# Way overdo review of Dynaudio Esotar2 430 Midrange



## Niebur3 (Jul 11, 2008)

I have been meaning to write this review for about 9 month now. This is way overdo. I purchased the new Dynaudio Esotar2 Midrange from Don Amann (6spdcoupe) back in March '09 when the first shipment arrived in the US. 

I don't have pics of them not installed, but they came in a nice sturdy box and packed real tight in foam. They are beefy little guys and quite easy on the eyes with a nice upscale look. 

At the time, I had Morel CDM54's with Dynaudio MD100 tweets and Dynaudio MW160 Mid bass in a 1998 Pontiac Firebird Formula. The midrange and tweeters were a-pillar mounted more on axis with all speakers firing at the rear view mirror. 

I wanted to try a non-dome midrange so I could lower my crossover point and get more of the voice playing in the midrange speaker, helping both the height and tonal quality.

I called and talked to Emilios at Dynaudio and Scott Buwalda at Hybrid before making my purchase. I chose the Dynaudio due to my past experiences with them, even though their price point was higher.

I installed the Esotar2 430's with new MD130 tweeters in pods I made on the dash, off the a-pillar. These pods are 3/8-1/2" thick fiberglass. I used clay inside to deaden and create more mass and then filled with a poly fill / fiberglass insulation mixture. They are mounted to a 1/4" steel plate that is sealed to a wooden baffle with neoprene sandwiched in between. 

McIntosh Amps are supplying the power and Pioneer P9 combo as the source. I am using IXOS Ixotica cables and Gamma Geometry 11ga speaker wire.

I was only able to talk my wife into spending the money with a deal that if she did not notice a huge difference (she helps with all tuning - great ear and memory) they would be sold off. She was very skeptical - even more so with the price. 

We have a very different selection of music we use to tune compared to most competitors I know (I compete in USACi Consumer Q). We always use music we love and listen to everyday. Music we know so good, that we can look for the little nuances throughout the songs the most of the time get overlooked. Our selections include: No Doubt - Don't Speak, Fiona Apple - Several Songs from Tidal, Matchbox Twenty - again, several songs from several cd's, Nickelback - several cd's, Dave Matthews - several cd's, Metallica - No leaf Clover, Alanis - Jagged Little Pill, Jason Mraz - I'm yours and Dynamo of Volition.

Our first impression of these speakers was WOW, we were both simply amazed! They are able to handle the 250hz crossover point without sweating at all. I don't even know where to start with describing how they sound. They are detailed like no speaker I've ever heard before. They seemed to do everything right with very little tuning. Tonal accuracy, clarity, definition and imaging were all right on and simply amazing. The voices, especially the male voice, gave us a lot of tuning issues in the past, but was night and day with these. The male voice sounded deep and full and very lively - much more so than past Dyns which can seem to laid back at times. We both listened for hours with smiles on our faces. I had to get the charger on the battery! You were now able to hear every nuance in the music and even the recording studio flaws (had to get used to that a little). I met with a local sound engineer that has Duntech Soverign speakers and he was jealous of the midrange in my car! I couldn't believe it!

I can ramble on and on, if you are in the market for new midrange and are wanting the last set of midrange you will ever buy, then these are the ones!


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## uber_noob (Dec 12, 2009)

Nice review. You didn't mention a price...were they over $400?


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## jayhawkblk (May 29, 2007)

uber_noob said:


> Nice review. You didn't mention a price...were they over $400?



Thats funny $400. Keeping going up my man keep going up.


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## Niebur3 (Jul 11, 2008)

uber_noob said:


> Nice review. You didn't mention a price...were they over $400?


I believe the retail price is $1400/pair.


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## ErinH (Feb 14, 2007)

For $1400/pair they better make dinner, brush my teeth, wipe my butt, and shave my back hair... all without me ever telling it to. I want autonomous luxury. For $1400, I better get that. 

Anyway, thanks for the review. Needless to say that I'll never be purchasing these, but maybe so of our more affluent members here will.


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## Niebur3 (Jul 11, 2008)

They do give you an eargasm .


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## lycan (Dec 20, 2009)

nice review 

I've been researching this driver for a while now. It's an "ultra-low" Qts driver, well suited to a small ... in fact tiny ... enclosure.

