Unexpected sound from Contour 1 Mk II – bright but lacking detail

[sensite]

Hi everyone,

I recently picked up a pair of Dynaudio Contour 1 Mk II and I’m a bit confused by what I’m hearing.

I'm driving them with a Yamaha R-S700.

Compared to my Dynaudio Excite X12, the Contour 1 Mk II sound noticeably brighter / more forward in the upper mids and treble, but at the same time they seem to have less fine detail and micro-resolution. I expected the opposite given the reputation of the Contour series.

Voices and cymbals can sometimes sound a little sharp or “glary”, while subtle textures and low-level details seem less clear than on the X12. The X12 actually sound smoother and more refined to me.
To investigate, I did a simple in-room sweep measurement using a smartphone and a 60 Hz–6 kHz sweep for each speaker. I know this is far from a proper calibrated measurement, but I still wanted to see if there were any obvious irregularities.
Do these speakers normally sound like this? Could aging components (crossover caps, ferrofluid, tweeter issues, etc.) explain the character I’m hearing?

I’d really appreciate opinions from people who know the older Dynaudio Contour line well.

 

[MaxxC]

Hi everyone,

I recently picked up a pair of Dynaudio Contour 1 Mk II and I’m a bit confused by what I’m hearing.

I'm driving them with a Yamaha R-S700.

Compared to my Dynaudio Excite X12, the Contour 1 Mk II sound noticeably brighter / more forward in the upper mids and treble, but at the same time they seem to have less fine detail and micro-resolution. I expected the opposite given the reputation of the Contour series.

Voices and cymbals can sometimes sound a little sharp or “glary”, while subtle textures and low-level details seem less clear than on the X12. The X12 actually sound smoother and more refined to me.
To investigate, I did a simple in-room sweep measurement using a smartphone and a 60 Hz–6 kHz sweep for each speaker. I know this is far from a proper calibrated measurement, but I still wanted to see if there were any obvious irregularities.
Do these speakers normally sound like this? Could aging components (crossover caps, ferrofluid, tweeter issues, etc.) explain the character I’m hearing?

I’d really appreciate opinions from people who know the older Dynaudio Contour line

 

[MaxxC]

I would try the speakers in a friends system. Different system and different room and see if the problems clear up.

I’m suspicious if Yamaha and Dynaudio are the best match. They both can get a little bright if paired with the wrong equipment.

 

[sensite]

I would try the speakers in a friends system. Different system and different room and see if the problems clear up.

I’m suspicious if Yamaha and Dynaudio are the best match. They both can get a little bright if paired with the wrong equipment.

Thanks for your response. It was actually just the positioning of the speakers - they sound best without toe-in.

 

[DSJR]

Not the same model, but I got that subjective impression from the top (domestic) range Confidence models - ice-cold tonal balance but bland too - amps were Naim Statement (OUCH!!! after half an hour or so), Chord (dulled transients but tight bass) and Accuphase (nicest tones of the three, but still not what I'd call 'wide open' to the recording venue/reverb and so on...

You can tell I'm a very suspicious Dynaudio observer here