PranaFidelity Dhyana: Two-way quasi line array speaker

The Speaker

Retail price/pair: $ 19,500

Dimensions in mm: 1219 x 278 x 455 mm (H x W x D)
Dimensions in feet/inch: 4.0 feet x 10.9 inch x 17.9 inch (H x W x D)
weight: 45 kg (100 pounds)

Below data are largely based on personal communication by Steven Norber, the designer.

The Pranafidelity Dhyana is a two-way multi-driver speaker in a quasi-line array of the four 6-inch mid/woofers where all these drivers receive the same signal via the crossover. The cabinet is dual-ported.

The mid/woofer is made to Steven’s specs by SB Acoustics with proprietary damped and coated paper cones. The tweeter is a textile (soft) dome with dual neodymium magnets. The crossover is a mixed slope network (asymmetrical network combining different order slopes) with a high-order acoustic roll-off. This takes into account the natural roll-off of a driver (low pass and high pass), and when coupled to a crossover the combined result is: a steeper slope than the network specifications.

The cabinet is Baltic birch throughout. There is elaborate internal bracing, with proportions according to ratios of the Fibonacci series (see below). The front baffle material is a high-density, resin impregnated wood product.

The nominal sensitivity is specified at 88.5 dB/1 W/1 meter. Under those conditions (1 watt/1meter/88.5 dB) the distortion was measured at <1% THD, 2nd through 5th harmonics, from 25 Hz onward, which is very low distortion for a speaker. Nominal impedance is 8 Ohm, with a dip at 172 Hz to a still high minimum of 6.1 Ohm. Together with shallow and small variations in phase angle the speakers present a minimally reactive nominal 8 Ohm impedance.

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I asked Steven why the mid/woofers were only 6 inches in diameter. His answer: “Speed”. While 6 inches per driver may not seem much, the combined effective piston area (driver cone area) of the four identical mid/woofers handily surpasses that of 10-inch drivers and is very close that of a 12-inch driver for midrange and for bass. That is quite a bit of surface area for those frequency ranges!

The fact that the cabinet is made from wood avoids driving up the price by expensive metal machining as with other speakers. The sonic result as discussed below shows that the cabinet, with its elaborate internal bracing, is inert to a degree that allows for high resolution of detail, without blurring by resonances.

The nominal sensitivity of 88.5 dB/1 W/1 meter seems a bit low, yet there is no need to be worried by that number. In practice the sensitivity turns out quite differently, as discussed below.

The minimally reactive nominal 8 Ohm impedance is very friendly to tube amps.

The Choice

This choice was easy.

Since a long time, I have known exactly my priorities as a listener. Also, I had been intimately familiar with the many strengths of my monitor/subwoofer speaker system, but also with its weaknesses, especially since I had very regular exposure to other systems, most often to that of my friend Ian (WBF member Madfloyd).

So I decided that a new speaker (system) would have to improve on the weaknesses of my monitor/subwoofer speaker system while retaining all of its considerable strengths. I was not willing to compromise on that. And it would have to be priced at a level that I could afford. Based on prior experience, I thought that speakers which could do that would be far more expensive than these PranaFidelity speakers and probably would not quite fit into my room. More than probably many others, I am extremely sensitive to “boxy” sound, especially in the midrange, for example with chestiness of voices. Unfavorable speaker/room boundary interactions can also elicit this boxiness which I cannot stand, and this can be a problem especially with too large speakers for a too small room. Mine is relatively narrow at 12 feet (while length is rather favorable at 24 feet).

I therefore did not expect to change my speaker system when I visited T.H.E. Show in Southern California in June. Yet then my friend Jeff (WBF member jeff1225), his father and I visited the PranaFidelity room, with the Dhyana speakers. Steven, the designer of PranaFidelity, played some Muddy Waters from Folk Singer on vinyl and it blew me away. It had the same explosive macro- and micro-dynamics on voice and steel-stringed acoustic guitars that I was used to at home, and the timbre as well as fine detail were great. We also heard a track from vinyl with gutsy and full-bodied sounding saxophone sound that I was very impressed by. This system, as one or two others at the show, also belied the idea that class D amplification, here with PranaFidelity purna/ca preamp and purna/ma amp, cannot sound good; instead of a gray and grainy sound as I had heard from class D in the past, the sound was natural and colorful – obviously, class D now had matured (Steven himself would later point out that until recently class D just didn’t sound good). All three of us agreed that this was a great sounding room, and after Jeff and his father had left to see other rooms as well, I remained glued to my seat and was treated, along with other visitors, to one of the most dynamic, explosive sounding drum solos I had heard from any system. I knew I had to explore these speakers more, and Steven invited me to return after 5 pm when the session had closed and bring my own CDs. I tried a Beethoven string quartet and was treated to basically the same micro-detail and micro-dynamics as at home, but with probably better sounding cello and a completely effortless sound at a good volume. A Haydn piano sonata sounded great as well, and the piano sounded more of one cloth from low to high register than at home with monitors/subs, even though there it had been no slouch either. I then knew this was something special. I now was thinking about buying the speakers.

