I scoured the world for a pair of speakers that would outlive me and sound better than I would ever know. The 1.3's are those speakers. I bought them on several recommendations. Never listened to them!!They are absolutely gorgeous, with the ultima stands, mouthwatering. I listened to many, many small speakers (Ariel, Thiel , B&W, KEF, Mirage, ProAc, etc.). No contest! The only problems are the cost, long warm up period, and low sensitivity. You need a big, clean amp, and source material that is well recorded. These babys will tell you exactly what is wrong (or right) upstream.
If I were an analoge junkie......Martin Logan Arius i

The design of the new version of the Contour 1.3, now designated as "mkII" has changed quite a bit:The crossover frequency between woofer and tweeter has been increased from 2.0 to 2.6 kHz (probably a wise choice considering the limitations of a 1" dome tweeter at the low end of its range). The rear-chambering of the tweeter has been improved so that the response in the crossover region is smoother. The
upper frequency range of the new woofer (especially in the crossover
region) is said to be smoother, which promotes use of the higher 2.6 kHz
crossover frequency. The tweeter now goes out to rated 24 kHz instead of
22 kHz.
The overall efficiency of the new speaker (Contour 1.3, mkII) has been increased by about 1 dB (improved motor for the woofer). The bass also now goes a couple of Hz lower (vent tuning).
The speaker is supposed be even more uncolored (not sure yet about this)
due new sandwich cabinet-wall construction.
Total spkr weight increases from 19.0 pounds to 19.6 pounds.
Preliminary rating (5 stars hard to earn, as it should be --- but subject to living with this new version of the 1.3):

I've owned a pair of Dynaudio 1.8MKII for almost two years now and all I can say is that they're superb speakers which can compete with much more expensive designs. Very transparent, amazing with voices (mids)and with a tight and very, very deep bass. However, one must be careful with their matching since they are terribly revealing (transparent and not cut in the high frequencies) and power-hungry. They need good, accurate and soft sources and amps: Benz, Marantz high-end, Meridian 508.24... / Electrocompaniet, Gryphon, Jeff Rowland, YBA...All I can say is that I might upgrade the rest of my system but the 1.8 would need a terrible investment for quite little improvements.BTW: they don't like rear walls and they need space
System: Krell 300i, Marantz 17KI, Cardas Neutral reference and Golden Cross
(I'm not very sure about my amp matching the Dyn's)

Dyna contour 1.3 is accurate sound, very good sound field, clear and solid sound, excellent dynamic and respond.
You need a good bass control amp to push it. Tube amp is perfect. Heavy and stable stand with good hard wooden pin could further improve the sound stage and clearity. It's high is not as easy as bass, but could sound excellent.

In US$1000-2000 price range, with good amp matching, that could win in sound accurate, balance, neutral, bass, punching and natural.

It is not suit for low power amp!

These are great sounding speakers for the size, eventhough there is limited low-end. That'w why its perfect for small spaces. You should be careful in equipment matching though, you need a beefy amp tube or solid state (needs high quality, i.e., Audio Reserch, Krell, Pass Labs. etc.).A good 60 watter (RMS) would do the job, less than 50 will rob it greatly of its dynamics and punch. A high quality tube preamp will give it more liquid mids and highs, and a tuneful bass with a lot of depth. It sounds very clean with Alpha-core Goertz M1 speaker cables. The finish and craftsmanship is nothing short of excellent. Real wood and a solid enclosure adds more neutrality to an already neutral design. A warning: If you're into low powered single-ended or OTL triode amps, these speakers are not for you....

