Are Dynaudio Contour 2 any good?

Hi Kthomas,
I really mean Contour II.

The Contour 3.3 is actually quite a good speaker (very underrated), and a real bargain at used prices. The only downside is that they require a powerful amp to sound best (which usually means an amp that uses negative feedback). They have usable bass to about 30 Hz. in most rooms, and the bass is quite accurate. The 802 D is a good speaker, while the 802 N was overrated, all in my opinion.

Raquel, 802D is out of my price range and I when I listened to N802 I did not find that they were much better than M802, indeed I found them a bit bright. It looks like Contour 3.3 worth trying. Are they tube compatible (if they need a loot of feedback it sounds like Audio Research)?

Most tube amps would not do well on the 3.3's because they present a somewhat difficult load in the bass and are 85-86 db. efficient at 4 Ohms - the tough load will mean loose bass, which I cannot tolerate, and the inability of a tube amp to double wattage as the load halves means that the speaker will be underpowered in bigger rooms on fortissimos. Given the tight, accurate bass of the 3.3's, it would be a waste to run them with most tube amps. I owned Contour 3.3's for two years and ran them at times with VAC 140/140 monoblocks, but those amps are stable into 1-2 Ohm loads and can drive virtually any speaker. They probably sounded best with my Rowland Model 6's, but I never drew a definitive conclusion - both set-ups had their strengths.

I suggest a low-powered solid-state amp that does not use feedback (Ayre, darTZeel if you can afford it). As for high-powered amps, don't do it, but if you must, the Parasound JC-1 monoblocks would also probably work very well, but I am speculating.

I honestly do not think that any vintage of the 802 competes with the better Dynaudio's. I don't like the B&W midrange driver. As for direct comparisons, I prefer the 3.3, and the Dynaudio C2 (and C4 if you have a big enough room) are in a different league in my opinion. Innovative Audio in Manhattan, which generally has good set-ups and knowledge, carries both lines and I listened to both extensively before buying (and the 802D extensively thereafter - it's definitely the best of the 802's). I also listened to B&W Matrix and Nautilus at Stereo Exchange over the years - their top two channel guys of course used Verity to demo their best equipment. While B&W's can be made to sound good if you know what you're doing (I have a friend in Sao Paulo who gets a lot out of his 803's), knowledgeable audiophiles generally don't run them (B&W is like Cadillac - the jamokes at the country club drive them, but they're like a buggy compared to an S-class Benz or a Rolls or Maybach). As for studios using them, studios use a lot of different speaker brands (and most of them sound like crap compared to well set up Verities, Dynaudio's, Evolutions Acoustics, Egglestons, Avalons, Meadowlarks, SoundLabs, etc.). Sorry to be blunt, but I stand by what I'm writing.

Too many audio magazine reviews are crap, but Wes Phillips' review of the 3.3 in Stereophile is, I believe, quite accurate - I suggest that you read it.