I decided that I had to test drive these speakers with all my CDs that I had brought, spanning many genres. This is what I did the next day, Sunday, instead of listening to some other rooms as I had planned to. Obviously, given the presence of all the other visitors to the room I could not do that in one go, but strewn over the sessions I managed to get in all my test tracks, which performed great and, also with all the other material that Steven played – from vinyl, CD or tape – over and over I was sold on the effortless sound, natural tone, outspoken dynamics and high resolution. Also Black Sabbath War Pigs from my Paranoid CD sounded great, with good weight on the drums that I did not quite have at home, as well as a cleaner rendition of Ozzy’s voice, and with everything else just as good sounding as I had been used to. Funny, after I had put on the song and cranked up the volume to a good level, the room was filling up, with one guy next to me playing air drum, and by the end of the song after 7 minutes it was packed with people, sitting and standing. Obviously, people hunger to hear some good rock at a show (exhibitors, take note).

At the end of it all I was sold and decided to order the speakers. They did all I wanted, sharing all the strengths of my monitor/sub system and greatly improving upon its weaknesses. Also, the narrow width of the speakers (the front baffle is just 10 inches wide, slightly smaller than width at the body) as well as the adjustability of the bass ports gave me enough confidence that they very likely would work in my medium-sized, rather narrow room, both in terms of avoiding speaker/room boundary colorations and of sonically disappearing in the room. Importantly, based on Steven’s assurance, backed up by comforting technical data that he provided on impedance and phase angle (listed above), I also gained confidence that my Octave tube amp would be able to drive the speakers well. Steven would be proven to be right, see below.

Here is a report in Positive Feedback on what happened in the PranaFidelity room at T.H.E. Show 2023, which emphasizes dynamics (also in favorable comparison with horns) and tonality of the speakers:


Here is the PranaFidelity website (will be updated with the new speakers soon):

Review system

Components: Simaudio Moon Neo 260 DT CD Transport > Empirical Audio Reference BNC digital cable (1.5 m) > Mutec MC3+ USB reclocker > MIT SL-Matrix Digital Plus AES/EBU cable (1.5 m) > Schiit Yggdrasil Less is More (LIM) DAC / Octave HP 700 preamp / Octave RE 320 stereo amp with Super Black Box; power tubes are switched from KT150 to KT120 / Analog signal cables: ZenWave Audio D4 interconnects, ZenWave SSR-11 speaker cables / Diverse Herbie's Audio Lab footers / Solid Steel HW-2L component rack and HF-A amplifier stand

Power: Dedicated 10 AWG shielded line (MC 10/2) from breaker box to Furutech GTX-D NCF(R) outlet, 9 AWG ZenWave Clear Bass cable to Furutech e-TP609 NCF 6-way power distributor / 2 x Tripp Lite IS1000HG Isolation Transformer for digital source only (Transformer 1: CD transport, reclocker / Transformer 2: DAC) / ZenWave PL-11 power cables for DAC, preamp and amp / ZenWave Clear Bass power cables for CD transport, reclocker

Acoustic treatment: IsoThermal TubeTraps, TubeTraps, Tri-panels, Sound Planks, WindowPlugs, ceiling diffusers (all ASC), ceiling cloths, polypropylene basketweave carpet in listening seat area

Room dimensions: 24 ft long x 12 ft wide (13.5 ft at small window bay) x 8.5 ft high

Set-up

I got quite good sound right away, and I quickly obtained a convcincing answer to my question: Can the Octave amp (estimated 80 – 85 W/ch with KT120 tubes at 8 Ohm) drive the speakers? It is a resounding Yes.

The sound is very dynamic and effortless even at loud volume. There is not a bit of strain or hardness, nor any perceived distortion (for more on all that, see below).

