Dynaudio Emit, Evoke,Contour and Confidence 20 review/shootout
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- Опубликовано: 28 авг 2024
- The 20’s,
No not the “Roaring 20’s” or the “Jazz Age” or a time when a flight from London to South Africa took 45 days!
I’m
Talking about the Dynaudio 20’s!
The Dynaudio Emit, Evoke, Contour and Confidence 20’s..
System’s used in the review..
Rega Saturn CD Player
Rega Elicit Amplifier
Next system
Accuphase E-380
Accuphase DP-450
This is a unfair comparison you should have used the same amplifier for each speaker. I know your going to say "well people aren't going to pair a higher end amp with the Emit" well that's not the point. The point was to find out how each speaker compared to each other while going up in price. By changing the amp mid way through then it nulls this review.
Nah, no-one would pair the same amp with the emits and the confidence, so he would be setting unrealistic expectations, rather than having either the emits massively over perform or the confidence underperform. Plus as a dealer he should be helping people match gear (synergy, levels) , so this is spot on.
You are correct.
Indeed, can't compare speakers when using different amps.
I recently tested the Emit 20, Evoke 20 and Special 40 and the Evoke was the most impressive.The Emits are a good entry-level speaker, but as in the vid, the Evokes were clearly a step up. The Special 40s are a tricky though. They need a very good system to work well, in my experience, and in the end I still preferred the Evokes.
Love My Confidence 20's. I auditioned 8 others before buying the C20, a lot of other comparable high end speakers are too harsh/analytical for me (especially B&W and Focal). The mastery of the C20 is that you get all of the detail of the rivals and or more, but without harshness and with a more natural enjoyable sound. Also the downward firing port is something special in a small room; it works much better than the rear firing port of other Dynaudio Speakers in a small room, and that of many competitors.
Absolutely honestly comparing. Emit have same family footprint but littlebit losse tembral detail and nuanses. Both (emit and evoke) definetly gorgeous speaker. Nice setup, and thanks for your job.
I recently got back into hifi again, I thought my mind was dead set on the Special 40, but as I was about to pull the pin, I got pulled back in by a pair of floorstanders instead again. Do not be fooled by the Evoke range just because it is positioned just above the Emit, it actually punches above its weight at that price point. First off, the Emit is made in China while the Evoke is made in Denmark. But, instead of the Evoke 20, I have to tell you the gem of the range is in fact the Evoke 50. That is a great pair of speakers. If you are thinking about the Evoke 30, unless your room is really that small, if not just pay a little more and get the Evoke 50, you will not regret it. The Evoke 50 impresses. It gives you a sense of scale that is unmatched by the standmounts. I was really surprised that it was that good. The bass was just something else, it really is substantial to the point the Evoke 30 cannot compare. Not to say the Evoke 30 is bad, but the Evoke 50 is just quite a bit above it. To me, the Evoke 50 really stands out in the range. Give it an audition if you are looking for a pair of floorstanders at that price point.
Oh yes the 50 is a phenomenal speaker.
@bootcamp bobby Not the current Emit I don't think.
@bootcamp bobby Well, China doesn't necessarily mean bad. Let me give you an example, loads of people swear by Hegel amps (although not me personally per se), well they are made in China. Seriously, so many people speak so highly of Hegel and they sell like hotcakes.
Is the Evoke 50 good for low volume listening? Says 87 dB and 4 Ohms. I was told low sensitivity plus low impedance doesn't make for the best low volume sessions.
Have always wanted to own Dynaudio speakers.
@@MadLadsAnonymous I don't really have a problem with it when it comes to low volume, but it depends how low? The Evoke 50 is a 3-way speaker, so it will play loud. If you haven't owned Dynaudio before, I think the more important question you need to ask is whether you like the Dynaudio house sound? Dynaudio tends to lean a tad warm, they are not trying to impress you right away with an energetic top end , but if you are into longer listening sessions they are wonderful speakers to spend time with as it won't give you fatigue. However, if you prefer a sound that leans bright, then Dynaudio might not be for you. There are better speakers in this price point with a brighter sound signature such as B&W 702 S3. To me, is all about balance, while the Evoke 50 may lean warm, I am using an external DAC that leans bright, so all in all I think the sound is just about right. There is a Korean dealer on RUclips that has posted many group test videos of the Evoke 50 going up against many other speakers that you should take a look. Other than that, just go for an audition. My pair is in gloss white and the quality of finish is fantastic.
