clear and beautiful transparent sound

none

Great speaker. I bought the demo off the floor. I figured the only caveat to buying the demo was that was they might be more broken in than a pair right out of the box.

I'm pushing these with a Yamaha RX-595 @ 80 w/c. The dealer felt my system was too low end for this speaker. While I wouldn't want to push these with less power, high end mid-fi is just fine to drive these with. Don't feel like you have to spend another $2-3k on electronics; you really don't if you have power and clarity in your consumer quality amp.I'm running 16 gauge cable from radio shack with no connects. I don't think the $500 cables are absolutely required either.

Having said that, if and when I do upgrade, the Dynaudios will reflect the improvements. These speakers do fill up a large space. My listening room is 15x20 and seems a bit small for the power-speaker combination. Placement does make a difference in performance. They do like space to breathe. The port plugs may be employed to tame the 1.8's a bit on the low end in the confined space.

My second choice would be the Dynaudio Audience 70's. PS - dealers will haggle!

Similar Products Used:

Dynaudio Audience Line, Totem, B&W, Paradym, Dunlavy, KEF, Thiel, Klipsch, etc.

neutral. very detailed. accurate & hard hiting bass response

i don't know if you would consier this a weakness, bt Dyn's do need a break in period. They will sound better after several hours of playing than just out of the box. You may think that is typical for some electronics. but Dynaudio takes more than typical break in time. But! it is worth it becausethe end result is nothing short of awesome.

After upgrading my electronics to a Krell system my search for speakers lasted at least a year. I loved Martin Logans for their presence & detail. But I like variety of music & didn't think I could get used to the lack of dynamics in higher energy musc. So I was on the hunt for a dynamic speaker that would give the high detail of the Logan's. To make a long story shorter I found that in the Dynaudio. Actually I think they are even more revealing which surprised me. Dyn's are very newtral. So you will notice if you have a bad recording & you will marval when you drop in a good one. Dynaudio is a great value. If you want to see this, when you go to listen compare them to speakers costing much more. Your eas will tell you Dynaudio is a good deal. And nothing in their price range wil even compare. Don't worry about the low sensitivy. The impedance don't drop below 4 ohms & when comparing them to more sensitive speakers I couldn't tell that much difference. I still would recommend a high current amp of 150 watts or more. With Dynaudio the music really has impact & very dynamic. Dynaudio blew away so many myths I believed. I was a fan of larger woofers & sealed enclosures. Dynaudio does magic. I never heard better bass & it is as tight or more so thanany seale box. 100% quality. The 1.8's kill the $8,000. B&W's. The 1.8's are the reining champions in their price range & take out of the competion severa ranges higher. More expensive don't always mean better.

Similar Products Used:

Martin Logan, B&W , Infinity, vandersteen, klipsch, magnapan, heil, Jamo

all around performance: balanced, transparent, HONEST, dynamic, imaging, Natural sounding - get the picture??

VERY revealing (which may not suite some people/systems)

After a 3 month search for new speakers, I finally found the answer in the Dynaudio Contour 1.8 Mk II. I used to own thiel's, but found them overly analytical with obvious high freq brightness and limited soundstaging - though I liked hearing the inner detail of music they provided.

Started off with great reviews on Proac's, so took a pair of 1.5's in for a spin. Excellent midrange and imaging. Acoustic/natiral recordings (esp female vocals - like Holly Cole, Maura O'Connel, Diana Krall, Cowboy Junkies) blew me away. As did well reorded jazz (esp fond of the XRCD version of Bill Evans - Live at the Village Vanguard) - it was like being there.... but then I tried some rock/reggae/funk, and well, they failed miserably. the were FAST as hell (complemeted by Naim cd 3.5 w/ flatcap which can boggie), but the bass was all wrong, and music had a completely un-natural, with splashy (though not bright) high-hats and a bass drive that was missing in action. Nowhere was this more evident than in my Sly and the Family Stone CD. Initially I attributed this to over-dubbed, over-eq'd recording (and still think this has a significant part here), but found the music lifeless and I was disconnected from it. I then considered the 2.5, which obviosly has more bass, but at 4500 it was more than I wanted to spend, and my room is only 13 x 15.

Then I tried the Audio Physics Tempo II Ex. Like the Proac, it imaged like a demon and soundtaged well, and was involving. The detail was pretty impressive, but I felt the detail was over-done without coherence... Finally, despite an awesome tweeter, the high's almost bled my ears; not that they were bright/harsh.. more a matter of perspective, female vocal sibilants were too much - just not natural enough, though music was generally exciting - a bit more 'exciting' than the Proac's, but not the answer wither....

Forget about the Thiel's, I didn't want more of that...