Why does the amp drive the speakers so easily? One reason may be the actual sensitivity of the speakers. I made the observation that in a consistent manner the volume settings on my preamp for diverse recordings are exactly the same for these nominally 88.5 dB sensitive speakers as with the nominally 92 dB sensitive monitors. Steven then confirmed that this means that the two speakers actually have the same sensitivity; the difference in the 92 dB vs 88.5 dB sensitivity ratings lies in the way the speakers are measured. Steven measures his in a semi-anechoic chamber which, due to lack of reflections, gives lower sensitivity values than a more reflective environment like also a home setting. Thus, in practical terms these are actually speakers of quite high sensitivity!

The 8 Ohm load, as well as shallow and small phase angle changes, are also a great bonus for the ability of a tube amp to drive the speakers.

There was one problem initially: The bass was over-blown. Disturbingly, the left-hand low register of piano also had the dreaded “box” chestiness, indicative of problematic speaker/room interactions by floor standing speakers, a chestiness which I had wanted to avoid so badly (yet which I had not heard with these speakers at T.H.E. Show).

Steven gave very helpful advice. Quote from email, after I had suggested to modify the ports (emphasis added):

Yes, raising the tuning frequency of the speakers via shorter ports or inserting within the port a pair of aperiodic inducing wool socks will create a change, but given what sounds like is a classic 70Hz exacerbation in your room, I would start with the room.

The longer wave launch of a full-range floor standing speaker produces different patterns than a monitor with subs, and requires different allocation of room treatment materials.

Steve suggested the use of ASC Tubetraps, and fortunately, I already had them in-house. Thus, I took out my four 16 inch diameter ASC TubeTraps, which I had not used for years, from storage in another room and installed them in the music room. In the usual manner, I stacked two TubeTraps on top of each other in each of the two front corners of the room.

Steven was right: Bass was much, much better! What is more, the left hand of piano started to clean up considerably as well. Yet bass was still a bit rich, and it was still the room. Upon suggestion of my friend Ian (Madfloyd) I confirmed that the problem was not the Octave tube amp. A solid state amp (Schiit Vidar; power 200 W/ch into 4 Ohm, 100 W/ch into 8 Ohm), with solid state inherently meaning much higher damping factor, produced the same quantity of bass.

I did plug the lower of the two ports of each speaker with a rubber stopper, which was a great improvement for my room:



As long as I did not put anything in the other port and kept it completely open there was no significantly greater excursion of the woofers, even on deep bass electronica at loud volume, compared to both ports being open (as checked closely with flashlight). Thus, this turned out to still be a safe way to operate the speakers even with very bass heavy music.

I did find a position in the room where I could leave both ports open, but it had drawbacks in other areas that I did not like. Obviously, the choice to keep one port closed or have them both open will greatly depend on the room.

The adjustability of the double port is a real bonus for the speakers. Steven will also send different length ports to customers if needed; one customer of his recently moved to a larger space and now uses a longer upper port for his Dhyana speakers (both ports open).

Over several joint listening sessions Ian continued to give constructive criticism of the bass, and finally I decided to order four 16-inch diameter IsoThermal Tubetraps from ASC which are more powerful:


The final set-up was a replacement of the four regular TubeTraps in the front corners of the room with the new IsoThermal TubeTraps. In addition, upon helpful suggestion by Ian, pointing out that any corner is a potential problem, I installed the regular TubeTraps in the corners of my small window bay on the left side. This made a significant improvement as well.

Here is the set-up:





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Now I am very satisfied with both quantity and quality of the bass, and the left hand low register of piano sounds great without any “boxiness” (for all this, see below).

It is clear that the overly prominent bass that I had without extensive room treatment with TubeTraps is not an inherent problem of the speakers themselves, but one of my room. At T.H.E. Show the speakers produced great bass in that not so large hotel without any bass traps. The ports used were the same as in my speakers. Bass was never overblown, and in general satisfyingly rich.

As for optimizing speaker positioning, this has been greatly helped by the ability to move the speakers easily.



The picture above shows the contraption that enables this. Each speaker is on concrete blocks that sit on a small polypropylene carpet; you can simply grab the carpet with both hands (either on the side or left and right of the speaker) and slide the speakers over the wood floor; takes a few seconds each operation.

Not that much force is needed, as the speakers are only a hundred pounds each and the two concrete blocks under each speaker are about 70 pounds together. A moderate-strength pull on the carpet with both hands, which never puts excessive strain on the body, gets the speakers moving. I haven't detected any wear on the wood floor either.

