Dynaudio Contour s1.4

It’s a lovely speaker Bob - heard it 2x - and matches well with Naim.   But as ever room dependent.  

Regards,

Lindsay

I owned the 1.4's bigger brother, the 3.4. A very neutral and well balanced speaker- perhaps a bit "dry" for some?  My 250.2 had some difficulty driving these hard and would go into thermal shut-down on a fairly regular basis....You have a 300 which should do nicely with the 1.4's but be aware that these speakers need lots of current to hear them at their best. They like to be pulled out from the back wall as well - this may cause some concern. The 3.4's worked at about 24" from the back wall. Good luck, they are nice speakers

ATB,

Mark

Wouldn't be better to go for a different brand altogether than upgrade to a 500 just to accommodate these notoriously hard to drive dynaudios? And I wouldn't hold my breath the 500 will match the requirements either..

X34 supposed to be a nice upgrade to the X32 and those can be found at not much higher prices than X32. I have the new Contiur C20 and using a 250DR to power them with great results. A 300 should be more than enough with 1.4. However they are known to be a bit too laid back sounding and overly bassy to some.  

Upgrading to a 500 is never going to happen so if I do decide to go with the 1.4's it will be on the basis that they either work with the 300 or they get sold on. Apart from adding a SuperCap the amplification in my system is as good as it will ever get, well with Naim at least and so finding a speaker to match my 282/300 is my priority now.  

To be fair the X32's are a very good speaker which is why I'm considering another Dynaudio but one better suited to the 300 and my room and I would be very surprised if Naim cannot produce an amp for £7,000+ that cannot manage to drive these speakers of course wether or not I like them remains to be seen.

Any reason why you are limiting yourself to just that particular Dyn speaker? The S1.4's are a discontinued model, the newer and much improved C20's would be a very nice upgrade to what you currently have. The bass produced by the C20's is amazing, fast and tight and very extended for a stand mount speaker. I have heard all the speakers mentioned, and the new Excite line is very much improved speaker over the older line.

Try the X38's if you can, but they can be very room dependent because of the bass they produce. I would think a 300 would be a really nice match with those speakers.

Good luck with your journey.

badlands posted:

Any reason why you are limiting yourself to just that particular Dyn speaker? The S1.4's are a discontinued

Circumstances and money.

Bob the Builder posted:

badlands posted:

Any reason why you are limiting yourself to just that particular Dyn speaker? The S1.4's are a discontinued

Circumstances and money.

Since I don't know your particular circumstances, I believe the current floor standing Excite line of speakers would probably cost roughly the same as the S1.4's.

The 3 way X38's with their dedicated mid range driver makes a pretty substantial difference to the overall sound compared to the S1.4's. That and also they are a much more efficient and easier to drive speaker. I would definitely seek them out for an audition. Just my opinion.

X34 is rated at 8 ohms, which is a lot more Naim friendly. And unlike loads of other manufactures (excluding Naim), Dyna present a stable load to the amp without 2 or 3 ohm dips in the Impedance curve.

 I also got the X16 - it's truly awesome for a bookshelf speaker you could look into the X18 replacement.

I'm a huge Dynaudio fan and owner and have spent a lot of time auditioning the S 1.4 and most recently a 3 hour head to head with the S 1.4 LE vs. Special40 vs. Contour C20. The S 1.4 (LE) is one of the worst stand-mount Dyns I've heard. They have a narrow sound stage, over emphasis on bass, and generally a dark, laid-back, imbalanced speaker to my ears. The S40 is better and the C20 better still. So is the old Focus 160 and certainly the Confidence C1 is too. Heck, I bet Emit M20 (and Excite X18) sound better. All of their mini towers have been stellar to my ears too: Emit M30, Excite X32/34, and especially the old Focus 260. All as good as their stand-mount peers but with better bass quality and extension.

