Dynamikks Monitor 10

DYNAMIKKS MONITOR 10

 

If you on are on this page, I need to underscore that the loudspeakers from the DynamiKKs Line are some of the very best we have heard in a very long time ... and we are really difficult to please ! Listening to these, from the very first notes, was a total shocker.

 

In view of their absolute performance, we can't get over the ridiculous prices either --  in this case $13K ... a "no brainer" situation. Then, it gets better ... the awesome German finish, the attention to small details, the packaging, the versatility.

 

... And these speakers are a sonic "Chameleon". Let us explain : Sophisticated and delicate Classical ? ... excellent. Jazz, Vocals as well ... but, then ask it to do some really serious Rock and get vicious and heavy ... when one knows that most speakers really cant "do it all" ? You better be strapped in to your seat, because its going to come at you like a freight train :=)) Hint : They are not called "DynamiKKs" for no reason.

 

Enough said !

 

Oh, and don't worry too much about amp compatibility ... 8W SET, Big Tone 22-30W DHT, 100-250W Hybrid ... as long as the amp is of appropriate high quality ...  the DynamiKKs speakers ... all of them ... are very "accommodating".

 

If you are wondering if the Monitor 12, or the models from the DynamiKKs Aton Series, are any different ... they are not. The Monitor 12 is a tad scaled up vs the Monitor 10 (for larger rooms) ... and the ATON speakers -- 8DC and 10DC -- are even more impressive, and more pricey of course, ... but are still accessible at not-too-crazy prices ... The Aton 8DC [$23K] and 10DC [$28K] can be had for under $25K and $30K respectively ... but in really belong to a select sub-set of speakers from the $40K to $70K  fraternity !

 

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More ...

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Holger Barske / HiFi Test - 2021

... an excellent description and review of this 2-way Horn speaker design

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HISTORY

The name Ulf Moning will be familiar to those who are intricately familiar with high efficiency loudspeakers. The resourceful designer from Birkenau in the Odenwald has been creating highly exciting speakers, well outside of the mainstream, such as his Monitor 10, and this for very many years.

 

In fact, it's been almost 30 years that Ulf Moning first started building loudspeakers commercially. It all started under the “Dynavox” brand, and since 2009 the products have been marketed under the “Dynamikks” banner, a new name which describes the design essence of the product pretty well. Moning is an avowed fan of uncompressed playback that comes as close as possible to the live experience. You would be right to suspect that such an attitude is incompatible with shoebox-sized loudspeakers and with an efficiency that does not deserve the name. In other words : Dynamikks drivers are voluminous and usually have a large membrane area. If you want a little less from the latter, then a horn is happy to take over the job, every now and then down to the bass range. Their "Model 12" has achieved quite a lot of fame in the last two years. This is a very potent two-way speaker that is based on Altec's famous "Model 14" in terms of construction and design. A truly great performer, but not for everyone when it comes to living room suitability. This is primarily due to the rather voluminous bass compartment with the robust 30-centimeter driver, which simply needs a lot of air to breathe. In addition, the whole thing is building in width and was "aesthetically" at home in the sixties ... which means that a dispute with many heads of household would be pre-programmed and inevitable :=))

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A 21st Century Alternative

so, a bit smaller would be nice, a bit “nicer” too - but please, without sacrificing too much of the sonic explosiveness and tube suitability, which are the salient features of the Model 12.

 

And ? : Ulf Moning delivered ! His Monitor 10 is the smaller of the two versions of this new series and, as the type designation suggests, delegates the lower frequencies to a ten-inch (25 centimeter) woofer. enclosed in a cabinet that is just 30 centimeters wide. Moning achieves the required volume from the depth of the enclosure, which is quite considerable at 47 centimeters. Since you don't see this depth when you are seated, this is often a tolerable circumstance.

 

The box is designed in two parts, and a fully grown horn is at home atop of the bass enclosure, which is slightly inclined backwards.The Horn is in its own enclosure, which gives the whole speaker a pretty chic look. The visual aesthetic is very successful as the bass case is wrapped in a transverse synthetic wood veneer whilst the horn is in a black varnish case. Further, the bass cabinet is trimmed with a circumferential black border, which gives the whole thing a very homogeneous look. The fact that the horn seems to float on spikes just above the bass case also exudes a certain lightness. This is what I call a successful design... my compliments to Ulf !

