Morning guys , last week I switched my speakers from Dynaudio Special 40s to Dynaudio Contour 20i’s , they are being powered by a Naim Nova.
I’m noticing that when playing at the volume that I’m used to (40%) , the new contours seem quieter than the 40s , is this normal? I was thinking that this could be to with the fact that for contours are 4ohms and might need more power?
Thanks for any help
Pete
I have never compared these two speakers, but indeed the S40 is 6 ohms compared to the 20i at a similar sensitivity of 86dB …
I believe yes, exactly. When I had the Special 40s, at least for me, the SN3 could not drive them adequately at lower/mid sound levels. The Contour 20i are I think even more difficult and at nominal 4 ohm they probably go down to 2 ohm regularly.
Not according to the graphs in Stereophile’s review of them. Their measurements show impedance remains above 4 ohm throughout the audible band and only gets down to that at one frequency: 285Hz.
To the OP, are the Contours new? If so, they might need a fair bit of running in before they fully open up. And I believe they come with port bungs. If you have those in situ it will affect volume, particularly in the bass.
Roger
Ty for the replies , the contours are secondhand and the port bungs are not in the speakers
Pete
All I know is that the Contour 20i’s sounded fantastic through a Nova.
I switched from S40s to Contour 20is, albeit with a 282/250. The Contours have a much calmer, less fizzy sound than the S40s, so they may sound ‘quieter’. I also noticed that the S40s were great, but added their own character. The Contours are more neutral and revealing of the dynamic differences in recording and production styles. They do take time to break in, and they’re definitely not as bright as S40s. They are truly awesome speakers though, which you’ll never tire of listening to.
Not to say they won’t sound ok with a lesser amp but Dynaudios in general reach their full potential under a lot of current. And, as I learned this lesson the hard way, the pre-amp is equally important.
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