Dynaudio has just taken the wraps off its new Contour i series of loudspeakers, an extensive update to the 2016 Contour range.
The speaker 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.”
What’s New?
Taking it from the top, the brand-new Esotar 2i tweeter on all models gains the ingenious Hexis resonance-defeating inner dome, plus a new, larger rear chamber. Together they reduce distortion and gives 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.
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.
Crossovers
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.
And, of course, 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.
Finishes
Finally, the finishes have been improved. 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
UK Pricing
Contour 20i: £3999 per pair
Contour 30i: £6199 per pair
Contour 60i: £7999 per pair
Contour 25Ci: £2899 each
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