Dynaudio Music 7 Review
So the Music 5 or 3 isn't big or badass enough?
Need more bass, more presence, and spread? Or just something that works well with a larger TV or even a projector based system?
The tech blurb:
"Like the Music 5, it’s mains-powered with an optical input – but it's also packing two 1in soft-dome tweeters, two 3in midrange drivers and twin 5in woofers. It even has an HDMI connection with Audio Return Channel so you can use it as a soundbar under your TV."
Now Dynaudio has the largest one, their 7 is a bit of a beast. It's mains powered, and has a fairly large profile and might not fit under smaller TVs with smaller legs.
It can be wall mounted, or it can sit under your TV (I couldn't fit it under my 58", but it did well in my dedicated HT room under my 75"). If you do mount it, bear in mind this baby weighs more than 7kg, so make sure your shelves are up to the task.
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.
There are physical buttons for source, volume, power as well as forward and backwards buttons on the Three and One, with preset buttons Seven. There is a USB port to charge your phone. There's no power button, but you can touch the top metal rim and it turns on.
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?
Having tried the 1,3,5 and now the 7, the immediate difference is in the bass. If you don't need that or the HDMI port, you can stop at the 5, which has a nice mid bass thump. But the 7 digs a lot deeper, which is immediately obvious when you play a loud blockbuster type movie. It does away with fancy pseudo-surround formats, but it will present a very full soundstage that is more than capable of putting you into the cinema even if you have a larger living room. There's no Atmos or DTS X, but the dynamics and the strong bass will make you forget about those.
But more subtly, when you turn on some nice jazz, or even play a BBC male presenter's voice, you will hear some very nice details that weren't there with the smaller brethren.
The organ pieces sound more meaty, and one of my go to songs, Budapest now feels more filled up. There is some soundstage and this soundbar is a large step up from the $500 bits you find out there and will not sound inferior to those with a small subwoofer.
The competition will come from the Harmon Kardon Enchant 1300, which has a subwoofer and a meaty thump, which allows the main soundbar to be slimmer in profile. However the 7 is an all in one, and plays Airplay, Bluetooth as well as optical and HDMI. It has a very sweet mid and vocal, courtesy of the mid woofers and the nice Dynaudio tweeter.
If you can accommodate the size, and don't want a subwoofer sitting around, this unit will give you a blast for movies and when you want to listen critically to your music collection, it will also give a good account of itself, and it also does streaming of radio stations and other online channels.
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I have no financial interest or other interests in any of the items / events I write about.
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