However ... mounting IB is quite possible also, in my opinion, but will require some EQ for flat midrange response, and good integration with the midbass at crossover. Fortunately, the required EQ is quite simple ... a simple "subset" of a Linkwitz Transform can do the trick


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## ErinH (Feb 14, 2007)

Just re-read and saw you mention you guys listen to MB20. One of my wife and mine's favorite bands. Lead musician's solo stuff (especially his recent album) is excellent.

Still don't know if I'd use it as reference material, but great music nonetheless. So +1 for you. :thumbsup:


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## MaXaZoR (Apr 1, 2007)

Did I read you correct, that your using the MD130 dyn tweeters? Did you tear off the grill or something, because mine don't look like that


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## [email protected] (Jun 12, 2008)

So there more than the 6.5"? Woofersetc has the 6.5" listed at a retail price of $499 apiece


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## Niebur3 (Jul 11, 2008)

MaXaZoR said:


> Did I read you correct, that your using the MD130 dyn tweeters? Did you tear off the grill or something, because mine don't look like that


Actually I did unscrew the front aluminum plate and mounted these to the backside of the 1/4" steel plate. I just made sure I kept the same angle beveled edge for the opening around the tweeter. Doing it this way saved me about 1" in the mounting diameter. I got the idea from Whitledge's van. He has more pics doing the same thing on his website.


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## Niebur3 (Jul 11, 2008)

BeatsDownLow said:


> So there more than the 6.5"? Woofersetc has the 6.5" listed at a retail price of $499 apiece


Yes, I believe they are more than the 6.5", but less than the Esotar2 Tweeter. I know Don will read and probably comment and if necessary give the accurate price.


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## jon w. (Nov 14, 2008)

Thanks for the great review regarding the Esotar2 430 midrange. I have not yet heard this loudspeaker transducer in action, but I can imagine how good it must sound based on your review. I have, however, modeled this in a small, sealed enclosure and my calculations showed that this loudspeaker transducer can be mounted in a very small box (0.24 liters) and still achieve a system resonance of 252 Hz with an optimum Q of 0.71. But others have realized, too, that its design lends itself to a variety of important and useful implementations. This, to me, makes this driver the perfect above-dash companion with a tweeter. Obviously, you realized this by designing and creating an outstanding set of dash pods. Given the ideal placement of the midrange next to the tweeter, and the extraordinary fabrication effort, I'll bet these pods sound incredible! They surely must be among the finest sounding pods in existence (well, I think mine are pretty neat and well engineered, too; see below). I'm flattered that you were inspired by the design of my pods - thanks for the compliments! For those who haven't seen my pods, here's a pic (below). Notice that I, too, use Dynaudio's fabulous MD130 tweeter along with an MW150. Those of us who put a great deal of work into our installs appreciate the superb engineering and reliability of Dynaudio's products and the state-of-the-art sound quality they deliver. Just like you, of all the brands I heard, I felt Dynaudio was the clear choice for the Magic Bus. I am guessing your choice for Dynaudio was partly due to Emilios? Anyway, I hope I get to hear your system someday soon! I look forward to seeing more pictures of the install, really nice work!

For those who have wondered what's going on currently with the Magic Bus, it is undergoing numerous updates and modifications (yet to be revealed) and is nearing completion." You can see more pictures at my website, www.whitledgedesigns.com, and read my interview published on MotorMusicMag.com - The art & technology of the automobile - Motormusicmag.com entitled, "A Passion for SQ, Parts 1 & 2". There's also a video at MotorMusicMag.com - The art & technology of the automobile - Motormusicmag.com entitled, "Radical Frontstage” that explains the design and fabrication of my pods in great detail.


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## thehatedguy (May 4, 2007)

<- jealous over your speakers.


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## Niebur3 (Jul 11, 2008)

jon w. said:


