Almost five years after I submitted my review of Dynaudio’s Focus 200 XD class-D active bookshelf loudspeaker—my first product review for Stereophile—word of its imminent successor, the digital Focus 10 class-D active bookshelf loudspeaker ($5500/pair), and its two larger siblings arrived via Mike Manousselis, Dynaudio North America’s president, Americas. Then came the near-ubiquitous parts shortages and COVID-related slowdowns that have plagued high-end manufacturers worldwide.

More than 18 months later, the new Focus line debuted at Munich High End 2022. I recall my excitement as I entered Dynaudio’s huge multiroom exhibit area, and my confusion when I heard sound that, while dramatically different from the discontinued Focus 200 XD, was not what I’d hoped for or expected. Months later, when a broken-in Focus 10 pair finally arrived here, I approached them with a mixture of anticipation and dread. Would they sound similar to what I heard in Munich? Spoiler answer: No!

The Focus 10 is a completely different speaker than its predecessor, and far more advanced. Smaller, lighter (16.5lb), and—surprisingly—less expensive, the Focus 10 is a 2-way/2-driver active bookshelf pair that Dynaudio bills as a “complete wireless sound system.” The smallest model in an active wireless digital loudspeaker line that also includes two floorstanders—the 2.5-way/3-driver Focus 30 ($8250/pair) and 3-way/4-driver Focus 50 ($11,000/pair)—its multitudinous playback options range from full support for analog sources to wireless 24/48 or 24/96 streaming using WiSA (footnote 1) and up to 24/192 wired playback of files and streams from various devices including smartphones.

After chatting with John Quick, Dynaudio North America’s VP sales and marketing, Americas, and Stephen J. Entwistle, Dynaudio’s Denmark-based chief engineer, I realized that the Focus 10’s complexity requires significant space to do it justice. Hence, I’ll dispense with a flowery introduction and tales from my youth in the late 18th century and instead get down to the speaker at hand.

Among the new Focus line’s many features are the ability to use the speaker’s wireless, digital, and analog inputs to connect to “every single” streaming service, internet radio, a WiSA-compatible TV or USB dongle, and your turntable. You can stream via Spotify Connect, Tidal Connect, Apple AirPlay 2, Google Chromecast, Roon, “high-quality” Bluetooth, and more.

“If it’s been released as a recording, Focus will play it,” declares the website. “It” includes anything stored on a networked hard drive. The included subwoofer trigger is intended to auto-power a sub connected to the sub-out port. No equipment rack, external amp(s) or sources, or cables are necessary. If you use the supplied power cables, all that’s required are two wall outlets and a wireless network. Plus, thanks to three DSP settings—near a wall, in a corner, or in free space—the speakers can adapt to challenging listening environments. Dirac Live room correction is also provided. An automatic failsafe system that protects drivers from damage when played at ear-deafening levels—a proprietary sliding high-pass filter—reduces woofer excursion as the volume rises. Its protection does not extend to your eardrums.

For optimum sound quality, each driver is mated to its own dedicated, Copenhagen-manufactured Pascal class-D analog amplifier module. For the Focus 10, that means two modules with different power ratings: 110W for the 1.1″/28mm Cerotar soft-dome tweeter and 280W for the 5.5″/140mm Esotec+ mid/bass driver with aluminum voice-coil.

The speaker is manufactured in Denmark. The main input stage and DSP are proprietary to Dynaudio, designed in-house, and manufactured by a nearby subcontractor. The up-to-date Network Streaming unit is made in Austria by the same hardware company that supplies streaming units to dCS. Dynaudio offers an unusually generous warranty.

While many speakers sound very different when their grilles are removed, the Focus auto-senses whether the magnetic “Smart Grille” is on or off and automatically compensates the speaker’s EQ to ensure consistent sound. Setup is performed via a downloadable app that allows you to configure the speakers, connect them to your network, assign presets, and more. You can also control them via a lightweight plastic remote, whose battery compartment can be removed with sharp fingernails and determination. Firmware updates are easily downloaded and installed wirelessly.

What’s special?
“The speakers handle digital audio in a really unique way,” Quick explained by phone. “If they are wired to each other and to the source, all material is automatically sample-rate converted to 24/192. When you use WiSA to send signal wirelessly between the speakers, upsampling is limited to user choice of either 24/48 or 24/96.”

All signals pass through the DSP module. The DSP section works at the same sampling rate you choose for playback, and the ADAU1979 ADC and ADAU1962A DAC from Analog Devices adapt to the same frequency, ensuring that regardless of the bit and sampling rate of the original file, sample rate conversion is performed only once, at the very beginning of the entire signal chain. (This was not true for the Focus 200 XD.) “Ours may be the only speaker on the market that limits sample rate conversion to a single process,” he said.

During a Zoom conversation, Entwistle emphasized that Dynaudio tries to simplify their crossovers, processing, number of filters, and filter orders as much as possible. By simplifying the DSP, his engineering team was able to achieve more of what they consider the “traditional Dynaudio sound.”

That assertion inspired me to ask a sticky question. More than once, industry people have told me that the “problem” with Dynaudio’s sound is that, while it’s always well-balanced, there’s nothing distinguishable about it, nothing that stands out as special.

