Upgrade from Dynaudio Focus 160s

If you love the Dynaudio sound (like me) I would definitely recommend you the Contour 20.

The Special 40’s are also great but the Contour 20’s are on a whole different level. As for different brands: I liked the sound of the ATC SCM19 and Audiovector SR1 Avantgarde Arrete also.

I found the Contour 20 a more complete loudspeaker as the rest was only very good in a certain area or specific music genre. I listen to a lot of genres and the Contour did everything right.

But the number one tip I can give you is: do audition them before buying them. 

Countour 20 clinical? No. It will be different from 160. S40 may be for you if you like 160. Give them both a listen. I really liked PMC 25.23 that I heard. If I were to change from my C20 I would be considering those along with wanting to audition Kudos S20A. 

I would like to know how you like the Contour 20s if you listen to them. I have the older Contour S3.4 (and S1.4 before that) upgraded with Esotar2 tweeters, and now half considering an upgrade to the Contour 60, if they work in my room. I have heard the new Contours are much nicer in the midrange than the outgoing models, i.e. more dynamic and richly textured.

Same positon as you, with the old Contour 1.3 which i think is very similar to the focus 160. I do like neat speakers also but tried the sx3i and couldnt live without certain aspects of the dynaudio sound. if I was upgrading now id be looking at the same two models as you so very interested to hear how you get on. My room is 3.5 x 5.5m and only concern the 20s may be a bit much for that size of room, while the 40s are the same size as my current speakers which work great in that space.

I use the 40s with a Nova and love the sound. Listened to many others including pmc25.23 but thought the 40s were more dynamic. I was looking for floorstanders up to £4K until I heard the 40s. They are a very good match with naim and a genuine bargain.

you should go for the contour 20.

I heard the Contour 60 - it is quite special

The Contour 20 reviews well, but so does the S40.  It is always hard to audition speakers, and so I trust reviews etc more than for buying the electronics.  Even harder with Dynaudio as they take a long time to bed in, and if the demo set is too new then they might not have developed their full character.  I have yet to find someone who moved to either of these from Focus 160, and am worried that the differences might be too small to justify the spend.

@Noquarter has gone from F160 to S40 and I believe he thought they improved in every way over 160. I have Contour 20 and love them. I like them so much I dedcidsd not to upgrade to Contour 30 as I originally had planned to do. Other people who have had or heard both s40 and c20 say the c20 plays a bit bigger than s40 but god the money s40 seems to be a very good speaker. I don’t think c20 is as lively sounding as you’d focus model so that coukx beca good or bad depending on your preferences. 

NJB posted:

The Contour 20 reviews well, but so does the S40.  It is always hard to audition speakers, and so I trust reviews etc more than for buying the electronics.  Even harder with Dynaudio as they take a long time to bed in, and if the demo set is too new then they might not have developed their full character.  I have yet to find someone who moved to either of these from Focus 160, and am worried that the differences might be too small to justify the spend.

I can't speak for the S40, but I don't see how the Contour C20 wouldn't be a significant upgrade over the Focus 160. The Contour has the Esotar2 tweeter and the Focus doesn't. That's a game changer IMHO. I had the Contour S3.4 speakers and changed the Esotec tweeters it had with a pair of Esotar2 and it was a hige improvement in how it resolved detail and imagaging. Now the new Contour line has Esotar2 across the board (previously only the S5.4 had them and the subsuquent 1.4LE and 3.4LE). 

So bear with me then.  I can buy a used Contour 1.4LE for half the price of a new S40.  Would anybody be tempted, in my position?

NJB posted:

So bear with me then.  I can buy a used Contour 1.4LE for half the price of a new S40.  Would anybody be tempted, in my position?

Hell, yes, I would recommend it! That's a great speaker and as the LE version it has the Esotar2 tweeter with a revised/improved crossover. I had the non-LE version – which I used with my 282/250 – and it was a terrific monitor. I only upgraded to S3.4 because I wanted a bigger presentation for orchestral music.

I upgraded a year ago from Focus 260 to 3.4LE. The Focus were good but a litle boomy in my room. The Contours are such a big differerent, more detailed and in the bass it is in a very different legue. Controlled, deep and balanced.

RaceTripper posted:

NJB posted:

So bear with me then.  I can buy a used Contour 1.4LE for half the price of a new S40.  Would anybody be tempted, in my position?

Hell, yes, I would recommend it! That's a great speaker and as the LE version it has the Esotar2 tweeter with a revised/improved crossover. I had the non-LE version – which I used with my 282/250 – and it was a terrific monitor. I only upgraded to S3.4 because I wanted a bigger presentation for orchestral music.