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Design Details

The woofer has sound reinforcement genes, as a glance at the very solid construction immediately reveals. Moning has it custom-made by a small Eastern European supplier. It offers exactly the compromise between depth, efficiency and volume requirements that is required here. The square horn with the one-inch pressure chamber driver mounted behind it is undoubtedly the louder of the two playing partners, whilst the crossover of course ensures a corresponding level adjustment. The horn is a plastic funnel with a modern constant directivity design. This means that the angle of radiation of the sound changes only very little over the frequency, which results in even room excitation and ultimately more linearity at the listening position.

 

Compression Driver and Horn take over the musical action as of 950 Hertz, which means that both are still far from their possibilities in terms of lower frequency capability limits. This conservative separation of "frequency duties" ensures low distortion and high dynamic reserves - yes sir ... that's right. This high frequency duality is undoubtedly of a very special quality, and this is borne out when listening to music. Although loaded with such a substantial horn, the pressure chamber driver behaves absolutely "piously" - which is really nothing like what this type of loudspeaker is typically known for.

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As a consequence, the rotary switch for the multi-level level adjustment on the back is actually only used to match personal tastes and room acoustics ... and not to reduce "sonic inconveniences". The secret of this lies in several factors : a very careful combination of Horn funnel and driver, a skilful filter adjustment, and the quality of the pressure chamber driver itself. The latter stands out due to its unusual sandwich membrane, which reveals the virtues of plastic and metal at this point splendidly united with one another.

 

In terms of "control", the Monitor 10 moves in pleasantly uncritical waters. Thanks to a solid efficiency of 91 decibels and an uncritical impedance curve, a whole range of options are conceivable here. With relatively few restrictions, something like a single-ended tube amplifier with ten watts is conceivable, as tests with the wonderful Tivan Labs 811 Anniversary have shown. The advantage of something like this is that it doesn't "clink brutally" if you overdo it with the volume level. The sound just becomes a bit cozier .. and then more cozy still. What about powerful 120 transistor watts? But of course! With that, however, the Dynamikks beats around badly, and with such a wild horse you have to be able to make friends. Overdrive is initially at the expense of dynamics. 

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Finally

So maybe you prefer something like a fine class A transistor amplifier or a "normal" push-pull tube? This is exactly what "the doctor ordered". 30 watts with a bit of even-order THD make the loudspeaker really sing. What is special about the Monitor 10 is the ease with which it projects music.

 

This tower distributes music "weightlessly" in the room, even in a darn large room ! What is by no means the rule with horns, works perfectly with the Monitor 10 : the detachment of the musical action from the loudspeaker "plane", paired with an image that is not overly inflated.

 

One of the intricacies of such designs lies in its subtleties : the experience of the waking up of a large chain of tubes after switching the amp on, the expansion processes in the glass bulb sthe slow giving way to indolence, the return to suppleness - here you are really in the middle of it all. I am amazed by the charm that the horn tweeter can play with. Percussion cymbals are very finely chiseled, with exactly the right tonality. In terms of accuracy, it sounds like an excellent dome --  but dynamically it sounds without a doubt like a horn. And to top it all off, the transition between the two sound emitters is acoustically seamless - what more could you want  ?!

 

This is also due to the fact that Ulf Moning hit the sweet spot exactly as concerns the reflex tuning,  and thus did not sacrifice tonal color and dynamic impulse for coherent bass extension. His speaker very convincingly manages the 40 -45 Hertz region, which is truly very desirable for a high-musicality and complete sound experience ... as exemplified by the fact that the Monitor 10 manages to extremely convincingly place a double bass played by Ray Brown squarely in the room. 

 

As far as I am concerned the Model 10 is a "subtle miniaturization" of the larger Model 12. It has succeeded in translating the qualities of its bigger brother - in both visual and acoustic terms - in an extremely impressive way.

