I alternate between a Luxman 550 a11 rated at 20wpc and a krell fbi, both of these amps drive the 1.3se's very well. |
I have owned a pair of Contour 1.3SE for many years and have always driven them with at least 200W of amplification. I took my speakers to an event where half a dozen standmount/bookshelf speakers from different speaker brands were compared and my speakers finished dead last and by a very long way, they actually sounded like they were playing underwater. The amplifier used for this comparison was a 60W valve amp which did'nt just prove insufficient, it was woefully inadequate for the task. I suspect there are opinions of these speakers written by people that may not have driven these beauties adequately and I would like to warn anyone reading any comments to always consider this. Another area that can influence someones opinion of what they consider adequate power is the power cord to the amp. Although I use 200W of power it can seem insufficient with the standard provided power cord and for a long time I thought I needed an even larger amp. This proved unfounded when I started to experiment with upmarket power cords, just another thing to consider before making comment.If your looking for a small speaker with beautiful tonality and a surprisingly full sound, you won't find better. |
My COntour 1.3mkII monitors definitely sound best with lots of separation between them (more so than most monitors I think) and plenty room to breath. Same true with the best sounding Dynaudio speker demos I have heard over the years.
I think this largely has to do with the build quality of the drivers and speakers overall. They pack a lot of punch in a deceivingly small package and you gotta give them some space to perform their best. |
lovely speakers s1.4 ,depending on amplifier can reproduce very big sound image,impressive bass and highs .And they don't require top hi-end amps to sound the best.Right now I'm listening them connected to oldy goldy technics a700mk2 amp connected to bryston bda-1 dac. Oh what a powerfull sound:) |
I own a set of somewhat dated but still very resolute Contour 1.1's.They are very puchy on the bottom end for such a small monitor.
Im curious if anyone has ever done a side by side comparison with the Contour 1.3 SE vs Contour 1.1?
I believe the 1.3 SE came out around 1999?Its getting a little long in the tooth.
Im sure it has more Bass but is it really leaps and bounds better?
I allways enjoy listning to the 1.1's
Any thoughts or opinions are appreciated! |
I owned the Focus 140, the Contour 1.4 (I assume quite similar to the 1.3se), and now have the C1. The 1.4s were noticeably better than the 140s- better control in the bass, and overall resolution. I would agree with Goatwuss' concern about using them for an office system unless you have room for them to breathe. |
Never heard the 140 but I own the 1.3SE and they are the best bookshelf speaker I have ever heard. I also have the Confidence 5 but that whole different level. I am tempted to get the C1 and compare them to the 1.3SE |
These responses are ridiculous. Look up the Contour 1.3 SE on the Dynaudio website, it will tell you all you want to know!
There is a difference between the Focus 140 and the 1.3 SE. The Contour used a double-walled heavily damped cabinet and the 1.3 SE specifically used a much, much higher end crossover network with separate crossovers for the midbass and tweeter. The 1.3 SE also has a -3db point of 37 Hz in its bass response. The bass response is absolutely astonishing!
I own the 1.3 SE, I have listened to the Focus 140, Contour s1.4 and the Special 25. To appreciably better the 1.3 SE you will be looking at the Special 25 and Confidence C1 models. |
How about that for staring a fire storm! Love the passion! A side-by-side comparison would be great, but that is going to be tough with two pair of used speakers. Remember guys & ladies (I hope), this an office system that will provide musical enjoyment while I'm working. Hopefully I'll be able to enjoy it for just that - and not geek out over the last ounce of performance. That is what my main rig is for! Thanks for everyone's input... |
FFS!
Ya try to keep things simple and people's little minds just gotta try and prove ya wrong.
Look, I could have gone into some serious detail but figured it would just make people's eyes glaze over.
The bottom line is this, the Focus tweeter is superior to the 1.3 tweeter. DO IN LARGE PART TO THE LESS RESTRICTED SPACE BEHIND THE DOME WITHOUT THE FERRITE MAGNET BEING USED, the impulse response is cleaner. I've measured samples of them both and there is no changing of this fact, despite people's excited ability to cut and paste marketing.