Moving the speakers back and forth was within a confined stretch of 8 or 9 inches total (I know the general area where speakers sound good in my room). Most moves were between 1 and 2 inches each time, followed by listening to very different music genres and recordings at each step. An interim speaker position was revised after additional helpful comments by Vlad (VLS) during his visit to hear the system. Once I got closer to the final position, moves were in much smaller increments, fractions of an inch.

While working on set-up, I also auditioned new speaker cables, the SCR-11 (copper) and the SSR-11 (silver) from ZenWave. The Dhyana speakers easily let you hear the greater resolution and precision of the silver cables, and I chose those as worthy companions for the speakers, even though the copper cables are very good in themselves (Steven also used copper cables, from Furutech, at T.H.E. Show for his speakers).

In the current configuration, the distance between ear and tweeter is 8.3 feet, and the distance from speaker front baffle to the front wall is 7.6 feet, allowing for good reproduction of spatial depth. The distance from the front baffle of the right speaker to the side wall is 2 feet (the left speaker is further away from its side wall due to the small window bay).

In terms of adjusting tonal balance by toe-in, I am inclined to stay on the side of in relative terms somewhat less HF energy, since that is how unamplified live music tends to present itself (more or less so; the details are a bit more complicated). I adjusted toe-in up to the tipping point where the great transparency of singing voices on these speakers was slightly diminished, and dialed away again from that tipping point just a notch. At this level of toe-in there are still plenty of highs, and no ostensible “roll-off” is evident, at least to my ears. The sound also passes the ”triangle test” – triangle still has a satisfying sparkle and sheen.

The speakers also have 3 adjustment levels each for treble extension and midrange character by simple toggle switches on the back.

The treble output is adjustable in three steps, which make an easily audible, significant, yet not excessively pronounced, difference. I chose to keep the frequency curve at the flattest level, also during all my experiments on speaker positioning, but other users may find the other available positions helpful in their rooms.

The midrange character is adjustable through different resistors of the same value, but of varying type. These resistors are part of the crosover circuit desgned to stabilize impedance. For examples of what to expect, on one track of solo violin the instrument slightly moved forward in the ‘presence’ setting, and in the ‘warm’ setting, rather than the ‘default’ setting, the tone very slightly moved from a more silvery to a more wooden character in the highs. On piano, the transients from the hammers striking the strings became slightly less pronounced in the ‘warm’ setting compared to ‘default’ mode. Yet the difference between the settings is subtle, and does not amount to pronounced character changes in the speakers’ presentation. The audible difference between the settings may also depend on the room acoustics. I prefer the balanced clarity of the ‘default’ position on everything, but you really cannot go wrong. All the changes in character are within the spectrum of how live music can sound; therefore the choice of setting becomes a mere matter of taste. For some people their default position will be the ‘presence’ or the ’warm’ position. It is nice to have the option, for sure, and you could even adjust between recordings with an easy toggle switch if desired.

I usually listen at a more realistically loud volume, with peaks on orchestral music up to 100 dBC (in rare cases, beyond), as measured by a Reed factory-calibrated SPL meter. No worries, I do protect my ears; I give me ears breaks during longer listening sessions and follow NIOSH recommendations:


(Note: these recommended values are measured in dBA, which is weighted towards higher frequencies that are most damaging to ears, and the corresponding dBC numbers are often much higher; I check the dBA levels on my Reed SPL meter as well.)

The experience that the speakers can play cleanly and effortlessly as loud as they can, as I will report, is in my room also facilitated by minimization of room distortions which otherwise would prohibit clean reproduction at loud volume. A carpet in the listening area, ASC window plugs, TubeTraps, Tri-panel diffusers, Sound Plank diffusers and (not shown) ceiling diffusers/ceiling cloths all contribute to taming unwanted reflections. Of course, the electronics need to provide a clean signal as well (importantly, competent audiophile power cords as I have them play a role here).

While the speakers can effortlessly play loud, they also sound lively at low to very low volumes, in line with them actually being speakers of rather high sensitivity. Late night listening without disturbing someone will be engaging.

Listening Impressions

While it depends on the recording (and the Dhyanas are well able to differentiate their diverse sounds), on average a full-bodied tonal balance with solid density of texture is presented by these speakers, but not at the expense of detail, which is excellent. The sound coming from these speakers is very lively, a high priority in reproduction for me and one of the main attractions that drew me to those speakers.

I listen to all kinds of music, from classical chamber over rock/pop and jazz to orchestral music, and my review will touch on how all these very different kinds of music are rendered over the Dhyana speakers. A speaker must play all music well, in my view, and the Dhyanas do.

