Yes it is! Awesome story and the best part is you sharing music with your daughter. Enjoy your new/old speakers and most of all enjoy the music!
Dynaco A25 -Hard to Believe
I just had one of those special listening sessions that seem to occur all too rarely, and it's kind of surprising as you will see. I'm moving later in the summer, so I boxed up my large, heavy and excellent Alta Audio speakers over the weekend. In their place went a very old pair of Dynaco A25's that I had in my very first stereo system back in the 70's (I did recap these ten or so years ago). I wasn't expecting much, but I love music and so what if they paled in comparison to my usual speakers. They could play music and probably only cost a few hundred bucks, although I don't remember as they were a gift.
I have not yet boxed up my components, so the Dynacos were set up on some Sound Anchor stands and treated to pretty good Conrad Johnson tubed separates and the current reference Marantz CD player, in addition to Shunyata power conditioning and cables.
I didn't put on an audiophile recording or one that I particularly even like, but my daughter wanted me to listen to a few songs on Taylor Swift's latest album "Reputation". OK I can do that, I thought, as I like sharing music with her, and she does with me occasionally as well.
An hour later I ran to my computer wanting to share my experience on Agon. I'm absolutely stunned by how much I enjoyed listening to the Dynacos. They just sounded really good, far better than I anticipated, and made listening to that album enjoyable (I listened to the whole damn album actually and there are some really catchy songs on it).
I won't compare the Dynacos directly to anything else, but I will say they "brought" the music home in an eminently satisfying way, with surprisingly deep bass, and large images defined in space with warm, realistic tone. Honestly, I've had several other more modern and expensive monitor speakers in my room over the past several years that just didn't make listening to music fun, be it for a bright (or dull) top end, or weak, wimpy bass.
I remember many years ago a local Linn dealer telling me that you can't fix a crummy source, that the loudspeaker was the least important component in a system. He'd demo a great Epos loudspeaker on a crappy receiver and turntable and then compare that to the cheapest Epos running on top of the line Linn/Exposure/Naim gear . No contest, the latter combo always won out. By a lot. Perhaps that's what is going on here - the Dynacos should sound great on thousands of dollars worth of electronics.
Or perhaps the Dynacos are just really damn good and can hold their own as music making devices. After all, they sold thousands of these speakers, and it must have been for some reason. I guess I'm just stunned that a 40+ year old component still sounds great even in comparison with some far more expensive modern stuff. I know they don't image as well, the cabinet probably vibrates too much and the large tweeter rounds off the highs, but damn they brought that album to life and isn't that what great components are supposed to do?
I have not yet boxed up my components, so the Dynacos were set up on some Sound Anchor stands and treated to pretty good Conrad Johnson tubed separates and the current reference Marantz CD player, in addition to Shunyata power conditioning and cables.
I didn't put on an audiophile recording or one that I particularly even like, but my daughter wanted me to listen to a few songs on Taylor Swift's latest album "Reputation". OK I can do that, I thought, as I like sharing music with her, and she does with me occasionally as well.
An hour later I ran to my computer wanting to share my experience on Agon. I'm absolutely stunned by how much I enjoyed listening to the Dynacos. They just sounded really good, far better than I anticipated, and made listening to that album enjoyable (I listened to the whole damn album actually and there are some really catchy songs on it).
I won't compare the Dynacos directly to anything else, but I will say they "brought" the music home in an eminently satisfying way, with surprisingly deep bass, and large images defined in space with warm, realistic tone. Honestly, I've had several other more modern and expensive monitor speakers in my room over the past several years that just didn't make listening to music fun, be it for a bright (or dull) top end, or weak, wimpy bass.
I remember many years ago a local Linn dealer telling me that you can't fix a crummy source, that the loudspeaker was the least important component in a system. He'd demo a great Epos loudspeaker on a crappy receiver and turntable and then compare that to the cheapest Epos running on top of the line Linn/Exposure/Naim gear . No contest, the latter combo always won out. By a lot. Perhaps that's what is going on here - the Dynacos should sound great on thousands of dollars worth of electronics.
Or perhaps the Dynacos are just really damn good and can hold their own as music making devices. After all, they sold thousands of these speakers, and it must have been for some reason. I guess I'm just stunned that a 40+ year old component still sounds great even in comparison with some far more expensive modern stuff. I know they don't image as well, the cabinet probably vibrates too much and the large tweeter rounds off the highs, but damn they brought that album to life and isn't that what great components are supposed to do?