 

In conclusion, this is a perfectly balanced, neutral and powerful floor-standing loudspeaker offering exquisitely fine resolution ... and [what was a real and welcome surprise] : "Perfectly civilized" horn qualities.

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Another Review from a High End publication in Asia 

HiFi Audio - March 2021

 

The actual audition was conducted in our large listening room (see photo below). The system set-up consists of Mimetism electronics and DynamiKKs! Loudspeakers. During the session, that lasted for more than three hours and involved different sources and source material, we conducted a comprehensive and in-depth evaluation of this advanced audio system from different angles.

 

Right off the bat ...

The overall experience is very "positive." Whether it was when listening to the weeping violin in "Heartbreak Anniversary", or the racing orchestra in Strauss' "Thunder and Lightning Polka", this system shows its unique character. What we heard was a positive and balanced, atmospheric and natural sound style, whether you call it "monitoring" or "objective" ... in short, it allowed us to easily reach the deep emotions of music, the expression of the musicians, and the intent of the sound engineer.

 

High frequency where penetration and restraint coexist

When many people evaluate the high frequency of a system, they may describe this as being "straight through the sky" and "outside the sky"... I know that the high frequencies can "ascend", but this is not usually accompanied by a sense of conviction and power. At the best of times, and in most cases, the high frequencies ascend steadily and smoothly. But, for a system to know when to "penetrate" and when to "restrain" is actually a quality reserved for components in the higher realm.

 

Authenticity and Naturalness

In many cases, what we pursue when listening to music is the authenticity and naturalness of music, a transliteration of the music that infects the soul through the authentic charm, without having to overwhelm specific frequency bands.

 

Through the Monitor 10, a horn-style speaker, the music does not express the kind of "aggressive" and strong, penetrating high frequency behaviour commonly encountered with loudspeakers of this topology. On the contrary, what we experience is a harmonious high-frequency with a sense of intensity that is "just right", and that is seamlessly, coherently, and convincingly integrated into the overall atmosphere of the music. This speaker has both analytical power and the corresponding frequency extension at both ends of the spectrum, but you also feel that it always remains firmly in the control of events, and does not "burst into exaggeration", let alone "scrape at the senses". This is a very refined behavior, and is exemplary of a very advanced sound style.

 

A sense of space and scene

When properly positioned, the Monitor 10 will be "invisible", and what is shown in front of us is a live music stage ... instead of two speakers. We can easily distinguish the position of the instruments on this stage, the relationship between them, and the position of the singer.

Take Richard Strauss’ "So Zarathustra Says" as an example. The music at the beginning of the performance progresses step by step, coming from a very weak and very distant place. After the powerful timpani is struck, the sense of energy is instantaneous. At the same time, we can feel a very distinct sense of space. The timpani is at the very back of the orchestra. Although it is distant, it is clearly identifiable. This is exactly the sound space characterization ability that an advanced sound system should have!

　　

Deep and wide low frequency reproduction

Under the strong driving power of AL432 250W×2, the Monitor 10 with a 10-inch large-diameter unit shows strong low-frequency energy and control.

 

Taking "The Night of the Barren Mountain" in "Red Devil" as an example, the orchestra's rendition of layer-after-layer of tense and rushing melody convincingly interprets the gloomy scene of the monster coming out of the cave in the middle of the night. Following the agitation, his mood becomes tense. This gloomy atmospheric backdrop of the music is followed by the rapid percussion of the timpani drum, foreboding the imminent appearance of the devil, and weighs on the listener's heart, step by step....simply mystical !

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Summing Up

The reproductive capability of the Dynamikks Monitor 10, whether with large orchestral pieces or heavy drum tracks, is controlled and magnificent. Even when the music is going through complex dynamic contortions, we still feel that everything is under control, that the expressiveness is smooth and full, that all the nuances are clearly distinguishable, that the low-frequency impact is real and natural, deep and broad, and that the dynamics are not compressed...in sum the sound is amazing.

 

We have just met a loudspeaker that connotes sheer class and charm, one that reaches deep into, and touches the very soul, of music !

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MSRP $  13,300 per pair

Limited Time Direct Dealer Price : $11,250