Wilson Benesch ACT1 VS Dynaudio Confidence 5

Sounds_real...

i agree. but i usually just stick to telling people that for my tastes, i don't mind not hearing the lowest octave.

the reason why i take that route (of explanation) is because i know so many people love that "muddy" sound.

; )

The confidence 5 in room response is 33Hz and rolls off from there. In most rooms this is about as much clean bass you would need, and the key wood here is clean bass with definition.

Heard WB a few times, never owned them so I won't comment on their sound.

Owned several pairs of C5 in the past, bought/sold with other speakers in between. Thought I could not do better so kept going back to C5, but at the end I did give up on them.

They have a very nice and sweet tone, midrange and up is really special, so is the bass definition. But it does have drawbacks. Despite its low efficiency, it has pretty good micro dynamic, but lacks macro dynamic. Also, midrange focus is average,instruments always sounds bigger than reality and somewhat diffused. Top end is too sweet in today's standard, lacks extension and transparency when compares to newer SOTA tweeters.

In a small room, that's what C5 is designed for, it can sound very good if you don't mind the imaging and extension drawbacks.

Technology has advanced quite a bit in the past 20 years, you can do better than C5.

On the C5's: I agree with most of Semi's comments however there are 2 different versions of the C5's. The second iteration improved the efficiency a small bit. (86db/1watt/1meter vs. 83). They still need lots of current though. My version had the tweeters replaced to the current Esotar 2 by Dynaudio USA which increases both the focus and extension of the highs.
If I had to sight a weakness- it is the macro dynamics but the strengths more than make up for this IMO.

Slowrey, that's very interesting.

I actually bought the last new pair of C5 in birds eye maple from Dynaudio NA, before that I bought another brand new pair from Europe so both were "late model". I had a long chat with Dynaudio NA marketing guy, he taught me a few good and not so good things about Esotar.

Esotar 2 is not a direct replacement for Esotar. It has a new rear chamber design so it does extend higher but does not go as low either. Therefore you will need crossover mod and Esotar 2 doesn't come in large "faceplate" like Esotar any more. If Dynaudio told you your C5 has Esotar 2 and it's a credible source, I would not doubt it. It's difficult to remove drivers from C5 since they are glued on the cabinet, otherwise you can remove them and inspect the model printed on the back.

Either way, it's a fine speaker and lots of happy owners will continue to enjoy them. For me, I love my Aerial 20T much more than anything else I have owned, I am also ready to buy another Usher with diamond tweeter for my 2nd home. Usher BE or DMD, both are world class and a huge step up from conventional silk dome.