“We don’t try to emphasize things or flatter things,” Entwistle responded. “We try to present music as it is recorded. We’re heavily involved in the pro world (footnote 2), and this is what the pro guys want. They want a speaker that tells them as close to the truth as they can get. A very honest loudspeaker, without bells and whistles. ‘Authentic Fidelity’ was Dynaudio’s catchphrase back in the day, and I think it’s what our current loudspeakers present.

“Our passive loudspeakers do tend to show the weaknesses in your system. If your amp is a bit flat or colored, then Dynaudios present that to you. People in the pro world like our loudspeakers because they sound like the output of whatever they are working on.

“Our job as acoustical engineers is to voice or tune the loudspeaker without hiding its natural performance with the multiple DSP options and filters that are available. We want to let the loudspeakers speak for themselves. It’s not about enhancing the performance; it’s about laying it all out there.

“It’s quite a fun process to ensure that you hear what a Dynaudio loudspeaker is. You can hear what we’re after in the Focus 10. It’s not reliant on what preamp or DAC or amplifier or cables you choose; it sounds like we want a Dynaudio speaker to sound. It’s not dull or boring.”

Active loudspeakers are unique in that the manufacturer is in complete charge of the sound. They choose the amplifiers, DAC, the fully digital crossover, the right filters, and which capacitors are in the signal path—everything but the room they’ll eventually play in.

“Part choices can dramatically alter the sound,” Entwistle said. “If we choose the right parts, the loudspeaker can do its work without us having to mess around with it too much. It’s like fine cooking. You pick the best ingredients you can. If you handle them with loving care, you’ll have a fantastic meal.”

One of Dynaudio’s goals was to ensure that every active Focus loudspeaker transmits music’s fundamentals and harmonics, removing the need for the brain to do extra work to fill in the gaps. That way, Entwistle said, the brain can relax and focus more on the musical presentation.

The Focus 10 is a closed-box design that relies on DSP and amplifier power to extend bass response, control bass-driver cone excursion, and produce an accurate soundstage. “One of our main goals is to give you a hi-fi experience in a living room, … providing you don’t play them crazy loud. If you play crazy loud or put the speakers too close to the side wall, the bass output will be compromised.

“All our active loudspeakers use DSP limiters to protect them. Our position is that in our active loudspeakers, our drivers should never break. When you play at high levels, the DSP high-pass filter moves up in frequency to protect the loudspeaker. When you play quieter, it moves lower in frequency, down to 20Hz. If you have quiet passages of music with low-frequency ambience, you’ll still get the ambience from our loudspeaker that helps with imaging, positioning, and depth. But if you play a 41-gun salute, then the high-pass filter will move all the way up to protect the loudspeaker. You’ll still get the dynamics and high frequencies, but you won’t get the same degree of bass. This enables the loudspeaker to be listenable at very different volume levels.

“Higher up in the Focus line, you get extra levels of refinement. The 10 has a 5” woofer. If you listen quietly, the speaker will go from 20Hz to 32kHz. If you listen louder, it performs more like a bookshelf. The two floorstanders can play louder before that begins to happen. You definitely get more detail from their dedicated midrange, but all the speakers perform equally well in terms of dynamics, soundstage size, etc., provided you listen at volume levels appropriate to the speaker model. Don’t put the 10s in a huge room, turn them all the way up, and expect them to deliver all the bass they’re capable of producing. But in a smaller, more intimate living room or bedroom where you’re relatively close to the speakers, you’ll get far more bass than you’d expect (footnote 3).

“The height of your room matters less than your distance from the speakers. We listen at 3m (9’–10′) and at an average level of 80dB.

“We have definitely improved the Focus tweeter with a device called the Hexis. It’s a plastic shape that looks like the Death Star and sits right behind the dome of the tweeter, very close to the diaphragm itself. The Hexis helps control the resonant behavior of the diaphragm and extends and helps give character to the high frequencies. It also helps protect the tweeter so if you accidentally push it, it won’t tend to crinkle or squash, thereby limiting high-end performance.

“We’ve also improved the midwoofer’s voice-coil, magnet system, and surround. The midrange/woofer is composed of polypropylene with added MSP (magnesium silicate polymer).” Because of this additive, it “delivers a much more natural sound than you typically get from a polypropylene cone.”

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Footnote 1: Dynaudio uses WiSA to connect the speakers wirelessly because it sits outside the normal Wi-Fi band, is much more robust, has minimal latency (1ms) to ensure stable and accurate imaging, and allows for more distance between speakers when required.

Footnote 2: Entwistle said that the Atmos mix on the latest Arcade Fire album, the remixes of most of Elton John’s and Katy Perry’s back catalogs, and many new movies were mixed on Dynaudio speakers.

Footnote 3: When Entwistle explained this, I regretted that I had not asked to review one of the Focus floorstanders. Our living room plays larger than it is thanks to its cathedral ceilings, but it opens in back to the dining area and kitchen, and on the right side to the entry way, stairs, and second floor flyway. I expect that I could have cranked up the floorstanders louder without compromising bass extension.