Voices

Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau’s voice on Schubert’s Winterreise (with Jörg Demus on piano; DGG 447421-2) goes from a whisper to loud fortissimo singing with at times explosive dynamics, but even at loud singing the voice sounds without any artificial shouting and hardness. While Fischer-Dieskau’s baritone voice sounds full-bodied, there is also not one bit of closed-in chestiness, and throughout the dynamic extremes the voice sounds open, free and clean.

The voice of famous mezzo-soprano Anne Sophie-Otter on contemporary composer Caroline Shaw’s beautiful song cycle Is A Rose (with Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra, PBP-12 / 8-5218800316-4) sounds warm, round and inviting, but with great transparency and presence. Her incisive dynamic expression is reproduced with intensity. The bass-baritone Dashon Burton on the oratorio The Listeners on the same Caroline Shaw CD sounds gorgeous, with rich and full voice. Also here there is no chestiness of voice, just an open sound.

The brilliant soprano Sabine Rittersbusch stars as a soloist in the Christmas Oratorio by Joseph Eybler (on CPO 999667-2), a great but rather unknown composer of Haydn’s and Mozart’s time (he was also a close and trusted friend of Mozart). This is a light and bright female voice that is hard to reproduce correctly. Yet the rendition of her voice on the Dhyana speakers never degrades into thinness or brittleness, but maintains a natural solidity even through her sudden, hyper-dynamic and dramatic fortissimo outbursts in the recitativo and aria (with coloratura elements) on tracks 7 and 8.

Monitor speakers are known for their prowess in portraying intimacy of small-scale music, and my last ones also excelled in that. Yet the Dhyana speakers are just as good at portraying intimacy as competent monitors.

This shows, for example, on the voice of Joni Mitchell as well as guitars and dulcimer on Blue (2019 remaster, the best one out of three that I have; Reprise R2 694985 / 603497838742). The voice sounds intimate, clear and warm, and the also closely present instrumental sounds are highly resolved.

Great portrayal of intimacy also shows on the voice of Billie Eilish on When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? (Darkroom/Interscope 602577427626). – Low bass reproduction and impact is astonishing on this deep bass electronica album. In my room these speakers reproduce low bass to the same level as my JL Audio Fathom 112v2 subwoofers did in conjunction with my monitors (I did use their ‘extreme low frequency’ attenuation at 25 Hz as otherwise the subs would have overloaded the room). For now, the subs are also not installed in my system anymore.

Diverse Instruments

Solo violin has a naturally wooden tone when the recording allows for it, and great body and warmth in the lower register. The higher register keeps appropriate thickness of tone without artificially bleaching out, and throughout the violin’s range the fine mico-detail stemming from friction of the bow on the strings and from resonances of the wooden body of the instrument is portrayed in a natural manner. With help from the delicacy of detail and of micro-dynamics the player’s musical expression is faithfully conveyed.

Solo violin also readily reveals excellent transient behavior of the Dhyana speakers. Sweetness of tone, when asked for, is enabled also by a rather accurate portrayal of gentle, delicate and soft transients. At the same time the speakers do not fall into the trap of softening up everything. Rough and sharp transients, found especially on more modern music for violin, are reproduced faithfully as well. They are neither dulled nor unnaturally exaggerated; rather than being hardened, they remain transparent and clean. Overall, I would say that transient portrayal on violin sound is among the most convincing that I have heard.

In a similar manner, transients on other music show a great palette of variation, and usually just feel right. The natural sounding transient behavior, together with a lack of hardness on sound, is a major reason why these speakers sound so non-fatiguing.

The reproduction of string quartet is served well by all the traits discussed for solo violin sound. The subtlety of micro-detail, so important for believability of reproduction of string quartet sound, is outstanding. Also here all this fine detail is evident at a naturally full tonal balance, and not forced to stand out as it would be through a tonal balance, heard on other speakers, with emphasis on upper midrange and highs.

The strengths of tonal balance play to the reproduction of solo cello. Especially when heard live close-up in a small venue, the instrument’s tone has great weight, with tremendous power in the low midrange. With suitable recordings of solo cello, these traits are reproduced in a convincing manner on these speakers. While the low register is strong, it retains control and poise at all times, firmly staying in the low to very low midrange. The sound never becomes “bassy”, as it can happen elsewhere due to addition to the sound by speaker colorations. A good example of all this is the reproduction of the cello on Janos Starker’s 1997 recording of Bach’s cello suites (RCA Red Seal/Sony 886977032622; the last one of his five recordings of this music, this one winning him a Grammy Award). The wooden, detailed tone of the cello heard on this performance is beguiling.