Excellent advice again. The circumstance and money are that someone has expressed an interest in a swap my X32 for their s1.4 and so no or very little money involved. This year I was supposed to only try out a Chord Dac and at a push a new cart  I have ended up trying a Chord 2Qute and also a Nap 250-2, 300 and also buying and then selling £1000+ worth of cables and also a Benz Micro Ace for my TT so the Hifi kitty is at an all time low and splashing out on new speakers this side of the new year might be frowned upon by certain parties.

However I have always found January to be a great time to buy hifi equipment and as our trip to Goa is off this year compensation may well arrive in the shape of some new speakers.

Has anyone heard the bigger 3.4 contours are are they just more of the same.

I wanted so many times to like Dyns. Especially their Confidence C1/C2/C4. So I've kept looking for a pair in good shape and auditioned about a dozen of them. 

Sure, they have good tweeters, I give them that. But the amount of effort that goes into positioning, matching and their price, makes them one of most horrible experiences one could have in this field.

Not even when matching all respects of their requirements, these don't sound quite right in my ears.

So I never could explain why would one make such an effort and buy tens of thousands worth of electronics just to efficiently drive some average speakers.

Amazing how different people hear completely different things with Dynaudio speakers.My only explanation is DAN that you must not of had them far enough away from the walls.In North America we tend to have no issues with placing our speakers out into the room.I have three different pairs of Dynaudios right now,and they all sound great,I just do not get where you are coming from.I used to have C1’s,and to me,they are the hardest Dyn speaker to drive,but still sound great.

DynFan160 posted:

I'm a huge Dynaudio fan and owner and have spent a lot of time auditioning the S 1.4 and most recently a 3 hour head to head with the S 1.4 LE vs. Special40 vs. Contour C20. The S 1.4 (LE) is one of the worst stand-mount Dyns I've heard. They have a narrow sound stage, over emphasis on bass, and generally a dark, laid-back, imbalanced speaker to my ears. The S40 is better and the C20 better still. So is the old Focus 160 and certainly the Confidence C1 is too. Heck, I bet Emit M20 (and Excite X18) sound better. All of their mini towers have been stellar to my ears too: Emit M30, Excite X32/34, and especially the old Focus 260. All as good as their stand-mount peers but with better bass quality and extension.

Interesting reply. I bought some x12 from a clearance sale, liked them, and sold them on to get Focus 160s. I am running them from Naim 282/250.2 which seems to manage them fine. There is something about the Dynaudio presentation that hits the right spot for me. I sometimes wonder about upgrading further but reason that going up from the 160s probably means Contour 20s and big bucks. I remember reading that the Focus 160s were considered to be a bit too good for their price and challenged the Contours. What did you think of them?

NJB posted:

DynFan160 posted:

I'm a huge Dynaudio fan and owner and have spent a lot of time auditioning the S 1.4 and most recently a 3 hour head to head with the S 1.4 LE vs. Special40 vs. Contour C20. The S 1.4 (LE) is one of the worst stand-mount Dyns I've heard. They have a narrow sound stage, over emphasis on bass, and generally a dark, laid-back, imbalanced speaker to my ears. The S40 is better and the C20 better still. So is the old Focus 160 and certainly the Confidence C1 is too. Heck, I bet Emit M20 (and Excite X18) sound better. All of their mini towers have been stellar to my ears too: Emit M30, Excite X32/34, and especially the old Focus 260. All as good as their stand-mount peers but with better bass quality and extension.

Interesting reply. I bought some x12 from a clearance sale, liked them, and sold them on to get Focus 160s. I am running them from Naim 282/250.2 which seems to manage them fine. There is something about the Dynaudio presentation that hits the right spot for me. I sometimes wonder about upgrading further but reason that going up from the 160s probably means Contour 20s and big bucks. I remember reading that the Focus 160s were considered to be a bit too good for their price and challenged the Contours. What did you think of them?

Special 40 seems to be the logical uograde from 160 if you can't find 260. My understanding is the 160s can sound a bit harsh compared to the 260 and S40 seems to be much better all around at the same price as original msrp for 160. 

