I have a NAD T753 receiver and was planning on purchasing the following Dynaudio speakers from their Audience line for my surround setup: 3 x 52SE for front & center channels (I use a ceiling mounted projector for video so the 52 SE's lack of magnetic sheilding is not an issue for the center channel) and a pair of 42's for the rear surrounds.
I may have an opportunity to purchase a pair of Contour 3.0's used for a great price and have the following questions. What receiver do you recommend for the Contour ? What speakers do you recommend for the center and rear surround channels in this setup?
Contour 3.0s were relatively easy to drive - for the Contour range! BUT they're not an easy load by any means. If you stick with the 753 get an external power amp to drive the Contour 3.0s separately. The Contour 3.0s are great speakers, with loads of scale and pace. They were my favourites of the that range, probably because they have that dedicated midrange unit which gives them great articulation in the all-important midrange. I'd suggest the matching Contour centre speaker of that range, but if that's too much or difficult to find consider the 122C which is a good centre. At the back make usre you use Dynaudios, the better you get, the better the sound. I am assuming you'll add the extra power amp, so you could go with almost anything at the back since the amp will have more juice it can direct at centre and surrounds. In terms of best match, look at Dynaudio Contour 1.3s which are still made, but if too rich again look at Contour 1.1s.
If you decide to change the receiver you really want to be looking at one of the larger solutions with separate processor and power amps. IN rising price order, Rotel, Arcam FMJ, Naim Audio, Chord Electronics, all make options with decent amps that will drive those speakers.
Don't forget the source in all this. If the source isn't up to it, then it won't give you the articulation, space, speed or resolution that such speakers can deliver. In other words, don't try to drive such high spec speakers with a Pioneer 565. You'd get a better result from lower spec back end with higher spec front end.