Le salon High End 2024 de Munich, qui s'est tenu à la mi-mai, a été l'occasion pour la marque danoise Dynaudio de lever le voile sur plusieurs nouveautés.Nous avons pu découvrir :
- L'enceinte compacte sur pied Dynaudio The Bookshelf dessinée en collaboration avec les studios japonais Keiji Ashizawa Design of Tokyo et Karimoku. Elle sera produite en édition limitée.
- L'enceinte compacte haut de gamme Confidence 20 A, premier modèle actif de la gamme Confidence, qui devrait être proposé aux alentours de 20 000 € la paire.
- La réédition d'une enceinte colonne historique, la Dynaudio Contour Legacy annoncée à 12 000 € la paire.
- Une version de luxe "Black Edition" de l'enceinte colonne Contour 20.
Dynaudio announces four new products for
High-End Munich 2024
On-show: a new member of the Heritage Collection, a new active Confidence model, a super-Contour, a charming collaboration, immersive studio gear and a unique car
Dynaudio will give an exclusive first-look at four brand-new products during this year’s High-End show in Munich, as well as showcasing exciting developments in its immersive and automotive line-ups.
Heritage Collection gets bigger
First up is a new member of the Heritage Collection. Contour Legacy is a beautiful floor-standing 2.5-way speaker that echoes the look of 2020’s best-selling Heritage Special. It tips a nod to the original Contour speakers from the 1980s and 90s, while bringing everything up to date with Dynaudio’s latest driver know-how and acoustic technology.
It uses Dynaudio’s top-level 28mm Esotar 3 soft-dome tweeter (including the Hexis resonance-defeating inner dome); dual 18cm woofers derived from the classic Evidence range (then tweaked and souped-up to an even more amazing level); plus a beautifully elegant crossover packed with select premium components.
Contour Legacy is hand-made at Dynaudio’s headquarters in Skanderborg, Denmark. It’s finished in sustainable American Walnut, with each piece of veneer carefully chosen and matched for every individual speaker (when you see them, you’ll realise just how well-spent that time was). The production-run is limited to 1000 pairs worldwide; each comes with its own pair number for posterity.
Confidence goes active
The new Confidence 20A is an active version of Dynaudio’s flagship Confidence 20 standmount speaker. All the listener needs to do is plug in their pre-amp (or use a source with a volume control) and they’re good to go.
Confidence 20A is designed to be discreet – with the amplifier hidden inside the stand, and the settings-controls on the back. Analogue and digital connectivity is via XLR. It's a super-sleek way to get to the apex of Dynaudio’s listening experience.
The speakers’ amplifiers are provided by Pascal, which also makes the amps in Dynaudio’s Core professional reference speakers – giving Confidence 20A a solid line right back to the source in the studio. On the DSP (Digital Signal Processing) side, listeners can configure room-boundary compensation filters, input sensitivity, tonal balance and more.
And since Confidence 20A’s technology has been taken directly from those pro speakers, it means listeners can get the purest possible digital signal path (something that’s crucial in high-end studios). It’s possible to turn sample-rate conversion off for that straight-through path, or on for the best compatibility with digital sources.
All added up, it’s reference-level technology for uncompromising audiophile ears.
Contour 20: the new black
Dynaudio’s long-standing Contour family has a new member. Contour 20 Black Edition is a super-premium version of the award-winning Contour 20i.
Its tweeter has been upgraded from the already-stellar Esotar 2i to a full-on Esotar 3, also found in the company’s Heritage Collection and its top-of-the-tree Confidence range. It has improved motor and spider designs, and its crossover has been given a full makeover. Everything from resistors and capacitors to internal cabling and even wire coils has been given a boost.
Contour 20 Black Edition will be available in a mirror-like Black High Gloss finish, which nicely complements the black anodised baffle and the new black powder-coated tweeter front-plate and mid/bass-driver basket.
Cross-continental collaboration
And now for something completely different. The Bookshelf is a joint project between Dynaudio, Keiji Ashizawa Design of Tokyo and Karimoku of Japan.
The collaboration explores the aesthetic relationship Denmark has with Japan (you might know it as ‘Japandi’ design, from ‘Japan’ + ‘Scandi’). Both countries share traditions in soft minimalism, respect for honest materials and care when it comes to hand-crafted pieces.
The cabinet is made from Japanese oak that’s been sourced sustainably from the beautiful Hokkaido prefecture in the north of the country. The wood is dried and prepared for between three and six months at Karimoku’s facility near Nagoya, before being carefully cut, constructed and finished at the company’s factory in Gifu. The design is tactile and organic (just try to resist running your fingers along the bevelled ridge surrounding the top and sides), and the optional stand has been created to make the whole ensemble sit right at home in a high-end minimalist living-room.
Up-top, The Bookshelf has Dynaudio’s top-tier Esotar 3 tweeter, and the mid/bass driver is the same as you’ll see on the flagship Confidence 20 standmount speaker. Inside the cabinet you’ll see a beautiful, traditionally simple Dynaudio crossover. It’s all been tested and tuned at Dynaudio’s HQ in Denmark – including being put through its paces in the world-class Jupiter measuring facility deep in the heart of Dynaudio Labs.
While The Bookshelf isn’t a limited-edition speaker, it will be rare and exclusive: Dynaudio and Karimoku expect only a small quantity to hit the shelves every year.