Thank you for the work on this. In all fairness, the electronics should be absolutely the same for all products. If you don't do that, it is impossible to know the exact differences. What you end up with is apples to oranges.
This was a great and well put together video, I know how long these take to do by experiance. These are really beautiful speakers
being interested in the differences between the Evoke 20 and Contour 20, using the same amp and preamp for all speakers would have been more beneficial.
Superb video mate. Dynaudio has been a true leader in driver design for a long while and their overall design approach does feel comparable to the much missed Celestion modus operandi. I guess this is how Celestion might have evolved, however also true to say that their best designs can still hold their own today to quite an extent.
Jesus crap; just use the premium system for all 4 speakers. It's not rocket science...
😂
Grreat demo, the Evoke and Contour sound the most balanced to me. The Confidence is too HF heavy that tweeter almost cuts like a knife, ultra clear but the dB should come down a bit for overall balance. That's also why the Confidence 30s with extra bass drivers, sounds much better than the 20s.
As for Evoke, the 10s actually beat the 20s because the 20s are prone to losing bass control under extreme pressure, whilst the Evoke with their smaller diameter bass driver are far less prone to this. I own the Evoke 10s btw.
This could have been a very interesting video, but testing the speakers with different equipment made it almost pointless.
Anyway, it's nice to take a close look to these speakers, at least esthetically.
Why? You might resonably pair the €11000 Confidence with £22000 worth of amplification, but only an idiot would pair the £800 emits with such an amp (or vice versa). So what possible relevance would that test constraint provide?
I'm only 3:30 into this video, but already I want to say thanks for posting this type of comparison.
I know a lot of people state that RUclips vids are useless for judging gear, but I find really good value in them - not in terms of judging ultimate fidelity (obviously), but comparative fidelity/ sound character (one at least gets some sort of idea when comparing products to each other). I immediately heard differences in sound character between the Emit and Evoke, through a pair of Philips SHP9500s headphones, being driven by a NuForce uDAC3, and it gives me a good idea of what I'd expect the differences to sound like when comparing in person.
Keep 'em coming! Cheers!
Unfair comparison. Same electronics should be used to test all speakers. I tested my Emit10s with multiple class A/B amps. The speakers responded wildly differently.
Of course the amp makes a difference and indeed the Confidence is known to warrant amplifiers double its price to get the best out of it. So ask yourself, would you test the £800 Emit speakers with a £22000 amp or the £11000 Confidence with a £800 euro amp? Neither of these scenarios make any sense. As a dealer (not a reviewer) arguably his single most important job is to steer people towards sensible and synergistic system building.
I played Dave Brubeck's Take5 album with Emit10s through a Hegel190. You could sell those speakers for 3K with that set up. That being said, played rock and pop with the same set up that was awful. Hegel isn't designed for that. You couldn't sell H190 for $800 within that context. The source material and the voicing of the amp changes everything. That's why apples to apples, please.
@@gokhanersan8561 I agree with you in principle. In fact I once auditioned the Dynaudio Heritage Specials at a dealer with an Accuphase and Rega Aethos respectively. Had I not tried the Rega, the speakers would have been given a big fat “not for me” 😄
However, I find trying to judge how something actually sounds by listening to a recording on RUclips a stretch. You can try to listen for relative differences, but I don’t know how to get anything meaningful out of this quality of recording and choice of music (amp change or not).
Of course real life performance of any of these speakers would depend highly on room, listening and speaker positions, listener preference and ability, program material, cabeling, quality of power, amplification and source anyway. And there are no guarantees the same amp would synergies consistently well with each of these speakers.
Case in point the Hegel H190 worked remarkably consistent across all genres of music in my setup, though I ultimately found it made me look out the window and think about the shopping list.