> Thanks for the great review regarding the Esotar2 430 midrange. I have not yet heard this loudspeaker transducer in action, but I can imagine how good it must sound based on your review. I have, however, modeled this in a small, sealed enclosure and my calculations showed that this loudspeaker transducer can be mounted in a very small box (0.24 liters) and still achieve a system resonance of 252 Hz with an optimum Q of 0.71. But others have realized, too, that its design lends itself to a variety of important and useful implementations. This, to me, makes this driver the perfect above-dash companion with a tweeter. Obviously, you realized this by designing and creating an outstanding set of dash pods. Given the ideal placement of the midrange next to the tweeter, and the extraordinary fabrication effort, I'll bet these pods sound incredible! They surely must be among the finest sounding pods in existence (well, I think mine are pretty neat and well engineered, too; see below). I'm flattered that you were inspired by the design of my pods - thanks for the compliments! For those who haven't seen my pods, here's a pic (below). Notice that I, too, use Dynaudio's fabulous MD130 tweeter along with an MW150. Those of us who put a great deal of work into our installs appreciate the superb engineering and reliability of Dynaudio's products and the state-of-the-art sound quality they deliver. Just like you, of all the brands I heard, I felt Dynaudio was the clear choice for the Magic Bus. I am guessing your choice for Dynaudio was partly due to Emilios? Anyway, I hope I get to hear your system someday soon! I look forward to seeing more pictures of the install, really nice work!
> 
> For those who have wondered what's going on currently with the Magic Bus, it is undergoing numerous updates and modifications (yet to be revealed) and is nearing completion." You can see more pictures at my website, www.whitledgedesigns.com, and read my interview published on MotorMusicMag.com - The art & technology of the automobile - Motormusicmag.com entitled, "A Passion for SQ, Parts 1 & 2". There's also a video at MotorMusicMag.com - The art & technology of the automobile - Motormusicmag.com entitled, "Radical Frontstage” that explains the design and fabrication of my pods in great detail.


Thanks for the really kind compliments Jon. 

Emilios at Dynaudio and Don Amann both were amazing to talk to before deciding to purchase these speakers. They are both an absolute wealth of information and I do have to say that Emilios at Dynaudio makes this a very easy purchase. I can call or email him with any questions I need help with and he is always very happy to help. There are very few 12 volt companies where you can call and talk to someone with the knowledge he has!

Jon's Van was a huge inspiration for me and I did reference his website and tons of pics and info he has on there many times during my build process. I do not have the fabrication skills Jon has, but the only way I could do as good as I did was utilizing his website to help with the parts I could not visualize. 

I hope to hear your van one day Jon. Maybe the next time you are in Nebraska....


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## lycan (Dec 20, 2009)

jon w. said:


> Thanks for the great review regarding the Esotar2 430 midrange. I have not yet heard this loudspeaker transducer in action, but I can imagine how good it must sound based on your review. I have, however, modeled this in a small, sealed enclosure and my calculations showed that this loudspeaker transducer can be mounted in a very small box (0.24 liters) and still achieve a system resonance of 252 Hz with an optimum Q of 0.71. But others have realized, too, that its design lends itself to a variety of important and useful implementations. This, to me, makes this driver the perfect above-dash companion with a tweeter. Obviously, you realized this by designing and creating an outstanding set of dash pods. Given the ideal placement of the midrange next to the tweeter, and the extraordinary fabrication effort, I'll bet these pods sound incredible! They surely must be among the finest sounding pods in existence (well, I think mine are pretty neat and well engineered, too; see below). I'm flattered that you were inspired by the design of my pods - thanks for the compliments! For those who haven't seen my pods, here's a pic (below). Notice that I, too, use Dynaudio's fabulous MD130 tweeter along with an MW150. Those of us who put a great deal of work into our installs appreciate the superb engineering and reliability of Dynaudio's products and the state-of-the-art sound quality they deliver. Just like you, of all the brands I heard, I felt Dynaudio was the clear choice for the Magic Bus. I am guessing your choice for Dynaudio was partly due to Emilios? Anyway, I hope I get to hear your system someday soon! I look forward to seeing more pictures of the install, really nice work!
> 
> For those who have wondered what's going on currently with the Magic Bus, it is undergoing numerous updates and modifications (yet to be revealed) and is nearing completion." You can see more pictures at my website, www.whitledgedesigns.com, and read my interview published on MotorMusicMag.com - The art & technology of the automobile - Motormusicmag.com entitled, "A Passion for SQ, Parts 1 & 2". There's also a video at MotorMusicMag.com - The art & technology of the automobile - Motormusicmag.com entitled, "Radical Frontstage” that explains the design and fabrication of my pods in great detail.


You can go IB with these little midranges also, BUT they won't model ... or perform ... as well as possible without some "help"  So if you're interested in using them IB, you'll need a first-order shelf EQ to "relocate" that high frequency _pole_, which will otherwise cause the driver to start rolling off at about Fs/Qts.

