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Dynaudio Special Forty vs. Contour 20

Hey all - new account on Audiogon, but not new to the site. I used to be a reviewer for a now-defunct publication and have spun off my own audio blog, The Audiophile Weekend Warrior (TAWW). As you can tell from the name, I'm trying not to take myself too seriously. :)

Anyway, thought I'd spin off some discussion here based on my recent quick audition of the Dynaudio 2-ways:
http://taww.co/post/168720946672/quick-take-dynaudio-special-forty-contour-20

Context: I'm searching for a new reference speaker to upgrade my Merlin TSM-MXe. In short, I liked the Special Forty better, but neither really did it for me. Fire away with the questions/comments/flames! :-D

Cheers,
MIY
http://taww.co
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nitewulf
277 posts
 
Interesting, I haven't heard the Special 40's yet but thought the C20's sound incredible. Very engaging and slightly warm. I heard them with the Primaluna integrated though, so maybe that was a factor. But I do prefer high resolution speakers that are a touch warm.
mattmiller's avatar
mattmiller
1,180 posts
 
If you have the electronics....The special 40’s are insane, give them clean clear power and they will amaze, I did mention power right? Ya, they need that in fact twice what they are rated for! And no tube amps here they want fast  dynamic power with the ability to take control and grip them from a very musical high end solid state amp.


Matt M
stargazer3's avatar
stargazer3
75 posts
 
I have read an interesting review of Dynaudio Special Forty in HiFi Plus and I just wonder how this minitor speaker compares with the famous ATC SCM19  monitor speaker. Has any one had a chance to do this comparison?
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taww's avatar
taww OP
80 posts
 
@mobilesax I think I've reached the end of the road with the Merlins. I'm sure the Black Magic upgrade is great, but I'm looking to make a more fundamental change. In particular, I'm looking for something more SS-amp friendly. While the TSM's have gotten more and more accommodating of SS with each successive upgrade, they really need tubes to reach the next level and that's a nonstarter for me.

@nitewulf : like the Merlins, maybe the C20's need tubes to loosen up (the Stereophile review also alluded to this). That said, there was something about the driver integration that bugged me. I actually thought the Forty had a smoother-sounding crossover than the C20. 

@mattmiller : that sounds about right, based on my quick listen they could definitely benefit from a powerful, lean SS amp that can exert a lot of control over the woofer. (Maybe Bryston?) That said, I don't see how you get around the apparent resonance/coloration in the upper bass, regardless of amp. It really sounds mechanically underdamped to me. I don't doubt you can massage that with some tweaking but I'm not sure you can completely overcome that sort of tuning issue. 

@james_w514: sounds like you go through a lot of speakers. :) I haven't heard ATC, I should get around to that. What are you using now? How did you like the Audiovector?
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