Again, I think this should be taken as a dealer showing off and talking about some products and some amplifier pairings he would make.
good review, Tannoy learnt a longtime ago about gluing the surround to the rear of the cone. I see soo many Tannoy HPD surround repairs incorrectly bonding the surround to the front of the cone😒
If anyone thinks difference in speaker sound quality is exaggerated needs to watch this review.i like the way in which you used a small sample of music to emphasise the difference in sound quality. The emit m20 are great speakers for the budget, but bang for buck I like the evoke, as the contours and confidence speakers are super speakers, but start to cost serious money.
Thanks for watching
I'm really curious as to how the Emit and Evoke would have fared if they had been powered by the Accuphase, even though I realize it's too much of an amp for them. That way, all speakers would have been on even ground.
Great vid, man! Love your channel.
IMO Dynaudio Evokes scale well and can handle much higher prices amplification. I have little Dynaudio Evoke 10s powered by a Marantz PM-11S2 - arguably the best integrated amp Marantz has ever made even today - and that pairing is fantastic.
Very nice audio from your "phone" in these comparisons. I favor the Evoke twenties balance and overall charicter over all the other Dynaudio standmounts I've heard them against, here and elsewhere. They're surely not the best in every way, even to me. The Contours and Confidence 20's may present a tiny bit more detail in the presence region, but factor in their richness and the price difference and the Evokes win big for me. I may possibly prefer the Rega electronics here as well. More purely neutral sounding? Is that possible?
I love the Evoke 20, very very good loudspeaker
@@dittonworksMe to. Thank you for this and all your many entertaining and informative discussion and sound demo videos.
I'm not watching 'hifi videos' as much as I once did, but continue to check out you're 'Ditton Works' offerings, because they are exeptional.
my take listening thru Sen 650s is that the emit's were better than the evokes, just seemed more alive... but that is not in person. I own the Contour 30s and a pair of Special 40s for a different room and really enjoy both. Maybe some confidence is in my future, but am leaning toward some Spendor Classics or Grahm 8s for my next purchase.
I don't want to be that guy... But have you tried the Closer Acoustics OGY? They sell for approx. 1500€. They're single driver speakers with a transmission line, no crossover. The bass is a bit underwhelming. But you get the most refined, transparent and detailed speakers in return. Compared to the Emit, the OGY feels like getting your earwax removed. But the bass isn't as lush. Using a sub helps with the bass.
Very good, I always enjoy your videos.
Thank you 😊
@@dittonworks I'm amazed how you manage to get so much high quality gear to review. I'm looking to downsize my speakers for some high quality standmounts and this video has been very helpful.
I thought you did these videos from home. It's first time I've seen singles hifi in your videos.
@@ronlysons6750 it’s where I work now a now and I’m loving it.
@@dittonworks I bet you are, well done.
I wish you hadn't changed amplifiers.
I have a Pair of Dynaudio Audience 52s which would be an antecedent of these standmount speakers. It might be worth mentioning that these are Power hungry. I would suggest 100w/Ch in 8 Ohms 120+ into 4 Ohms. They will not perform with less in my experience.
Hegel high current design (even if under 100W) should also work.
Thank u for the interesting comparison.
May I know which Accuphase amplifier you used.
Is it the E380 or E480.
I love the huge difference between the Evoke to the Contours.
The Air, space and depth are to die for.
👍👍👍👍👍
E-380. Thanks for watching
Very useful comparison. Bizarre choice of music, though.
😂 I know, thanks for watching
I’ve never a more weird piece of testing track. Absolutely bonkers choice. BUT a nice review nonetheless.
Haha
Thank for watching
I can't decide between Countour 20i or something british like Spendor 2/3 or Harbeth C7. currently have Dynaudio Focus 160 which is nice, little bit unrefined though!
Dynaudio is more of an all rounder, Spendor next. Harbeth excellent at jazz and classical
@@dittonworks thank you - jazz is my mainstay so will likely go C7 or M30! Have you compared those?
@@alexg4284 M30 round be my choice
@@dittonworks thank you
You need to audition Harbeth. From what I'd read I was very interested in them but when I auditioned them they weren't anything special, to me. Spendor were good, if quite polite. Neat were also excellent.
interesting. I am looking for book speakers, but difficult to decide as I have no store to visit to hear any of them. I follow you and always look forward to new videos. do you prefer these over graham audio? e.g. ls6?
