The new Contour
 

I had the pleasure of listening to the new Contour 30 this weekend, albeit in a store but it was still a great experience. They've really improved upon everything in the Contour 3.4. I went in thinking it'd be a slight improvement, but I was wrong. I was told they had nothing in common with their predecessors except the name. Not a single screw was reused.

Comparing the old with the new I find the 3.4s somewhat lacking in the mids, but the Contour 30 had no issues there. It sounded very neutral across the board, with a hint of that signature warmness Dynaudio are known for. I was there for the better part of an hour and a half and felt no listening fatigue, even though we played at moderate to extreme levels. The meters on the McIntosh MA8000 used for the demo often went up to 300W during the demo, but not once did the 30s sound compressed or distorted.

Pictures don't do them justice, the new curved cabinets are quite beautiful in person. I can't afford them right now, but I'd jump at the chance to own a pair even though I have the 3.4 LEs at home.

Some crappy snapshots I took with my iPhone.
http://i.imgur.com/or9hfjJ.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/7diKUSA.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/t8mS5C6.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/EvD1XoK.jpg

I may as well provide a link for further reading. :)

Contour loudspeaker - Legendary Dynaudio Contour loudspeaker

The new design seems to have been well received at their High End introduction. Your pics suggest 'some assembly required'. Hope that's not the case!

A friend of mine is seriously considering these for his 2-channel system and moving his 140's to TV room duty.

I am encouraging him to do so...then I can go to his house and enjoy them for a bit. :)

Thanks for your listening impressions of the Contour 30's!

Haha! No, thankfully they come fully assembled in their boxes. :D

The various pieces were there to show off the craftsmanship and what the new drivers look and feel like (they were heavy!). :thumbsup:

I highly recommend these, or the 20s if he still wants bookshelf speakers. I didn't listen to them personally, but I heard they pushed around 300W of McIntosh power into the 20s too without issue. :banana:

The 30's are definitely on my short list when it comes time to replace my 1.8's. I didn't see any specs on power handling, sensitivity or did I just miss it.

Opps, just found the tech specs. Never mind.

Going to put them on my short list as well along with the below.

Focal Sopra 2
B&W 803 d3
Magnepan 3.7 with JL Audio F113
Sonus Faber Olympica III

I like their Confidence series and really love their Evidence series. I'll need to give these a listen.


https://youtu.be/v8SeGSU7nuY

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[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yt3CpucUgWw"]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yt3CpucUgWw[/ame]

Love to hear these at some point in time; I missed the Audio Visions SF demo evening of them a few weeks back. Have to say I really live my S3.4s with my C-J tube gear.

I auditioned the Contour 20 today. Low hours, taken out of box just a few days ago. Nonetheless, they sounded fantastic. Im really impressed with the performance level Dynaudio has achieved with these speakers. The sound was spacious and nicely layered soundstage. The Esotar2 tweeter has always been a favorite of mine and did not disappoint in the least. The bass was clean and tight and dug deeper than I expected. This is not fair to say as I am going on ancient memory and different gear, different room BUT I will say it anyway. The Contour 20 sounded as good as, if not better than, the original Confidence C1 speakers I used to own. Looks like I will be ordering a pair of Contour 30s in gloss white.

Jason.......The Dynaudio Contour 30 in gloss white should thrill you. Can't wait to read your review.

I can't wait to give my review. The gloss white speakers with their grey accents (grill, aluminum baffle, and feet) should perfectly compliment our living room color scheme. Lord knows the MC601 will drive the tar out of 'em.


https://www.audioaficionado.org/atta...0&d=1485655799




https://www.audioaficionado.org/atta...1&d=1485655825












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Jason.......That is a lovely living room. It is definitely crying for the the gloss white Contour C30's. That room will be filled with wonderful music. I am happy for you.

Hi Jason,

Looking forward to your review on the Dynaudio Contour 30. I have the Contour 60 on my short list that I'm trying to find a dealer that has them available to audition.

[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_UgKuaTgUXs[/ame]

I am also willing to know more about the new Contour line. I am in a long run to upgrade my stereo, but in Brazil we have difficulties to audition the speakers and gears.

Hope you can get yours and write about its pros and cons.


Best regards,
Eduardo

I heard the Contour 30 at the local dealer. Smooth and warm sounding. Very nice.

Simply put .... these speakers are fantastic. Loving my Contour 30 speakers.

Beautiful space! That's got to be a very enjoyable room for listening. Glad to hear you're delighted with the Contour 30s!

Wow, the speaker color matches the room perfectly.

My wife has laid claim to my Focal Aria 936 so I have to look at something else when I finish my basement audio room. Oh what a shame right?

Anyway, after getting a pair of Special 40's I really want to hear the Contour 60. I was dead set on the Sopra No 3, but not so much now.

Lose the white socks, mate! :)

Nothing wrong with white socks...

The new Contour
 

[emoji23] [emoji38] [emoji23] great first post dude.

I'm thinking of replacing my salon 1's with the contour 60's after a brief demo yesterday my electronics are a Hegel H360 any thoughts?

Salon2's?

I heard the salon2's in an admittedly difficult room and the owner had a pair of J&L subs crossed over at 80 hz so the impression was one of pumping bass and a tweeter that did a great job at putting a lot of air around vocals and instruments while the midrange seemed washed out, Diane Krall singing her voice had little tone(pitch?) with tons of air around it. The room is a nightmare 20'x20'x20' and open to most of the rest of the 4000+sq/ft house(my whole house would fit in his garage). and he's been thru a long list of hi end speakers to get as close as he has. I bought my Salons a little over a year ago and the hegel made them sound amazing so I bought it, but I can't find a spot in my room to get them to image!

How would you describe the sound of Special Forty to the Contour and Sopra?

Very nice j3brow - is a sub required with those Danes.

The new Contour
 

Hi Kevin,

In my experience, yes. My system, as you can see, is in my living room which is quite large with an open floor plan into kitchen, dining, sitting area etc. with 12 foot ceiling in living room and 10 foot everywhere else. Big volume. The 30s have a very respectable bass when I give them real current with the 601s but again it’s a big volume of air and I believe subwoofers are needed in an application such as mine. I am about to build a dedicated room/home addition, begins this month (finally!!!) and there I will be employing a surround sound set up with all Dyn Contour speakers including a pair of 60s up front, C25 center , the 30s relegated to rear surround duty, and a pair of Sub 6s. I would not be surprised if I don’t need the Sub 6s to be active for 2 channel audio in my 18 1/2 x 15 1/2 x 9 ft room with the C60 running the show. Currently, I don’t have subs paired with my 30s simply because it’s a family room with 3 little kids running around and my wife would severely frown with more white boxes showing up.


Jason

Dynaudio Contour 30 thread, rise from your grave!!

The Contour 30 is a serious contender to eventually replace my Totem Mani-2 Signature. I am also considering a used pair of Focus 380. The Contour 30 is 2.5 ways and the Focus 380 is a full 3 ways. I am accustomed to bookshelf speakers and I like the easy integration so I am not sure about a 3 ways configuration. But both speakers have the Esotar2 tweeter. On the used market, both are about the same price.

You could also try the Contour S3.4 or S5.4

They may be better than the 30 or the 380.