Are you sure the LE’s have Esotar 2? I don’t think that’s correct. Seems like it was a rumor they would have it I don’t think they actually used them for LE. 

spurrier sucks posted:

RaceTripper posted:

NJB posted:

So bear with me then.  I can buy a used Contour 1.4LE for half the price of a new S40.  Would anybody be tempted, in my position?

Hell, yes, I would recommend it! That's a great speaker and as the LE version it has the Esotar2 tweeter with a revised/improved crossover. I had the non-LE version – which I used with my 282/250 – and it was a terrific monitor. I only upgraded to S3.4 because I wanted a bigger presentation for orchestral music.

Are you sure the LE’s have Esotar 2? I don’t think that’s correct. Seems like it was a rumor they would have it I don’t think they actually used them for LE. 

Oh shucks...I think you are right. I had it in my head that was part of the LE upgrade. Good catch.

In that case, the 1.4LE is more of a sideways change from the Focus 160.

NJB posted:

The Contour 20 reviews well, but so does the S40.  It is always hard to audition speakers, and so I trust reviews etc more than for buying the electronics.  Even harder with Dynaudio as they take a long time to bed in, and if the demo set is too new then they might not have developed their full character.  I have yet to find someone who moved to either of these from Focus 160, and am worried that the differences might be too small to justify the spend.

Sorry for the late reply,but as Spurrier Sucks said,I owned both the focus 160’s,and the special 40’s.The special 40’s are a better speaker for sure,but I would say it is more of a sideways move than I big leap ahead.The 40’s have a better tweeter and woofer,which gives it a more refined sound,and you can really push them hard without popping the woofer,which happened a lot for me with the 160’s.If I were you I would hold off,save up your money and take a listen to the new Confidence 20,or Kudos 505.That is what I plan on doing myself,I now use Sopra 1’s,but I keep hearing how awesome the 505’s are with Naim,so I am real curious about that speaker.I also owned Dyn C1 mk11’s,which is better than the 40’s also,but it is also older tech,and I could get the woofers to pop on those speakers too...quite annoying on an expensive speaker like that.I realize the speakers I mentioned are much more expensive,but since getting into Naim,I have upgraded several times,and wish I had just saved more money,and made a BIG jump,all at once.

I've spent many hours doing direct comparison of Special 40 and Contour 20 at my local dealer. Music tracks, amplification, wiring, etc. all the same. I have owned Focus 160 and currently own Focus 260.

Special 40 is *maybe* 5-10% better than Focus 160 to my ears but not an upgrade over Focus 260. I agree that S40 is more of a sideways move from F160, albeit a slightly better sideways move. Contour 20 is a completely different animal. Better, bigger cabinet than S40, better Xover, better drivers, etc. Esotar2 is smoother in higher ranges than the F160/F260/S40 tweeter. C20 may not dip quite as low as S40/F160 but it has better bass control and bass quality to my ears. C20 is simply a smoother, more coherent, more complete package I think. It also has a wider sound stage than F160/S40. In some ways, C20 is an upgrade over even the F260. As someone who has auditioned the C20/C30/C60, the C30 remains a clear upgrade desire for me over Focus 260, while offering a similar size/footprint. That said, I would say the C20 offers a different presentation that F160/S40. The C20 puts you a few rows back in the audience. I don't think laid-back is a good description; just wider and fuller.

DynFan160 posted:

I've spent many hours doing direct comparison of Special 40 and Contour 20 at my local dealer. Music tracks, amplification, wiring, etc. all the same. I have owned Focus 160 and currently own Focus 260.

Special 40 is *maybe* 5-10% better than Focus 160 to my ears but not an upgrade over Focus 260. I agree that S40 is more of a sideways move from F160, albeit a slightly better sideways move. Contour 20 is a completely different animal. Better, bigger cabinet than S40, better Xover, better drivers, etc. Esotar2 is smoother in higher ranges than the F160/F260/S40 tweeter. C20 may not dip quite as low as S40/F160 but it has better bass control and bass quality to my ears. C20 is simply a smoother, more coherent, more complete package I think. It also has a wider sound stage than F160/S40. In some ways, C20 is an upgrade over even the F260. As someone who has auditioned the C20/C30/C60, the C30 remains a clear upgrade desire for me over Focus 260, while offering a similar size/footprint. That said, I would say the C20 offers a different presentation that F160/S40. The C20 puts you a few rows back in the audience. I don't think laid-back is a good description; just wider and fuller.

Thanks for a very detailed reply. The C20 is going to require a bit more saving up, but it sounds from the replies so far that the S40 is not going to give me the step up that I would like after spending that much.