# Dynaudio Esotec System 222



## Mr Marv (Aug 19, 2005)

I received these a few weeks ago and have 40 or so hours on them now so I figured I'd give a quick review.  

Appearance: As usual with Dynaudio the build quality is absolutely top notch. The only complaint I have is I wish they would make the tweeter and grill ring black (I'm going to dye them).

Install: They are installed IB in kicks (vented to the outside) firing across just in front of your face when seated in a normal position (I have also experimented with other angles). They are vertically biamped with about 125 watts per speaker, headunit is Premier 880PRS with plenty of flexibility and sub duty is switched between a 10W6v2/ARC 10D4. Car is deadened with RAAMmat/ensolite, I have a foam padded dashmat, the back of the dash/vent tubes etc are covered in ensolite/accoustic foam and I have accoustic foam lined under dash panels. After much experimenting I ended up with the tweeter HP at 4khz/24db slope, mid LP at 3.15khz/24db slope, mid HP at 80hz/24db slope and sub LP 80hz/36db slope. Polarity is reversed on the tweeters and blending is pretty much seemless with the underlap between mid/tweeter . The EQ is flat and all tuning to this point has been done with phase, crossover, time correction and level setting.

Listening opinion: I have been referred to as a "midrange junkie" which I will agree with.  Our ears are most sensitive at midrange frequencies and I find that this area is the most difficult to reproduce accurately in a vehicle so I prefer to use a driver that is known to be "natural sounding" from the outset. This mid is definately "natural sounding" and as expected reproduces male or female vocals that actually sound _like the singer_ as opposed to _like the speaker_ if that makes sense.  Instruments in this range are also reproduced with superb detail along with horns that have "raspiness" when/where it's _supposed to be_. Attack and decay on the piano is an area that really stands out IMO. 

One thing I notice about a lot of cars I listen to is the fact that they are "over mid-bassed" and some seem to confuse "door resonance" with midbass output  (nothing worse than listening to a song you know has a great bass line and it is all muddied up by poor midbass ). Personally I prefer "accuracy" first and in my situation I manipulate/use the sub to help with midbass output/impact. In past competition I consistently scored 8's out of 10 in midbass using Dynaudio mw150's and these new mw152's are just as "snappy" IMO. 

Compared to my original Dynaudios I don't notice much difference in the mids and I'd say they are very similar in "naturalness" to my most recent Revelators. 

The new md102 tweeter on the other hand is quite a different story. The only complaint I ever had (and many others I have read about) with the original Dyns was the top end of the md100 tweeter and these new 102's are definately a big improvement. I have tried them at many different angles in the kicks/a-pillars and I believe they can be made to work very well in just about any situation. Hate to sound like a broken record but they also reproduce anything you throw at them very accurately with a sense of "airyness" not as apparent in the originals IMO. Upper female vocals are very smooth/detailed and the attack/decay of the "ting-a-lings" as I call them  (cymbals, rain sticks etc) is very accurate without "lingering" IMO.

All in all I'd have to say these rank very high on my list of personal favorites .


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## kevin k. (May 5, 2005)

Thanks for your thoughtful review, Marv...  

I owe you a phone call. :blush:


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## Rbsarve (Aug 26, 2005)

I've found most (actually all) Dynaudio systems that I have listened to to be very musical, but still giving me a feeling that they where holding back on details, especially in the midrange. Since you have experience from the Revelators (with I like better), did you notice this trait on these aswell or have they improved?


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## ocuriel (Oct 7, 2005)

How would you compare the Seas Lotus tweeters to the Dynaudio tweeters?


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## bdubs767 (Apr 4, 2006)

Rbsarve said:


> I've found most (actually all) Dynaudio systems that I have listened to to be very musical, but still giving me a feeling that they where holding back on details, especially in the midrange.



I had the same feeling w/ the 2 way, and to be honest I think it comes from the 3" VC. IMO 3" VC not a good choice for a midrange.


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## Mr Marv (Aug 19, 2005)

kevin k. said:


> Thanks for your thoughtful review, Marv...
> 
> I owe you a phone call. :blush:


No worries! Just holler at me when you have a chance!


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## Sephiroth619 (Jun 24, 2005)

Rbsarve said:


> I've found most (actually all) Dynaudio systems that I have listened to to be very musical, but still giving me a feeling that they where holding back on details, especially in the midrange. Since you have experience from the Revelators (with I like better), did you notice this trait on these aswell or have they improved?


x2


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## Mr Marv (Aug 19, 2005)

Rbsarve said:


> I've found most (actually all) Dynaudio systems that I have listened to to be very musical, but still giving me a feeling that they where holding back on details, especially in the midrange. Since you have experience from the Revelators (with I like better), did you notice this trait on these aswell or have they improved?


I didn't notice a lack in details compared to the Revelators and actually they sound very similar IMO. I havn't used the original Dyn's in quite some time so I'm not sure about the mid differences but the tweeter is definately improved. When I have a chance I'll side by side them a little more critically and see what differences I notice.



ocuriel said:


> How would you compare the Seas Lotus tweeters to the Dynaudio tweeters?


AS soon as I can I'll compare them side by side and give my opinion.



bdubs767 said:


> I had the same feeling w/ the 2 way, and to be honest I think it comes from the 3" VC. IMO 3" VC not a good choice for a midrange.


see above^


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## shinjohn (Feb 8, 2006)

Nice review, Marv!

This piques my interest in the new MD102 tweeter! I gotta hear these now!

In as far as midrange performance, I've found the 5.75" MW150 to be far better than the 7" MW160. The larger MW160 is fuller on the low end, but doesn't compare in midrange performance to it's smaller sibling. I know EXACTLY where Marv is coming from in this review, as I am currently running MW150s and MD100s in my daily driver (soon to be gutted though! )

Though I have not heard the relevators, I do have good experience with the Peerless Exclusive 5.5" and thought the MW150 held reasonably well in the midrange to that unit. The Dyn mid was way "punchier" though than the Peerless into the upper mid-bass region though....

Just a couple of thoughts.


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## Mr Marv (Aug 19, 2005)

Rbsarve said:


> I've found most (actually all) Dynaudio systems that I have listened to to be very musical, but still giving me a feeling that they where holding back on details, especially in the midrange. Since you have experience from the Revelators (with I like better), did you notice this trait on these aswell or have they improved?


After quite some time of listening and doing a "side by side" I'm going to change my opinion on the answer I gave to this question above. "Out of the box" the Dyn mids do seem a bit "soft" in direct comparison to the Revelators. I'm thinking a little eq'ing could "liven" them up a bit but I havn't tried it yet.


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