Dynaudio Contour 1.3's

Huck344 wrote: »

So a buddy of mine happens to have a used pair of Dynaudio Contour 1.3's that he is offering to sell to me for $1200 including stands. They are about 2 years old. I heard them when he first purchased them and loved them. I haven't heard them since. I do have a few questions for those of you that have experience with them.

1.) From what I can tell, this is a good price. Can you all confirm?

2.) I am 50/50 HT/2 channel. I know these speakers sound great for music. How do they sound for HT? Currently, I have RTi8/CSi3 for my fronts.

3.) I've always been a fan of tower speakers. I know this is a mental thing, but I'm concerned about getting good volume from book shelfs.

I'm sure I'll come up with other questions. My buddy is bringing them over later this week so that I can audition them with my system.


Thanks in advance!

I owned the 1.3mkII for several years.

1. 1200 is a good price especially with stands, assuming the stands are nice and solid.

2. they will do great with both HT and music, just give them some room to breathe and away from boundaries.

3. they will surprise you on bass, dynamics, volume etc. they are fantastic speakers. I am a HUGE fan and still wish I hadn't sold mine.

this review sums it up pretty well

http://www.onhifi.com/product/dynaudio_contour_13mkii.htm

I'm sure Ricardo will chime in. he bought my pair and fell in love.

If it's the SE, you're getting a smokin' deal. Jump on it and don't look back.

Those things will eat up all the power you give 'em and won't even break a sweat. I've had my S1.4 cranked up loud enough to hear down the block using a B&K Ref 200.2 S2, and the speakers were all "Dude is that all you've got?" SRSLY.

Hope you have a good amp.

If you don't want em, I might be interested for that price!

If you're getting the SE's that is a smoking deal, if you don't want them then i will take them even though I shouldn't buy anything right now.

The SE's are fantastic, even better than the 1.3mkII.

distance from the wall helps but you can get away with the 20" that you have available, the bass might load up on you a bit more, but they will still sound great.

oh, and I ran my 1.3mkII's off a $300 yamaha receiver for about a year with no issues. They still sounded great I just kept the volume dial at a sane level.

Huck, have you picked these up yet? Would love to hear your observations on these.

Headed to look at a pair of Dyn's tomorrow. Was hoping for your observations, good luck on your acquisition.

Down the rabbit hole I go.

What did you get?

how much did they cost if you dont mind me asking?

The center channel matches perfect with my towers. Before I had a CSI3 and it was to forward and over powered the dyns. But now it blends perfect. I could use a amp with the center though. Its a bit on the quiet side. Im running it off my vsx-21txh. Its a 6 ohm speaker.

Thats great you found a good deal. I love my dyns and look forward to moving up the line in the future.

Got in some critical listening yesterday (several hours), I'm impressed.
The capability of this speaker comes out with each different track I play.

jm1 wrote: »

Amherst,

Glad you are enjoying the Dyns. Good find and great decision to purchase these. I have had S1.4 and C1's for about four years and am still impressed each time I listen to them.

Curious, how does the C1 compare to the contour? I have the S1.4, and was wondering if the C1 was worth the upgrade.

Next up will be the congratulations to Huck!

I also hope he accepts an apology from me for totally trashing his thread.
(It wasn't intended)

phuz,

At this time, I have recently acquired some Dynaudio Confidence C1 monitors with matching Stand4. When the C1’s have been mounted on the damped (lead shot) Stand4’s, I will conduct another listening trial of the MJC digital IC with the C1 monitors. Preliminary listening of the C1’s on the existing Skylan stands indicate they are significantly superior to my Dynaudio Contour S 1.4 monitors in resolution, tonality and dynamics.
…
The speakers have turned out to be a significant upgrade. I anticipated there would be improvements across the board, but did not realize the magnitude and extent of the changes.

This was my initial impression of the C1's. Even after four years, they continue to amaze me. I have devoted three years to designing and realizing devices to improve the room acoustics and the C1's just keep getting better. Read the reviews. If your components and room are up to the task, these are well worth the expense.


Huck344,

Sorry for contributing to the thread branch.

Congrats. They can really disappear if placed correctly. Give them lots of room and they will create a huge wall of sound in front of you.

Congrats on the 1.3 SEs!

I also own Contour 1.3 SEs finished in piano black laquer. They are a truly stunning pair of speakers. The SEs are in every way superior to the original Contour 1.3s. The bass response is astounding, not artificial boom but truly deep 30 Hz bass. As good as the bass is though, it is only a small part of the story. The clarity of their presentation is mind boggling and imaging is world-class.

You got a great deal on them, they sold new in 2000 for $3500.00/pair and when on Audiogon they sell immediately for $1500.00-$1700.00/pair. The drivers were custom made just for the SE and a replacement for either the woofer or tweeter will set you back $380.00 and a six week while they make a new one. It was also the most purchased speaker by Dynaudio engineers ever. The 1.3SE was used to voice the $85,000.00/pair Evidence Masters and paved the way to Dyns newer models, it was a ground breaking design.

For amplification, the sky's the limit. I use a Krell KAV-400xi on mine and it does an astounding job. I would say that any quality amp in the 200-400 wpc range will do the job. Don't be skimpy, you are now the owner of one of the finest monitors on the planet. To make a speaker "upgrade" will probably cost you north of $5000.00. Give them enough good power and they will literally blow you out of your seat.:D

It is regrettable that you cannot set your Dyns further out into the room than 20". I have mine out about 30" and they seem to work very well there. Bring them about 3-4ft off the wall sometime and scope them out! You will not be able to "hear" the speakers working, voices, guitars, drums, etc, will appear in space.

The Dynaudio C1 monitors are better but also cost $6500.00/pair.:eek: That is my next upgrade. My buddy has a pair of C1s in piano black, powered by a Krell FPB 750cx(750 wpc) amp and, well, it is undescribable.

If you think that I love my Dyns you would be correct. I have owned Polk, Definitive, B&W, Revel among others and Dynaudio has cured me of the speaker trade up disease from which I suffered.

What was your friend thinking?;)

BTW: To any interested, on AVS there is a Dynaudio Owners Forum that is made up of a family of very knowledgeable and friendly members. Come and visit sometime and you will be graciously welcomed.

math-geek,

Just finished catching up on the latest posts in the AVS Dynaudio Owner's Thread. Didn't know you posted here as well. A local dealer had the C1's in black. They were nice, but not for me. I like the Rosewood I have much better.

Regards.