Dynaudio Contour 20 Black-Edition - Standmount Speakers
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.
Good engineers aren’t happy unless they’re unhappy. Not in an existential way; more that it means they’ve found something they want to improve, and the solution is nagging at them. (Although sometimes, of course, that can definitely skirt the edges of an existential wobble…)
They went through it in 2016 when Contour was revamped into its current look. It happened again in 2020, when the family gained the ‘i’ badge after being perked-up by a raft of trickle-down Confidence tech.
And they went through it once more in the months before the first Contour 20 Black Edition rolled off the production line. During development this time, their unhappiness made them extremely happy, because they got to throw the kitchen sink at it.
Cabinet Construction
Contour already had a brilliant foundation. The cabinet construction is stellar: thick, solid and with a shape that minimises unwanted vibrations and standing waves. And the heavy aluminium baffle (which is actually a lot thicker than it looks) does wonders for increasing stability and eliminating diffraction.
So, how do you improve on the rest? You reach into the bag of tricks Dynaudio Labs has been filling up since 1977 and pluck out the best bits of the best bits.
Esotar 3 Tweeter
Let’s take it from the top. High frequencies are handled by the Esotar 3 tweeter. It comes directly from the flagship Confidence range – and is, quite simply, the best tweeter Dynaudio has ever produced. (So far.)
The soft-dome diaphragm is finished with a DSR coating. It’s a high-precision method, formulated and mixed by hand and applied by robots, that puts the coating at the exactly right density in exactly the right places, so you hear exactly what you’re supposed to hear.
Hexis Dome
The Hexis smooths out the tweeter’s frequency response and reduces unwanted resonances, the kind that colour your music, by gently guiding the moving air behind the fabric dome. It channels the flow in exactly the right way in and out of the conduit system in the rear chamber behind the magnet. The movement is minuscule – only fractions of a millimetre – and it happens tens of thousands of times a second.
It means you’ll hear high frequencies with all the emotion you’re meant to. The sharp attack of a well-rosined bow on a cello string as the player digs in. The epic, soaring crescendo of the first violins.
Mid-Bass Driver
The super-powerful neodymium magnet gives a boost to what’s an already powerful ferrite unit in Contour 20i, and the extended voice-coil winding improves excursion linearity. And because the magnet is smaller, there’s more space for the kind of air movement we want inside the slim cabinet.
Overall, the driver is more sensitive (so there’s less stress on your amplifier) while bass extension is maintained (it’s normally affected by higher sensitivity). Here, it’s the best of both worlds.
Your ears will notice it, too: more attack and better imaging.
The rest of the driver is classic Dynaudio: a one-piece MSP (Magnesium Silicate Polymer) cone, directly anchored to the extended aluminium voice-coil via its moulded balance ribs; a glass-fibre voice-coil former for reducing eddy currents (and improving agility); and optimised ventilation. It’s a formula that’s trusted across the hi-fi world – and even into professional studios.
And the rest...
The crossover has been given the all-star treatment, too. Contour 20i already has an incredible unit – which makes things difficult. How do you upgrade an upgrade?
You go back to the beginning and start again. Contour 20 Black Edition has a brand-new crossover using the smallest amount of components Dynaudio could manage – and the best versions of those parts. They've used Mundorf capacitors and resistors, a gigantic air-coil and top-quality internal cables. It’s a second-order topology for both drivers – so there’s no correction circuitry necessary.
You’ll hear that simplicity, too. Directivity is tightly controlled, thanks to the smooth power response. And that means a precise, focussed performance – with no detail left unrevealed.
Technical Specifications
- Sensitivity (dB @ 2.83V/1m): 86
- IEC Power Handling (W): 180
- Rated Impedance (Ohm): 4
- Minimum Impedance (Ohm): 4.6
- Lower Cutoff (Hz @ +/- 3 dB): 50
- Upper Cutoff (kHz @ +/- 3 dB): 23K
- Lower Cutoff (Hz @ -6 dB): 43
- Upper Cutoff (kHz @ -6 dB): 33K
- Box Principle: Bass reflex, rear mounted dual flared port
- Crossover: 2-way
- Crossover Frequency (Hz): 3600Hz
- Crossover Topology: 2nd order
- Tweeter: 28mm Esotar 3 with Hexis
- Woofer: 1 x 18cm MSP with Neodymium magnet system
- Weight kg: 14.6
- Dimensions W x H x D: 215mm x 440mm x 400mm
Further Information
What is Our Return Policy?
Subject to the below exceptions,Studio Incar LTD is happy to exchange or refund your purchase within 30 days of delivery. Your refund will be credited to the original payment card on the day of request but may take up to 14 working days.
Unwanted goods must be returned in a fully re-saleable condition and any packaging must be intact. We reserve the right to refuse an exchange or full refund if goods are not returned in a re-saleable condition or are damaged. If these conditions are met we will gladly offer a replacement, exchange or refund.
