Description
“Best Product Premium Standout Loudspeakers” – EISA Awards 2025-2026
"The Contour 20 Black Edition excels at playing music as it was intended by the artist, and the bass extension is remarkable for a standmount design, bringing full-range listening to spaces unsuited to larger models. And, of course, the all-black finish is sumptuo" - EISA Awards 2025-2026
EISA winner 2025-2026! On display in the Helsinki store!
The Contour 20 Black Edition is the culmination of 40 years of Contour development.
- We have updated every component.
- Fine-tuned every nuance.
- And made every surface black.
Our long-standing – even legendary – Contour series has a new member. The Contour 20 Black Edition is a special, high-end version of the award-winning Contour 20i.
Its tweeter has been upgraded from the already top-of-the-line Esotar 2i to the full Esotar 3, also found in the Heritage Collection and the top-of-the-line Confidence series. The motor and suspension have been improved, and the crossover has been completely redesigned. Everything from the resistors and capacitors to the internal cables and even the coil wires have been upgraded.
The Contour 20 Black Edition is available in a mirror-like Black High Gloss finish, which elegantly complements the black anodized front panel, as well as the new black powder-coated tweeter front panel and midrange/woofer housing.
At the peak of perfection
Good engineers are not satisfied unless they are dissatisfied. Not in an existential sense, but because they have found something to improve – and the solution is constantly in their mind. (Although sometimes it can be close to an existential crisis…)
This happened in 2016 when Contour got its current look. It happened again in 2020 when the “i” designation was added to the series with technological improvements inherited from the Confidence series.
And it happened again, months before the first Contour 20 Black Edition rolled off the factory line in Denmark. This time, their dissatisfaction during development turned into immense satisfaction – because they got to use everything they could.
Case: ingenious
The Contour already had a great foundation. The cabinet construction is top-notch: thick, sturdy, and shaped to minimize unwanted vibrations and standing waves. And the heavy aluminum baffle (which is actually much thicker than it looks) does wonders for improving stability and eliminating diffraction.
So how can it be improved? Let's dig out the best bits that Dynaudio has collected since 1977 – and use the very best of them.
In good spirits
Let’s start at the top. The high frequencies are handled by the Esotar 3 tweeter. It’s straight from our flagship Confidence model – and quite simply the best tweeter we’ve ever made. (So far.)
The soft dome is finished with DSR coating. It’s a highly precise process, where the composition is mixed by hand and applied by robots at exactly the right density, in exactly the right places. The result is exactly what you’re supposed to hear. Exactly what the artist intended. (And while we can’t reveal exactly what DSR coating contains, we can tell you where the acronym comes from: Dynaudio Secret Recipe. Now you know.)
The power of stability
Behind the main speaker dome is the Hexis. This ingenious, dimpled dome sits directly behind the dome. It’s just barely visible in the right light. You could almost say it’s avoiding the cameras. But it does something extraordinary – in the darkness.
It gives the treble room to breathe. It gives your music room to breathe.
Hexis smooths the frequency response of the tweeter and reduces unwanted resonances – the ones that distort your sound – by subtly directing the air moving behind the dome. It channels the airflow precisely through a system of passages behind the magnet in the rear chamber. The movement is very small – just fractions of a millimeter – and happens tens of thousands of times per second.
This allows you to hear even the highest frequencies exactly as they should be – full of emotion. The sharp strike of the cellist's bow on the string. The dizzying, soaring crescendo of the first violins. The confident hiss of the drummer's hi-hats as the song gets going.
Do it a favor: shine a flashlight on the treble and nod your thanks.
Aerialist
The rear of the speaker features a labyrinthine network of channels, shaped vents, and other technical wizardry. A large rear chamber reduces resonance, damping is improved, and a super-strong neodymium magnet and lightweight aluminum voice coil round out the all-star team.
The Esotar 3 is more sensitive than previous models, which means it responds to lower voltages – and gets less hot. That means it can play louder, brighter and longer.
It is a cornerstone of modern hi-fi.
A sensitive case
The mid/bass driver is something really special.