I think pound for pound the Dynaudio Evoke 20’s are my favourite two way stand mount available at the moment.
@@dittonworks thank you. Appreciate your feedback :)
How can you compare speakers when changing amps, tests were a joke.
Good info Kevin , thanks..
Why not use the same amp/cd, for comparisons sake?
I have Emit 20s, and wondered if moving to Evoke 20s was enough of a step up. It sound like it is here.
Evokes have superior imaging and a slightly cleaner sound or to put it another way, less coloured..
But the Emits are very good, especially the 20’s.
@@dittonworks if you owned the Emits, and wanted to upgrade, would you get Evoke 20s or would you look for a bigger step up? I don’t have the advantage of being able to hear Dynaudio at a dealer.
@@mrk8212 that’s not easy to answer on your behalf but if it was me? I’d buy Evoke 20’s or push to the special 40. The 40’s seem more front end fussy though.
You’d really want to hear them first.
@@dittonworks the Special 40s are in range, but there are some unkind reviews and some stellar reviews so I wish I could A/B them all. I might have to road trip to a dealer. There are some used Evoke 30 for sale around $1500 but they have a dent in a tweeter so I am reluctant to buy them without an in person look and listen.
Only problem with road trip to a dealer is I would almost certainly buy while I was there so I guess I better make sure I am ready for that.
Hi is this the Contour 20i? I liked them first very much, nothing wrong, good base but a, bit base heavy and not so musical and lively ast he Spendors 3/1 that I heard later. Now I am gonna try the Spendors 2/3 to find both. Good base and natural lively musical sound. 😂 How would you compare Dynaudio and Spendors?
The contours need space to breathe and a good amp to keep them in check.
The Evoke 20 is one of the best all rounders I’ve heard, absolutely stunning sound.
You can’t really compare Spendor Classic and Dynaudio Contours, they are very different..
The Dynaudio’s could be tested against A line or D line spendor’s I suppose.
Great video! Will you be releasing any videos about the Epos ES14N? Would love to know how they compare to the speakers you're familiar with.
I might 😉
@@dittonworks That would be great! I'm quite excited about them.
Thank you
Great review. How would you compare those dynaudio with the Harbeth c7es? Thanks in advance
Confidence was great but contour much better bang for your buck
The Emit 20 is more lively, engaging and spacious sounding but lacks a bit of bass thump. The Evoke 20 is smooth and detailed yet well controlled and cohesive with its sound presentation. Good bass quality as well. It all probably depend on our personal taste in music and amplifier pairings. I couldn’t care less about the Contour and the Confidence. I think they look ugly and hideous respectively.
Going from Emit to Evoke there are gains and losses. More detail and composure on the high end, textured bass. Lack of midrange presence and midrange slam. I can imagine that if I heard Emit playing Michael Jackson’s Beat It I would start toe tapping. If Evoke played Beat It I would probably be nodding.
Additionally: Contour 20i has better bass guitar resolution and more rhythm guitar microdynamics than the Confidence 20 and is easily the more enjoyable listen to me.
Compare the old emit to the new ones
I don’t have any of the old ones.
Is there a reason we didn’t heat the Confidence speakers?
Watch it again Charles they’re on the video
Wouldn't just one 40 be a 20?
how much do they cost?
No, no, no.....!!!!! Keep the source equipment the same!!! The very moment you change it, the comparison is totally invalid. (after decades in electronics manufacturing and management and advanced engineering, there are 3 golden rules to comparative experiment 1. Only change one factor. 2. Only change one factor. 3 ONLY CHANGE ONE FACTOR!!)
I appreciate your comment and you’re correct. However it’s unlikely someone would use a £1200 Rega amp with £9000 speakers.
In hindsight I should have used the Accuphase throughout..
you know what would have been said… £800 speakers with multiple thousand pound amp blah blah.
Thank for watching
This is true. But not the intention of the test. It is equally unlikely that a person considering multi thousand pound speakers would also be considering sub £1000 speakers also.