More Dynaudios

but have you any idea what they sound like? I'm told they have the best tweeter in the business.

Alex

Hi Alex,

I have read a review of the Craffts more than 5 years ago. They have been specially designed to be placed on a bookshelf, I believe something went wrong when placed on stands. They had a rather strange soundstage I believe and some bass problems. I might have this article at my parent's home, I will look it up when I visit them, as I'm not shure what the exact conclusions were. They were pretty good, but to my eyes this seemed not to be really what "we" are looking for. As for the tweeter, if it's the Esotar, it is indeed one of the world's finest!

Greetz, Bas

thanks Paul, Bas.

I've broadenend the question a bit.

Alex

So, you've changed the topic!

Well, I have always liked Dynaudio, but have never heard them on Naim. A 250 will certainly be powerful enough for all of them. The 1.3's are very fine speakers indeed and should be able to give you all the things you are looking for. But in this territory you shouldn't overlook Sonus Faber. I believe the Electa Amator I's also used the Esotar. The newer II's have another tweeter, which is supposed to be even better!
Good luck with it!

Greetz, Bas

I have heard the Contour 1.3's with Naim 62/90 and 72/140. They worked very well indeed. If the above can drive them a 250 will have no problem. I have also heard the Audience series and if on a budget they work well too. As I remember the smaller contours do not biwire either.

I also liked the Sonus Faber's but felt the Dynaudio's were better for my taste.

Regards

Milan

Simon at Audio T (a man many here seem to trust but I won't meet until Thursday) said the same on the phone to me. Nonetheless, he thought the standard 1.3 and the 1.1s worked very well with Naim.

I think the magnet construction of the 1.3SE makes it more or less incompatible with Naim. If true, a good dealer should be able to warn you of this.

Alex

In my experience in this field, which involves everything from the 1.1 to the 3, I would have to say that the best all round sound comes from the 1.1's, they have plenty of bass weight but it is not overpowering like some of the others (in my opinion (and my dealers) the 1.3 cabinet is too small to house the drive unit from the 1.8mkII which consequently makes it a little sluggish). The 1.3SE are supposed to be very good but I unfortunately have not heard them as no local dealers stock them as many say that the 1.8's are much better and also cheaper..

I have alos never been a great fan of the 1.8mkII's, they need a large room to breathe, but I feel that they seemed to be too bass heavy, this should give some idea as to the problem in the 1.3!! The Contour 3's are sublime, a little large and they need a big room to work well, but they are truly stunning, bags of bass when required, but it rarely gets intrusive. Unfortunately as you head up the ranges, you start to overlap into the next series, i.e. the Confidence range, the 5's are apparantly unbelievable, but at £5500 they should be.. as I recall the 3's are more modestly priced but require some hefty stands to work well, but they reward with similar characteristics of the 5's.

Hope this helps. If you would like a dealers perspective on this, I have always found Norman at Audio Excellence in Worcester to be most knowledgable and unbiased in his opinions. The phone number there is: (01905) 619059

Scott

Alex

Probably not much use to you, but I've heard Dynaudio Audience 40's about 3 years ago (poss 4) with Naim and they were great. They only cost about £400 and are stand mounted as you prefer. I think they're discontinued now so you'd have to hunt about for some to audition in a private sale.

Brian

I have lived with the Dynaudio 1.8 Mk II, sold them and have listened to the 1.3's. Alex I would stringly caution you about the Dynaudio speakers. If your room has a Lot of Concrete construction, as I think you said, there will be a strong tendency to retain bass. The 1.3's may have more bass output than your room can cope with. The more rigid the construction of the walls and ceilings, the greater the tendency of the room not to "flex" and therefore to hold onto bass and the more caution that needs to be given. An extended home audition with a fully broken in pair of Dynaudio's is a MUST. By that I mean sevel hunded hours. As the speakers break in, the bass may get fuller so the problem may get more pronounced over time.

Jay

Any experience with the Contour 1.1s? Being the smallest, I presume these have the least bass.

Alex

Using the usual cop out, it depends what you mean by 'least', they don't go as low as the others but they have really tuneful bass and IMO they certainly go low enough, in the tests I have carried out, they 'seemed' to go lower then the Audience 60's (big floorstanders), technically I assume that they didn't but they certainly sounded lower.

The bass from the 1.1's is excellent and you would not be disappointed. As I said in my earlier post, I still consider these to be the pick of the bunch.

Scott