give it a few weeks and the two speakers will be compared. 

One site in UK compares the looks and sizes. We will see. I like the look and the components used from the evidence series. But I’ll wait and get a used pair in 2 years or so at maybe $4000....I can justify that, right...😂

I have to say when I this "Special Offer" I thought "Some idiots will
jump on this"

in western civilization, we do not begrudge those who seek to make a fair profit.

Which is exactly what the devious speaker companies take advantage of!
They must be laughing at people like you who think $7k is a fair profit

kenjit...BecuAse I’m feeling charitable, let me break down the economics...approximately.

$7,000 is customer msrp
$4,200 is ~ dealer cost.
$3,500 is distributor cost

there for $3500 GROSS profit to Dynaudio 

$1,000 in marketing and sales costs
$500 in G&A costs.
$500 in cost of goods

$1,500 in ~ net profit or 20% net margins.

doesn’t count R&D either. 

They better sound wonderful! From pure cosmetics perspective, they do not look special. Boring actually. Rectangular box, veneer matches in originality. Given their price I have a hunch they sound amazing though and that’s why Dynaudio felt it was the right number. Hey, whatever pushes the technology envelope. Eventually lower Dynaudio lines will benefit from trickle down tech so all Dynaudio owners can enjoy whatever secret sauce went into these. 
And I agree with others - don’t judge people who will buy them just because you can’t afford it or can’t justify the cost. 

Will not judge until some reviews are in.
I had similar in appearance Contours for a number of years. They were a lot of bang for the buck, very well crafted, and superb all around. So we will see. Different sound but Dynaudios compete very well with Harbeth and the like in general at various price points.  Have they ever made a bad value speaker?

Did some research. These will sell for about 3x the price of a pair of similar size Ohm Ls in 1978, adjusted for inflation.

Ohm provides full upgrades for every speaker they have ever made. You could upgrade a pair of Ohm Ls today for just a few hundred dollars and have something at least somewhat similar.

Just saying.....

I do have a partially upgraded pair of Ls that were one of my first good speakers I owned in 1978. They were my favorites at Tech HIFi back then at least among speakers reasonably sized that would fit in a dorm room. I preferred them over JBL, Advent, Infinity, and other popular brands of the day sold there. 

I hope Dynaudio goes back to building speakers that look like the Heritage.  Much better than all of their current designs.  My favorite  monitors that I owned from them are Craffts, Confidence 3, and Contour 1.3SE.  I stopped buying them after the C1s came out (they are imho one of the ugliest speakers I have ever seen).  People on here seem to forget raw Dynaudio drivers are really expensive.  The Heritage uses the drivers from the Evidence line, which I own.  Although $7K isn't pocket change, it can be considered a bargain compared to some other speakers out there.  

People on here seem to forget raw Dynaudio drivers are really expensive

No they are not unless they are made of pure gold and diamonds.

Similar price to some Joseph Audios, no?  That's a good comparison. 

If you are going to spend $7000 on Dynaudio save $1000 and get a pair of the 59's.

https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/Core59--dynaudio-core-59-3-way-powered-studio-monitor-black

They are for a very different audience. 

......I lurk here daily because I often learn from people with more audio experience and knowledge than I.  For that, I give you all my thanks. That said, it's clearly (and painfully) obvious that this kenjit1 fellow is working on issues (non-audio) far beyond the capabilities of any of the others, and this forum's moderators do their content providers a disservice by allowing him to continually hijack threads. His nonsense also "spooks" those less confident audiophiles from ever contributing which can not be good. Just saying.....

The old Contour range was fantastic, but needed serious gear to come alive (which I very much doubt many tried it with) and could punch well above its weight.

If these fulfil their potential they could be lovely little speakers. Looks promising.

Although I’m not sure how limited 2,500 pairs is?

They are overpriced for sure but for a lot of people thats part of the elure. Besides as a company if you did whatever kind of research on pricing these and you can get that number of course you will. I do think they probably sound fantastic but I would wait to pick up a used pair. Wonder how they would compare to a C1 platinum that you can get lightly loved 4-5k. 

I’d pick up a pair of these used for $4,500 tops.
I get that the best components from Evidence series were basically put into the old Contour form factor from the 90’s.

That appeals to me.
$7k...?...not so much.

I’d pick up a pair of these used for $4,500 tops.
I get that the best components from Evidence series were basically put into the old Contour form factor from the 90’s.

That appeals to me.
$7k...?...not so much.

I'd be interested to see how these compare to the $7400 Magico A1.

Battle of the $7k Monitors!

I loved the original Special Twenty- Five...these meh.

How can these be overpriced if you haven't heard them yet?  

