2. speakers
  3. 1434843760

Dynaudio Contour 1.1 or Dynaudio Focus 160

I have been working on my room per member suggestions. Some room treatments and sound anchor speaker stands and am pretty happy. In fact a friend heard my equipment and bought my Dynaudio x32's that were too big for my room. I like the x12's that I still have but have an opportunity for a pretty good deal on some Contour 1.1's (probably 10 years old but sound great) or a new pair of the Focus 160's. Have not heard the Focus but he said both would be an upgrade of my x12's. My room is 9 x 12 with 8 foot ceiling. I don't listen very loud but like the clear Dynaudio sound. He also carries Harbeth but they seem really expensive to me. Using Primaluna separates (40 watts per channel), marantz 6005 CD player and Oracle Alexandria turntable. I like acoustic music, some rock and jazz. My room is pictured in my profile now. Thanks.
dylanfan

Showing 4 responses by egoben

egoben
56 posts
 
I used to own Focus 160, they are great speakers but in my opinion they require a big room and very powerful amplifier, at least 100 watts. The sound stage is huge and the bass is deep, you should try them at home before buying I think.
egoben
56 posts
 
For me the Focus 160 where too big in my 16 sqm room, a bit boomy, the sound is lovely but I really don't like when the bass takes over. But all rooms are different. If you get a really good deal you can of course buy and try and sell if you dont't like them.

The Harbeths a completely different in sound, soft treble on both yes, but the Dynaudio's goes a lot deeper! But are not as punchy and "fun" and "real" in the midrange. I like both but they are different!

I like my Harbeths and I listen to jazz, rock and Dylan! :-) I have Harbeth 30.1 too, they are more similar to Dynaudios than the small P3's. What I've of the Dynaudio X Series they don't go as deep as Focus but might be more punchy in bass, smaller in sound... Writing on phone, sorry... Can't explain better now. Good luck!
egoben
56 posts
 
Dylanfan, you wrote that the x32 where too big for your room. Was that because of the size or the sound? The Focus 160 goes much deeper than expected in my opinion, but my room creates booming sound if the speaker goes down to 50 Hz or below. If you don't have any issues with that kind of thing it might work fine in your room. It is a great speaker. I've heard it in a much bigger room than mine with powerful tube amp (Audio Research) and it was fantastic, but not in my room which was a bit sad for me. I had to sell and get something smaller. The Harbeth P3ESR doesn't have any issues with booming sound but they shouldn't have since it only goes down to 75 Hz or something (for many people that's not enough). Just wanted to clarify a little.
egoben
56 posts
 
Congrats, I'm sure they are great speakers. Remember to tell us how it turned out!
More to discover