Which Dynaudio to buy under 2k used

I have owned the Focus 140 and now have the Contour 1.4. To my ears the Contours are superior. On the used market they are worth the extra cost. Solid stands, preferably the Dyn Stand 4's, are important.

If you are going the used route. I would suggest the Contour S1.4 for a monitor and the Focus 220 for a tower speaker. Both are excellent and a lot of our customers compare these two, it's 50/50 to what they choose.

The S1.4 has the better top end, but the Focus 220 edges out the S1.4 in the bass region. Both are great, though.

"I wouldn't use dynaudios in a room any smaller than 16x16"

I bought the Contour 1.3mkIIs specifically for and use them in two different 12X12 rooms because of their big sound and diminuitive size. They are a good fit there but ideally you must be able to keep them several feet out from the walls, which could be a problem in some rooms that size.

The McCormick would be perfect for them in most any small to medium sized room.

If they must be closer to the walls, as is the case in one of my rooms I use them in (see my system pics), you can loosely plug the rear port if needed as I do in that room to get a tighter handle on the low end.

MIn my other 12X12 room, they are well out from the walls and I run them with the ports fully open.

I have also tried them in my biggest room, which is ~20X30 foot L shaped. I would want to add a sub to use them in there normally.

Most floorstanders will not fair as well in regards to soundstage and imaging in a smaller room but can work well in larger ones. My Dyns replaced a pair of floorstanding B&W P6s in teh smaller rooms for that reason mainly.

For ultimate flexibility, I like the Dyn monitors alone for most rooms with the option to add a sub as well if needed in a larger room.

how big is medium sized?

I wouldn't use dynaudios in a room any smaller than 16x16. They are awesome once they have some current running through them, but can be somewhat opaque if your room is too small to drive them with juice.

My recommendation would be partially based on how far away you'd be sitting, and whether your budget is the maximum you want to spend and the lower the better, or you're fine with $2K and would go another couple hundred if that's what it took.

If you're going to sit < approx 10 feet away, I'd go with one of their two-way monitors. The Contour 1.3's and a good pair of stands could easily be had for less than $1500. I've owned many pairs of Dynaudio's, but I haven't heard the new Focus line. My guess is you'll pay more for those, since they're newer, though you could still get a nice setup for no more than $2K.

If you will be sitting back 10 or more feet, and a floorstander interests you, I'd look for the Contour 1.8 Mk II's or, alternatively, the Audience 72SE's. I have no experience with the latter, though many speak very highly of them. The 1.8's can definitely be driven well with modest amplification, and do quite nicely. Again, both can be done, definitely, under $2K.

If you're willing to look, and if $2K is a target, not an absolute, I'd look for either a pair of Contour 2.8 floorstanders or Confidence 3's. The former would be a bit more than $2K likely, and the latter would be a few hundred more (including the stands). Both have the Esotar tweeter, which is phenomenal. I owned the 3's a couple times, and could easily live with them forever if I had a medium-sized room.

I love the Dyns for a wide variety of music genres.

I think the Contour line offers the best value.

I'm partial to monitors over floorstanders in general in this price range. Add a sub later but only if needed.

The 1.3 mkIIs are very fine and well reviewed monitors. They work best on very solid stands and can be had for well under $2K which leaves room for the stands to go with them.

Mine cost me about $1200 with matching Dyn stands on ebay a couple years back.

They are rear ported though and generally work best when placed well out away from walls. That can be a problem in some rooms.

Also note that these Dyns tend to like lots of power so they are not the best choice for low powered amps. I think the McCormick would be an ideal match though!