Daniel J SaitDynaudio has unveiled its new Contour i series – the family has been totally overhauled under the hood with advanced acoustic technology trickled down from the flagship Confidence range.
“We didn’t do it because we had to, we did it because we wanted to,” says Otto Jørgensen, product manager. “Basically, this is what happens when you leave our engineers alone with a speaker – they can’t help but improve it. We gained so much knowledge during the Confidence project that we simply had to share it with Contour. And we’re absolutely thrilled with the results.”
Taking it from the top, the brand-new Esotar 2i tweeter on all models gains the Hexis resonance-defeating inner dome, plus a new, larger rear chamber. Together they reduce distortion and give a flatter frequency response.
The Contour 20i, 30i and 25Ci woofers all gain an updated Nomex spider. It’s the same structural design as the 2016 Contour (with varying-width corrugations for finer excursion control), but the new material simply sounds better – the result of many hours of listening in Dynaudio Labs.
Contour 60i has new woofers with a bigger magnet system, a different voice-coil design and a glass-fibre voice-coil former, as first used in the Confidence range and Sub 6 subwoofer.
And Contour 60i’s midrange driver? No change to the driver itself, but it does sit in a new moulded, resonance-damping enclosure derived from Dynaudio’s flagship professional reference monitor range, Core.
Contour 20i, 30i and 25Ci have updated crossovers. And, because of the driver tweaks providing an inherently flat frequency response, it means Dynaudio has been able to remove the impedance correction circuitry for an even simpler board.
Contour 60i has a completely new crossover because of the new woofers and new Esotar 2i tweeter. Plus, the effect of that moulded midrange cup and the Nomex woofer spiders enabled the company’s engineers to shift the crossover frequency up. It now works better at slightly higher frequencies (up to around 300Hz). The frequency curve in this area is also flatter, meaning better midrange performance from a simpler crossover.
Even the internal damping is brand-new – using lessons learned from Evoke and Confidence. The whole range was extensively optimised in Dynaudio’s Jupiter measuring facility before being subjected to countless hours of listening by the experts in Dynaudio Labs.
The range will be available in three finish variants, all with enhanced surface quality:
Walnut: open-wood veneer with a more natural look and feel.
Grey Oak High Gloss: natural oak veneer stained in a striking grey colour, covered in an improved high-gloss lacquer.
Black High Gloss: black-painted cabinets covered in an improved high-gloss lacquer.
Contour i is available now at the following price points:
Contour 20i: €4500 a pair.
Contour 30i: €7000 a pair.
Contour 60i: €9000 a pair.
Contour 25Ci: €3250 each.
Meanwhile, Dynaudio’s award-winning anniversary speaker, Special Forty, has been given a makeover with two new finishes. Black Vine is a contrast of dark veneer shot through with vivid orange, while Ebony Wave is a new take on the classic hardwood. Both veneers are man-made to Dynaudio’s specs, ensuring consistency between pairs of speakers.