How much difference between Dynaudio C1 & Contour 1.3SE?

I never heard the the 1.3's but did own the C1 and later the C1sig's for about a total of 5 yrs and will say as you move up the Dyn lineup you will hear more layers of resolution. The Esotar2 tweeter is very detailed yet non fatiguing. 

I wouldn't say the C1 is more polite but more resolving. As far as the S25 it was a specialty speaker and with a more forward/lively sound. C2 is still a 2 way and really a pair of C1's in a larger cabinet with the DCC

faust168
The S25 is a specialty speaker. It will be a punchier/livelier sound. IMO the C1 is a more refined sound. To me the S25 - Sapphire and Consequence UE sound killer for about the first 1/2 hr. After that I personally start to get fatigued. Some will say the C1 is too laid back but I could listen to mine for days on end. Just depends what your preferences are. The driver for the C1 was derived from the Evidence Temptation and the S25 came from the Evidence Master. So the S25 is a larger driver. Personally I think the C1 is a more evenly balanced sound. Two very different presentations yet retaining that Dyn house sound. 

That said the original C1 had 1 drawback IMO. The sound only gets better as you turn up the volume. So when the MKII/Sig was announced I bought a pair of Sig's without hearing them (I really wanted the Mocca cabinet). To my surprise they didn't need to be turned up as much to sound their best. Platinums hold that same trait.

I haven't heard the new Contour's but the way some folks have described it may be more like a blend of both the S25 and the C1 sound. Do you have a local Dyn dealer? I would highly recommend demoing the C1 Platinum vs the Contour20. Heck bring your 1.3's to get a better feel for the differences.

FWIW The C1 and MKII had a 5 yr warranty where the Signatures had a 10 yr warranty. Not sure about the Platinums. I would also say the Dyn stands should be used. The Stand2/4 posts screwed directly into the bottom of the speaker (top plate wasn't used). So if a previous owner had either stand2 or 4 you will see rings on the bottom of the speaker where the post touches the bottom. The Stand6 has an adapter plate the speaker mounts to.

Again the difference in sound quality between the original C1 and the MKII/Sig/platinum is very hard to hear tonally it's with the later versions sound better at lower listening levels.

At my dealer and he was running Sim Audio separates - Octave and Burmester with Nordost Valhalla cables. I thought the same with the Sapphires and Consequence UE.  For me the mids and highs were just too forward compared to the C1's and Contours. S25's like Sapphires were limited production. The S25's even had a second run. The thing about Dyns is they had both forward and laid back sound sounding speakers yet they all retain the 'Dyn House' sound. Everyone has their own tastes and expectations when it comes to what they prefer. I've read where some folks thought even the Sapphires were too laid back. Had a friend who had C2's and he thought they were too laid back and traded them for Sapphires.  About a year and a half later he traded those for C4 Signatures.