Dynaudio Contour S5.4 vs Focus 380?

PS - if there is anybody who has heard both speakers....

Will be powered by Linn's top of the line Chakra Twin amp, dyn version - so that should not be the problem..

Thank you for the feedback..

That amp is worth knowing ;)

http://www.allegrosound.com/Linn_Twin.html

Yonigta thank you - could you please describe a little bit more?

The more words you write, the better - you are the only one until now who has heard both speakers!

- "so i could escchar"
what did you mean? escchar, i dont know that word

- " but it is also true that the 5.4 "
did some words miss here?

"acute is more like the C1"
sorry what did you mean?

"very low"
you mean more bass-rich sound?

Thank you very much for your information!!!
Hope you can write some more.

Thank you Yonigta
very very helpful

But now the choice is really going in the other way again... difficult!!

Pro S5.4:
- bigger range: 30 Hz – 27 kHz (± 3 dB), 380 : 35 Hz – 23 kHz (± 3 dB)
- very big soundstage, and still extremely unforgiving, precise sound
- rich 'bass' focused sound

Pro 380:
- more 'intimate' sound
- even more 'accurate' soundstage, 'faster'
- bass is more controlled and precies
- prettier to look at
- I love the sound from 340, and the 380 has even higher score in reviews.
- Many very positive reviews can be found, for the countour S5.4 they are harder to find

Any Input Welcome!!!

Raindog thank you so very much
It was really helpful - I respect your post very much (of course - because you took the time to help me!!) but since you did not write that you heard both.. I was not so sure how much time you had spent with them.

From your words I understand that you like them better.

So now we have somebody who likes the 380 more (Yonigta) and somebody who likes the Contour more (Raindog031)..

interesting :)

But I am slowly looking towards the 5.4 a little more now..

That case volume, and construction, same tweeters, bigger dynamic range.. from the -facts- , it is the better speaker...

I will maybe have a chance to hear the Focus 380 on Wednesday.

PS Raindog maybe stupid question but the Focus 380 was fully broken in? My 340 took a -really- long time. And then, it was only good after I played them really loud for half an hour, After 5 months.

Hi Raindog

Thank you. I think you have convinced me :)

The way you describe speakers, is how I look at them. The last set I bought (with my hard-earned money, just starting to go to college), I kept it for 20 years. Then I spent 6 months searching, to replace my now really old Celestion 3 bookshelf speakers, with something better. One day I heard a Focus 160, and I thought - THAT IS IT. :)
So of course the 260 sounded even better... I went to listen to that a second time with my father and the 340 was also there... we both completely liked it.

Now I have replaced my Linn Akurate Amp with a Linn Klimax, and suddenly had the chance to also move up the speakers a little, but I love the Focus sound... together with Linn it is a perfect combination and I like to tell myself that I will stay with this for the next 20 years... it is a nice thought... :)

I will bring the amp in a few days and try to listen to the Focus 380, and then speak with the dealer about the S5.4... will then make the final decision towards the end of the week.

thanks!

Ok...
We found a place where we can hear all speakers, woth my own amp. They offer me a sharp price for the contours, the C4 and Focus are also there. Will go there eith my better half..and my own amp.

So.. we made the long trip to the dealer, and listened to all the three speakers pairs, connected to my amp. What happened:

- played the Focus 380. Nice, well-known sound, as expected, same as the 340, but more bass-presence, maybe a bit roomier.

Now it may have been the positioning of the loudspeakers, because the Contours were place kind of in front of the rest of the speakers, (it was a dealer shop, and the pair of contours were not up for sale as the rest, so they were added for our hearing experience).

Anyway, the Contours really stood out. The difference with the Focus was massive. Instruments placement, clarity of voice, width of the stage, actually it made me realise these things really are a way to describe the speakers, as with the contours this terminology all made sense.

We really loved them and did not listen to the Focus 380 anymore (apart from all the way in the end).

So then we played the C4s. First impression:

we played the first song beginning to end.

I think that kind of tells the difference.

Actually, the Contours really made the decision a bit tough, as at some point we switched back and really, i mean -REALLY- liked how the S5.4s stood out when presenting a female voice in combination with some bass and guitar instruments.

There was really a big isolation going on. The woman was singing, the instruments were being played.

The C4s were a bit more 'silvery', a bit more 'satin' like, in their presentation. But in all, it was no comparison.

so, to make a long story short, my girl told me she really liked the C4, and they are now standing in our room :)

THANKS for all the input, and for Raindog to push me to not forget the C4.

Here at home, they are in a relatively small room. But this is not a problem at all. There is not even a hint of bass overpowering, the room is also quite full with stuff, i think that helps - but it is just a pure joy to listen to the music coming alive. Wow.

PS Regarding my amp, it does not have any trouble with the speakers whatsoever.

sorry for the long story and dramatic undertone, i'm just writing it in one go, we are just really happy, and very satisfied with the choice!

so, everybody thanks for the input.

and ps Extravaganza, i can imagine that there are definitely reasons for going with the Contours. They did make female voice stand out very much, very nicely. The C4 have a bit of the Focus sound , -partly-, in how voices are represented. However the general representation of the music, in how it is all placed out, is wonderful with the C4. The contours were a bit too... 'dry', and we thought it might make us a bit tired of it quicker.

But i also have the suspicion that the C4 demos are not completely played in yet - the Focus 340 had a bit of this in the beginning as well.

Rusty

Final note for people reading this and not having seen the Contours in real life: they really look much nicer in real life than on the pictures! Same goes for the C4s. My girl hated the photos, but to my surprise she actually mentioned they look 'nice' here in the room...