Where is hi-fi and music going in the future? Will it continue to pivot around sound quality, realism and dynamics, emotional content etc or, at its expense, will the centre of gravity shift towards convenience, new technology and fewer boxes? Dynaudio have clearly been giving some serious thought to this issue and applied their considerable audio engineering expertise to it.

Their answer is nothing need be sacrificed, it can be all these great things and more! So here we have true wireless hi-fi and the high-level audio performance you deserve, courtesy of future proofed and award-winning acoustic technology

Let us introduce the Dynaudio Focus range - Dynaudio’s latest addition to their fantastic portfolio of active loudspeaker models. The Focus range comprises (right to left) the stand mount Focus 10, and the floor standing Focus 30 and 50 models. Four finishes are available - Gloss Black, Gloss White, Blonde Wood and Walnut. For this blog we are concentrating on the Focus 50, the flagship model of the range and suitable for larger rooms.

So, what does the Focus do?

Well, the list is considerable:

Streaming via Spotify Connect, Tidal Connect, Qobuz Connect (when available), Apple Airplay 2, Google Chromecast, Roon, Bluetooth and any local networked UPNP capabilities, or via a networked hard drive at home
Other digital sources can be connected via co-axial and optical inputs,
There is even an analogue input for say your turntable/phono stage etc.
The speakers “talk” to each other via WiSA technology and also to televisions and other audio gear, that are increasingly becoming WiSA equipped ( WiSA certified sound systems allow high definition audio to be transmitted and received wirelessly in a totally synchronised manner)

So, pretty much a hub for everything. The only connections the Focus actives require are a network (you can go wired or wireless), and one mains socket each.

The physical Power socket, ANALOGUE and Digital Ins & outs at the back of the Primary speaker. Everything else is wireless or wisa.

What is in the speaker box?

Being an active loudspeaker, each Focus 50 has three class-D amplifiers on board, one 110W unit for the 28mm soft-dome tweeter: a 280W amp for the for the midrange driver and one 280W amp for the twin bass drivers (working in parallel). Each amp is matched for performance to its tweeter, mid-range unit or woofer. The amplifiers are made for Dynaudio by Pascal, the same used in Dynaudio’s flagship professional studio speakers. One speaker is the Primary (with inputs and controls) and the other is the Client connected via WiSA.

All amplifier and speaker units are calibrated to work together to provide full range fatigue free sound. One great feature of the DSP package is a built-in failsafe system preventing overdriving and damaging the drive units, that is if you are in party mode and have informed the neighbours first!

App & Tech Driven

Set up and adjustment for the speakers is done via two free IOS and Android Dynaudio Apps:

Dynaudio Set-up - to get the speakers configured and online etc
Dynaudio Control - to set or change the parameters and sound profiles in the speaker settings
Bluetooth - a good old-fashioned remote supplied for the times when you can’t find your tablet or phone!
Updates - are periodically available for firmware and software as an automatic download.

Digital System Processing (DSP) and Switching

As well as the high level of speaker calibration of amplifiers to drive units, a range of DSP options is available to optimise each speaker for their position within your room (near wall, corner or open space) and an option to drive an external subwoofer if desired (especially useful for large high ceiling rooms). You can also change the speaker’s sound profile from Neutral to Bright or Dark.

If you have a DIRAC licence (purchased and installed separately) you can use DIRAC Live to optimise the speakers to your room.

Our System

With so many options we thought, as a starting point, it would be fun to build the most minimalist but potent streaming system we could, with as few leads as possible. This is what we came up with:

Innuos Zen Mini acting as a UPNP source
Control from Roon Core and software for the most expansive musical experience
The Dynaudio Focus 50’s acting as Roon Endpoints
A tablet with the Roon App, to control volume and UPNP sources/ endpoints and navigate the music.

In this instance you would need a Roon licence with the expense of the annual or lifetime subscription, but Roon does provide a rich and rewarding musical experience and it will also distribute music to any network connected device that is “Roon Ready”. In this respect it is a more or less universal application. To set all this up, there was some swapping around between the Innuos Sense App, the Dynaudio Control App and Roon itself, to get everything going, but it was intuitive if you are even only a little tech savvy. If not, it would be a reasonable expectation for your dealer to set this up for you.

So how does it sound?

The Focus 50’s are very impressive indeed at the end of this digital system!

Whilst it is tempting to play loud and low (because they do both of these very well), they will also do subtle and sublime. Music is insightful, dynamic, moving and fatigue free and very well voiced. Indeed one of the very best features of the Focus range, is the ability to play deep, extended bass whilst maintaining the treble and all-important midrange at low listening levels, something we have never heard done so well on a passive speaker. So, kudos to some very clever Dynaudio DSP wizardry.

Most of all they are highly satisfying to listen to, and with Roon you will soon find yourself “going down the rabbit hole” into an expansive voyage of discovery of new music. So, the Innuos and Roon showed us just how fantastically capable the Focus actives are with networked music. Of course, if Roon is not for you, then Tidal Connect also works very well.

But the Focus 50s are versatile and we like vinyl, so we thought why not try the analogue inputs? Out came the excellent Rega Planar 10/ Apheta and Aria phono stage. We set the Focus 50s to their analogue input and we had our vinyl collection available! Great excitement and dynamics again. Vinyl purists may argue that the signal is being converted to digital, but in our view the Focus 50s maintained and discriminated the excellence of the Rega pairing. To prove this, we substituted the P10 combo for a lesser but good calibre deck and the difference in quality was clear. So, the Focus 50s recognise and distinguish between the quality of any analogue input

The focus 50’s with the rega p10 analogue combo

The Test Music

Burnt Friedman and the New Dub Players - Just Landed (Jazz & Dub)
Floating Points/ Pharaoh Sanders - Promises (Jazz, Electronic & Symphony Orchestra)
Porcupine Tree - Fear of a Blank Planet (Rock)
Raising Sand - Robert Plant and Alison Kraus (Americana)
Yello - One Second (Dance/Vinyl)

Summary

Here we have a speaker that is unflustered, powerful, and insightful, no matter what you throw at it. It plays music in a coherent and satisfying way. It is a different non-traditional way of presenting high quality music, that permits you to keep and enjoy your existing or legacy formats, yet also allows you to take a deep dive into the world of streaming. They sound just great with all the genres of music that we played.

So why not try the Focus range with your musical collection? You will enjoy every minute of it.

If you would like to listen to any of these models, please do not hesitate to get in touch. Currently in residence at our Oxford and Reading stores.

Thanks for reading.

Rob and Jon - Audio T Oxford.

If you have any questions about any of the equipment featured in this article, or any other Hi-Fi or home cinema enquiries, be sure to Contact Us.

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