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I somehow never heard the A-25 back when I bought my first speakers, the AR 4x, in the late 60's. I don't remember seeing the Dynacos on the shelf of speakers at the electronics stores in San Jose. I hadn't yet discovered Stereophile or the one specialist hi-fi store in the valley (where John Garland worked before he opened his high end shop in '73). |
David Hafler knew how to make a good speaker at an affordable price! I always liked the A25's for their fine tonal balance (first heard them in 1971). Its competition were the Advents (Large and Small), the AR4's and the Rectilinear Mini-3's.All fine sounding speakers - and still worthy of use today! |
My system in the early 70s consisted of A25s, a Scott Integrated and a cheap plastic Garrard table with an equally cheap Pickering cartridge, very fond memories of those days. I can easily imagine that those speakers with a few upgrades and good/excellent components could compete very favorably with many of today’s monitors if engagement is the goal, why couldn’t it be so? |
bdp24 they also escaped my gaze in Northern Ohio.... they came to me in an odd way.... RV and I chat quite a bit and he knows I have a “ vintage “ system in a challenging room, he said get a pair of A25 they started it all for SEAs you know.....quite good found my pair locally the next week for $199 i can tell you from an involving , commit few sins perspective they are awesome.... |
I bought my first pair of A25 speakers in the spring of 1970 shortly after they came out. They sounded better to me, more natural, than any of the mainstream speakers like the AR-4x or AR-2ax that my father had at the time, or the Advent, or Rectilinear, or especially the JBL speakers at my dealer. I later "upgraded" to Infinity 2000A speakers but I had such great memories of the A25 that I bought a used pair on Ebay 20 years ago. I still have that pair in my video system where they get used nearly every day. The Dynas are reliably musical and natural sounding. The one time I compared them in my hifi system I ended up pretty disappointed. They are not world class speakers but for casual listening they are very satisfying. |
I looked the new model woofer over thoroughly. If anyone wanted to make a new version, I’d use the Seas A26RE4 ($150.00) woofer and personally, I’d use a Morel A308 tweeter ($102 Mad - $78.00 PE). The woofer could be used full range, I would recommend Zobel on the woofer, then a simple 12db crossover on the tweeter would give excellent results. If you wanted to ensure excellent blending, you could easily do a 6/12 crossover. 6/12 Butterworth slopes offers excellent phasing and a very consistent 8 ohm load @ 90db anechoic or 93 average in room response. If Anyone has interest private message me, I’ll be glad to help at no charge. Tim |
You can build the modern version as a kit, if you are interested: https://www.madisoundspeakerstore.com/2-way-speaker-kits/seas-a26-10-2-way-kit-pair-based-on-the-cla... If ever there was a simple kit to get started with, this would be it. :) Best, E |
@spotcheckbilly12345 I'm sure that not many would be interested in this build that I offered, but I guess that you didn't notice the ratings that I posted they would be. If you wanted to ensure excellent blending, you could easily do a 6/12 crossover. 6/12 Butterworth slopes offers excellent phasing and a very consistent 8 ohm load @ 90db anechoic or 93 average in room response." |
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I modeled the 2 way build that I posted above... without a crossover on the woofer and a simple crossover on the tweeter, you're able to achieve 30hz to about 18K @ plus or minus 2db..... pretty amazing for such a simple design. Add Zobel and impedance will stay between 7 and 8 ohms for its entire operating range. This would be killer with a 20 watt first watt or good tubed amp. |
Good stuff , thanks . I too am interested in the Seas kit (A26). I added the cabinets and upgraded the capacitors and it came to about $1350.00 at Madison. I went with another speaker , but am still really interested in the kit . So as someone already asked “ if you have the A26, please comment “. I had the Advents paired with a Dynaco SCA-35 and an FM3. I used a Garrard 40 turntable. I later moved to the JBL L-19’s and Dynaco MK III’s. I miss my old gear and appreciate when people get nostalgic. Regards and thanks, Mike B. |
I was underwhelmed by the A25. I had a first series pair- ScanDyna labeled, with a port ON TOP rather than the usual bottom location. I thought bass was fine, but treble was very recessed. Looking at the curves for the new version, and reading reviews from back in the day that also included FR curves gives some insight into the design. Henry Kloss once said that lack of extreme FR extension can be managed if both extremes roll off smoothly and both rolloffs are balanced. The A25 had great deep bass, but started to rolloff below 100hz. Treble would extend to about 15khz, but only on axis, and would fall off noticeably off axis at 10khz. In typical listening rooms, with typical early SS equipment this was a great match. And efficiency was slighlty better than the AR4 meaning it could play louder and cleaner with a modestly powered receiver. |