The woofers used in both models are equal in measured performance standards.
The crossover parts and circuit are of equal complexity and value.
The primary difference between these two models is the cabinet and faceplate. Other than that their performance levels are close enough to warrant taking a serious look at the Focus.
Why is it so hard to understand that companies make continual improvements on products even to the point of a lesser expensive model surpassing and older more expensive model? Does anyone remember the Wilson Sophia when it first came out? It was universally believed to be better than the current (at the time) W/P7! Geez.
One last thing. For those internet savvy people who like to cut and paste. Get your google out and look up the Dynaudio "Foccus" (And NO, I did not spell that wrong!)
I'll give ya the punchline....... What is now the Dynaudio Focus 140 began life as the Dynaudio Foccus kit speaker which was designed as a premium two way stand mounted monitor. If you look deep enough you might even be able to find the original crossover circuit diagram. And then, if you had access to the 140, you could compare the two.
Guess what? I have.
But you know what, this thread has become ridiculous.
Here is the bottom line in a maybe more palatable way of saying it.........
The Focus140 is a serious speaker that has the ability to perform beyond it's pricepoint. It's performance is such that I would not recommend spending the money on a Contour 1.3SE without auditioning them both seriously AND taking into account which one has the better price/performance ratio.
There. Done and done. |
The Contour 1.3 uses an older Esotec tweeter that has a ferrite magnet. The newer Focus 140 uses the updated tweeter that sports a neodymium magnet
Dynaudio Contour 1.3 SE Tweeter:
28mm Soft Dome Tweeter .
Magnaflux-damped.
Pure aluminum wire voice coil.
Hybrid Double magnet system (neodymium/ferrite) with rear chamber.
And, yes, the magnet DOES matter. It allows two very important things in this case. 1)the range is extended beyond 20kHz
Both 1.3SE and focus 140 have frequency response 25kHz (+/-3dB) |
With all due respect, Keithr doesnt know what he is talking about.
It's not just the magnet that makes the tweeter in the Focus better, it also happens to be an entirely newer generation. And, yes, the magnet DOES matter. It allows two very important things in this case. 1)the range is extended beyond 20kHz. 2) the impulse response is sharper and cleaner. So, yes, it does make a difference.
The fact of the matter is that the 1.3se is a full two generations behind the Focus 140.
Thats just the facts. If we were comparing the Contour 1.4 things might be a little different. But even the 1.4 uses a ferrite magnet structure on the tweeter.
The entire Focus line was a bridge between the old Audience line and the Contour line. It's basically using the same quality guts but with less elaborate cabinetry.
But like he said, go ahead and call Dynaudio. I know the guys pretty well. I'm confident they will tell you the same things I've said. |
I love dynaudio, but depending on the setup, they may not be the right speaker for an office system. They don't perform well in the nearfield, they are made to have lots of breathing room.
If your office is large, and you'll be sitting 7-8+ feet away from the speakers, then either of the Dyns you mention will sound great |
completely disagree---the 1.3SE was/is a spectaculur speaker that the Focus won't hold a candle too. just because the magnet is different doesn't mean anything.
The 1.3SE has a better tweeter and woofer than any Focus series speaker. Call Dynaudio NA if you don't believe me. |
I'm going to assume that you meant the Focus 140, since there isn't such as thing as a Contour 140.........
While normally I will recommend the higher level Dynaudio over a lower, this case is different.
The Contour 1.3 uses an older Esotec tweeter that has a ferrite magnet. The newer Focus 140 uses the updated tweeter that sports a neodymium magnet.
It is my opinion that this balances the advantage the 1.3 has in it's fancier cabinet.
Thus, given the relative pricing, I would lean towards the Focus 140. It's going to have at least the performance of the 1.3, maybe even better depending on the room and rest of system. |
