Dynaudio Contours with Conrad Johnson 2500a

If the 1.8 is an easier load then the 3.3's, then run away from those wimpie tube amps. I have the 1.8's and drove them with a powerhouse of a tube amp, an ARC D250 MKII, 240 watts per channel. I thought it did a good job until I replaced it with a Carver LightStar 2.0 The difference in the control of the woofer's is nothing short of unreal.

Hey Pettyfeversk,

I agree with Perkadin about the Sim Audio with the Dyns. I first heard the 3.0 with the W-5 and it was a very nice match. I own the 1.3MkII and I drive them with a Plinius SA-250MKIV and they sing. The Plinius goes 250wpc and doubles down. Very smooth but authoritative sound. They make a very nice combo. Good luck and happy hunting........John

Would not recommend Classe with Dynaudio. Dynaudio tweeter is very revealing, Classe does not have enough finesse on top end to sound musical and refined. Pass Labs, BAT, CJ, or even McCormack will do better. CJ 2500A should have more than enough power unless you are in a huge room.

One CJ owner claims his 2500A sounds better than Krell 350MC which he also owns. CJ makes very musical gears and that applies to their SS gears. Older McCormack is more musical than newer model, but older units have more reliability issues.

Pettyfeversk - I initially was driving off two channels of the five channel KAV-500 at 100w/ch into 8 ohms. I upgraded to drive it from the two-channel KAV-250 rated at 250w/ch into 8ohms. I am now using the FPB-200c rated at 200w/ch into 8ohms. All three are rated to double in power all the way down to one ohm.

Both upgrades were very significant. The sound was nice with all, but there's no going back having heard it with the better amps. It's a much fuller sound, and gets up and "moves" without having to be as loud to get the feeling. The Krell and the Dyns are a nice match, IMO.

If the CJ goes from 250 w/ch into 8 ohms to 450 w/ch into 4 ohms, it might well work. Certainly sounds like it's worth a try if you want to go with the CJ.

The Conrad Johnson MF 2500 was reviewed in Stereophile and when it was tested, it produced 450wpc into 4 ohms.

For some silly reason Conrad-Johnson refuses to give specs of power output other than into 8 Ohm loads, at least for their solid state products. Then they advertise that some particular models put out 1/3 more into lower impedances. 1/3 more than what? I really wish they would change their policy. I'm sure many people discount their products because of it.

I've always thought Conrad Johnson was better known for their tube gear rather then solid state. Dynaudio's love juice, especially if you have a large room. Look into big amps by Classe, Krell and Pass Labs. I would snag that Classe Ca-300 on this sight for 2k. 600 watts into 4 ohms... mommy. I also noted that dynaudio has been pushing sim audio gear ever since they became their official distributor in canada. I'd bet the w-5 would be sweet with the 3.3's.

To: Kthomas

How much power do you have from the Krell going into the 3.0 Contours? What did you increase from?

I own the 3.0's and I don't know much about the CJ you mention. That said, the 3.0's will benefit from all the muscle you care to put behind them - I have used successive versions of Krell amplification and they have substantially benefitted each time. The 3.3's, while having higher sensitivity, still require a lot of current to drive them correctly. I would want an amp that doubles power output as impedence halves to mate with either of these speakers.

Apparently, the 1.8's are substantially easier to drive. Dynaudio claims they're the ones to own if you want to use tubes. It sounds like the CJ you mention is solid-state (?), but you might find that the CJ-1.8 combo works well. Assuming you already own the 3.3's, I realize this is relatively useless commentary :-)

I meant the Dynaudio Contour 3.3 Speakers.

Which model Contours?