[Puma Cat]

Originally Posted by gochurchgo

Thanks. $3k is, for me, a monumental amount of money so I'm terrified of not finding a speaker I LOVE. Unfortunately I have been unsuccessful in getting a demo of them and the others I am interested in are sold direct. Its a huge gamble.

Yeah, I get that. FWIW, I bought my Contour S 3.4s unheard, but I had a pair of Dyns previously, so I knew what to expect, at some level.

I can tell you that getting Dyns is a safe bet: they are very, very neutral, but by that I do not mean in any way they are cold, cool, analytical, thin, or spare-sounding. They are just neutral, like a photograph that is perfectly neutral with respect to color or black and white accuracy; to the extent that they will reflect both the qualities of the source material and components used to drive them. They also are very easy to listen to and and never, ever fatiguing.

The one caveat that all prospective buyers must be aware of is they require at least 300 hours to run-in, and I've heard that the S40s could require as much as 450 hours. They can also be quite "uncomfortable-sounding" during the run-in period, so with Dyns, patience is absolutely key. Once they get there, though, they are glorious. Also, the Dynaudio Esotar tweeter is regarded by many as the finest soft-dome tweeter made by anyone, anywhere.