Dynaudio Music 5 review
The review of the Music series began with the 1 here:
We have transited from large multiple box sound systems to small more compact systems. We also demand cuteness, Wife Acceptance Factor (WAF) and yet want good sound.
Many traditional speaker makers have risen to the challenge, and now offer options exist for all in one sound systems which can playback music from sources like your phones with down quality, but what if you want a system that sounds good, can integrate into an entire sound ecosystem and is also a smart radio.
Dynaudio, a company more renowned for its high end speakers used by many audiophiles has turned its attention to the wireless streaming market and has come out with not just one but four options.
The One and Three are portable whilst the Five and Seven require power to operate. The Seven also features a HDMI port with ARC as well as an optical input.
Each can also stream music from external sites and features Apple AirPlay as well as Bluetooth.
The latter two have present buttons and all models can be controlled from a phone app. A remote controls is supplied with the Three, Five and Seven. Each comes with a covering over the speaker area, and there are four available colors to choose from.
The tech blurb:
I tried the Bluetooth, optical and HDMI connection (for Seven)
The annoying thing is that you need to turn on the device and then connect to Bluetooth each time. It does not do if automatically.
The Five is the smaller of the two units which require wall socket power to operate.
It’s a low profile unit with a broad and narrow footprint and will just about fit under TVs which are larger than 55" or more than 20cm in height. The B&W Zeppelin series will be an interesting competitor.
From their website:
"Music 5 uses two 1in tweeters, twin 3in midrange drivers and a single 5in woofer. It’s mains-powered, and also has a digital optical input and a remote control. It uses all the same core technologies – Magnesium Silicate Polymer woofers and midrange drivers, soft-dome tweeters and measurements from our world-class Dynaudio Labs facility – that have made our in-home, in-car and pro-studio speakers so legendary."
There are physical buttons for source, volume, power as well as forward and backwards buttons on the Three and One, with preset buttons on the Five and Seven. There is a USB port to charge your phone.
Setup is reasonable, but there are better apps out there.
You are asked to locate a speaker, and remember to press preset one button on the 3, 5 and 7. The app tries to ask you for your music tastes and makes you try to sign up for a Tidal trial. Most users will be up and running within 20 minutes, which is on the long side if you ask me. For example, I was using my Bose 500 within 10 minutes.
You can listen to music from your phone, streaming sites, local radio streams or even access your computer's iTunes collection.
But the most important thing is how does it sound?
The bass is an immediate standout. You keep wondering where they put the wireless subwoofer, that's how powerful the bass is. But given the increase in the number and type of drivers, that has allowed the mids to be clearer and it is much more than a boombox. Apart from a lack of a HDM input, it will be a pretty ideal TV soundbar (the 7 has one).
Even so when it's connected to the TV by Bluetooth or the optical input, the sound is robust and clear.
Even so when it's connected to the TV by Bluetooth or the optical input, the sound is robust and clear.
As mentioned, you should measure the clearance off the bottom of the screen as this speaker does have some height to it.
When playing back music via Airplay, it gives a good account of itself, with decent separation and depth to the soundstage.
It's not going to trouble high-end sounds systems, but the audiophile will want something better than the average boombox, and can stream, playback his/her music library as well as play tunes from the phone.
Such a user will not be disappointed with the Music 5.
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