Let’s get the unsettling bit out of the way first: late in 2014, Goertek Inc, China’s largest acoustic components company, acquired the majority shares of Dynaudio.
Goertek Inc. was founded in 2001 and listed in Shenzhen Stock Exchange in 2008. It is world leader in the development and manufacturing of 3D glasses and Bluetooth equipment. Furthermore, they are the absolute top producer of microphones, flat screens and micro loudspeakers/transducers.
Goertek Inc. is OEM supplier to the leading brands within the smartphone and gaming categories and can contribute to the development of Dynaudio both in technology and in markets.
This will help Dynaudio achieve their ambition of becoming the leading loudspeaker company worldwide.
To accomplish this, they share knowledge. Goertek Inc. is adding engineering experience in electronic and wireless technology.
At heart, though, Dynaudio remains a Scandinavian company so let’s have the subliminal reassurance of some Scandi architectural style for the back-drop.
As a speaker driver manufacturer, and one of considerable repute at that, Dynaudio are able to have full control, top to bottom, of the manufacture of their products. Despite the new Chinese majority ownership, the vast majority of the manufacture remains in Denmark.
Only the entry ‘Emit’ series is made in China. For everything else, some cabinetry comes from there but drivers and assembly are all fully European.
2023’s arrival, the new Focus series combines traditional loudspeaker build with networked wireless electronics and high quality amplification.
Dynaudio’s high value range is called ‘Emit’. And they are a bit of a shock.
Reviews from normally level-headed reviewers have been effusive. Within the range of two stand-mounts (Emits 10 + 20), two floor-standers, 30 + 50, and a centre speaker, there are some stars. In our humble opinion the high points are the 20 stand-mount and 50 floor-stander. The latter is a surprisingly capable full three way loudspeaker.
All are very good, the 20 and 50 are just that little bit more special.
Initially, the Special 40 anniversary was our high point in our Dynaudio range. It didn’t take long, though, before we were increasing our involvement.
This compact, moderately high end stand-mount is a stunning ambassador for the brand and celebrates 40 years (now passed) of Dynaudio’s existance.
Stealing the text from Dynaudio themselves, “what you won’t find here is anything revolutionary. Instead, you’ll discover a look at Dynaudio’s past – along with some special sneak-previews of the future.
The Special Forty is classic Dynaudio: all the craftsmanship, attention to detail and total love of authentic sound you’ve come to expect. It’s the connoisseur’s choice – a simple pair of passive hi-fi speakers. But it isn’t about looking back, misty-eyed, at past glories and leaving it at that. It’s about using those glories as a platform from which to launch the next set of breakthroughs.”
Sounds about right . . .
All we can add is that we think these are genuinely special. Initially, these were a limited edition product but, once the limited run of subtle grey and striking red cabinets had finished, the products acquired two new, slightly more subdued real wood finishes called ‘black vine’ and ‘wave’ and stayed in production.
As the Special 40 edges into history, two new ranges with a shared development path have come into production.
At a surprisingly affordable price level, Evoke arrived in the spring of 2019. There is a compact stand-mount (Evoke 10) and a slightly larger one (Evoke 20) that is fairly close to the size of the Special 40. Both are significantly cheaper too. Two floor-standers and a centre speaker complete the range.
The Evoke 20 and the Special 40 have differing strengths; punchier bass and midrange for the S40 and superior treble quality for the Evoke 20. In fact the newly designed tweeter in the Evoke series shares elements with the one used in the new, far higher end Confidence series.
Our enthusiasm for the brand has led us to acquire a significant slice of their product ranges: Emit, Evoke, some of the Contour series and three models from the flagship Confidence series. So much for keeping our loudspeaker demonstration stocks under control!
Results with ‘sensible’ components, such as Linn Selekt or Naim Uniti belie the price levels of the assembled systems. The Evoke 30 is both improbably compact and indecently capable. The finishes are terrific too with real wood veneers in walnut or light wood (looks like limed oak) or gloess black or white.
As with Emit, though, the best two in our view, are the 20 and 50.
The Focus name has been applied to Dynaudio products for several years. The previous XD series was of active ‘wireless’ loudspeakers which sounded better than they should given the rather minimal (‘wall wart’) power supply arrangements.
This time round, they are far more interesting. Superficially the same as the Evoke series, with similar cabinetry, drivers and wood or lacquer finishes, they are actually sealed box designs with very sophisticated streaming capability and powerful in-built amplification. They are WiSA enabled, so can take audio directly from a suitably equipped TV. They can also run Dirac room correction.
In a sense, they are a little too clever in that, by talking directly to streaming services such as Tidal and Spotify Connect, they lack the familiar central point of control. At the moment, for example, you really need to run Roon to tie all the sources together. For Qobuz, before the ‘connect’ version arrives, this is the only way to access the streams.
Sound quality is absolutely stunning, offering huge clarity with ridiculously extended and punchy bass. Comparing, say, the passive Evoke 50 driven by a Naim Uniti Nova, to the Focus 50 being fed via Roon, the preference can go either way. Focus is tighter, cleaner but also somehow less organic and soulful.
The moderately substantial, Contour 20 stand-mount has been a bit of a find. An older design than the Evoke and Confidence, the Contour series has won a lot of praise. The revised ‘i’ versions brought some welcome, if admittedly subtle, improvements.
As mentioned above, the C20i is a particularly impressive offering, with a lot more scale, bass extension and general musicality than seems feasible from such a relatively compact enclosure. Tonal balance across this range is on the warm side.
These are well worth auditioning even if the electronics are fairly modest yet they reward high end sources and amplifiers. Favourites are Naim 200 + 300 series and most of the Accuphase range, but a Supernait 3 or Nait XS will still impress.
Beyond the 20i, the 30i, pictured here, offers a second bass driver in a two and a half way configuration with commensurately more bass ‘wallop’ in roughly the same footprint but, for us, it’s the tallest model, the 60i, that moves the game on most convincingly by being a proper three way design.
This is where Dynaudio get really serious. We have the Confidence 20 stand-mount pictured here along with the 30 and range-topping 60 towers. In fact, this is our very own pair in one of our demo rooms in the picture.
We’ve already had the shock of the Contour sounding like a much larger loudspeaker, so it was less of a surprise to hear just how full-sized the modestly dimensioned Confidence 20 sound.
The content here is properly high end with clever materials and thoughtful implementations. This is a company that is aiming to break boundaries and the standard achieved here is genuinely breathtaking.
As always, the build quality, finishing and design is of a very high order, but here you get significantly more in all respects. There is also an un-forced ability simply connect you with the music that you’re playing.