PranaFidelity Dhyana: Two-way quasi line array speaker

[Al M.]

Nice.

Thanks, Ked.

Any er….

Hehe

 

[MadFloyd]

Hey Al, nice to see the review is finally up!

I've had the pleasure of hearing these speakers multiple times (3 or 4, can't recall exactly) and never in the same position twice as Al was in the process of voicing them. The first time I heard them I marveled at how clean they were and how accurate the timbre was, but the bass was a problem. At the time I wasn't sure if it was lack of amplifier power or room interaction (or both) but he eventually tamed the beast.

I haven't heard them in their latest position but the last time I heard them I thought he had them dialed in very nicely. In fact, I can say that Al's system is one of the best I've heard. The violin tone is to die for. I feel somewhat spoiled for any other system at this point...

Congrats, Al, you made a VERY good move with these speakers! Looking forward to our next listening session!

 

[PeterA]

Congratulations Al. You spent considerable effort writing a high quality review. It is clear and comprehensive with good listening impressions of specific music selections.

I heard Al's new speakers about two weeks ago. The experience was quite different from what I had been used to for so many years. The scale and immediacy, two former strong points, are retained, but the system has lost its edginess and is more relaxed sounding. The biggest change for me is the added sense of weight and groundedness. As a result, it sounds considerably more like real music. I understand that Al continues to experiment with placement, encouraged by comments from another member, so it remains a work in progress. I will hold off on further comments until I have a chance to hear it again, but I am encouraged by what I did hear. I will be interested to see if Al tries to integrate his subs with the new speakers.

Those photos of the speakers under construction remind me of my old Magico Mini IIs, though the bracing runs in the opposite direction. The driver compliment reminds me of my old Eggleston Rosa, also one tweeter and four 6"-7" identical drivers. I have fond memories of those speakers and in fact contacted Al the first time when I noticed we were two of the only members here with monitors on stands. I moved on but Al remained steadfast. Like Ron, I was quite shocked when Al told me he had sold his monitors on stands for floor standing speakers. It is quite a move.

Al, I think you will have to consider renaming your system thread as it is no longer a mini monitor and sub system. Perhaps something like Believable Sound, or Convincing Sound. I know it is certainly satisfying sound. Good move and well done.

 

[Al M.]

Hey Al, nice to see the review is finally up!

I've had the pleasure of hearing these speakers multiple times (3 or 4, can't recall exactly) and never in the same position twice as Al was in the process of voicing them. The first time I heard them I marveled at how clean they were and how accurate the timbre was, but the bass was a problem. At the time I wasn't sure if it was lack of amplifier power or room interaction (or both) but he eventually tamed the beast.

Thank you, Ian, for all your constructive feedback during the setup period, which was extremely helpful. Without it, I might not have bought the IsoThermal TubeTraps, which turned out to be a big improvement for my room, and almost certainly I would not have arrived at the current TubeTrap configuration, which turned out to be optimal. Following your recommendation I also performed the amplifier test that I described, which was useful as well.

I haven't heard them in their latest position but the last time I heard them I thought he had them dialed in very nicely. In fact, I can say that Al's system is one of the best I've heard. The violin tone is to die for. I feel somewhat spoiled for any other system at this point...

I am glad you like the sound as much as you do. Upon your last visit I really enjoyed hearing the (prog) rock albums that you brought, solo albums by Richard Wright and David Gilmour (both members of Pink Floyd) as well as a great album by Porcupine Tree, a prog band that you had introduced me to some time ago and which I have become a fan of as well. It has been described as ""the most important band you'd never heard of" (per citations in the Wikipedia article). We also had a blast comparing different interpretations of Tchaikovsky's violin concerto, one of the highlights of the Romantic repertoire.

Congrats, Al, you made a VERY good move with these speakers! Looking forward to our next listening session!

Thank you, Ian! As I outlined in my review, the choice of these speakers was easy, and I was confident that they would eventually work out well in my home.

Yes, I look forward to our next listening session as well!

 

[Al M.]

