Dynaudio Contour 20i

The last pair of Dynaudios to grace the Kelly living room was a pair of the company’s Special Forty stand-mounts. I thoroughly enjoyed them once I had run them in, which took a good few weeks. The brand’s UK Sales Manager offered me the chance to hear the Dynaudio Contour 20i. I was more than willing to host them. They arrived already run-in… bonus!

The Contour range has been a mainstay of Dynaudio’s model lineup for many years. The ‘i’ versions have enjoyed some significant improvements over the well-regarded previous generation of Contours from 2016. The announcement of a brand new finish, Nordic Silver, also caught my eye. I have only seen it in photographs, but it looks very handsome. As a demo pair has not yet reached these shores, I asked to review whatever was at hand.

On arrival, each Dynaudio Contour 20i comes in a separate box, and the first thing that struck me was its weight. Each enclosure tips the scales at 14kg. The physical dimensions are 215 mm × 440 mm × 360 mm (WHD), giving an immediate sense of their solidity. I have had floor-standing loudspeakers here that weigh less! The external fit and finish are exemplary, with a handsome walnut veneer blending well with a chamfered black aluminium baffle. This houses the Esotar 2i tweeter assembly and Magnesium Silicate Polymer woofer. In due course, we shall return to the technology within the rather sleek cabinet.

You little Beauty!

Beauty, of course, is subjective, but to my eye, this is a handsome loudspeaker. I played them for almost the entire duration without the magnetically attached black grilles. It’s possible to match the Contour 20i with an excellent third-party stand. However, the dedicated stands make perfect aesthetic and audio sense. Four chunky bolts attach the loudspeaker to the top plate. These give the combined unit a real sense of solidity. It also acoustically obviates the need to experiment with different materials between the surfaces. The Contour 20i looks as elegant on its matching stand. It even got the all-important approval of Mrs. K, who is very tolerant of the ever-changing look at the far end of her lounge.

The sides of the cabinet are slightly elliptical, tapering slightly towards the rear. The veneer wraps right around, including the rear, which is delightfully uncluttered. Towards the top is a circular port. Near the bottom sits a pair of high-quality multiway binding posts on a square aluminium plate that designates the model. However, all the goodness of the design lies out of sight within the cabinet mentioned above.

Starting at the top, the 28mm Esotar tweeter has received significant engineering investment to give it the ‘i’ status. An enlarged rear chamber improves internal damping. Meanwhile, the expensive Confidence range provides the Contour with 20i with its Hexis inner dome. The design goal was to flatten the frequency response and reduce unwanted resonances, leading to a cleaner, smoother treble. Dynaudio also reworked the 180mm woofer.

Aramid spiders

Dynaudio’s Contour ‘i’ series retains the last generation’s lightweight aluminium voice coil and vented dual-ferrite magnet system. However, it now uses aramid fibres to improve the spider suspension. The ribs are of varying width, giving even better control of the speaker cone’s excursion. This removed the need for additional impedance-correction circuitry. That resulted in a tweaked and simplified crossover network, which leads to a shorter signal path and cleaner sound.

The Contour 20is’s technical specification quotes a sensitivity of [email protected]/1m, a 4Ohm impedance, and an IEC power handling capability of 180 Watts. The crossover frequency is 2200Hz.

I set up the loudspeakers in the spot I found to be the best starting point for placement. I gently toed in towards the listening seat so that the imaginary line from each tweeter intersected slightly behind the listener’s head. Based on previous experience with rear-ported designs, I allowed 54cm from the corner of the cabinet closest to the rear wall.

I had a NAD C3050 amplifier/DAC at the installation, so I hooked the Dynaudio Contour 20i up to it with an AudioQuest Robin Hood loudspeaker cable. The sources that I used were my modified Linn Sondek LP12, with a Dynavector XX2 cartridge fitted to the Linn Ittok arm, amplified by a Gold Note PH5/PSU phono stage plugged into the one pair of analogue inputs on the C3050. My AURALiC ARIES MINI streamer was connected to the digital coaxial input, and my Panasonic television to the optical input.

Fire up the playlist!

I fired up one of the playlists in Qobuz on the ARIES MINI and left all the units to warm up while I returned to my study to crack on with some other reviews. After about an hour, I was intrigued enough to venture back into the lounge, in a pause between tracks. As luck would have it, the first track to play was ‘One Of These Days’, from Pink Floyd’s Meddle [Harvest]. Oh, my goodness. That insistent bass riff came thundering, and as the band joined in, I turned up the volume and was engulfed in the music. Nick Mason’s distorted voice was chillingly conveyed. “One of these days, I’m going to cut you into little pieces”. As the track ended, I took control of proceedings, switched to the analogue input on the C3050, and slipped my original copy of Meddle onto the LP12’s platter.

The soundstage created by the Contour 20is, aided and abetted by an amplifier that was really supposed to be from a lower league, was extraordinary, and I played both sides of the album. ‘Echoes’ was magnificent. The ASDIC/SONAR beeps, the ethereal vocals, and the squalls of guitar made the 20 minutes or so of the song seem to pass in a flash.

Listening critically?

As I was supposed to be trying to listen critically, I swapped out Meddle and cued up my original early release of Dark Side Of The Moon [Harvest]. The cash register opening of ‘Money’ was extraordinary and as the song sequence unfolded I noted “sounds far bigger than the stand-mounts in front of me”.

Switching to one of my favourite jazz records, Bass On Top by the Paul Chambers Quartet [Blue Note], the band leader’s double bass, recorded by Rudy Van Gelder in July 1957, had an incredibly realistic timbre, whether bowed or plucked. The resonance from within that large wooden body was excellently portrayed, as were the other fine band members’ piano, guitar, and drums. The whole album was recorded in one day – a rare day off from Chambers’ main gig, playing with Miles Davis. I have to credit the C3050 for some of the magic I heard then, and throughout the time, it was paired with the Contours 20is.