Here's how it works : With such a low Qts, the driver has two real _poles_ in it's high-pass response : one very close to Fs*Qts, and one very close to Fs/Qts ... this is the "troublesome" _pole_ for using this driver IB. So you'll need an electronic EQ with a _zero_ at about Fs/Qts, and a _pole_ at a much lower frequency ... maybe down near Fs*Qts, so that the "new" driver's response (that is, driver plus EQ) with have a "new" Q of about 0.5 (two real poles at the same frequency).

As always, watch excursion & power limits if you go IB.

yeah ... i've been interested in this little jewel for quite some time myself


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## Niebur3 (Jul 11, 2008)

Bite the bullet, it is an amazing driver!


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## lycan (Dec 20, 2009)

Niebur3 said:


> Bite the bullet, it is an amazing driver!


bullet already bit  not a _silver_ bullet though


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## fastlane (Apr 6, 2009)

I really wish I didn't live in BFE. I just ordered a 3.0 voce to go with the Coro's I just purchased (I should have just ordered the Orchestra to begin with :blush, and would love to compare these two capable drivers.

Niebur, I'm jealous. I wish I could convince my wife to get involved with either this or my HT addiction. She just rolls her eyes.


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## Niebur3 (Jul 11, 2008)

fastlane said:


> I really wish I didn't live in BFE. I just ordered a 3.0 voce to go with the Coro's I just purchased (I should have just ordered the Orchestra to begin with :blush, and would love to compare these two capable drivers.
> 
> Niebur, I'm jealous. I wish I could convince my wife to get involved with either this or my HT addiction. She just rolls her eyes.


I am certainly a lucky man. My wife sometimes doesn't like my "addiction" to car audio but is very supportive and will go with me to competitions and went with me to USACi finals last year. Due to finishing things up late, we didn't leave until 10PM driving from Omaha to Tulsa. We arrived at 5am and had to wash the car. We slept in the car for a hour and checked the car in at 7am. She never complained and we had a great trip! She is truly my best friend and after 11 years of marriage, I couldn't be happier. Oh...and she's hot and sexy (even after 2 kids)!!! 5'8, Red hair and a size 5/6, with a really nice ass!


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## lycan (Dec 20, 2009)

Niebur3 said:


> Oh...and she's hot and sexy (even after 2 kids)!!! 5'8, Red hair and a size 5/6, with a really nice ass!


pics or ban, playboy (forum rules)


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## fastlane (Apr 6, 2009)

lycan said:


> pics or ban, playboy (forum rules)


Here here.


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## Niebur3 (Jul 11, 2008)

lycan said:


> pics or ban, playboy (forum rules)


Alright...Alright! Can't do the whole Playboy thing due to her profession (also why the one has her face blurred out - even though I don't think many would be looking at her face on that one (taken about 3 years ago when she was still a blonde). I am posing lots of pics of her and the fam...little bragging going on here! 


























My Son out hunting with his Grandpa!









This was a really good night  :biggrinflip: :smug2:


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## fastlane (Apr 6, 2009)

Niebur3 said:


> This was a really good night  :biggrinflip: :smug2:


*
Dynaudio what? ? ? ? *


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## Niebur3 (Jul 11, 2008)

fastlane said:


> *
> Dynaudio what? ? ? ? *


I wasn't thinking about speakers that night either!!!  Oh, and her favorite song is "Crazy *****" by Buckcherry!


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## Niebur3 (Jul 11, 2008)

Speaker pics back up!


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## JDMRB1ODY (Oct 11, 2008)

Any specific enclosure guide lines if running them on my A pillars??


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## Niebur3 (Jul 11, 2008)

JDMRB1ODY said:


> Any specific enclosure guide lines if running them on my A pillars??


Yep, make an enclosure as small as you can to fit these and you are all good .


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## JDMRB1ODY (Oct 11, 2008)

Fantastic, really looking forward to hearing them.


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## the other hated guy (May 25, 2007)

i am hoping to do a home set sometime in the future with these beauties!!!!


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## dhershberger (Apr 2, 2010)

Those pods are pretty impressive, Jerry. It almost looks as though you used a side-view mirror as a mold.


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## Niebur3 (Jul 11, 2008)

dhershberger said:


> Those pods are pretty impressive, Jerry. It almost looks as though you used a side-view mirror as a mold.


