Dynaudio C20 vs other monitors in the 4-7k range

Mofojo,

Congratulations on getting the C20. Glad that you’re enjoying, it does take some time for it to break-in. I have the same issue with the volume, I’m currently using a Cayin 80wpc KT88 tube integrated. I asked a friend to bring over his 250wpc Krell integrated so we could listen to the C20’s and we had the same observation, he had to crank up the volume significantly higher compared to other speakers. 

Other than that quirk he was quite happy with how it sounded with his Krell. 

Well after listening till about 1am here are my impressions so far.
Not analytical whatsoever. If anything voiced slightly romantic but you gotta give these the juice to open up. To get to reference level I have to turn the Lyngdorf to -5 or so. Kind of hard to determine how loud you are listening since it never gets harsh. I wanted to keep cranking it up but got to the point where I went 2 stories up to next to my daughter's bedroom to check the volume. I could here the lyrics. So it was obviously very loud.
SMOOTH to the point of almost liquid but still very detailed. I dont really know audiophile terms but you can walk around the stage on well recorded music. Voices are very very good and there seems to be a bit of lower midrange fullness which is pleasing. 

Here's how I would rate the music genres on these.
Metal is ok not great. I haven't tried any well recorded metal yet such as Tool or Opeth. 
Anything acoustic is phenomenal. 
Well recorded rock is phenominal.
Country and bluegrass is phenominal. 

I keep reading the first impression of these is neutral. I dont get that. They seem to be voiced to somehow sound better than reality. I think they walk a line between sounding high fi and natural.
In conclusion I need some more time with them. If I wasn't a metalhead these would be end game for me. I found myself playing all kinds of acoustic rock, Alice in Chains, Nirvana Unplugged, Eric Clapton, Hank3, Hank Jr etc. On my Tektons I gravitate more towards Metallica, Lamb of God, Slayer etc since they have that amazing mid bass punch. 

Mofojo,

I don't listen to any metal so that isn't an issue for me. An argument could be made that it's a neutral speaker because if you play a well recorded album, you will hear it. Conversely, if a sub-standard recorded album is played you will know that it is precisely that, a poorly recorded album.

I do occasionally miss the punch and bass slam of my floorstanders, but I'm at a stage in this "hobby" where I'm willing to forgo punch and slam for better imaging and refinement. Maybe in the future I can afford a speaker that can do both well!

Try listening to Nils Lofgren "Keith Don't Go" acoustic live, that song I feel brings out the best qualities of the contour 20's. 

For people discovering this old thread via google, I’d add HEDD Type 07 or 20 to this.