So exasperated I brought home a pair of Dyn 1.8 mk II. WOW. music sounded NATURAL. My non-audiophile wife whose ear is probably better than mine, could only say I love how natural Sting's/Margot Timmins/Holly Cole's/Natalie Merchant's etc voice sounded. they are very revealing of source material and electronics, but not ruthlessly so... Sonic images are solid and more imprtantly blend in with environment/background. Not detail/imaging for the sake of it... BAss is very satisfying, but with low impedence/sensitivity, need at least 150 into 8 ohms to drive well, and need plenty of class A current. High's FAR more agreeable than either Proac or Audio Physics I mentioned (again, forget about Thiel), just the right balance I wanted (don't like rolled off high''s either). But my most enjoyed aspect is a beautiful, open, transparent midrange.....

I'm still learning about hi end audio, but these speakers FLOAT my boat, and for retail of 3499, they also represent a good value. I note the bigger brothers of this speaker are Class B in stereophile, but the 3.0 is too much for both the room and budget.

The Danes are onto something here!

Similar Products Used:

Proac 1.5, Thiel 2.2/2.3, Audio Physic Tempo II, JMLabs Electra, etc

Had these Black Ash Dynaudio Countour 1.8MKII for about 3 weeks now, took some time (a lots of patience) to break them in, but they sound like a million bucks now. Super imaging, big sound (and soundstage) and VERY detailed. You should really have a good amp with decent power and a good cdplayer to compliment these speakers coz they are REALLY revealing. They do need quite a bit of space from the back walls and side to sound good. My room right now has limited space so its only got like 1 1/4 ft off the sides and 1 1/2 ft off the back wall and it STILL sounds good.

Open, voicing is superb, dynamic range - AWESOME

My arms after lifting them - thats all.

I purchase the shop pair, because they had been used for demos. What a result linking them to:

Cyrus 7 & PSX-R Power Supply
NAD Silverline S500 CD
Nordost 'Blue Heaven' SP/Cable
Nordost 'Blue Heaven' Interconnectors
Music Works Power Block
Music Works Power Cables

(The use of Nordost 'PULSAR POINTS' have a huge impact on overall clarity & Dynamics)- This was auditioned several times.

The best material thus far tested was a selection of MARC COHN cd's - He was in the room - What more can a audionut want - It's what true HI-FI is all about.

Similar Products Used:

Naim, Vienna Acoustics, B&W, PMC.

I spent about 4-5 weeks listening to various speakers; Kef Model 2, Mon Audio,Paradgim, Energy....I wont spend your reading time dissing those speaks..After mucho contemplation on the price I sprung for the 1.8 mkII. They sound great. I love the space they create. I am in the process of building a new HT & these are the fronts. I matched them up with 1.1 dyns for the rear and a Contour Center.
Rel Q100E sub. So far I have been burnning the speakers in with my old Denon Suround receiver. Next week comes the B&K ref20 & the ATI 1505..Yea baby...I'll fill you in on how well the speakers break in.

Deep, powerful bass.
Natural mids. (good for voices)

Very poor imaging and soundstage.
Lack of detail!Need much power, can’t be driven at low volume.

In my search for a new pair of speakers I heard about the Magical Danish Speakers Dynaudio Contour 1.8 MKII. Impressed by what I read in reviews etc. I ordered a pair from a shop nearby. When I had them hooked up and put a CD of Simple Minds in the player, they nearly blew me out of my chair. These babies have really powerful bass. (my room which isn’t an acoustic masterpiece of construction, does the rest)

Further on with some other (better) recordings like the Corrs Live, Crowded house, Dire Straits etc. I started to feel a little uncomfortable. Though the voices sounded pretty and natural I had the idea that something was missing. It felt if the Corrs where playing with only half the band and just to be sure I connected my old Keilidh’s again. Magically the whole band was back again en there was that guy with the accordion too. As I listened further, all kind of little things came back that I missed listening to the 1.8 MKII.

Reconnected again I noticed that everything sounded very flat. There is nearly no soundstage. (don’t even try classic music on the 1.8 MKII)Last but, for me, certainly not least is that when you try to listen to these speakers at low volume, there is no bass and the highs (including all what’s left of details) nearly disappears.

Since the amp (Rega Mira 2000) and CD-player (Rega Planet 2000) I used are known to produce an enormous soundstage and are very detailed, I don’t think that anyone can make me believe that it’s their fault. Another reason for that is that I recently discovered Totem. The best I heard so far is the Hawk and if you can do with a little less bass (or use a sub) the Model 1.

Concluding: The Dynaudio Contour 1.8 MKII is a pretty good companion for hard rock, punk etc., but if your into jazz, blues, classic music and everything that you don’t have to play to loud. Forget it!

