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Speaker Asylum General speaker questions for audio and home theater. |
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Speaker Asylum General speaker questions for audio and home theater. |
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In Reply to: Dynaudio Contour 1.8MKII vs. 1.3SE posted by ASS on November 26, 2001 at 06:31:29:
Yes, and recently. I ended up buying the 1.3 SE which, since I started out looking for a floorstander and the 1.8 is a floorstander, left me feeling quite surprised.Overall the sound is similar in tonal colour which you'd expect from 2 speakers in the same range. Basically what the differences on paper are is that the 1.8 has a bit more bottom end extension with a -3 dB point of 32 Hz as against the 1.3 SEs 38 Hz from memory. The 1.3 is a bit more extended at the top end but both have -3 dB points above 20K - can't remember the figures here. I think the 1.8 is a little more efficient. That's it from the specs angle.
How does that translate to sound? The drivers in the 1.3SE are considerably higher quality than in the 1.8 and the end result is that the 1.3 SE is much smoother and sweeter. Although the bass doesn't go quite as low, it handled everything that I threw at it in audition quite well and that included some discs with low bass. I felt the bass of the 1.3 SE loaded the demo room, which was not good for bottom end, much better than the bass of the 1.8 so I preferred what the 1.3 SE delivered. Given the problems with the demo room, it was hard to judge imaging and soundstaging apart from the fact that both seemed extremely good.
Overall, I felt the general balance of the 1.3 SE was noticeably better than the 1.8. Probably the best thing I can say to describe why I went for the 1.3 SE is that I was seduced by the mids and highs, they were ravishing at times! I could be very happy with the 1.8s but the 1.3 SE really pressed my buttons, especially when it came to reproduction of voices.
I also heard the 3.0 and/or the 3.3 briefly within the space of a couple of days of hearing the 1.3 SE and the 1.8, but didn't do direct comparisons or even hear the same music since I didn't get to play any of my discs. I'd say both of these are a distinct step up from the 1.8 but I'm not certain about the 1.3 SE except in terms of bottom end and efficiency. I think the 1.3 SE could run it very close with them over the range it delivers, and maybe have the edge in the mids to highs. It will definitely beat its bigger brothers in a smaller, medium size room and you wouldn't even think about the bigger speakers in a small room.
I bought the demo pair so I didn't have to worry much about break-in and they sound superb at home, much better than in the demo room. As far as bottom end goes at home, it's deep enough for me since I get quite useable ouptut at 31.5 Hz on the Stereophile test record. 25 hz is basically doubling in my room but you may get useable output there with a different setup. I've got mine closer to the wall behind than recommended which should boost the bottom end except there are bass traps almost behind them and they're probably soaking up a lot of the port output. I'm not getting any bottom end bloat and they're probably rolling off a bit higher than they otherwise would as a result of the bass trap locations. Still, I've heard whole melodic bass lines on discs that I am familiar with and that I never heard at all with my old KEF Reference 104 aBs. Soundstaging and imaging at home is superb and the speakers just routinely disappear.
A quick comment on one disc at home - Miles Davis's "Bitches Brew" in the 20 bit remaster. I've always felt a bit iffy about this disc but the 1.3 SEs are changing my views of it in a big way. They throw an incredibly wide soundstage on this disc with sound almost as far outside the speakers on each side as the distance between the speakers. Performers are localised precisely and the whole thick, muddy texture that I've been familiar with in the bottom end and to some degree in the mid range is opened up and clarified so I can hear what's going on and who's doing what quite easily. The overall sound is incredibly spacious and uncluttered and the music really comes together for me as a result. I find myself just getting lost in it and enjoying the disc easily when before I could never get engaged. I think that says a lot about the 1.3 SEs ability to deliver in the bottom end, open up and clarify the music, and also just how good the mids and highs are. It's not that they put a gloss on things or make them sound better than they are. It's just that they don't add any edge or harshness and they simply get out of the way so the music comes through a lot better. If the instruments are edgy, they're reproduced edgy but that reproduction doesn't grate on you. You can tell that it's the performer doing it and appreciate it for something that's in the music rather than feeling that it's stopping you from getting to the music.
Basically I don't think the gain in bass extension with the 1.8s - only around 1/3 octave - is enough to outweigh the significant gains that the 1.3 SE offers in overall delivery and the way in which it seems to load the room. The only other thing the 1.8 has over the SE is a slight edge in efficiency but I figure if you've got sufficient amp to drive the 1.8s you've probably got enough for the 1.3 SEs as well. Basically I think the "SE" for "Special Edition" really says it all, the 1.3 SE is one very special speaker while the 1.8 is *merely* a very good speaker.
David Aiken
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Follow Ups
- Re: Dynaudio Contour 1.8MKII vs. 1.3SE - David Aiken 13:46:53 11/26/01 (2)
- Re: Dynaudio Contour 1.8MKII vs. 1.3SE - PhillyB 18:59:10 11/26/01 (1)
- Re: Dynaudio Contour 1.8MKII vs. 1.3SE - David Aiken 23:22:53 11/28/01 (0)
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