Harmonics on piano are rich and nuanced, and the left-hand low register of piano has power and weight, yet there is also great clarity. Harmonics of the low register are fully developed as well, avoiding “black” bass notes that can sound impressive as they provide maximum contrast to middle and high register, but are ultimately unrealistic. The high register of piano is undistorted and clean, as well as “fast”, without smear of notes into one another on quick runs. The musical expression of piano is served well by the excellent micro-dynamics of these speakers.

Great micro-dynamics are also obvious on acoustic guitar. In fact, it is reproduction of this instrument which I often use to quickly assess micro-dynamic capabilities of reproduction, and the PranaFidelity speakers pass the test with flying colors. Warmth of tone from nylon strings on acoustic guitar is enticing, and it does not get distorted by artificial metallic coloration.

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Rock Music

I like heavy rock music sounding as such, and these speakers deliver, from a strong bass foundation to riveting rawness of electric guitar when applicable. These speakers exude authority on rock. The upper bass has lots of weight, which is essential to satisfying reproduction of rock drums, but there is no fat or overhang; the sound is fast. The mid-bass has lots of punch as a result of excellent bass dynamics. The bass also has great drive, which benefits the expression of excellent rhythm & timing. For the latter a particular reference of mine is the 1979 recording of the Trio of Doom (John McLaughlin, Jaco Pastorius, Tony Williams), playing jazz rock (Sony BMG 82796964502). The speakers ace the test, with an infectious, energetic, propulsive rhythmic performance.

Black Sabbath sounds amazing. The heavy, punchy drums and bass guitar on A Bit of Finger/Sleeping Village/The Warning (debut album Black Sabbath, 2016 remaster, Rhino/Warner 081227946746) as well as on War Pigs (Paranoid, 2009 remaster, BMG 1782444) have visceral impact, and there is a menacing grunge to the weighty electric guitar at the beginning of War Pigs. Bass guitar lines can be followed rather easily. On A Bit of Finger/Sleeping Village/The Warning, starting around 8:30, there is twice a double solo divided between electric guitar and bass which each do their own thing, and the polyphony between the two instruments is rather clear. The guitar solo at 10:44 sounds as direct and present as if you were sitting next to the speaker of the guitar amp, and the sudden, explosive appearance (at 11:56) of the grunge-y solo of guitar in lower register is startling. Its sounds are delivered with ferociousness.

There is very saturated mid-bass of drums and bass guitar on Pink Floyd’s The Wall (2016 remaster by James Guthrie, Pink Floyd Recording PFR11), which is reproduced with power and dynamic punch, but also great articulation and control. The drums and bass guitar are perhaps the “fattest” on the song Hey You, but still there is no problem. The enormously heavy drum lick ending at 2:01 was one where my previous speaker system struggled a bit, but the Dhyana speakers reproduce it with zero overhang, driven by this Octave tube amplifier which obviously also does not at all strain keeping the rather easy load of these speakers under control. Sure, I have taken out the room bass resonance problems with all the TubeTraps, but those would be of no use if electronics or speakers themselves would struggle.

Jazz

Yet while drums can sound heavy, they can also sound dry if needed, and great dynamics shine through there as well.

When listening to street music, you may have heard percussionists banging with sticks on inverted plastic buckets. The sound coming from that is extraordinarily hard hitting, with explosive dynamics. Art Blakey’s 7-minute jazz drum solo Freedom Rider, recorded in 1961 (from 3-CD set on Enlightenment – EN4CD9062; Art Blakey, The Complete Blue Note Collection Part Three 1960-1962), somewhat reminds me of those sounds. When listened to at loud volume (i.e., closer to realistic) the drums as reproduced on the Dhyanas are so hard-hitting and explosive in transients, it is astounding. Of course, it’s still drums rather than inverted plastic buckets, but to a good extent it nonetheless goes in the direction of what you hear with that street music. The cymbals, even though densely played, never degrade into undifferentiated “hash” but their sounds keep being transparent, and you can follow what the drummer does.

Great bass dynamics are also heard on stand-up bass. The instrument is recorded rather close-up on the Benny Green album These Are Soulful Days (Blue Note D 131530), which the pianist dedicated to beautiful melodies composed by jazz musicians on the Blue Note label over the decades. On Come On Home there is an extended bass solo by Christian McBride, on which the often forceful plucking of the instrument is rendered on these speakers with immediacy of visceral energy.

