Dynaudio Improved Contour i 2020 Speaker Series Is Now Available

Dynaudio's much praised and respected Contour speakers series, updated and very warmly received in 2016, was updated again with the introduction of the Contour i series, announced back in April 2020. The models and the outside design remain the same, just the insides were completely updated with new drivers and crossovers, which Dynaudio engineers felt could substantially improve the series - and make their marketing and sales colleagues also happy. Now, they are shipping.
  "How do you improve on a legend? With respect, honesty and dedication to detail. We’re not content with doing anything by halves. That’s why everything inside the new Contour i has been taken apart, re-designed, refined and reassembled. We’re extremely proud of our new components – the small improvements, the tiny details. The parts which combine to make the whole. And as we all know, the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. With Contour i, that’s exactly what you get. Greater. Better," explains the company in the announcement.

The new and improved Contour i 2020 series, builds upon the legend of the original Contour launched in 1986. But more importantly, it builds upon the 2016 update, which was some of the best speakers heard at the 2016 High End show in Munich, and many other shows since then. In fact, the Contour i series was supposed to be the brand's big reveal for the 2020 High End show which did not take place. 

And much like the 2016 models were the result of the Dynaudio speaker engineering team improving all aspects of the series, now they have done it again, mainly focusing on the drivers and electronics. Everything inside the new Contour i has been taken apart, re-designed, refined and reassembled. The results, Dynaudio says, are "more openness, more punch and more detail." With a new tweeter, new midbass and new woofers, new crossovers – and new thrills – the Contour i series adds 2020 know-how, and takes the whole series even further. 

"We don’t do it because we have to. We do it because we can," says Dynaudio. "There was nothing wrong with the 2016 Contour. We love it. It’s gained legions of fans, its trophy shelf is groaning under the weight of awards, and many of us at Dynaudio even bought some ourselves. But when irresistible new acoustic technology emerges from Dynaudio Labs – as it did with the all-new Confidence series – we simply can’t hold ourselves back from seeing how it could improve our existing ranges. That’s why the new Contour i series has been totally overhauled on the inside," they add.

The series now benefits, greatly, from the new Esotar 2i tweeter. Present on all four models, the Esotar 2i tweeter gains the Hexis resonance-defeating inner dome, plus a new, larger rear chamber that reduces distortion and gives a flatter frequency response. Next up, the Contour 20i, 30i and 25Ci woofers all gain an updated Nomex spider. It’s the same design as the 2016 Contour (with varying-width corrugations for more excursion control), but the new material simply sounds better – "the result of many hours of listening in Dynaudio Labs," the company explains.
  The Contour 60i speaker has new woofers with a bigger magnet system, a different voice-coil design and a glass-fiber voice-coil former (formerly titanium in the 2016 Contour 60), resulting in even tighter bass, at higher volume. On the other hand, the Contour 60i’s midrange driver doesn't change much, apart from the new, resonance-damping enclosure it sits in.

Finally, the speaker engineers at Dynaudio felt they could and should review the crossovers. The Contour 20i, 30i and 25Ci models all 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.

The larger Contour 60i speaker has a completely new crossover because of the new woofers and new Esotar 2i tweeter. Plus, the effect of that 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). Better midrange performance, simpler crossover.

Also brand-new is the internal damping of the speakers, using lessons learned from the Evoke and Confidence designs. Dynaudio engineers used everything at their disposal to make the new Contour i series the best it could be, with hours of measuring in the company's state-of-the-art impulse-response room and many more hours of listening to music. The finished result, Dynaudio confirms, is now available.
www.dynaudio.com/home-audio/contour-i