Anyone compared the EX to Dynaudio Special 40 or Heritage Special?

[petmotel]

Just got off the phone with Dina. Black Bamboo S2EX ordered. My McIntosh MAC7200 arrives tomorrow. I can NOT wait.

Nice equipment, be sure to let us know what you think, until you've heard the EXs, it is difficult to put into words their ability, totally in a different league than the S1s.

What will you be using for the source component/components?

Jay

[RRT-NPS]

Nice equipment, be sure to let us know what you think, until you've heard the EXs, it is difficult to put into words their ability, totally in a different league than the S1s.

What will you be using for the source component/components?

Jay

Dr Feickert Volare Turntable, Chord Hugo2/2GO DAC/Streamer. Using the Sierra 2EX until My Salk Song3 Encores arrive then moving the Sierras to my office.

[racrawford65]

Nice Turntable. What arm & cartridge are you running?

[RRT-NPS]

Nice Turntable. What arm & cartridge are you running?

Origin Silver MK3a with a HANA ML

[racrawford65]

Nice setup. I've heard very good things about the Hana.

[RRT-NPS]

The S2EXs arrived yesterday and have been playing pretty much constantly when I'm not working or sleeping.

The positive: out of the box they sound amazing. Like, really really amazing. Love that they finally have magnetic grills. Those grill holes drove me nuts on the S1 and the Towers I owned in the past.

The negative: I wish they had a furniture grade appearance. I do not like seeing/feeling the grain. While not as bothersome as the grill holes on the standard cabinet it is indeed bothersome.

[mikesiskav]

The S2EXs arrived yesterday and have been playing pretty much constantly when I'm not working or sleeping.

The positive: out of the box they sound amazing. Like, really really amazing. Love that they finally have magnetic grills. Those grill holes drove me nuts on the S1 and the Towers I owned in the past.

The negative: I wish they had a furniture grade appearance. I do not like seeing/feeling the grain. While not as bothersome as the grill holes on the standard cabinet it is indeed bothersome.

Glad you are liking the sound, but don't really follow you on the look/feel of the grain. A lot of furniture has grain that you can see and feel. I don't think it's indicative of quality. Some speakers/furniture have a glossy coating on top which tends to smooth things out. Which finish did you get?

[RRT-NPS]

Glad you are liking the sound, but don't really follow you on the look/feel of the grain. A lot of furniture has grain that you can see and feel. I don't think it's indicative of quality. Some speakers/furniture have a glossy coating on top which tends to smooth things out. Which finish did you get?

Maybe I could have worded that better. It's not so much about seeing and feeling the grain as it is the consistency. You can feel and see lines in some places and not in others. I got black bamboo.

[davef]

The S2EXs arrived yesterday and have been playing pretty much constantly when I'm not working or sleeping.

The positive: out of the box they sound amazing. Like, really really amazing. Love that they finally have magnetic grills. Those grill holes drove me nuts on the S1 and the Towers I owned in the past.

The negative: I wish they had a furniture grade appearance. I do not like seeing/feeling the grain. While not as bothersome as the grill holes on the standard cabinet it is indeed bothersome.

Very happy to hear that you are enjoying the speakers!

Regarding the finish, first off - it is very important to understand that these are fully hardwood cabinets. These are not veneered cabinets, whereby a thin (often 2-4mm thick) layer of hardwood is glued / adhered to MDF or plywood.

With real hardwood furniture, there are 2 types of finishing. Filled grain and unfilled grain. With filled grain, the texture of the wood grain is "filled" with layers of clear coat. This often takes many layers of clear. With unfilled grain, there is still clear coat layers, but it is not applied as heavily so that the actual texture of the grain remains. Both types of finishing methods are considered furniture grade, in fact - with actual hardwood furniture, unfilled grain is more common as consumers generally want that unique quality (every piece is different). Our domestic cabinets are an unfilled grain finish, while our standard cabinets are a filled grain.

If you prefer a more consistent finish whereby there is no actual grain texture, you will need to go with a standard cabinet. As I understand it, you are already working with Dina regarding this.

It is simply not possible to have any type of consistency with regard to real wood grain, mother nature is not consistent and the grain itself runs through the entire cut of wood (bamboo) rather than the much lesser expensive option of simply using a veneer.

I hope this makes sense...

[theophile]

The S2EXs arrived yesterday and have been playing pretty much constantly when I'm not working or sleeping.

The positive: out of the box they sound amazing. Like, really really amazing. Love that they finally have magnetic grills. Those grill holes drove me nuts on the S1 and the Towers I owned in the past.

The negative: I wish they had a furniture grade appearance. I do not like seeing/feeling the grain. While not as bothersome as the grill holes on the standard cabinet it is indeed bothersome.

RRT-NPS,

Great to Hear you are amazed with their sound...they will steadily improve (especially the bass depth, tightness and speed) as they break in playing music these next few days!

I looked at the stock photos and see what you are talking about...those grain lines appear to be the natural bamboo surface structures that are highlighted in the domestic black finish. I had the piano black S2's (with grill holes) in the house and IMO, would actually have preferred what you have for their bamboo natural beauty! Hope the finish mellows out in your view, just as their sound becomes really additive!!

Ted

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