Solo trumpet and trombone sound great on the Dhyanas. Yet what stands out to me as a particular strength is saxophone sound. I have heard systems struggle with conveying the right body and grit of the tone of tenor saxophone (often it sounds either too thin and hard or too polite), but the Dhyanas get it right to a degree that is rather satisfying, in fundamentals, harmonics and texture of sound, as well as in reproduced transients. Listening to the dueling solo saxophones of Kohlhase and Langley on You Start (Boxholder Records – BXH007), music for just unaccompanied saxophones, becomes a riveting experience.

Here I should say something about image height. Even though these speakers feature a quasi-line array of midrange/bass drivers, you do not get 3 or 4 feet high solo violins or singing voices, but rather appropriate size also in height. On the other hand, something like a saxophone does sound realistically with greater height than those. These speakers clearly can differentiate height, and it is satisfying.


Orchestral and Choral Music

Orchestral music sounds authoritative. This impression stems from an ease of presentation, power and weight of sound, a complete effortlessness of wide-range dynamics which can be explosive if called for, and separation of instruments with great clarity. There is also an organic flow to the music (these speakers never sound mechanical). Orchestral timbres are colorful and believable. Low brass sounds have good body, and string sounds have both good mass and a finely detailed texture. Even at loud volume (peaks of 100 dBC or at times even higher) the speakers do not seem strained, and the sound is remarkably free of distortion. In massive brass climaxes the sound remains effortless, open and free, and just refuses to artificially harden up.

Obviously, in my room the width of soundstage is somewhat limited, but competent portrayal of great spatial depth and of hall ambience by these speakers adds a sense of size to orchestral sound. Instrument size is also nicely portrayed. As generally with any kind of music, the speakers fortunately avoid excessive pinpoint imaging with sharp, etched image outlines, leading to miniaturization; at the same time, the ability to easily “visualize” location of instruments is still intact. Overall, the sound of large orchestra appears to be of much bigger scale than small-scale music presented through these speakers, despite the room limitations.

The recording of Bruckner’s Ninth Symphony with the VPO conducted by Giulini (DGG 427345-2) is my favorite musical interpretation of the work. Ian and I also consider it a reference recording for orchestral string sound. The silky textures of massed violins sound exquisite on the Dhyana speakers. In the slow third movement there is this amazing passage for strings. As the violins climb ever higher in register (around 7 min), on these speakers the texture never gets shrill but keeps its airy and silky character throughout, without any hardening. The whole pasage is rendered just beautifully. Woodwinds sound gorgeous. The mighty passage for trombones and tuba around 18 min, after an abbreviated recurrence of the beautiful passage for strings, sounds with good weight yet with believable air in the texture at the same time. The big brass climaxes of the coda in the first movement and towards the end of the third movement are projected by the speakers cleanly and with effortless power and dynamics. Even the last dynamic push in these passages from very loud to even louder is rendered with relaxed ease of reproduction – also at loud playback volume (peak measured with Reed SPL meter in third movement climax at 102 dBC).

In general, with many orchestral recordings that I tried, I am surprised and impressed how much more texture and fine resolution of massed violin and viola sound I hear with these speakers than with my previous ones, which I thought already had excellent resolution.

Olivier Messiaen’s “Chronochromie“ (“colored time”) for large orchestra (Cleveland/Boulez, DGG 445827-2) features brass textures that despite their massive onslaught are remarkably translucent in color, sometimes aided by embedding of unison strings. This character is easily preserved at loud playback volume without being clouded by hardness, and the brutal dynamics of the brass are rendered by the Dhyanas with conviction and ease. The dense polyphonic textures found in a number of passages of the music are effortlessly resolved. Either you can let the textures wash over you as a whole, or you can easily follow a few separate strands of choice thickly embedded in the dense textures.

(cont.)

(cont.)

The complex polyphonic textures of Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring (Cleveland/Boulez, DGG 435769-2) are greatly resolved as well, and in the climactic dissonant passage from 15:59 to 16:22 in part II, just before the end, the speakers still cleanly unravel the polyphony through all that mayhem and do not lose composure. Even the violin and woodwind figures in the background behind the blaring brass are still clearly heard. The bass drum rolls in the passage from 8:45 to 9:14 sound powerful and reach deep; they also show a stunning amount of resolved detail of texture.

