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Dynaudio Contour 1.3SE brightness?

Hi. I just auditioned Dyn 1.3 SE speakers. As impressed as I was, I was surprised by their brightness. Not something I associate with Dynaudio, nor do I remember it from the 1.1's I listened to way back when.

What stood out was definite sibilance. For example, on Transcendental Blues (title track from the Steve Earle CD), vocal t's and s's all had an exaggerated tttssss to them. Cymbals on some jazz CDs (ex, Årt Blakey, Night In Tunisia gold disk) had an exaggerated metallic clash. Same for the kick drum on Yello's The race (one of my favorite listening CDs). Overall, fatiguing despite the speakers otherwise brilliance.

Setup was a the Musical Fidelity A3 CD player and A3 integrated amp, and some Tara labs cables (sorry, don't know which).

In the archives I found ONE similar comment, but mostly just praise. Any explanations? Not broken-in speakers? Poor match w/electronics? (When I heard the 1.1s, they were matched with Classe separates). The truth about my CDs, revealed? Dynaudio realitly?

Thanks, I don't want to give up on these ones.... yet....
tkdawacsdcc2

Showing 1 response by mark

mark
42 posts
 
I am a dynaudio 1,3MK2 owner and have used different setup to drive this gems.
I have no doubt about dynaudio driver being world-class standard however, it does not have world-class musicality compare to other top-notch monitors. For instance, it has a mediocre depth although it has excellent clarity and transparency.

I too encountered over-brightness in my dynaudio 1.3mK2 before settling down. To be frank, generally comparing to other monitors, I think 1,3Mk2 design has the highs a bit too forward/overintensified. I have similar feeling when I audition very carefully at showrooms /friend's home, and making numerous comparison with others.

While if you are going for a loudspeaker which gives very transparent highs,punchy bass and able to play loud with low distortion, these is the speaker for you.

I still own this speaker because it has a very transparent highs and authorative bass.
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