Dynaudio Music 5
£699/$699
Key features Bluetooth, Wi-fi and Optical • 32HZ-96KHZ • 16-24bit rate
The scaled down, smaller sibling to the behemoth reviewed on page 89, Dynaudio’s Music 5, like the Music 7, employs digital signal processing (DSP) to sense where it is placed in the room and automatically adapt its output to suit its surrounds. It is constantly working behind the scenes, measuring the varying noise levels of its environment and making subtle adjustments to compensate. The sound that it delivers is consistently detailed and consistently brilliant.
Big sound
Contained within the unit are two one-inch softdome tweeters, two three-inch midrange drivers and one five-inch woofer – one less woofer than the Music 7 but, incredibly, it seems to do the job of two! It’s a cliché to say that it brought out previously unheard textures in our music, but it absolutely did – and we have tested many speakers across the same spectrum of sounds!
You can connect to the Music 5 easily through Bluetooth or connect it to your Wi-fi network and stream music from the free Dynaudio Music app (the free nine-month Tidal subscription still applies here). For a wired connection there is one solitary Optical input (no HDMI), but obviously you can still connect it to your TV via Optical to employ it as a soundbar, should you wish.
Small differences aside, the Music 5 is very much just a slightly scaled down version of the Music 7. The design is the same, as are the controls on top of the unit. We’re also glad to report that the motion sensors that you can hover your hand over to wake the speaker from standby are also present and correct. The Music 5 is an absolute powerhouse of a speaker.