I have been a Dynaudio fan (and dealer) for a long time but I thought it may help to give some insite into the family of products. Dynaudio has a US web page at www.dynaudiona.com (na is for North America). 1st off, the 1.3mkII's are certainly one of THE best bookshelf speakers available. It is true the strengths are their incredible detail (yet smooth), excellent imaging, fairly deep base response. They are not inexpensive, list price is $2399 and was increased a while back to accomidate the re-re designed of the MKII. All of the new Contour products have introduced a new European binding post (careful when ordering your wire to get the right spades). THese are the same spades used in the $10K plus new B&W product. The re-re- designed version uses a more transparent grill cloth (which helps), slight changes in the crossover components, along with the new Logo. Not a lot of difference but the grill cloth IS worth it. Most bookshelf speakers I have auditioned are missing mid-base (plucking of a base guitar etc) because they roll off quickly. The 1.3mkII's do not miss any detail and do go very deep for Bookshelves. In fact, many thought the folks at Dynaudio had a subwoofer at the HiFi 98 show in LA. Many have correctly pointed out the Dyn's do love power.Ultimately if you have a quick amp with 200 watts plus that has good base control (Bryston, Plinius, Parasound etc. you will be harnessing all the Dyn's have to offer. I run my 1.3mkII's with several other lower power amps including, ATI, B&K, Parsound etc and they still sound very very good. It is not like it the power is NEEDED... It will just bring it to the next level (5% increase in performance).
As you move up the Countour line, ALL drivers change. The tweeters and wooffers may look the same but are modified. As you go up the ine you pick-up performance. The 1.8mkII offers a little more base response but they don't image quite as well. The 3.0's are absolutely stunning and detail is simply pure. Vocals (Holly Cole and alike) come alive with depth.
The 3.3's will pick up impact and some base extension. They also have some large cabinets that may not be for every room. If budget is of concern and you plan putting this in a home theatre, go with the 1.3mkII's because the sub will fill in the rest or the 3.3's (if you have the $$$'s). If two channel is your needs, the 1.8's or 3.0 are usually a better choice. Dyn has a 10% upcharge for the Birdseye Maple but if these work in your decore they are a must!! Surely a conversation peice as your non-audiophile freinds. This Maple finish is magnificent!
If you do not have a dealer and have technical questions or need pricing and deliver information. Feel free to email or call.
Hope this help...
Steve of Sound Video
Authorized Lines:
ATI, Acurus, Aerial Acoustics, Aragon, B&K, Bryston, Class'e, Cinepro, DynAudio, EAD (Enlightend Audio Designs), Energy (Local Only), Gallo Acoustics, Gershman Acoustics (Beautiful Sounding and looking speakers), Innersound (ElectroStatic), Lexicon (Local Only), Marantz (Local Only), M&K, Monitor Audio, NHT, Panamax, Parasound, Pioneer (Not Elite), Plinius, Sherwood NewCastle, Toshiba, Theta Digital (local or I need to install), & Velodyne.

I have listened to these speakers connected with an acurus dia-100 amp, and i am extremely satisfied with the result. This combination tend to be revealing and a bit to analytical, but this is easily corrected with the right source (e.g. rega planet or similar). Especially the mid-range is almost perfect. Switching from a pair of Snell C IV was a great relief, suddenly an acoustic dass sounded like an acoustic bass. I don't agree that any bass-range is missing. In a smaller room they make much more realistic bass than a grand 3-way speaker. Fortunately I discovered that Dynaudio makes selfbuild kit. With this kit (the cabinet can be build by any decent cabinetmaker) you can get the excactly the same speaker for about half the price. So don´t wait: with a good,strong amplifier and a warm sounding source this is the perfect speaker!!!

WOW, what a speaker. If you close your eyes, you would never know it is a monitor speaker! Definitely check it out if it is your price range.

Great mid-range and highs. Plays at high volume without strain.

A little expensive.

I auditioned several two-way, six-inch speakers (B&W, Monitor, Totem) and liked these best. Very natural sounding, with great imaging. I would recommend them highly. They do immediately reveal poor-quality source material.

I auditoned the Hales Transcendence One, Monitor Audio Studio 6, Joseph Audio RM7si Signature, B&W Matrix 805, and the Sonus Faber Concerto before choosing these. The Hales was the closest, but the Contour 1.3 mk II has the most accurate and revealing sound of any 2-way bookshelf speaker in the $2000 price range. Natural midrange, strong and tight bass, grain-free treble, and impressive transient response are all present in this little gem. In addition, build quality is second to none. The only caveats: needs lots of power (I'm using a Sunfire Cinema Grand), is ruthless in pointing out deficiencies further up the chain. One more thing, as with the rest of Dynaudio's Contour Line, the price increased in December from $2099 to $2399.