I was talking to 3 people on other forums who have been listening.  One of them said they put him on his a$$ and the other fellow said they are way better than SP40, considerably better than the contour 20 and he prefers them to the confidence 20.   This fellow professed to work at the oldest Dynaudio dealer in Europe for many years and said that these are very comparable to Confidence 3 and they absolutely destroy Special 25’s.  I’m only familiar with SP40’s (my go to bookshelves at the moment). If this fellow is credible and has a good ear what are thoughts on his?  I’m considering upgrading to these for my bookshelves but I will not be able to have an audition.  

I just picked up my HS on the 23rd and set them up a few night ago. They’re so good I’ve been skipping meals and not leaving my house much.

Congratulations Toddycat. The Heritage Special does look good. Good to know they have lived up to the expectations.
 

Steve Huff just wrote a review on these speakers.  Extremely positive review.

Hi-fi+ has a teaser at the back of the current issue, that they will be doing an "exclusive" review of the hs in the next issue. I should have looked to see what issue the current one was, but it should be available in about a month.

Hello all.  These cannot be compared to the Contour. These are essentially a re-issue of the late 90's Crafft near field monitor with some minor updates. The Crafft shared components with the Confidence line.  Some may not like the looks but the construction is amazing and hand made in Denmark. The Craffts I own will go down to 38Hz,  produce 120 db, and fill a room like you wouldn't believe.  Transparent is the word Guttenberg used for them.  You should check them out. BTW, mine were also sold as the Confidence 1 in my neck of the woods and cost me $4000 in 1999 so I don't think the price on the Heritage is too far out of line based on inflation. 

I have a pair in for audition now, along with the Audiovector R1s. My current speakers are the Special 40s, which are a phenomenal speaker. The Heritage is on a completely different planet by comparison however. Best monitor I have ever heard hands down. I have put the R1s in and out several times and there is just no comparison, Heritage hit the entire spectrum of sound with a fluidity, balance and transparency I have never heard on a speaker like this. 

I get it, $7k is alot of money, but they compete at that level without question. Looks may not be for you, but honestly who cares at the end of the day, it's about the music and sound, you get over it pretty quickly. And to be honest the build quality is up there with anything Magico is doing, but won't slice your face off like Magico. 

Just got in a pair myself...hands down the best monitors I have heard.  Speed, transparency, coherence -- there is just something addictive about listening to them...one more song...the Steve Huff video is spot on.  If this is your cup of tea, you need not look further.

I’d like to see a Spinorama of the Heritage Special.

The Special 40s had pretty bad measurements, to the point even Danny Richie at GR Research felt the need to re-do the crossover (altogether his design simply trades off a 1K peak for a 3K peak).

Yea but Mr Huff said the Special 40's compete with 10K Speakers....so these must be worth 20K.  Nothing but Hyperbole as always. Enjoy his reviews but he is right up there with Upscale Audio's reviews...take em with a grain of salt.

Of course, Huff makes his money on camera reviews, not audio reviews (and is very open about this).  To equate him with Uncle Kevvy at Upscale is a bit much!  I would say Steve is giving his honest impressions - you can choose whether those impressions match up well with your tastes.

I've heard the Special 40s - these are clearly speakers voiced for a bit of fun - I can see why Huff likes them as he also has some Klipsch Heresy's.  Both have a fun sound.  The Heritage Specials are much more of an audiophile speaker and on a whole different level the S40s...speed of great drivers and first-order crossovers with great parts.  So much to like!

Re. Steve Huff: not so sure he’s a real credible source. I’m sure he’s a nice guy and is well-intentioned. But, in the short 2 months that I have been aware of his “reviewers”:

- he said there is no reason to ever use anything more than a Bluesound Node 2i. Now he has a Lumin U1 mini.

- he said the chord m scaler was the thing that made his rig so good. Then Sold it on audiogon.

- he listens to weird music...😉😂

- his Vinnie Rossi $18k in amp was the best ever...until 2 weeks later he has a Pass 250.

he’s passionate and engaging, but hardly a reference source of objective reviews. He’s just like anyone here- a hobbyist with a keyboard and an internet connection.

that said, I have S40s and am really intrigued the the heritage specials. Basically same size as S40s but better looks and parts.
love that,

Funny, I'd prefer the Heritage Specials in the Special 40 box...all a matter of taste ;)

Better parts, better sound...the still new to me Heritage Specials are just great.  If you are inclined, get them...

It's hard to make a judgement about anything based on what Steve Huff says. He seems to be sincere, but I don't think he realizes yet his own pattern of being in love with being in love with components he reviews, and then proclaiming them to be the best ever...until the next one comes along.

Roxy...Exactly!    Ianrmack missed his raving about the PassINT25 and how its better than the VinnieRossi.  Lost all cred right there. Then he said he thinks he's done and the 250INT shows up.  Cant wait for THAT review.  Its like a Pump and Dump Carnival barker.