In this review, we will be comparing two different types of speakers by Dynaudio. Dynaudio Contour Legacy is a Floor-standing speaker whereas the Heritage Special is a Bookshelf speaker.
Let's have a brief look at the main features
of Dynaudio Contour Legacy and Dynaudio Heritage Special first before getting into our more
detailed comparison.
| Key Specs | Dynaudio Contour Legacy | Dynaudio Heritage Special |
|---|
| Design | 3-way | 2-way |
|---|
| Tweeter | 1.1" Soft-Dome | 1.1" Soft-Dome |
|---|
| Woofer | 2 x 7" MSP | 7" MSP |
|---|
| Frequency response | 42-29k Hz | 42-23k Hz |
|---|
| Sensitivity | 90 dB | 85 dB |
|---|
| Impedance | 4 ohms | 4 ohms |
|---|
| Weight | 32.50kg / 71.5lbs | 11.00kg / 24.2lbs |
|---|
| Dimensions (H x W x D) | 39-3/16" x 8-3/16" x 13-9/16"
995.0 x 208.0 x 345.0mm | 15-3/16" x 8-3/16" x 12-5/8"
385.0 x 208.0 x 320.0mm |
|---|
Contour Legacy and Heritage Special are members of Dynaudio's Heritage Collection series of speakers. Below you can find the loudspeakers from this series.
Dynaudio Heritage Collection Series
History
What size room are the Dynaudio Contour Legacy and Dynaudio Heritage Special speakers good for?
The size of the room in which you are planning to use these loudspeakers is an important decision
factor. Here we have compared their suitability to various sizes of environments considering their size
and max power parameters:
| Listening Environment* |
Dynaudio Contour Legacy |
Dynaudio Heritage Special |
| Near-field |
Poor |
Good |
| Small Room |
Average |
Good |
| Mid-size Room |
Good |
Average |
| Large Room |
Average |
Poor |
| Very Large Room |
Poor |
No way |
(* Approximate Room sizes: Small < 100sq. ft / 9 m2,
Mid-size: 100-220 sq. ft / 9-20 m2, Large 220-400 sq. ft / 20-36 m2, Very Large: >
400 sq. ft / 36 m2.
Average Floor Height: 9" / 2.7m. Typical room sizes differ from country to country, and the actual
listening experience changes depending on floor height, room shape, surface materials, listening
position, speaker locations, etc.)
The sections below take each area in turn: drivers, frequency response, physical size and what you get in the box.
**This post contains affiliate links, and we will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking
through our links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Drivers
One of the fundamental differences between these two speakers is that Contour Legacy is a 3-way design whereas the Heritage Special is a 2-way speaker. 3-way designs utilize a midrange driver in addition to the tweeter and woofer on 2-way designs. Designing a crossover for a 3-way speaker is a complicated process and generally increases the overall cost of the speaker.
Dynaudio Contour LegacyDynaudio Heritage Special
TweeterWoofer
Front view, drawn to scale - cabinets and drivers share one scale, so sizes are directly comparable. Hover a driver for its size.
| Driver |
Dynaudio Contour Legacy |
Dynaudio Heritage Special |
|
Driver Setup
|
3-way
|
2-way
|
|
Tweeter
|
1.1-inch
|
1.1-inch
|
|
Midrange
|
- |
- |
|
Woofer
|
2 x 7-inch
|
1 x 7-inch
|
Contour Legacy features a 1.1" Esotar 3 Soft-Dome Tweeter and 2 x 7" MSP Woofer with a Crossover frequency at 3400 Hz. On the other hand, the Heritage Special features a 1.1" Esotar 3 Soft-Dome Tweeter and 1 x 7" MSP Woofer with a Crossover frequency at 2200 Hz.
Frequency Response
Contour Legacy has a frequency range of 42-29k Hz whereas Heritage Special has a frequency range of 42-23k Hz.
The graph below depicts how these two speakers compare with the max, min and average Low Frequency values of other speakers in the Floor-standing class in our database.
Low Frequency
Floor-standing Speakers
Neither pair reaches down to 20Hz, the usual definition of full-range, which is normal for speakers of this size. If you want the bottom octave for movies or bass-heavy music, add a subwoofer to whichever you choose. Visit our Powered Subwoofers section to find out more about the available options.
Impedance and Sensitivity
Contour Legacy and Heritage Special have the same Impedance of 4 ohms but where they differ is the sensitivity levels. Contour Legacy sensitivity is rated at 90 dB and the Heritage Special's is at 85 dB. This 5 dB difference makes the Dynaudio Contour Legacy a more sensitive speaker compared to Dynaudio Heritage Special, hence will play louder with the same amount of watts.
One thing to keep in mind that the lower impedance speakers, especially the ones that are rated at 4 ohms may put more pressure on the amplifier unit comared to higher impedance speakers especially at high volume levels, so make sure the amp you pair with the Contour Legacy and the Contour Legacy can provide this impedance level.
Sensitivity
Floor-standing Speakers
Which plays louder on your amplifier?
Starting with a popular amplifier — change it to the one you own, or any you are
considering, and watch both numbers move.
Dynaudio Heritage Special
Input Type and Bi-Amping / Bi-Wiring
Contour Legacy features Binding post type posts and Heritage Special has a Binding post type posts. None of these speakers feature bi-amping/bi-wiring.
Cabinet Type and Port Position
Both Contour Legacy and Heritage Special have rear firing ports. Rear ported speakers generally need more room between the backside of the speaker and the wall compared to sealed and front/bottom ported speakers. Placing the speakers too close to the walls may cause the bass to sound boomy.
If you are limited in space and can't get the speakers away from the backwall, check our Speakers with Front Firing Ports page.
Physical Specs
The size of a speaker can sometimes be an important decision factor due to space constraints or in some cases purely for esthetic reasons. In this section, we are going to compare Dynaudio Contour Legacy's and Dynaudio Heritage Special's external dimensions. Dynaudio Contour Legacy has external dimensions of 995.0 x 208.0 x 345.0mm (39-3/16 x 8-3/16 x 13-9/16inch) whereas Dynaudio Heritage Special has external dimensions of 385.0 x 208.0 x 320.0mm (15-3/16 x 8-3/16 x 12-5/8inch).
Base Surface Area Comparison
Base surface area of a loudspeaker may become a determining factor when the space in your room or desk is limited.
The base surface area of the Dynaudio Contour Legacy is approximately 717.6cm2 / 111.2inch2 and base area of the Dynaudio Heritage Special is approximately 665.6cm2 / 103.2inch2. The Contour Legacy requires 8% more surface area than the Heritage Special which gives it a small disadvantage on placement in tight spaces.