Go back to a time when all that mattered was the next track on the album.

Contour 30 steps it up a notch from the 20. Of course, it still treads the same path – one of honesty, transparency and sheer entertainment, but it puts it all in a bigger package.

Like the rest of the Contour i family, the 30i has the Esotar 2i tweeter – complete with the Hexis inner dome found throughout their flagship Confidence range and also in the Core series of professional studio reference monitors (trickle-down tech is an amazing thing, isn’t it…). Esotar 2i also gets a larger rear chamber. This, together with Hexis, helps to reduce unwanted resonances and smooth out the frequency response for even clearer, sweeter high-frequencies.

Behind the scenes

Dynaudio have endowed Contour 30 with two 18cm MSP drivers, as well as doubling up on the rear ports. Behind the scenes they have tweaked the spider suspension (the springy ring that keeps the woofer in the right place when it’s at rest, and controls it in the right way when it’s moving). This one is made from aramid fibres, and retains the ingenious structural properties from before (the ribs are of varying width to give even finer control over the cone’s excursion).

Contour 30i continues to use aluminium voice-coils, too. Dynaudio can make them extremely light – but also bigger than the old-style copper units you’ll find elsewhere. Lighter weight allows larger diameters with more windings, yet low weight, which means they have more control over the cone movement. And that means more control over the sound – especially at high frequencies and high volumes – exactly what you need in a mid/bass driver. Sure, they experimented with small voice-coils on Contour – the size other companies might use. The measurements said they should work for Contour. Our ears said otherwise, so we went big. Our ears were right.

And, as with Contour 20i, the flatter frequency response from the improved tweeter and mid/bass drivers means they have been able to simplify the crossover. Not that it wasn’t elegant before – but now… well, we’ll let you judge.

Improved crossover

The improved crossover no longer needs impedance correction circuitry to optimise its performance – that’s all now done in the driver itself, simply down to the physical properties of the materials they use. Fewer components, cleaner signal path, better performance.

While their engineers and designers were hunkered down listening to everything from jazz, to classical, to metal, to electronica, the team in their on-site factory were scouring sustainable sources for high-quality materials and finishes. They make sure all Contours are furniture-grade: perfectly built, perfectly finished and perfectly packaged.

Features

• Esotar 2i tweeter

Featuring a larger rear chamber and now the Hexis inner dome, which helps to reduce unwanted resonances and flatten the frequency response.

• Improved spider

Improved asymmetric spider for increased system symmetry – and this one is made from aramid fibres for improved acoustic response.

• Updated crossover

Extensive tweaks from the 2016 Contour model have led to a simpler, cleaner, and even better-performing unit.

• Voice coil

Large diameter, long throw aluminium voice-coils