Discovery: Duntech Esquire D100 Monitors

Admission

Some time ago I was laughing with my friends that in audio you can divide people into those who listen to the equipment with ears and eyes. The former are so sure of what they like and what they are looking for that, regardless of what is in front of them, they can define the value of such a device for themselves.

Those who listen to their eyes are by no means those who buy nice or new devices … but simply because of their tag. Because if the tag is known and expensive, the device is usually better. 🙂

duntech

Duntech in Poland is a little known brand. Maybe not anonymous, but the amount of information about this manufacturer’s products is negligible. Anyway, it is not only a matter of our country, because I have the impression that the topic is very similar in Europe.

I found out about the brand when I was selling my Tannoy monitors to a mastering studio in France, its owner boasted about the Sovereign model

He highly recommended checking the Duntech products, so as soon as there was an opportunity, I replaced my Snell E3 with the Esquire D100 model

Duntech Esquire D100

The D100 is a closed housing monitor. I wanted to write ‘small’, but in fact they are quite large for monitors. They are based on very good Morella pickups.

The front is glued with a material that absorbs reflections, and the entire structure is stretched by a grille, which is fixed from the top.

Duntechs with a pulled ‘stocking’ resemble miniatures of American Vandersteens or von Schweickers.

Sound

The first thing that attracts the attention of the listener is undoubtedly the size of the sound. The stage is really big, the sound is very casual, open, but firmly embedded in the midrange.

You get the impression that they are playing really large, high floor tiles, not monitors.

The mountain is tasty. Absolutely not tiring, but satin, delicate, resounding. The tweeter generates a very nice space while maintaining openness and color. It may not be the most naturally playing dome under the sun, but this kind of lying can definitely be liked.

The diameter seduces. Very tangible, fantastically set. The lower diameter gives the whole such a serious, clearly suspended character. Men’s vocals – especially the lower ones, they are juicy, full, mature, but they also have air and details. Women’s vocals are not as lit as from Tannoy or most British loudspeakers, but it does not feel any discomfort because of it.

The bass is cut quite high. Duntechs do not try to pretend that they can go down to hell, but that’s probably good, because you can get used to this presentation quickly and appreciate the energy that comes from below. The timbre, the bass speed is really good.

juxtapositions

These loudspeakers surprised me very positively from the very first sounds. When I brought them home, I was in possession of a very strong 70W EARA 890, as well as my still reference audio 300B Silver Night. The previous owner informed me that they liked electricity, so I tried without hesitation as the first connection to the ear.

The sound was very massive, juicy and fleshy. So I buttoned up 18W Audiony a bit perversely … and then they sang beautifully.

Audion has greatly improved the scene and the location of the apparent sources. Their pastel character was complemented by harmonics, for which the 300B lamp is known, and a lot of air and contour added.

In this set, you have the impression of participating in a wonderful juicy performance. There is no shortage of momentum, speed, the bass is excellent – strong, fast. In general, apart from the lack of the lowest bass, it is difficult to have any objections to this presentation.

Summation

In my personal ranking, it is one of the most interesting sounding speakers I have had. The only thing missing is a slightly better sound at the lowest – evening volume levels. It’s not that the game is poor, but I had a much better sounding silent-sounding setin the background

However, if we want to really listen to music and pay attention to the equipment, the duntechs offer a first-league performance based on a perfect diameter. Warm, enveloping, expressive.

From the speakers that I had closest to them to Audiophase Opium. Polish constructions, however, play closer to neutrality – also pastel, but a bit colder (probably thanks to Beryl). Duntechs have more oiliness in the diameter, and the whole message is more engaging.