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Monitor Audio Gold 200 5g (newest current generation) vs Dynaudio Contour 20

Hey folks, 

I'm currently using a pair of Monitor Audio Gold 200 5g compact floorstanders (newest current generation). Recently I spotted a used pair of Dynaudio Contour 20 standmount speakers at really good price on ebay but have no way of demoing them. Standmount speakers will be more suitable for my small listening room size. My MA Gold 200 5g are compact floorstanders.
How do these two sets of speakers would compare sonically? If I sell my MA Gold 200 5g I would have extra cash even after the purchase of a used pair of Countour 20 as the MA Gold 200 5g retail for quite a bit more than the Dynaudio Contour 20.

I'm thinking to sell my MA Gold 200 5g and get these Dynaudio Contour 20 standmount since they are more suitable for my small listening room size.

My current MA Gold 200 5g are laid back warm sounding speakers with very smooth highs and mids and delicate but deep bass. MA uses MPD (micro pleated diaphram) high frequency transducers with these new Gold 5g model which is a direct decendent from the new Platinum series ll. Are the Dynaudio Contour 20 more laid back or neutral compared to my MA Gold 200 5g? How would these two sets of speakers compare? I know one is compact floorstanders and the other is standmount (bookshelf) and probably not an apple to apple comparisons.

Please feel free to chime in and your advise, thoughts and opinions will be welcomed and greatly appreciated.

The rest of my setup : Cary Audio CD 306 SACD player, Classe CP 800 preamp, Cary Audio SA 200.2 ES power amp.
Cables : Cardas Clear Reflection speaker cables & XLR analog interconnects, Shunyata Delta NR power cable, Transparent Reference Powerlink MM1 power cable, Audioquest Blizzard power cable.
AC power line distributor/conditioner : Shunyata PS8 with Venom Defender & Shunyata Venom V10 NR power cable.

dilatante
mofojo
2,175 posts
 
What kind of music do you listen to and what kind of power do you have? Contour 20s need a high current amp. They are pretty laid back in my setup for sure or should I say they are not dynamic with the Lyngdorf I had. Sounded pretty good with a lot of stuff but rock forget it. Didn’t love them at all. I did love the C1s however and some say they are comparable. I stilll wonder if I had a beast amp at the time if it would have opened them up. 
arch2
308 posts
 
I think you’re going to find those have pretty different sonic signatures. Monitor Audio with a little more high frequency energy and air (not at all bright) while the dyns being softer, smoother and warmer. Agree with above, if you can possibly hear them first that would be best. I’ve never had a lot of experience with Dynaudios in the past but I recently purchased a pair of C1’s just to give them a shot. While they are a fantastic speakers (I’ve never had such a dynamic stand mount speaker with so much bass weight and punch) I just can’t get past the warmth. Too much of a good thing for me. I need a brighter speaker. Aside from that the C1s are amazing. Not sure about the Cary equipment but if it leans more toward the warm side I would be careful with the dyns unless that’s what your after. They love power too. From what I’ve read many think there is quite a similarity between the Confidence C1 and the Contour 20 and I came darn closing to getting the Contour 20s before deciding on the C1s. While I have lived with dyns the only experience I have with Monitor Audio was at Axpona. Great speakers though. Best of luck.
dilatante OP
76 posts
 
@erik_squires 

I found the seller who’s selling a used pair of Dynaudio Contour 20 on eBay so demoing the speakers is impossible. I live in Seattle and while we do have a Dynaudio dealer here but they don’t have the Contour 20 for demo, all they have are those Confidence big floorstanders available for demo. 
I don’t listen to music super loud as my listening room is very small, that’s the reason I want to go with standmount speakers. I do love my MA Gold 200 5g. I found these latest generation Gold 200 5g very laid back warm and very smooth. They are the complete opposite compared to the previous generation of Gold series 4g, which I found to be very forward and bright. 
dilatante OP
76 posts
 
@mofojo 

I listen to jazz, female jazz vocalists, contemporary jazz, acoustic music, classical/symphony, classical rock (progressive rock), some older pop music and few contemporary ones, some blues sometimes. 
I have listed my electronic equipments above. I’m using Cary Audio SA 200.2 ES solid state class AB power amp with Classe CP 800 preamp and Cary Audio CD 306 SACD player (latest 306 version). My Cary SA 200.2 ES amp is rated 200 wpc @ 8 ohms & 350 wpc @ 4 ohms. I’m aware that the Dynaudio Contour is a 4 ohm speaker and speaker sensitivity is rated 87 db. My current MA Gold 200 5g is also a 4 ohm load with 87 db sensitivity. So the specs of these two sets of speakers are very similar. So I think my Cary power amp will have no problem at all driving these Dynaudio Contour 20 to their fullest potential. This Cary SA 200.2 ES is a solid class AB amp weighing in 65 lbs. 
I found my current setup with the MA Gold 200 5g (latest generation) to be very laid back and leans towards warm with very smooth highs but is dynamic and punchy at the same time. I’m also using warm sounding speaker cables and interconnects and power cables. 

dilatante OP
76 posts
 
@arch2 

The new latest generation of MA Gold 200 5g (5th gen) like the ones I have now are warm laid back and smooth sounding speakers, unlike the previous generation of MA Gold series 4g (4th gen) that are forward and rather bright sounding. These two different generations from MA Gold series sound very different, they are complete opposite. They use different tweeters, different midrange and bass drivers, different crossover network, different cabinets and cabinet bracings and materials, etc. 

My Cary SS power amp sounding kinda tube like with a hint of warmth but remains quite transparent. And my Classe preamp is neutral sounding. 


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