There are some instances on orchestral recordings where drawn-out notes or other playing from the contrabasses cause some room “pressurization”, as it is not heard in the large space of a concert hall, thus these are colorations stemming from speaker/room interactions. In a rather narrow and sealed room like mine, with a not very high ceiling, some of this will probably be unavoidable – unless bass extension was curtailed. Yet relative to the generous bass output in my room, these “pressure” colorations are quite rare and limited in their extent. What is more, the speakers avoid such colorations in some key passages where I could never quite get rid of similar colorations with my monitor/subwoofer system (admittedly, that was without TubeTraps in the room). I would assume that in a less narrow room things would improve even further.

Choir music shows great texture and resolution as well. The choir sound of Cantate Domino (Propius PRCD 7762; better sounding than the CD layer of the corresponding Propius SACD) has a transparent air of texture as I have rarely heard; at the same time male voices are solid in their weight. Airy, yet tonally dense, wonderfully resolved choir textures are also heard on the Requiem by the aforementioned Joseph Eybler (CPO 999234-2). There is great spatial depth and expansion to the sound, recorded in an apparently large church. Resolution of voice texture is maintained as singing becomes loud; dynamic surges of choir voices sound entirely unforced.

Here I should say something about dynamics on the Dhyana speakers in general. While they are consistently among the best I have heard, in some passages that I know well they can, on the surface, seem less impressive and “exciting” than with other speakers. The reason is that these speakers just do not shout, even at loud volume. The lack of “pushing out” dynamics by concomitant surges in hardness and other timbral distortions distinguishes between real dynamics and “fake” dynamics as heard elsewhere. Already with prior improvements to my system (such as changing the DAC and insertion of appropriate power cords), as well as to my room acoustics, I had reduced “fake” dynamics while real dynamics were kept intact, as a check of crucial passages quickly showed upon each improvement. This reduction of “fake” dynamics also brings the dynamic experience closer to that of actual (unamplified) live music in the concert hall. The insertion of the Dhyana speakers into the system has made a great further advance toward that end.


Conclusions

The PranaFidelity Dhyana speakers are equally at ease with gentle nuances of musical expression and with presentation of relaxed musical flow, as they are with the excitement of rock which they present with weighty bass foundation, as well as with relentless drive and with grunge when asked for. They present both large-scale orchestral music and intimate small-scale music convincingly.

These speakers play with a rich, weighty, colorful tone yet at the same time in a lively, very dynamic manner. They play with relaxed ease up to high volume levels, without a hint of strain. The speakers portray transients from soft to sharp in a natural, unforced manner and do not emphasize certain frequencies to make sonic reproduction artificially exciting. In that sense, you will not hear from them a sharply sculptured “hifi” sound that may be enticing to some. At the same time they are very capable of conveying the actual expression, liveliness, dynamics, drama and excitement of music, and they are highly resolving of micro-detail and of interplay of instruments in complex music in a natural, non-fatiguing manner. They combine warmth with clarity.

If you are looking for a sound like that, and you have a medium-sized room like mine or a medium-large sized room, the PranaFidelity Dhyana speakers may be ideal for you. The quite moderate demands on amplifier power may be an added bonus.

Ron Resnick said:

Congratulations Al! This is big news!

When you first told me you were excited about new floor-standing speakers and that you were selling your monitors, I knew it couldn't actually be you on the telephone, and I thought it was some sort of kidnapping situation. But it was you!

I am very, very happy for you that you found a loudspeaker which is a Pareto optimal improvement over your monitors!

I, too, thought Steven Norber's room sounded great! Design-wise, I love the idea of all of that bass and midrange driver surface area.

What an incredibly comprehensive debut report!

I very much look forward to you chronicling your continuing journey with these new loudspeakers!

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Thanks, Ron!

thedudeabides said:

Sounds like a wonderful speaker. Congrats and enjoy.

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Thank you!

thedudeabides said:

And remember to get some sleep.

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Hehe, I'll try

the sound of Tao said:

Congratulations on getting new speakers Al. Always a big step and quite a surprise. It’s exciting to tip the system apple cart up and get under way with a next phase. Hope they bring you years of great listening and deep music connection.

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Thanks, Graham!

jeff1225 said:

Congrats on the purchase Al. My father and I thought that the Prana Fidelity room was the best of show, I’m not surprised to hear that you love the speakers in your home.

Looking forward to hearing them next time I come visit.

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Thanks, Jeff!

I was fortunate to wander the halls at T.H.E. Show together with you both; on my own I might have missed the room...

I look forward to you hearing them.

Argonaut said:

Very nice construction and use of materials Al , I wish you joy of your new speakers

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Thank you!

Argonaut said:

… A little light on the review tho

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LOL