Refunds on promotional goods purchased under a promotional offer will be based on the terms of the promotional price. Our 30 days returns policy is in addition to the standard 14 day returns offered by the Consumer Contact Regulations.
If for any reason you believe your product is defective please notify us immediately on 01489 578951 or via email. If your product is faulty or covered under warranty any carriage costs incurred shipping the goods back will be refunded up to the amount of £10.
Upon receipt of your order you are advised to carefully inspect the package and goods to ensure they are intact and complete, before signing for receipt of delivery. Should you find the parcel to be damaged or incomplete you must refuse delivery of the goods.
Please report any damaged or faulty items to Studio Incar within 24 hours of receipt of the goods and provide any information requested (eg photographs) within 24 hours.
If you have ordered the incorrect part or wish to return an order we will gladly exchange the product free of charge with just the carriage to pay.
How do I Return a Product?
Please follow the instructions below before returning any goods
We require all returned goods (defective, damaged, unwanted or otherwise) to be sent back to us in the original condition they were received in, with all accessories, manuals and the original packaging. Items that are being returned purely because they are no longer wanted should be returned in unopened packaging. Studio Incar retain the right to refuse a refund or charge an appropriate fee for items that are returned without original packaging and/or without accessories and manuals.
Collection Procedure
- In the event of a product failing, your first course of action should be to contact Studio Incar at info@studioincar.co.uk
- Within 6 months of purchase date: Once the fault has been established and deemed impossible to be solved on site, Studio Incar will arrange for collection of the item at cost to the customer. This will be refunded in full if the item is found to be faulty.
- Please note that if the item has a non-warrantable fault the customer will be charge for carriage both ways, parts and labour.
Our Return address is:
Returns
Studio Incar
Unit 23, Mitchell Close
Fareham
PO15 5SE
How do I Cancel an Order?
You may cancel your order (or any part of it) for any reason before dispatch, however, if your order has already been dispatched & is with the courier a restocking fee may apply.
Please email us at info@studioincar.co.uk or call 01489 578951 to cancel an order.
The products we use and sell are of the highest quality and we trust them wholeheartedly, but every now and again a product has a fault that is covered under the manufacturers warranty.
In the event of such an occurance please contact us via email at info@studioincar.co.uk to proceed with the warranty process.
Below is a list of all the Manufacturers warranty timeframes with any special instructions for extended warranties:
Alpine
- 1 Year Standard Manufacturers Warranty
Amphion
5 Years standard Manufacturers Warranty
AudioControl
- 5 Years with Installation by an Authorised Installer (Studio Incar is an Authorised Installer)
- 1 Year if you are doing your own Installation
- 2 Years if you register the product with the UK supplier
AudioLab
- 2 Years standard Manufacturers warranty
Audison
- 1 Year standard Manufacturers warranty
- 2 Years if you register the product with the UK supplier
Auralic
- 90 Days Standard Manufacturers Warranty
- 3 Years Extended Warranty - Product Registration within 30 days of Purchase
Blackvue
- 6 Months standard Manufacturers warranty
Blaupunkt
1 Year standard Manufacturers warranty
Chord Company
- Lifetime Warranty
Cyrus Audio
- 40 series - 5 Years
- XR series - 3 Years
- Classic series - 2 Years
- Turntable - 3 Years
Product Registration Here
Dynaudio
- 2 Years on Car Audio Products - No Extendable Warranty
- 2 Years standard Warranty on Home Audio Products
- up to 8 Years Extendable Warranty on Home Audio Products when you register at Dynaudio
Focal
- 1 Year Standard Manufacturers Warranty
- 2 Years Extended Warranty when registered with Focal
Hegel
- 2 Years Standard Manufacturers Warranty
Hertz
- 1 Year standard Manufacturers warranty
- 2 Years if you register the product with the UK supplier
HiFi Rose
2 Years Standard Manufacturers Warranty
iFi Audio
- 1 Year Standard Manufacturers Warranty
JL Audio
- 1 Year for Speakers and Subwoofers
- 2 Years for Amplifiers and Processors
Luxman
3 Years Standard Manufacturers Warranty
Mission
1 Year Standard Manufacturer Warranty
3 Years Extended Warranty if Registered with Mission
Ortofon
- 1 Year Standard Manufacturers Warranty
Peachtree Audio
- 2 Years Standard Manufacturers Warranty
- 3 Years Extended Warranty if Registered with Peachtree
Pro-Ject
- 2 Years Standard Manufacturers Warranty
- 3 Years Extended Warranty if Registered with Pro-Ject
Q-Acoustics
- 4 Years for Passive Loudspeakers
- 1 Year for Active Loudspeakers / Subwoofers
- 5 Years for Passive Loudspeakers if Registers with Q Acoustics
- 2 Years for Active Loudspeakers / Subwoofers if Registered with Q Acoustics
SolidSteel
- 1 Year Standard Manufacturer Warranty
Sony
- 1 Year Standard Manufacturer Warranty
Wharfedale
- 2 Years Standard Manufacturers Warranty
- 3 Years Extended Warranty if registered with Wharfedale