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Jon, I'm trying to decide between the Dana 640i's and the Arx A5's, and if I understand correctly at this point in time you are the only person who has heard both speakers. Since a general answer on your part might help others folks making this decision I don't want to specify my own situation too much, except to say that in my particular case 'immersive' reproduction of music including recreation of the recording venue is the goal, and I do have enough subs and sub EQ to provide a match for either speaker in the lower octaves.
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Without a room context the answer is simplified: The Dana 640i is a largish 6.5" stand monitor designed for maximum resolution from what appear to be conventional drive units - a paper 6.5" midwoofer and a 25mm soft dome tweeter.Originally posted by ggunnell
The drivers are truly highly specialized, however, and as a testament to their very low distortion, each have responses a good octave beyond the norm. In other words, they're very "fast", and this characteristic is audible in the speaker's resolution. There's something very special about the sound of low motor distortion, which this range of products is all about. It's not visible to look at the speaker, but it's audible, especialyl with better systems and sources.
That said, the design is actually aimed as much at 2-channel use as it is multichannel, with voicing that tends slightly more toward the traditional British or European school than it does the usual front-and-forward home dedicated theater style, which makes music poorly. Various reviewers have gotten what they feel is a really "neutral" midrange from both the 630i and 640i, but we did actually design them more for musicality than the sheer amplitude-flat, technical neutrality that pervades so much of contemporary loudspeaker thinking these days, especially in HT.
You'll need a good pair of stands, and when driven by good sources and positioned well, the 640i will establish a nicely transparent image, with full 3D effects and a convincing bass register. It's capable of what I'd probably call moderate loudness - just what you'd expect from a rather conventional-appearing 6.5" stand monitor - although it is certainly capable of playing as authoritatively as any comparably sized stand monitor.
The 640i is a true eight ohm load and is moderately sensitive.
The A5, on the other hand, is nominally a 6 ohm load and owing to all the drivers, has quite a bit more sensitivity. It's drivers are smaller and so the A5's bass doesn't go quite as low, but the drivers do gang together for very high power handling and low distortion at substantially higher levels if you want or need them. The special licensed SplitGap woofers lower distortion even more, while adding a huge advantage in linear excursion. This is not a small thing and we encourage folks to familiarize themselves with the SplitGap or XBL2 technology.
A dedicated midrange driver with a light, treated "curvilinear" cone, lowered inductance motor (a little bit like the Danas), and a machined phase plug has high midrange resolution, but is isolated in the circuit from the bass for even more output and thermal power capacity. The planar tweeter has a number of times more surface area than a dome, and this too lowers certain kinds of distortion. It has a surprisingly high thermal power ceiling.
Of course, the A5 is a slender 1000mm tall floorstanding system instead of a large stand monitor, and the larger internal volume adds to the speaker's substantially higher sensitivity, while the ganged drivers add huge thermal headroom.
Sonically I think each naturally have their advantages. I find the Dana to be what we expected from it: A classic, highly-defined, sophisticated system for smaller systems and lower levels than the usual high-loudness home theater. It delivers the kind of purity that only simple systems using truly superb drivers will.
The Arx needs no stand, and in general adds just a lot more clean, clear headroom to reach that much higher maximum output it's capable of. It's more punchy, more dynamic, and will keep those characteristics higher in volume, where it's clear, focused, and in control. -
Thanks, Jon! FWIW I sit about 10' away from mains in 16'x18' partially treated room so no problem with output at the far below Dolby reference levels I listen. The Dana 640i's sound like what I'm looking for so I'll limit further comment in this A5 thread except to say that I'm glad that the concept of having clean transducer response at least an octave above and below the passband has not been lost.Originally posted by Jon LaneComment
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Thanks for the reply, ggunnell, and if we can take up the subject again, count me in. I really think you'd find the 640i an exceptional option.Originally posted by ggunnellComment
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ggunnell,
I haven't heard any Arx products (would LOVE to) so I can't comment on them but I do own the 640is and I can say you sound like the sort of listener who would appreciate their subtlety, musicality and shockingly lifelike resolution. Jon pointed out that between the two, the A5s would be capable of more undistorted acoustic output (i.e., they're designed to rock the house and do it cleanly), but don't take that to mean the Danas can't play hard, because they can if you want them to. You did say massive volume wasn't your priority so probably not a major issue for you either way, but these boxes do have pretty substantial volume for a stand-mount, plus 6.5" midwoofers. I highly doubt you'd ever find them lacking for clean output unless you plan on hosting frat parties. :)
You said "'immersive' reproduction of music including recreation of the recording venue" were your goals. I'm not sure what you mean by "recreation of the recording venue"... That would be pretty much impossible due to the vast variety of venues, genres of music, techniques used by engineers, etc. plus the fact that every listening environment (and sound system) is different and adds its own character to the sound. I'm guessing you simply mean you want to feel as if you were there in the venue with the band or artist -- you want it as lifelike as possible. If that's what you want, again I have not heard the A5s but compared to many other speakers I've heard, the 640is EXCEL in this area and come much closer to bringing the listener into the performance than most of what I've heard. Even my beloved Dana 930s (not Jon's design) can't do that as well as the 640is, and they cost about twice as much. The 640is image beautifully and just disappear and create a big, gorgeous soundstage. I'd be quite surprised if you didn't love them, especially if you prefer really well recorded music and have good electronics and sources.Comment
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Help between 640i and A5's
I am now considering the two. Before I was looking at the Swan #.2 Floorstanding Loudspeakers and the A5's. Jon convinced me on the A5's. Should I consider the Diva 640i's. The price seems to be the same so that is not the issue. Loudness is not an issue. I just want a clean pure music sound that 2.1 system that i can also switch to a 5.1 HT system. I have LP's, cassettes, CD's and song files. My range is Beatles to classical. Any further thoughts will help. I will still be purchasing from here.Comment
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Based on your needs, legal, I'd really be leaing toward the Danas. They are the single highest resolution brand we have, and while they don't have the power of the A5, they do have a wider bandwidth and that remarkable inner detail and musicality only Dana have. They're heads and shoulders beyond all but our very best Swan models, and in those cases they're a much better value. Use the coupon code Dana15 for more authentic sound than we can offer you for the money anywhere.Originally posted by legalwasteComment
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Thanks! Now to the wife on buying them :)Comment
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I am in the same boat. I want whatever speaker I go with to put the music first but also handle the high dynamics of movies as well. I KNOW for sure that I want the Dana's for my dedicated 2 channel system but don't know which way I want to go for my multimedia room. Can the Dana's serve dual purpose and do very good with movies. sports and video games as well?Comment
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