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Scott Walker's Clara whisked me off into alien soundscapes as an acoustic version of Alice in Wonderland but on drugs. Where other speakers disassemble the fragmented music structure to drift into the nervy, the X38's unflinching commitment to integration and naturalness allowed me to accompany Walker on his musical trip and stare at the bizarre beauty of his aural universe. Grandiose, gripping and disturbing.
On a different note, rather than tame audiophile chirping, the death-metal vikings of Sweden's Unleashed have produced raw noise at breakneck speed since 1989. Though the oeuvre around front man Johnny Hedlund did vary a lot over the years, his last opus As Yggdrasil Trembles is another true hammer of Thor which from the first riff reeks of sticky humid cellar concerts. Aye, former Haus aka Exil in Trier, how often have I heard Unleashed there live?
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With the X38 I had to restrain myself not to escalate SPL beyond what was appropriate for the late hour. Without reluctance on part of the speaker the guitarists ground away on their axes, the drums rolled, the double bass drums firing clearly discrete salvos from the boxes. Drum skin impact was as present and intelligible as the follow-up frame action. Even the e-bass stood out, an absolute novelty for Unleashed. Obviously the album lacks true low bass and stratospheric extension in the other direction. But that's not what this was about for me. With this reading the Dynaudio Excite X38 healed my teenage trauma. They proved that a serious descent into my bad and dark Walter White side was definitely on the program.
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| Granted, to really feel the front man's sweat-wet hair slap your face, to experience the heat and the smell of beer of Trier's Exile in your digs and get hammered by martial brutality and loudness slamming your gut still favors Horns & Co. A bit of Nordic civility remains in place. Despite the X38's surprising willingness to get down, I suspected more was in the cards. Time to swap amps for the powerful fast 420-watt class D monos by AVM. This was admittedly somewhat academic and beyond the normal scope of the X38's diet. Based on what the 100 watts of the Linn Majik had managed, I was simply curious to explore extremes. |
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And extreme definitely kicked in with the AVM monos. I frankly wasn't prepared. The X38 scaled up in each and every discipline to such a degree that I questioned what more the equivalent Focus 340 could possibly add at €5'000/pr. Now Unleashed had imbibed an extra dose of alcoholized honey drink to celebrated death the viking way even more unhinged, quite as though my 'remaster' culled even more pressurization and precision from the same record. With sonically demanding fare it quickly became clear that whilst the X38 already impressed with 'normal' kit as promised, more ambitious electronics still pressed instant unfair advances. The virtual space in which the music arose felt less dictated by speaker placement. It began right behind the base line, extended very far on depth and even vertically seemed to lack any limits. Well-recorded traverse flutes on classic albums floated above the boxes and their echoes seemed to reflect off the walls and ceiling of the recording venue, i.e. from well above the transducers. Whoa! I flashed on true omnis like German Physiks. Perhaps this was a function of the 'upward dispersion' trick? Or was that overly simplistic?
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When I compared financial outlay between my usual chain and these loaners, I couldn't fail to notice roughly the same sums. So it wasn't easy to admit that the combo of Linn Majik DSM source, AVM MA3.2 monos and Dynaudio X38 stole the butter from the bread of my beloved fully active Linn system on most counts. Only on macrodynamics and (barely) physical body Linn's one-brand approach booked any advantages.
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Conclusion. With their new Excite range Dynaudio hit the bull's eye of the stated goal to enrich their house sound with more liveliness and dynamics yet not compromise signature virtues. All this is delivered for a more than fair price. For me and at €3'000/pr the X38 is the new crown jewel of speaker options. I'd have a hard time identifying a competitor below €5'000 which would equal the Dynaudio on the sum of its achievements. The Excite series is a bit of a Volkswagen Gold. It wins by avoiding mistakes. Unlike the Golf however it betters much of the competition and—again unlike the VW—it cost less. In its class the X38 trumps with rare transparency, naturalness, sonic ease and musical unaffectedness already with 'normal' amplifiers. Were I asked to condense my excitement in three words, I'd chose ease of integration.
Psych profile for Dynaudio's Excite X38
• plays it transparent, neutral and highly resolved. Coherent, natural and sans emphasis. Bass extends low and remains well controlled for its class. The midband is exceptionally uncoloured and lucid. The treble bypasses hardness and exhibits phenomenal microdynamic reflexes.
• no macrodynamic über mensch but fully equal to price-based expectations. Some speakers reach deeper into the voltage-swing drawer but tend to lack the X38's overall balance.
• spatially far more generous than expected. Good image focus.
• even smaller amps including quality valves may apply.
• scales up in lockstep with better sources and amplification well beyond its status.
• offers practical solutions like the retraced spikes accessible from above.
• meshes easily into living spaces with classicist slim elegance and very high finish.
Facts:
• Concept: Passive 3-way bass-reflex floorstander
• Dimensions and weight: 205 x 1049 x 310mm (WxHxD), 23 kg/ea.
• Efficiency: 88dB/W/m
• Nominal impedance: 4Ω
• Warranty: 5 years
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redaktion @ fairaudio.de
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