Dynaudio Contour 1.8 MkII

I'd keep the JMLabs and get a CDX.

Joe90

The 1.8s are great speakers and you can probably pick up a pair at a good rate at the moment because they're being made obsolete and there's no replacement of similar dimensions. However, they are difficult to drive so 'loud' is not going to be easy with a 180. Therefore, I would agree with joe90 generally.

Regards,
Frank.
All opinions are my own and do not reflect the opinion of any organisations I work for, except where this is stated explicitly.

You should audition totem staff's with chord company oddessy cable, they're great, and will sound amazing with the 72/180 combo, as this is what ive got. Im waiting for a home dem at the moment.

Jeroen

Funny that - you describe 1.8s when they're not being driven properly. So why do you say it's not the 180?

Regards,
Frank.
All opinions are my own and do not reflect the opinion of any organisations I work for, except where this is stated explicitly.

I've run 1.8 Mk IIs for 5 years now, initially on the end of a CDX/102/180. With some bass heavy tracks (e.g. "It's On" from George Duke's "After Hours" CD, or St Germain's "Boulevard" or "Tourist" albums) the 180 just could not control the Dyns at any reasonable level.

I moved up to a pair of 135s and drive / control is no longer an issue. The UK Dynaudio rep (Phil) used to run 135s into 1.8s and reckoned it was a match made in heaven.

Now I've added an XPS and 52/SC they're letting even more through, and wonderful scale.

However they do need space if the bass is not to be overly dominant. Mine are about 18" from the rear wall with one about 12" from a side wall. This is not optimal, and may eventually be their downfall in my system.

Bottom line (IMHO) - great speakers - good looking as well - but they need a 250-level amp minimum and space.

Good luck anyway.

Regards

Graeme

I've had the Dynaudio 1.8mk II for several years and started with the 180. It was fine. However, like Graeme, I upgraded to the 135s (old style but recently recapped). Incredible. Indeed a match made in heaven.

I am now using 202/200 to partner with the 1.8. Since the 200 is only 3 weeks from cold but I do believe it can drive them well.

Anyone using Contour 3.0?

I am using a 72/140 combination (without HiCap) to drive a pair of 1.8 Mk IIs and it works well. I only purchased the speakers recently and at the same moved house and went from a concrete floor to a wooden one. Initially they had a very messy base but I did not attribute this to the amp but instead to vibration efffecting the CD player and caused by the wooden floor and speakers with a lot more powerful base than my previous ones.

This turned out to be a good choice since with the addition of a 5cm thick shelf full of coral sand (DIY experiment) and some Ganymede vibration control feet under the CD player, the system was way better than it had ever been. I have since added another set of Ganymedes under the pre-amp and improved things still further.

So, I would suggest seriously experimenting with vibration control before deciding your amp isn't up to the task of handling the 1.8's

Steve

Stevea (and others),

Never let it be said that amps "below" the NAP250 level cannot drive 1.8s. My 180 was quite OK until I bought a couple of bass-heavy CDs and turned up the volume. Didn't like the result so tried the CDs on heftier amps (and bigger Contours) at my dealer and a couple of shows. Good news was it sounded great. Bad news was I was in for an upgrade. My choice.

About the same time I installed Mana racks for the electronics which helped. I also put Mana sound bases under the 1.8s and that also helped (suspended wooden floor).

Moving to 135s on Mana really helped at every volume level. Adding the 52/SC and XPS helped even more.

Typical upgrade story really. You're happy with what you have then you hear something further up the range . . .

Solution is not to go near a dealer, show or other hifi nut unless you're really ready to upgrade. And keep away from forums like this!

Enjoy what you have - if it's got "Naim" and "Dynaudio" on it you know it's better than lots of run-of-the-mill stuff out there.

Onwards & upwards.

Graeme

I second the comments about 1.8s needing space. I recently moved to a house with a much smaller living room (~5M x 4m), and can only have the speakers about 50cm out into the room. I have to use the foam plugs in the ports, and they definitely don't sound as good as they did in my old house in a much bigger room.

With respect to all those above, I started out with 72/140 driving 1.8s and they were/seemed fine until the volume was raised a touch. You don't know what you are missing unitil you hear it and a 250 made them so much tighterin the bass at all levels.

Believe me you are missing something with Naits and alike -- they need a steadfast grip or they bloat.

Phil

What we're seeing here is typical of a good speaker. It sounds good on a Nait / 140 / 180 / etc. but sounds GRRRREAT on better electronics. Same as an SBL (sort of). Only time I heard an SBL I nearly liked was on the end of a 552 / 500. Still bugger all bass (not in the same league as 1.8) but very well controlled / timed. But others swear by them on "lesser" electronics.

The 1.8s can see you through multiple upstream improvements to let more and more through with more and more control. They are worthy of Nait through to 552/500 IMHO. I haven't heard a single 1.8 owner say "time for better speakers". Only 2 things upset them - (1) sub-optimal positioning - like most rear-ported designs (actually, like most speakers period) and (2) high-transients music (e.g heavy bass) at high volumes with amps that can't swing enough current quickly enough.

What better power amps (and a little volume) let them do is B R E A T H E - and the result is fabulous.

I think they also do other beneficial things with Naim electronics but that's another thread.

TTFN and please refill my glass (but not past the top).

Graeme

Andrew,

I think we are actually in agreement on this one. The 180 can swing more current (= power but don't get me into Ohms Law etc.) in response to sudden transients than the 140. Naim's specs rate the 140 at 40W per channel with transient capability of 200VA. The 180 is 60W / 300VA, the 250 70W / 400VA and the 135 75W / 500VA.

I believe that the greater transient capability of the biggers amps contributes to controlling them better, particularly in the bass where most of the "challenging" transients occur, at least in the music I play.

Regards

Graeme