Contour 1.3 SE

The Dynaudio Contour 1.3 SE (Special Edition) continues the long tradition of excellence established by the Dynaudio Contour Loudspeaker series. After achieving great success with the Contour 1.3 model during the course of the previous 5 years, the engineers at Dynaudio have further engineered and upgraded the standard model in every way, except the enclosure. The result is the Contour 1.3 SE, which adds a new dimension to the world of compact monitors and completes the entire range of Dynaudio loudspeakers. This special model is built on the foundation laid by the first Contour models, the Contour 1 and the Contour 2, launched back in 1986. Progressive engineering, solid manufacture, and timeless design have always been key features, ensuring the great success of the Contour models through today.

At the beginning of the 1990s, the engineers at Dynaudio created a product out of a special development project, dubbed the Special One. This was a Contour 1 that integrated every latest technological advance possible in manufacturing techniques and component quality. The aim was to create an uncompromised product in materials, build, or audible performance. Initially planned as a limited edition, over 5,000 of these loudspeakers were sold, despite their high price. In 1993, the Contour 1 was discontinued and replaced by the Contour 1.3, which was later updated to the MK II version in 1998.

The Dynaudio Contour 1.3 SE incorporates much more than just small modifications and tweaks. It is an entirely new loudspeaker built into the cabinet of the Contour 1.3 Mk II. Maximum musical balance, harmonic "rightness," and absolute precision were the ultimate objectives of this special project. Thanks to Dynaudio's advanced and specialized driver designs, producing unique and high-performance drivers for this speaker project was aptly accomplished.

The Contour 1.3 SE utilizes specifically engineered and produced drivers. The front plates of the drivers and the rear-mounted terminal plate are coated with special titanium-metallic lacquer paint. The woofer is a newly constructed design with a specially developed high-impulse voice coil and a powerful hybrid (neodymium/ferrite) magnet system. This design achieves incredibly fast and precise bass reproduction with intense transient behavior. The design allows for well-controlled linear movement of the voice coil, providing outstanding dynamics and low bass extension while reducing distortion. The special tweeter design incorporates a new, intensely powerful magnet system and advanced chamber tuning. This ensures improved reproduction of higher tones, outstanding detail and accuracy, amazing dynamics, and a smooth and natural presence, astonishing even the most experienced and critical listeners.

The quality of the drivers is key to the advanced performance of the speaker, but the way they are integrated into the loudspeaker is equally important. The crossover, typical of Dynaudio designs, is a phase-correct 6 dB per octave design. Although a shallow slope may indicate few components needed, this network incorporates more than 20 individual high-grade components, mounted on two separate boards in different locations. Only the highest select grade components are used, matched to less than a 1% tolerance. The two boards, one for the tweeter network and one for the woofer, are physically separated to eliminate the possibility of stray-field magnetic interaction (crosstalk) and other distortion-creating effects. Overall, the crossover network is engineered at the highest caliber for any available loudspeaker in the size and price class of the Contour 1.3 SE.

The Dynaudio Contour 1.3 SE is destined to set a new reference of quality in its class, adding a new dimension to the world of compact monitors and completing the entire range of Dynaudio loudspeakers.