Congratulations Al. You spent considerable effort writing a high quality review. It is clear and comprehensive with good listening impressions of specific music selections.

Thank you Peter!

I heard Al's new speakers about two weeks ago. The experience was quite different from what I had been used to for so many years. The scale and immediacy, two former strong points, are retained, but the system has lost its edginess and is more relaxed sounding. The biggest change for me is the added sense of weight and groundedness. As a result, it sounds considerably more like real music.

Your description of the differences sounds accurate.

I understand that Al continues to experiment with placement, encouraged by comments from another member, so it remains a work in progress. I will hold off on further comments until I have a chance to hear it again, but I am encouraged by what I did hear. I will be interested to see if Al tries to integrate his subs with the new speakers.

I am looking forward to your impressions next time.

Those photos of the speakers under construction remind me of my old Magico Mini IIs, though the bracing runs in the opposite direction. The driver compliment reminds me of my old Eggleston Rosa, also one tweeter and four 6"-7" identical drivers.

If I understood correctly, the Eggleston Rosa used different crossover points for the identical drivers, so it was not quite a quasi line array as with the PranaFidelity speakers.

I have fond memories of those speakers and in fact contacted Al the first time when I noticed we were two of the only members here with monitors on stands. I moved on but Al remained steadfast. Like Ron, I was quite shocked when Al told me he had sold his monitors on stands for floor standing speakers. It is quite a move.

About 3 and a half years ago I wrote a post on WBF where I explained that floorstanders of a certain quality would be my ideal speakers. I just did not expect that I would find something that would satisfy me at a price point that I can afford, and I thought the speakers would have to be too big to fit into my room.

So it was a surprise, but maybe not that much of a surprise .

Al, I think you will have to consider renaming your system thread as it is no longer a mini monitor and sub system. Perhaps something like Believable Sound, or Convincing Sound. I know it is certainly satisfying sound. Good move and well done.

The old system thread is basically retired, and I am not sure if I will open a new one, given that my system is by now well sorted out and future changes will likely be much slower and more incremental.

 

[AudioLibertarian]

(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.

I know its been awhile since you ve had the Ensemble PA 1 monitors, however could you make comparison of the tonal color differentiation portrayal of the PA-1 vs Dhyanas on classical compositions? Would be very curious&appreciative to hear your thoughts on the subject. Thanks!!

 

[Al M.]

I know its been awhile since you ve had the Ensemble PA 1 monitors, however could you make comparison of the tonal color differentiation portrayal of the PA-1 vs Dhyanas on classical compositions? Would be very curious&appreciative to hear your thoughts on the subject. Thanks!!

Even though they had quite good body in the lower midrange (as one reviewer said, "a cello sounds like a cello" through them), the tonal color on the Ensemble Reference monitors that I had was somewhat thinner than that portrayed by my later Reference 3A monitors. The Dhyanas in turn added considerable tonal density and weight over the Reference 3A monitors.

In terms of tonal differentiation, the Dhyanas sound significantly more colorful than the monitors that I had. In addition, the Dhyanas are the most effortless sounding in unraveling different musical strands as being separate entities in the total polyphony of voices.

The Ensemble Reference on the other end were the most congested speakers that I had when it came to differentiation within dense orchestral music. For the size of their drivers they did an admirable job, but there are limits for what can be achieved with a single 5 inch midwoofer, even if it is supported by a passive radiator on the back of the speaker cabinet.

 

[AudioLibertarian]

Thanks so much for sharing your observations. My curiosity is piqued so will seek out the demo of the Dhyanas.

 

[gleeds]

Steven is an unheralded giant of the speaker design business. In my decades of being in this business I have not met anyone more deserving of recognition and success. The performance, build quality and sound these speakers deliver at the price are IMO unparalleled. Yes, they are hard to audition due to a lack of distribution but do seek them out if you're looking to spend up to 5x that amount on a new set of loudspeakers as these speakers do it all! Steven's amplification is also exceptional, shockingly so given their modest cost. No bling here just solid build, exceptional engineering and backed by a man who knows what real music sounds like.