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£500ish budget to power a pair of Dynaudio Contour 1.8 mkII - advice please

Ted-M

Ted-M

pfm Member
My friend has asked for help looking for an amp to power his pair of Dynaudio Contour 1.8 mkII, (floor standing 3-way, https://dynaudio.com/discontinued-models/contour/contour-18-mk-ii)
budget is only £500 ish so second hand seems appropriate. Ideally amp would have a photo stage built in.

Any advice welcome, I'm not too familiar with the speakers but a quick look seems like they might benefit from some reasonable power.
 
tedmanzie said:
My friend has asked for help looking for an amp to power his pair of Dynaudio Contour 1.8 mkII, (floor standing 3-way, https://dynaudio.com/discontinued-models/contour/contour-18-mk-ii)
budget is only £500 ish so second hand seems appropriate. Ideally amp would have a photo stage built in.

Any advice welcome, I'm not too familiar with the speakers but a quick look seems like they might benefit from some reasonable power.
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Like all the old contour speakers they will like an amplifier with plenty up its sleeve.
Something like a Roksan K2 amp will drive them on a budget.
 
In a small room with a low-med volumes, most amps will work just fine. As to whether they’re good enough or not… I’d look for an s/h Nait 3 or Exposure XV, if poss. They won’t work well in a big room though.
 
pocketkitchen said:
In a small room with a low-med volumes, most amps will work just fine. As to whether they’re good enough or not… I’d look for an s/h Nait 3 or Exposure XV, if poss. They won’t work well in a big room though.
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Having owned contours they generally don’t wake up until the wick is turned up.
A nait will massively struggle due to the demands placed upon it.
I also would not buy 1.8’s for a small room.
 
I remember auditioning the 1.1, 1.3 and 1.8 MKIIs when they first came out. I bought the 1.3s, which I still have and love, because my then NAP140 (70 watts per channel into 4 ohms) wasn’t powerful enough to drive the 1.8s. They sounded boomy as a result. Even the 1.3 cannot be played super-loud with that amp.
 
I should add that the 1.1 seemed to be the most power-hungry (boomiest) of the lot. Do I remember that correctly?
 
Curtis said:
Having owned contours they generally don’t wake up until the wick is turned up.
A nait will massively struggle due to the demands placed upon it.
I also would not buy 1.8’s for a small room.
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As ever, it depends on the required room size and volume level. There’s plenty of current from both those amps but they won’t do loud in a big room. In a big room, loud, I’d say £500 isn’t enough budget.
 
What about the Yamaha R-N803D? There's one here that's under budget currently.
 
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Avon said:
I remember auditioning the 1.1, 1.3 and 1.8 MKIIs when they first came out. I bought the 1.3s, which I still have and love, because my then NAP140 (70 watts per channel into 4 ohms) wasn’t powerful enough to drive the 1.8s. They sounded boomy as a result. Even the 1.3 cannot be played super-loud with that amp.
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Indeed. I’ve owned all three. The pick of the punch is the 1.3mk2. They like plenty of current. Best results were with a Krell KAV400XI. A Nait 3 would struggle (with 4ohm /86dB). You could pick up an Arcam FMJ A32 within budget.
 
Some great recommendations there.
A big Rotel, Arcam A32, JVC, Quad 606 & Yamaha 803d should all have the power & finesse needed.
 
TBH I think you would struggle to find anything that would do the Contours justice at £500. I also assume the front end is nothing special either? Cracking speakers but they deserve some really good partnering equipment.
 
Front end will be v average, just looking to get a bit of power into the speakers as previously it was a 30w pc cheap integrated.
Integrated is the preference but maybe an older power + a pre is an option.
I can pick up a Quad 405mk2 (100w pc) for £250 which might be another route, and then maybe an old Quad pre.
Thanks for the tips everyone,
 
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