Thanks...I have had many people tell me that about the pods recently and I had never noticed before...lol.


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## 60ndown (Feb 8, 2007)

what would the difference in sound have been if you had built the pods so the tweeters were on the outside?


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## Hillbilly SQ (Jan 26, 2007)

Very few of you will believe me but the big underhung tang midbass/range drivers will run side by side with the Esotar drivers in clarity and low distortion for a fraction of the cost IF YOU CAN FIT THEM. Yes I've heard both and was A LOT more impressed with the tangs in the price/performance category. Now if you have money burning a hole in your pocket that you can't seem to spend on anything else the Esotar is a GREAT driver even if it is way overpriced.


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## Dangerranger (Apr 12, 2006)

Hillbilly SQ said:


> Very few of you will believe me but the big underhung tang midbass/range drivers will run side by side with the Esotar drivers in clarity and low distortion for a fraction of the cost IF YOU CAN FIT THEM. Yes I've heard both and was A LOT more impressed with the tangs in the price/performance category. Now if you have money burning a hole in your pocket that you can't seem to spend on anything else the Esotar is a GREAT driver even if it is way overpriced.


I believe you. The Hi-vi D6.8 Dyn/Morel knockoff outperforms them too honestly when talking about the 7" drivers.


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## SoundChaser (Apr 3, 2009)

Hillbilly SQ said:


> Very few of you will believe me but the big underhung tang midbass/range drivers will run side by side with the Esotar drivers in clarity and low distortion for a fraction of the cost IF YOU CAN FIT THEM. Yes I've heard both and was A LOT more impressed with the tangs in the price/performance category. Now if you have money burning a hole in your pocket that you can't seem to spend on anything else the Esotar is a GREAT driver even if it is way overpriced.


I have the Esotar 430 but never heard the Tang driver you are referring to, so I can’t comment. I do enjoy extreme volume levels at times. Did you get a chance to turn up the volume on both drivers? Can the Tang “rip your face off” cleanly?


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## Hillbilly SQ (Jan 26, 2007)

SoundChaser said:


> I have the Esotar 430 but never heard the Tang driver you are referring to, so I can’t comment. I do enjoy extreme volume levels at times. Did you get a chance to turn up the volume on both drivers? Can the Tang “rip your face off” cleanly?


Absolutely. Owner told me to let er rip and boy did I ever.


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## JDMRB1ODY (Oct 11, 2008)

Niebur3,
Getting ready to install my 430's and 110's. Your pods look like they are more on axis. Did you try slightly off and see how they sounded before you finally installed them.


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## Niebur3 (Jul 11, 2008)

JDMRB1ODY said:


> Niebur3,
> Getting ready to install my 430's and 110's. Your pods look like they are more on axis. Did you try slightly off and see how they sounded before you finally installed them.


No, I really didn't have an option to go more off axis with the slope of the windshield, dash and a-pillar. Even if I did, my results would only be valid for a firebird as all cars will respond differently. I would recommend you to take some time and do some testing before deciding on final placement. I have heard that they do perform well off-axis, but no first hand experience. Good Luck!


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## JDMRB1ODY (Oct 11, 2008)

Finally got them!!! So Happy. What surprised me is they are pretty compact when you compare them to the tweeters. So I have my full 3 way front stage. Finishing up wiring my DVI then I'll drop by for my installer to do my a pillars. I have no confidence in my glass skills plus don't have the time.


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## JDMRB1ODY (Oct 11, 2008)

Pics up ! Time to get busy.


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## cirodias (Dec 12, 2008)

Esotar² are the speakers of speakers!

I've very happy with the 650, and getting funds for the 430!

Thanks for the review!


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## dumdum (Feb 27, 2007)

ErinH said:


> For $1400/pair they better make dinner, brush my teeth, wipe my butt, and shave my back hair... all without me ever telling it to. I want autonomous luxury. For $1400, I better get that.
> 
> Anyway, thanks for the review. Needless to say that I'll never be purchasing these, but maybe so of our more affluent members here will.


Does this mean you are now one of our more affluent members 😂🙈😘


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## Niebur3 (Jul 11, 2008)

12 year old thread.


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## dumdum (Feb 27, 2007)

Niebur3 said:


> 12 year old thread.


I know… it was relevant to Erin and funny as he now has these drivers in his Honda 😂


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