Similar Products Used:

Totem Sttaf and Hawk, Linn Keilidh, Audio Physic Spark III

tantilising vocals, detailed treble, solid bass for a small cabinet

*can* sound bright with the wrong equipment

After reading numerous positive reviews about dynaudio I decided to head off to a dynaudio retailer to test *initially* the audience 70's. I took practically all my gear(amp, cd player,etc..yes the whole lot...). I tested the audience 70's and they were quite good. Once again, nothing great to win me over. After the audition, I asked the assistant what those speakers next to the 70''s were. He replied: "they are the contour 1.8Mk2". I asked for an audition and he replied "don't do it, it will make the audience 70's sound bad...". I thought that was a bold statement and insisted for a audition. He was more than happy to help(contour 1.8 cost twice as much...).
Once it was setup, I spun my favorite cds. Honestly NO SPEAKER has ever hit me like the contour 1.8MK2. I was amazed. I really couldn't believe my ears, the midrange and soundstage are simply amazing.

Please make sure when you audition these speakers that they have been "broken in" . The retailer I eventually bought from (due to a good deal) had a relatively new contour 1.8. It sounded overly bright. Moreover they need a VERY EXTENSIVE break in period. I think a good 100 hours.

Bottom line: give these a ago, I'm sure you will not be disappointed.

Equipment at purchase :

Musical fidelity A2
Musical fidelity E624
Taralabs primis omni 2+2 speaker cable
(cant biwire cause dynaudio don't believe in it...)
Cambridge audio reference interconnects

I have upgraded and its actually sounding better:

Musical fidelity A2 (pre)
Musical fidelity X-as100 (power)
Musical fidelity E624
QED connect 2 inetrconnects
Cambridge audio reference interconnects
Van Den Hul CS122 speaker cable

Similar Products Used:

kef refernce 2, b&w nautilus 803, Mission 783, jamo concert 11

Great treble and Bass (oh, and Mid range).
Just keeps getting better.
Unbelievably realistic

Price, clearance needed from walls

Owned these for 2 months now, and they just get better and better. using them as stereo fronts for main system, and front pair for AV.

Keep getting shocked by their imaging and quality presentation.

Finish Quality is excellent.

Used with Arcam FMJ A22 (+Dave, P25/3) and Arcam Alpha 9 CD

the tone is super natural, clear ,powerfull and immense easy listening for hours and hours.

an long tome of breaking period ; about 200 hours of listening the speakers are broken for only a half

So, after reading the reviews of the others I will tell and explain some of my experiences of my Dynaudio's 1.8 mkII's.
When I went to my favorite hifishop in Apeldoorn Versnel
to listen to these Dynaudio's,I took my favourite cd's for testing the speakers with me and I took my amp SR1510R and cd player 1240R of T+A with me and start listening.
I start with listening to my favourite CD of the Dire Straits Vertigo;their first album ,I think
I was struck by their clean sound of the guitars and the drums which came very powerfull from underneath.
The soundstage of these speakers is not writeable on paper(so I don,t understand Brain King ; that there is no bass :maybe he plugged the wires in the wrong way because if you are looking for a healthy portion of bass with a neutral punch then these Dynaudio's will do their job easily.
So after the Dire Straits I put some opera in CD player of
Emma Shapplin and then I knew it for sure. I love these
babies, I want these babies,I need these babies......
You really don,t know how it is possible that these speakers cost only 1235 $(us dollar) per piece.They sound for at least three times better than they cost. So I think that the price is even too cheap for their quality.

So I decided to buy a pair of these Dynaudio's and went home. At home I installed these heavy babies and start listening. In my audio room everthing is set up for the highest acustic level what you can imagine,because
there is no absorbtion of high or low frequencies in any way.And....... the Dynaudio's were amazing; they sounded even better than in the shop.
The treble, the mid and the bass were amazing straight, no colouring in any way , just a clear and clean sound from the drivers. And they are getting even better every time I go back for listening.

I was so enthusiastic about these speakers so I went back to the shop and bought another pair of speakers 1.8MKII's
and a center speaker of the contour serie. My opinion of Home theatre or DTS-listening is that you need four equal speakers in front and back with a center which is strong enough to get the vocals clear and clean in the space.
And that does the center speaker of the Contour serie very easily.With the dvd of the Eagles Live the voices are extremely easy to listen from the place you were sitting and the total soundstage is perfect in harmony with the four 1.8MKII's.

I can highly recommend these set up for home theatre listening. These babies can drive any kind of music you like,classic,jazz, blues,pop,hip hop, reggea,rock etc.etc. rock.

Similar Products Used:

totem:mani-2,hawk,martin logan:request,BenW 803