Dynaudio has launched its new, limited-edition Heritage Special passive standmount speakers,  handmade from top to bottom, inside and out, at its headquarters in Denmark. Started as an ‘off-the-radar’ project and developed under top-secret conditions at Dynaudio Labs, it’s now ready to be unveiled.

Heritage Special is a tribute to some of Dynaudio’s most legendary speakers – including Crafft, Contour 1, Special Twenty-Five and more. Dynaudio says “Outwardly it’s affectionately retro; inside, defiantly modern”.

Dynaudio limited edition Heritage Special loudspeakers

Handcrafted Cabinets

The speaker, limited to 2500 pairs worldwide, has a 19mm-thick MDF cabinet finished in sustainable American Walnut veneer. It’s internally braced for extra rigidity and lined with heavy bitumen to further minimise unwanted resonance.

Each piece of veneer (including the thin list strips surrounding the front baffle) is matched to its companions, and those for each speaker are matched to each other. The cabinet goes through three sanding and lacquering processes. It takes just over three days to build each one from start to finish.

Dynaudio limited edition Heritage Special loudspeakers in carefully matched American Walnut

Premium Tweeter Technology

The tweeter plate is from the highly regarded Esotar T330D. Behind it, however, is an up-to-the-minute Esotar3 tweeter unit, as found in the top-of-the-range Confidence family. It’s the finest, most sophisticated tweeter Dynaudio has ever produced, featuring a larger rear chamber,  aerodynamic neodymium magnet system, the Hexis inner dome, and Dynaudio’s characteristic precision-coated soft-dome diaphragm.

Dynaudio limited edition Heritage Special loudspeakers internal view

 Top-Level Woofer Design

Heritage Special’s mid/bass driver is a supercharged version of the one you’d find in the discontinued $85,000 Evidence Platinum series. You might also notice that it overlaps the edges of the baffle and its signature groove, as it did in times gone by. The 18W75 XL Heritage Special MSP Woofer shares the Evidence version’s exponential diaphragm construction, but then takes the original technology to a new level:

The improved voice-coil uses a classic internal-magnet aluminium design, now on a glass-fibre former. A new magnet system uses both neodymium and ferrite magnets to fine-tune flux around the voice-coil’s windings.

The new asymmetrical Nomex spider, as seen on Confidence and Contour i, gives greater control over the long-throw diaphragm’s excursion

Dynaudio limited edition Heritage Special loudspeakers rear view

Custom Crossover

The speaker’s ‘brain’, the crossover, has been designed in-house from the ground-up. It uses classic Dynaudio first-order topology, delivered by high-quality components from German manufacturer Mundorf (including its noted Evo Oil capacitors), plus bespoke parts specified by Dynaudio Labs. The crossover uses local impedance correction and time-alignment technology for each individual driver to ensure a smooth transition between them.

Inside there’s Van den Hul’s CS12 12 AWG wiring, plus Swedish-made damping material. And to hook the speakers up, Dynaudio has opted for WBT’s ultra-high-level 710 Cu mC NextGen terminals.

Made For Individuals

Each pair of Heritage Special speakers has its own pair number etched on to its brushed aluminium back-plate.

“It’s been a labour of love for our R&D, production and marketing teams,” says Otto Jørgensen, Dynaudio’s Director of Product Management. “Our initial listening session with the first playing pair of Heritage Specials was meant to last 20 minutes. It ended more than two hours later. I think that says everything you need to know about these speakers. We absolutely love them.”

Dynaudio limited edition Heritage Special loudspeakers

Price And Availability

Heritage Special costs €6000 per pair, and is available at selected Dynaudio dealers from 19th November 2020. Owners who register their speakers with Dynaudio will also get a 10-year warranty.

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