Looking for advice re: amps for Dynaudio Contour 20i


Hello all. This might be a huge mistake (I don't want to start an internet war), but I find reviews to be less than perfect. Can anyone who actually has Dynaudio Contour 20s or 20is offer any advice on a good amp to pair with them? My budget is $5-$6k. My primary concern is imaging, I am current using a Marantz Model 30 and SACD 30n. 

noob504

Thanks everyone! I appreciate the advice. akg_ca, last night I was thinking along the lines that you laid out - sort of like high torque / low revs vs. low torque / high rev horsepower; e.g., a 6 cylinder and 8 cylinder with equal power will never feel the same. I just don't know how to read amplifier specs to identify whether an amp is high current. 

I spoke with a salesperson who advised me that if I was unhappy with the sound, it had to be my speakers rather than the Marantz gear. Needless to say, I found myself struggling to give any of his opinions any credibility.

I 2nd an Octave integrated. Heard one in the C60 and it was really good. on paper probably shouldn’t work that well but sounds fantastic.

I have personally used a Cayin A100T on a pair of Focus 140 and it was not very good sounded really bland. An Odyssey Stratos plus in the same speakers was really good. 

Also have had a Lyngdorf 2170 on some C20s and it ran out of gas. It was fantastic on more efficient speakers. 
 


 

 

@noob54

Q.” …. I just don’t know how to read amplifier specs to identify whether an amp is high current. …”

A. Repost : Don’t look only at the headline power figure - see what happens when the impedance drops to four ohms. If the number nearly doubles, then your amplifier has good current delivery and will be capable of driving more demanding speakers.

For example: My REGA OSIRIS integrated amp

A no compromise, super high performance, 162 W into 8 Ω (250 W, 4 Ω), dual mono amplifier.