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REPRintEd FROM Hi-Fi nEWS
PRO HERITAGE
create out-of-the-box images it will always
sound at its best when positioned in free
space. A minimum distance of 50cm from
rear and side walls is recommended.
The vented enclosure has a large fl ared
port at the rear which can be fi tted with a
foam bung if you have to site the speaker
close to a back wall or if you feel the need
to damp the lowest frequencies.
COMMANDING ATTENTION
The last speaker to visit my listening room
of similar proportions to this Dynaudio
column was Dali’s Epicon 8 [HFN Sept
’12]. But the Epicon 8
boasts truly luxurious
build quality and
consequently is twice
the price. I loved its
relaxed, easy-going
sound, it’s warm
intimacy and ‘gentle’
and relaxed high
frequencies combined with oodles of
luscious, creamy bass.
By contrast, the Focus 380 is quite a
different animal: rather less ambitious,
with subjectively less bandwidth at
both frequency extremes and a more
forthright, up-front presentation.
Generally you get what you pay for, so
I wasn’t expecting the Focus 380 to
be anything like as accomplished or as
refi ned as the £11k Dali, nevertheless I
was impressed – and hugely entertained –
by its dynamic music making.
It’s a speaker that commands
attention rather than seducing you with
its charms. Listening to a 24-bit/88.2kHz
download from HDtracks of Mozart’s
Clarinet Concerto performed by Andrew
Marriner and the ASMIF, recorded in
London’s Henry Wood Hall in 2004
[PentaTone Classics PTC 5186 048],
Visit a control room in a top-fl ight recording studio and you’ll often fi nd
yourself sitting in front of imposing custom-designed monitors built into
the walls featuring Dynaudio drivers. Founded in Denmark in 1977 to
manufacture hi-fi loudspeakers, Dynaudio created a professional audio
division in 1992 and formed a strategic alliance in 1999 with TC Electronic
to provide digital signal processing and networking expertise [www.
tcelectronic.com]. The TC Group later acquired Tannoy when it merged
with TGI in 2002.
Dynaudio’s soft-dome midrange and high frequency units in particular
are highly regarded by professional sound engineers, thanks to the
company’s manufacturing consistency and strict quality control. The
drivers boast good power handling and are largely bomb-proof. In cost-no-
object monitoring rigs they are sometimes married to TAD bass drivers,
with custom-built electronic crossovers allowing sound engineers to dial in
a fl at frequency response for critical analysis of master recordings.
demonstrated the Focus 380’s ability to
vividly portray a believable sound image
and track dynamic shadings in a musical
performance. The sense of space around
the clarinet was delightful, the speaker
constantly surprising in its ability to
describe varying timbres and textures of
the colourful orchestration.
Despite being forthright and explicit
it doesn’t throw an image forward into
a room in a hectoring fashion. The size
of the Henry Wood Hall and its acoustic
was described wa-ay behind the speakers,
creating a ‘walk in’ sonic picture of
commendable scale
that belied the Focus
380s’ relatively
modest size.
Those two 20cm
Dynaudio woofers can
shift plenty of air, too,
the speaker creating
a good impression
of thunder when playing Norwegian
songwriter Anne Brun’s eclectic It All
Starts With One album [Ballon Ranger
Recordings DEMCD12].
The thunderous bass notes in the song
‘These Days’ were handled with aplomb
as the bass rolled across the listening
room fl oor. The Focus 380
is
an explicit
monitor, the sound it delivers brimming
with fi ne detail. The shuffl ing snare drum
and ‘old fashioned’ electronic organ in
the arrangement of ‘These Days’ were
clearly resolved, and each element of the
recording’s slightly surreal production was
patently exposed – such as the myriad
electronic sound-effect treatments
on Brun’s voice and the timpani-style
percussive wallops designed to catch you
off-guard during the piece.
The Dynaudio also proved more than
capable of transporting me to a ‘rave’
‘With the Harry
James LP the
dynamic contrasts
were explosive’
