Premiere Design

Danish speaker maker Dynaudio has earned a stellar reputation among audiophiles since its founding in 1977. The current flagship line, known as Evidence, is not new—the Master model was selected as one of Stereophile's products of the year in 2000—but that doesn't mean it can't still kick some serious butt. I wanted to see what the ultimate Evidence home-theater system would consist of—and how much it would cost.

One of the hallmarks of the Evidence line is a completely symmetrical driver arrangement, with twin tweeters in the middle, midranges flanking them, and woofers farthest from the center. Known as Dynaudio Directivity Control (DDC), this arrangement limits the vertical dispersion, reducing floor and ceiling reflections by as much as 75 percent.

At the front left and right positions are Evidence Masters, the crown jewel of the line—a fitting metaphor given its price of $100,000/pair (20 percent more in the piano-black lacquer finish). Twin 1-inch, coated silk-dome tweeters and 6-inch MSP (magnesium-silicate polymer) midrange drivers are placed in an isolated enclosure, which also houses the crossover. Two pairs of 8-inch MSP woofers each occupy their own enclosures, all of which are acoustically optimized for their respective drivers. The frequency response ranges from 27Hz to 26kHz with a sensitivity of 92dB/W/m.

In the ultimate Evidence system, the Temptation serves the surround channels. This is a slimmed-down version of the Master, with four 6.7-inch woofers, two 6-inch mids, and two 1-inch tweeters in a single cabinet. With a frequency response from 29Hz to 25kHz and a sensitivity of 90dB/W/m, the Temptation will set you back $44,000/pair ($52,800 in piano-black lacquer).

The Evidence Center uses the same drivers as those found in the Temptation with two woofers instead of four. And, of course, it's horizontally oriented. For $22,000 ($26,400 in piano-black lacquer), you get a frequency response from 38Hz to 23kHz and a sensitivity of 90dB/W/m.

Even though the Master goes down to 27Hz, the ultimate home-theater system wouldn't be complete without a subwoofer—or four, as Dynaudio recommends. The Sub 500 is the company's flagship sub, with a 12-inch driver powered by a 250W amp for $2200 (plus 20 percent for piano-black lacquer). The sealed-box design can reach down to 18Hz, which is plenty deep enough for explosions, rockets, and dinosaurs.

(Courtesy Sound Cinema Integration, Walnut Creek, CA)

All told, a 5.1 system with four subs will run you between $175,000 and $210,000, depending on the finish you select. But from what I've heard of and about Dynaudio speakers, it should be money well spent.