I would argue that S40 is a minor upgrade from Focus 160, possibly improving midrange response. S40 is not an upgrade from Focus 260. C20 is a clear upgrade from S40/Focus 160, making improvements in every tonal aspect. Focus 160 is a clear upgrade from Contour S 1.4 to my ears. A lightly lovingly used Focus 160/260 is hard to beat in terms of value and performance per dollar. 

DynFan160 posted:

I would argue that S40 is a minor upgrade from Focus 160, possibly improving midrange response. S40 is not an upgrade from Focus 260. C20 is a clear upgrade from S40/Focus 160, making improvements in every tonal aspect. Focus 160 is a clear upgrade from Contour S 1.4 to my ears. A lightly lovingly used Focus 160/260 is hard to beat in terms of value and performance per dollar. 

I haven't been able to post at AVS but I see you like the C20 over the 260 in most areas except bass. Can't remember but have you been able to audition C30?

I still don't know if I'd spend the money to up- / side-grade from F260 to C20. I have heard C20/C30/C60 and the C30 is the sweet spot for me. C60 is out of my price range, too big, and too much speaker for my environment. C30 wowed me the most and is within reach.

DynFan160 posted:

I still don't know if I'd spend the money to up- / side-grade from F260 to C20. I have heard C20/C30/C60 and the C30 is the sweet spot for me. C60 is out of my price range, too big, and too much speaker for my environment. C30 wowed me the most and is within reach.

 

I have went from Focus 260 to Contour 3.4LE an d I think it is like day and night in comparision. The focuses was really good but contour really shine in bassdeep and clearity, like the Focus could not present clear bass att all.

/: Anders????

10m square? What layout?

My findings:

1.4LE > nice open extended tweeter, like it. medium soundstage. Mids bit laidback, bass bit undefined. Expensive and beautiful looks. Good for small room. Good pricing currently.

S40 > mids bit forward emphasized. Medium soundstage. Very fast and controlled mid bass, but deep anyway. Beautiful tweeter. Exiting speaker. Best looks. Great value. Good for small but also medium room. Little C1 brother.

C20> short listen: balanced speaker. Bit more laid back, more backrow soundstage. I prefered S40 by looks, size and sound. Bigger than S40 and 1.4, so proberbly scaled for more dynamics and larger rooms.

Also try 282 with one or two hicap DR . Great amplification ( and source) for all these spreakers. 

Demo on the shop can be tricky: they all need much hours to perform best. Speakers can be bigger at home than appearing in demo room.

I agree DRE,about the demo at the dealer,and drawing conclusions from that.I owned the focus 160 for over 2 years,and have now owned the special 40 for 2 months,to me it is MUCH better,and is now DYNs best bang for buck speaker.There were several gents over on the Dynaudio forum,that compared S40 to C20,and preferred the S40,usually adding,that it was more fun than the C20.I have not heard the C20 yet myself,nor the 1.4LE,so can not comment on those.

No Quarter: I am one of the ones who feel C20 is worth the upgrade over S40. Better in every way. Yes, it puts you a few rows back compared to the front row S40. Best bang/buck Dynaudio goes to S40 or M20 probably. 

Anders in småland posted:

DynFan160 posted:

I still don't know if I'd spend the money to up- / side-grade from F260 to C20. I have heard C20/C30/C60 and the C30 is the sweet spot for me. C60 is out of my price range, too big, and too much speaker for my environment. C30 wowed me the most and is within reach.

 

I have went from Focus 260 to Contour 3.4LE an d I think it is like day and night in comparision. The focuses was really good but contour really shine in bassdeep and clearity, like the Focus could not present clear bass att all.

/: Anders????

I have had a very sensible part x deal for my X32's + a reasonable amount of cash for some Contour S3.4's.  I'm pretty confident that a 282/300 will drive them and although my room is only 10 - 12 Msq because of the two alcoves I can give them enough room behind.

I really do enjoy the X32's  and the Dynaudio sound and so going further up the ladder is very appealing and there is of course a great synergy  between Dynaudio and Naim.