Already award-winning, Dynaudio's luxury speaker gets a big upgrade

Dynaudio's Contour 20 speakers were voted the best bookshelf speaker in 2017 / 2018 and racked up plenty of five-star reviews thanks to their stellar sound. Now there's a new version, the Contour 20 Black Edition.

This isn't just a cosmetic update – it ups the specification considerably, taking inspiration from Dynaudio's considerably more expensive Confidence speakers, and designed to be an ideal match for premium music systems and turntables.

The Contour 20 Black Edition sits between the current Contour 20i and the Confidence 20, and includes components taken directly from the firm's flagship, as well as upgraded versions of existing Contour hardware.

Dynaudio Contour 20 BE speakers: key features and pricing

The new version of the Contour keeps the thick cabinets and heavy aluminium baffle of the 20i and adds a new crossover as well as the Esotar 3 tweeter – the same tweeter that's currently in the Confidence range.

It's backed by a little dimpled dome that Dynaudio calls the Hexis, and its job is to smooth out the tweeter's frequency response and reduce unwanted resonances.

The magnesium silicate polymer mid/bass driver has been upgraded with a new neodymium magnet, and I love the way Dynaudio describes it: "If it were an engine, it would be supercharged, turbocharged, and quite possibly have an auxiliary rocket fitted too."

It's more sensitive than before, and it's been teamed up with a new and larger bass port.

For colours, Dynaudio claims to be inspired by Spinal Tap's Nigel Tufnel and his famous "none more black" quote. The cabinet, woofer basket, tweeter front plate, terminal plate, aluminium baffle, bass port and cabinet are all black.

The Dynaudio Contour 20 BE speakers are £5,960 / $8,000 / about AU$12,185 per pair – a hefty bit of cash, but considerably less than the £9,599 you'd pay for the same firm's Confidence 20.