And the "Best" Dynaudio monitor is...?

As a C1 owner I would say yes. Contour s1.4's and Special 25's may have a tad more bass but to me both are also more forward sounding with a tad more 'punch' but lack the transparency - imaging and detail that the C1's have. You pay for it also. Everyone has their own tastes. I think 25 years ago (if all were available) either the S1.4's or special 25's would have been my choice for the cost factor. That being said today the C1's to me are an excellent value for the sound they reproduce.

Of the mini monitors the C1 is without a doubt the best. The S1.4 and Special 25 have the classic small speaker big box sound and have a resonance hump in the bass response (underdamped design) - this will probably sound more impressive but it simply isn't as refined and will tend towards "one-note bass" (although since they are all great speakers perhaps one-note bass is a bit unkind - lets say it is deliberately made to sound "big" and therefore excellent value to many users)

C3's perhaps. Price point was too high for a monitor to sell well & C5 was probably the better overall speaker choice for most, but C3's were pretty special.

It's a toss up between the C1 and the S25, depending on your priorities.

Another vote for the C1