Dynaudio Contour 20i

hilroy48

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Sep 13, 2020
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Hello there, I ordered a set of these, and they will be here in 4 weeks. My room is 13'x19'x8'ceiling. I have acoustic panels on the walls as well. My amp is a Sugden SPA-4 Class A and and LA-4 pre Amp. I recently purchased an Aqua LA voce DAC. Will this be enough amp to drive these speakers in your opinion? Also What would you consider proper speaker placement? Distance from side walls and rear wall. I had set of B&W CM-10's connected to this combo, and it sounded great. I have since moved the CM-10's to the basement.
 

tbitblula

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Hi hilroy!

A fine setup you got there! Did the speakers arrive? How are they?

Coming back to your question, depending on the volume you’d like to listen to, even though it delivers masterclass sound, the Sugden might be a bit underpowered for the hungry dynaudios. I have no experience with the Contours but I do own their cheaper sibling, the 4 ohm Focus 160, and they prove a challenging match to most amps I tried, to date. Then again... I never owned a Sugden, but being a pure Class A amp you usually get a lower power output than you would normally expect from such a hefty box.
 

hilroy48

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Hello everyone. I got my new Contour 20 i's this morning Nov 14 2020. I have been playing them all afternoon, and i can tell you i am completely blown away by them. I have them placed in the room correctly, and let me tell you my new Sugden gear is more than capable of driving these speakers with little effort. The Sugden amp and Contour speakers are a great pairing, the clarity is insane, the bass is amazing. The speakers are capable of playing a nice warm recording such as Ruth moody, Nora Jones. And then something punchy like Melissa Etheridge and Genesis. I played Chris Isaak Heart shaped world today as well, Incredible. These speakers make you feel like you are at a concert and the stage is right in front of you. The speaker is not harsh or fatiguing in any way. Best money i have ever invested in High end Audio.
 

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Hello everyone. I got my new Contour 20 i's this morning Nov 14 2020. I have been playing them all afternoon, and i can tell you i am completely blown away by them. I have them placed in the room correctly, and let me tell you my new Sugden gear is more than capable of driving these speakers with little effort. The Sugden amp and Contour speakers are a great pairing, the clarity is insane, the bass is amazing. The speakers are capable of playing a nice warm recording such as Ruth moody, Nora Jones. And then something punchy like Melissa Etheridge and Genesis. I played Chris Isaak Heart shaped world today as well, Incredible. These speakers make you feel like you are at a concert and the stage is right in front of you. The speaker is not harsh or fatiguing in any way. Best money i have ever invested in High end Audio.

Hi hilroy ,

Nice to hear your comments and feedback about contour 20i.

Currently ,I am using Accuphase E380 which is 120w per channel in 8ohms ,I am going to order a contour 20i ,but I am afraid whether my amp can drive this speakers smoothly ,I actually like a bit bright sound ,please advise
 

hilroy48

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Sep 13, 2020
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You have an amazing amp there. My Sugden Is pure class A power at 75 watts @ 4ohms. The speakers have a 4 ohm impedance as well. If i can use the old school graduated scale on the volume knob, i dont need to go past 3 on a scale of 1-10. These speakers are so efficient even at low volume, I listen to wifi radio during the day and the sound quality is amazing . So it doesn't take much to drive these speakers in my opinion. I am sure your amp will pair nicely with these.

I can tell you room treatment made a huge difference. With my old Arcam A-49 amp and B&W Cm-10 speakers up here, no room treatment, the sound was very bright . I also have a large picture window in this room.

Fast forward > New Sugden amp, B&W speakers, with the equipment all moved to new location in the room. The sound was way better, so speaker placement in the room is very important. Sound still very bright and lively.

Now add acoustic panels, find the proper first reflection points etc ,the whole thing changed drastically. The room calmed down, and i felt less anxious listening to music. It had a more warm softer feel to it.

Now with all my new current gear, the Aqua Ladder DAC, new Dynaudio speakers and Wireworld cable, i have a sound and feel that i absolutely love, and can sit and listen for hours not getting tired or fatigued.

This has been a huge learning year for me, and a huge eye opener about audio gear and what can make the most significant difference .

Hope this helps somewhat? You will have to try some things in your listening space and see how it goes. We all have a listening preference, and we all hear differently.
 

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