It’s time for Love

I have a few tracks and albums that form the core of my critical listening for a review. One is the 1967 masterpiece by Love, Forever Changes [Elektra]. It was widely overlooked here in the UK in its release year, but a friend of mine had a copy, and we played it so often on his Dansette that it was probably ruined, but we 16-year-olds listened to it in awe.

I cued up side one, and the opening notes of Bryan Maclean’s lovely ‘Alone Again Or’ washed over me. The late Arthur Lee, leader of the band, produced with the help of Bruce Botnick, who was the Elektra record label’s go-to control room wizard (he also worked on every studio album by Love’s label-mates The Doors) and between them, they conjured up an extraordinary melange of folk, rock and even managed to work in mariachi trumpets.

Through the Dynaudio Contour 20i, the music seemed truly three-dimensional, allowing me to hear deep into the production. I have played the same album through some very highly regarded floorstanding loudspeakers in the same room, and this two-way stand-mount device gave as a full-blooded rendition of this album as I have ever heard.

Exquisite

The timing was exquisite. The delicacy of the quiet, reflective passages and the full-throated noise of a band giving it some serious wellie were both handled superbly. I hardly left the room during the next few days as I randomly selected albums for the joy of hearing what this system could achieve.

Because my music system coexists with the television in the same room, I use it for television sound. All the characteristics that marked it out as a unique music maker with the Contour 20is in play carried over into our televisual experience. Dialogue came through with outstanding clarity, as did small sounds off-camera that sometimes get lost. When the going got explosive, the Dynaudios never failed to deliver a visceral experience. Not for one moment did it occur to me to bring my REL305SE sub‑woofer into play.

Although equipped with a rear bass port, I think I had initially sited the 20is in an optimal position because at no time during music or movie playback did I detect a hint of the irritating chuffing noise that can be the bane of such a layout. I put my hand across one of the bass ports when playing another perennial favourite, Colosseum’s 1969 masterwork Valentyne Suite [Vertigo]. There was no hint of bloated or flabby bass in the listening area. So, the amount of air driven through the port was surprising.

Corrective faff

In due course, the NAD’s time with me ended. NAD uses Dirac room correction, but I didn’t use it because I was so impressed by the uncorrected sound. It’s a task which I find a bit of a faff. There’s a reason why Dirac set-up specialists are in high demand. I replaced the NAD with my own Lyngdorf TDAI3400. This comes equipped with Lyngdorf’s proprietary room correction software, RoomPerfect.

RoomPerfect is a much less complicated tool to set up, so I did it with the Contour 20is. I streamed some music from Qobuz again and switched between the Bypass, Focus, and Global options on the Lyngdorf. To my surprise, there was very little to choose between them. This means the 20is’s frequency response in a reasonably acoustically benign room is spot on. Bravo, Dynaudio.

Sometimes, I am asked which loudspeakers are suitable for a particular genre of music. The Dynaudio Contour 20i does not care what you play through them. They will faithfully yet dynamically turn whatever signal they are fed into the best version of itself. I played everything from the Allman Brothers Band to ZZ Top. I played classical, choral, baroque, romantic, modern, easy listening, blues, jazz and avant-garde music. That last has bordered on the unlistenable through other loudspeakers, and it all sounded terrific. I might have tried one of the floor-standing Contour models if my room was bigger. In my 15 × 12 × 8 modern living room, the 20is were just perfect.

Final Thoughts

Dynaudio concentrates on a small, select group of dealers in the UK. These dealers appreciate the unique qualities that the whole range of Dynaudio models bring to the party. Their clientele is also sufficiently discerning to enjoy Dynaudio’s effortless musicality. It is possible that they do not make it onto potential buyers’ audition lists as often as they should, which is a great shame.

The company is passionate about quality. It develops and manufactures many of its essential products in-house. Dynaudio’s design engineers, product marketers, sales, and manufacturing specialists are as sincere about their loudspeakers as possible. Details matter to them, and that shines through in their products. But all that would count for nothing unless they sounded fantastic. The Dynaudio Contour 20i tick that box with a golden tick.

Range toppers

The range-topping Confidence loudspeakers and a top Naim system produce sublime sounds. The Contour 20is, which lived here for a few weeks, sounded not far short of that when partnered with somewhat less exotic electronics. When I was in the retail end of the audio world, we used to encourage customers to allocate about 30% of their budget to loudspeakers, the same to amplification and sources, with the 10% left on cables, which is probably still true today.

A pair of Dynaudio Contour 20i will see you right for many years. When you arrange an audition, ensure the dealer has done justice to the loudspeakers. A lengthy run-in before you listen is mandatory. That done, they can be as exciting or as relaxing as your musical choices demand. These are utterly engrossing loudspeakers, however long that listening session lasts.

Technical specifications

• Type Two-way, bass-reflex rear-ported stand-mount loudspeaker
• Drive units 28mm Esotar 2i with Hexis tweeter, 18 cm MSP mid/woofer
• Frequency Response 39Hz–23kHz ±3dB
• Sensitivity 86dB @ 2.83V/1m
• Rated Impedance 4Ω
• Crossover frequency 2.2kHz
• Finishes Black High Gloss, Walnut, Nordic Silver
• Dimensions (W×H×D) 21.5 × 44 × 36cm
• Weight 14kg
• Price £4,500/$5,750 per pair

Manufacturer

Dynaudio A/S

www.dynaudio.com

UK distributor

Dynaudio UK

+44(0)7852 867661

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