I am running a 250.2 into Dynaudio Focus 160 speakers. I was off for a simple audition of Dynaudio Special 40s and Contour 20s. However, my dealer is suggesting to try a 250DR against the 250.2 because he thinks that this could be the best bang for my buck, as the Focus160 are capable of revealing the benefits of the 250DR. Anyone agree or disagree?
If you’re happy with 160 then sure but Contour 20 sure do sound nice to my ears.
You are in pole position to ask for a home demo! Even a shy person like myself would do that.
The Dynaudio will benefit from the extra power of the 250DR as they are quite demanding speakers.
The alternative is to go for an easy pair of speakers to drive, say a pair of Kudos S20’s.
Time for some listening 
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I am delighted with my 250DR driving my Focus 260.
I did not believe that the DR mod changed the output power. Have I missed something?
I have an audition planned at the dealer on Saturday. Will take my 250.2 along, plus my current speakers. Lots of combinations and hope that he is patient.
Have a listen to a 250 DR, I think you may be pleasantly surprised.
I am not sure what to expect from the 250DR, but as my 250.2 is quite young then it is a good upgrade candidate. Have just revived my Epos ES14s, and there will be a few people that will be asking why I am passing them by for something else!
The 250DR is the best amp I have owned, had a few 250s over the years. Drives a set of Allaes with ease, great control.
I thought that I would report back after my visit to the local dealer for an audition. The first surprise is that the comparison of the 250.2 vs 250DR was not as clear as light and day. I felt that the 250.2 had more bass weight, and the dealer saw it as the 250DR being a faster amplifier that was only coming across as less bass centred. We played a few tracks, and it might be a reflection of my ageing ears that it was far too close to call for me. Certainly not my first priority.
We moved on to the speaker comparison. The dealer was not a Dynaudio dealer when the Focus 160 was in the range, and so we played a few tunes so that he could get his bearings. He claimed to be happy, and felt that they were balanced and doing everything well. We discussed the Special 40, but he talked me out of them, as he believed that the Contour 20 was a classier act. Again, the Contour 20 vs the Focus 160 was closer than I expected. However, it appeared to shade the bass definition and the treble was especially sweet. So, that is a maybe, if I can get a decent deal with him, but the 250.2 stays for the moment.
Out of interest, he had a brand new Evoke 50 in the audition room. We listened to that for a bit, but I think it needed running in more as the bass was a bit boomy and he confessed to being a tad disappointed. His comment was that it represented a change in their house sound, so let’s see how that compares to the professional reviews.
Interested in Evoke too. Possible upgrade from Totem Mite to Evoke 10 but depends on sound. If it has changed too much, meaning more forward sounding I presume, then I’ll be in the look out for Focus110 which I am now anyway. I know Evoke are out in Europe but you’re the first I’ve read about how they sound.
I have to say that my immediate impressions might be doing them a disservice because we know that Dynaudio speakers take a while to bed in. He only took delivery yesterday!
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Obviously the result might not be good as dynaudio speaker needs few hundred hours of running in
Very true. Will you be going back later to have another listen? If so I’ll be interested in how it goes.
I will be back next weekend, but will need longer to run them in.
Out of interest, he sold me his demo Dynaudio Stand 6. I would never have imagined that a set of stands would make such a big difference to my speakers. He mentioned that these are the older version, the latest ones don’t have the sandwich top/bottom plates, and are not made in the UK. I have nothing against moving production, but the new ones do look like you get less for your money.
I’m not too surprised. Quick AB comparison with amps usually doesn’t give too much, in my experience. I have done NAP 200 vs 250DR few times with the NAC 202 and 282 and although there is a difference, it is mostly in bass definition if talking about an hour or 2 of listening. Long-term listening will reveal more but I’ll not elaborate here because it is not relevant as in your case it is the 250 and 250DR. Perhaps the Dynaudio Contour 20 and Focus 160 are rather close in sound quality since you didn’t hear much difference between the speakers.
Factors such as setup of the system and room will also come into play. If you want to hear a larger difference in sound quality, the loudspeakers will usually give more. Nevertheless, the speakers will have to be different enough for you to hear the difference. In my case, I listened to the Harbeth SHL5 and upgraded SHL5+ at the dealers and the difference was very apparent when the switch was made. Perhaps the Dynaudio Contour 40 and Focus 160 are close in sound quality since you didn’t hear much between them.
Just get a pair of active ATC’s - decision is simple and no dilemma as to whether to get a power amp or speakers … because the ATC’s also have the power amps built inside the speakers - plus no expensive speaker cables to have to mess around with.
Far better sound for the cost outlay … but the decision is yours 
To my ears i quite honestly don’t know what all the fuss is about with ATC ive tried three pairs smc 11 19 and the active 19’s. Ill give it to you the active 19’s sounded better but still flat and lifeless in my room and thats the point. What works for you and your environment might not work for mine, his/hers or yours.
Even speakers within the same brand are not immune from the environment and will sound drastically different from one another and not always for the better, as the OP is finding out.
TBH no amount of running in will change them that much, its marginal at best as the wading compresses and cones lossen’s, its doesn’t take hours to get a get a good feel from them. Running in ive really heard on a few speakers. Speakers once climatized and warmed to the environment will sound pretty good within minutes not hours its more about letting the settle before actually using them. i my experience any how