If it were an engine, it would have both a turbo and a supercharger – and maybe even a booster rocket on the side. A high-performance neodymium magnet gives an extra boost to the already strong ferrite unit of the Contour 20i, and an extended voice coil winding improves the linearity of the trajectory. The smaller magnet also leaves more room inside the housing for air movement – just the way we want it.
Overall, the element is more sensitive (less load on your amplifier) but still has deep bass (usually increasing sensitivity reduces bass). Here you get both – without compromise.
Your ears will notice it: better punch and a more detailed soundstage.
Other elements are classic Dynaudio: a one-piece MSP (Magnesium Silicate Polymer) cone, attached directly to an extended aluminum voice coil via cast balancing arches; a fiberglass voice coil frame that reduces eddy currents (and improves agility); and optimized ventilation. This recipe is familiar to hi-fi enthusiasts the world over – even in professional studios.
All of this has of course been tested, tuned and honed to perfection by combining the technology of the world-class Jupiter measurement laboratory with our world-class outer, middle and inner ears.
Redesigned reflex tube
The new woofer is designed to work seamlessly with the new bass reflex port.
Yes, from the outside it just looks like a hole behind the speaker with a pipe going in. But it's not like you just grabbed a piece of pipe from the hardware store and put it in. If only it were that simple...
The Contour 20 Black Edition features a new port that is larger than the Contour 20i. Both ends (inner and outer) are precisely curved to help control airflow: improving playback accuracy, reducing unwanted distortion, and taking low-end bass performance to a whole new level.
And we think it looks pretty stylish too. Integrating the port into the sleek shapes of the speaker cabinet took a lot of work – both from our mechanical engineers and product designers.
More than the sum of its parts
The crossover has also received the star treatment. The Contour 20i already had an excellent unit – which made the challenge even greater. How do you update something that has already been updated once?
You go back to the beginning and start over. The Contour 20 Black Edition features a completely new crossover network, using as few components as possible – and only the best parts possible. It features Mundorf capacitors and resistors, a massive air coil and top-notch internal cables. Both elements use a quadratic topology – so no correction circuits are needed. If you’re looking for purity, you’ll find it here.
This simplicity is also reflected in the sound. The radiation pattern is precisely controlled, thanks to a smooth power response. The result is precise and focused reproduction - every detail comes to life.
Black magic
Some manufacturers offer optional finishes on their Black Edition models. We find that odd. Instead, we decided to take a cue from the great 20th-century poet Nigel Tufnell, who asked in 1984: “How much blacker could this be? And the answer is: none. Not a bit blacker.”
Enclosure? Black. Woofer body? Black. Tweeter faceplate? Black. Connector terminal? Black. Anodized aluminum baffle? Black. Bass reflex port? Black? Entire enclosure? Black.
This is an investment in sound. An investment in your record collection. And – honestly – it looks pretty damn good.
Contour 20 Black Edition – Technical specifications
- Type: Floorstanding speaker
- Sensitivity (dB @ 2.83V/1m): 86 dB
- Power consumption (IEC, W): 180 W
- Nominal Impedance (Ohms): 4 Ω
- Minimum Impedance (Ohms): 4.6 Ω
- Lower limit frequency (+/-3 dB, Hz): 50 Hz
- Upper limit frequency (+/-3 dB, kHz): 23 kHz
- Lower limit frequency (-6 dB, Hz): 43 Hz
- Upper limit frequency (-6 dB, kHz): 33 kHz
- Enclosure: Bass reflex, rear-firing dual cone port
- Crossover: 2-way
- Crossover frequency: (Hz) 3600 Hz
- Crossover filter topology: Second-order filter
- Tweeter: 28 mm Esotar 3 with Hexis construction
- Woofer: 1 x 18 cm MSP cone, with neodymium magnet
- Weight (kg): 14.6 kg
- Width (mm): 215 mm
- Height (mm): 440 mm
- Depth (mm): 400 mm
- Width (mm): including feet/protective grille/stand 215 mm
- Height (mm): including legs/protective grille/stand 440 mm
- Depth (mm): including feet/protective grille/stand 403 mm
- Package width (mm): 300 mm
- Package height (mm): 570 mm
- Package depth (mm): 500 mm
- Finish: Black High Gloss
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