dynaudio heritage special edition bookshelf speaker
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Dynaudio Heritage Special Review


Dynaudio, the Danish audio manufacturer established in 1977, has many audiophiles. I once owned a pair of Dynaudio 25th Anniversary Edition (2002). Its outstanding performance and classic design are still a pair of speakers that I will never forget. At the end of 2020, Dynaudio launched the Heritage Special bookshelf speakers with a strong retro taste, limited to 2,500 pairs worldwide, and guaranteed no longer production, immediately aroused heated discussions among global enthusiasts. No. 0001 has been collected by Dynaudio.

dynaudio-heritage-special-edition 1

Design

Heritage Special took more than 2,000 hours of R&D. The cabinet is made of 19mm MDF, and the outer layer is made of handmade American walnut. The wood grain is specially selected. Each side is symmetrical, and each pair is unique. The classic Dynaudio groove is deliberately added around the front panel. It’s interior design strengthened its support, and the heavy damping material makes the box more rigid. After the cabinet is bonded and assembled, it needs to wait 24 hours of natural drying before performing subsequent manual polishing processing.

dynaudio heritage special interior design

The Tweeter

Heritage Special’s T-330 D tweeter, non-Dynaudio old users may not have any impression. For those who have experienced Dynaudio’s T330D tweeter era, this is a myth. Although it is not a full re-enactment of T-330 D, it uses the more powerful Esotar 3 tweeter inside.

About Esotar T-330 D

When the T-330 D appeared at that time, it seemed that the rest of the tweeters were all overshadowed. Dynaudio used this famous tweeter on many of its classic models and countless DIYer and small speaker manufacturers. Countless products have been produced using this tweeter. To this day, this tweeter’s popularity has not diminished, and many enthusiasts are frantically searching for the T-330 D tweeter in the second-hand market. However, since this tweeter has long been discontinued, the supply is becoming increasingly scarce. A pair of excellent T-330 D tweeters still cost thousands of dollars in the market. One can imagine the preciousness of such a pair of units and its significance for Dynaudio fans.

The Woofer

Not only the tweeter but the woofer on the vintage bookshelf speakers are also excellent. It uses the same woofer as Dynaudio’s flagship Evidence Platinum and has been improved. The appearance is almost the same as any of its predecessors, and even the smallest unit baffle edge design has been retained.

dynaudio heritage special front

Three improvements have been made. The aluminum voice coil with a built-in magnet and the glass-fiber voice-coil reinforcement strengthens the power tolerance. The new dual magnetic circuit system dramatically reduces the secondary resonance and improves the clarity of the sound. The asymmetrically designed Nomex centering piece improves the control ability of the long-stroke diaphragm.

For the old users of Dynaudio, the large-diameter voice coil and inner magnet design have always been regarded as Dynaudio’s classic design. At this point, the woofer derived from platinum confidence will naturally not lose to any classic. I checked the official website of Dynaudio. The internal design is also the same as the previous design. Some new materials and new technologies that have only appeared in recent years are all used. It is said that this woofer almost surpasses the previous platinum evidence woofer in terms of parameters.

The Rear

The back of the Heritage Special is a large aluminum panel, and the huge bass port implies that this bookshelf speaker has a super low-frequency performance. Let’s look at the rear interface part again.

Just as everyone must notice the unit at first glance from the front, the binding post is the must first glance from the rear of the heritage speaker.

The binding post uses the product of the German music fever factory WBT. According to the official announcement, this model is Nextgen 710 Cu, which should be the highest level binding post in the product series.

The conductor is pure copper with no nickel-plated protection on the surface (gold version and silver version). There is no capacitor effect, which prevents eddy currents from interfering with music signals. The continuous current is 30 amperes, and the peak current is 200 amperes.

dynaudio heritage special back

The rear part, the exquisite artistry, the rear nameplate aluminum plate engraved with each pair of Heritage numbers, is a symbol of status and a symbol of original Danish production. Limited to 2500 pairs, Danish character, and production efficiency, the first batch of goods will not be many.

The Crossover

As we all know, first-order crossovers are often used in Dynaudio’s classic models, such as the 25th anniversary, contour 1.3 SE. Because the first-order frequency divider is the simplest in structure, it can retain the most original sound signal, especially for phase distortion control. However, the first-order crossover is a test of the unit’s quality, so there are very few advanced speakers on the market that use pure first-order crossovers. The good news is that Dynaudio retains this classic design on Heritage Special.

The Heritage Special logo on the upper right corner indicates a specially designed circuit board for this model. The big “MADE IN DENMARK” in the middle identifies the place of birth. Every key resistance, capacitance, and inductance uses the products of the German fever component factory Mondofu. The connecting wires are the products of Van den Hul, a fever wire manufacturer.

dynaudio heritage special crossover

Whether you are a Hi-End audio manufacturer or a DIY fan with a fever, as long as you hear the name of the super fever capacitor MCap, your eyes will shine. Suppose it is not for the persistent unique materials and manufacturing process that keep the price of MCap capacitors high. In that case, it is estimated that all manufacturers and enthusiasts who pursue sound performance will add one or two Mondolfo oil-immersed capacitors to their works. I envy that Dynaudio can use so many Mundorf components in its products.

Sound performance

For testing the sound performance of the heritage speaker, let’s start with Mahler’s No. 5 symphonies. Every note, every instrument appeared at the right time and the right place. Excellent analytical power shows every detail clearly. The resolution of Dynaudio is not only in the mid-range and high pitches, but the resolution of low frequencies is also its strong point. The cello’s tone and low-frequency lines are not at all chaotic, and it bursts out every note calmly. With this solid sound background, all musical instruments whose pitch is above can also show all the timbre details. Even if there are so few significant dynamic chapters that come suddenly, the whole sound field is not at all chaotic. Simultaneously, the entire band’s tremendous shape remains relatively stable, and the scale feels even beyond the placement of the two sides of the box. This content is from hifireport.com.

As the treble part uses an improved version of T-330 D, its sustained high energy output and performance capabilities are extremely strong. When some continuous treble bombing episodes appeared, not only did they not sound harsh because of insufficient treble tolerance. Instead, the high-pitched energy surrounds you endlessly, and listening to this “high-end” high frequency is a pleasure.

dynaudio-heritage-special-edition

Low-frequency performance, in terms of diving and low-frequency dynamics, due to the unit and the cabinet’s improvement, the overall performance even makes people forget that this is a pair of bookshelf boxes. Close your eyes and feel like a pair of small floor-standing boxes in front of you. The overall low-frequency sound field is a big circle, and the expression of all low-frequency instruments in the symphony orchestra surpasses the scope of ordinary bookshelf boxes.

Due to the improvement of Heritage’s overall frequency range of the box, the piano’s expressive power, which is extremely wide, has also been raised by a level. Everyone is familiar with it and is known as Mitsuko Uchida, who can best express Mozart’s works. One of her piano sonatas makes people feel her slender fingers move quickly on the piano.

Conclusion

There are 2500 pairs of Heritage Special speakers available worldwide, each priced £5500 (€6000) and included with a 10-year warranty. Luxurious material design and excellent listening effects are worthy of collection for music lovers.