Next-Level Active Hi-Fi
Confidence 20A is the next generation of Dynaudio active speakers. Simplicity and precision… the hallmarks of any great audio system.
Listen with Confidence: add a source, hit the power, and get the performance your music deserves. Active hi-fi just had its biggest upgrade in over a decade.
Confidence 20A is the most elegant way to build the simplest audiophile system.
It takes the standard Confidence 20’s head-turning looks, legendary drivers and award-winning sound, and hides studio-grade amplifiers right inside its stands. Under the hood, it uses the same audio-processing tools you’ll find in Dynaudio flagship Core professional reference speakers: think full DSP, analogue and digital connectivity, and pro-level room-compensation controls. Everything you need to hear.
If you’re all about the audiophile chase, Dynaudio have some news for you: you won.
Endgame
Confidence 20A is designed to require only two things of the listener: a source, and some faith. Why faith? Because it does away with one of the most cherished indulgent proclivities of the audiophile world: auditioning amplifiers. They’re already included. They’ve been specced, tuned, customised… and hidden away in the stands. For some that might well be a deal-breaker. And that’s OK; Dynaudio offer plenty of other options for wanton proclivity-indulgence.
For those who want a simpler but no less fulfilling life, there’s Confidence 20A.
Dynaudio are no strangers to high-end active hi-fi systems, of course (inventing the category does tend to leave a lasting memory or two). And that means we have years of experience: plenty of do-more-of-thats, never-do-that-agains, sugar-and-caffeine-fuelled breakthroughs – and hard-earned research and development – to dip into.
So, when it was suggested that Dynaudio try to make an active version of Dynaudio flagship speaker, cake was duly ordered and the coffee machine set to maximum SPL (stimulation per litre).
Dynaudio aim was to create the largest possible soundstage in a compact speaker; a system that can replace a large passive set-up. One that doesn’t just ask politely that you come to have a listen – it makes itself irresistible.
Specs Appeal
An active speaker has an amplifier for each individual driver. Confidence 20A uses some of the best in the business. Dynaudio have teamed up again with Dynaudio friends at Pascal over in Copenhagen, who have provided reference-quality amplification for Dynaudio Core professional studio speakers. Here, the Esotar 3 tweeters get a more-than-ample 150W, while the NeoTec mid/bass drivers get a whopping 400W each.
(And here’s a fun fact: Dynaudio limit the amp so it matches the driver’s maximum excursion – meaning there’s plenty of headroom, and you’ll never get it to distort. Even at neighbour-baiting volumes.)
The controls are round the back, integrated into the custom aluminium stand… which also doubles as a heatsink for the amplifiers; helps to form part of the speaker’s downward-firing bass port; and adds weight for extra stability. Win, win, win.
Driven by more
The drivers are the same precision units you’ll find in the passive Confidence 20, optimised for active.
There’s the Esotar 3 tweeter, of course: Dynaudio flagship high-frequency driver that made its debut in 2018 with the next-gen Confidence launch. It has a 28mm precision-coated soft-dome diaphragm, backed-up by the Hexis resonance-defeating inner dome. In the engine-room is an aluminium voice coil that minimises weight for improved transient response, plus a powerful neodymium magnet system for increased sensitivity and stellar dynamic range. There’s also a large damped metal back-chamber for lowering resonant frequencies and improving clarity.
It's such a good tweeter, in fact, that it’s used in Dynaudio M-series main monitors – which take pride of place in some of the world’s most important recording studios.
The 18cm NeoTec woofer also has a neodymium-based motor (which incorporates an ingenious venting system for optimised air movement). Its aluminium voice-coil is wedded to a glass-fibre voice-coil former for optimum stiffness, and it’s fronted by Dynaudio signature precision MSP (Magnesium Silicate Polymer) cone.
And while it might seem a little bit peculiar to start waxing lyrical over holes, Dynaudio trust you’ll indulge us if you’ve read this far. That’s because Confidence 20A has seen a leap forward in bass-port design. Yes, a bass-port is just a hole. But this an engineered hole. An Exponentially Shaped Dual Flared one. Confidence 20A’s ESDF port has an end-to-end exponential shape that almost totally eliminates noise. It means you get vastly improved bass performance – which, of course, influences everything else up the frequency range. Think more precision to vocals, more clarity to strings and (of course) more weight to the thumps and bumps.
You might not be able to see it, but it’s been an incredibly focussed effort by Dynaudio engineers – and one they’re rightly very proud of.
Curious about active speakers? Read more about their differences with passive speakers here.
And while it might not be a smart speaker, it’s still clever.
There are balanced analogue and AES3 digital XLR connections; settings for left/right placement; adjustable analogue sensitivity controls; sound-balance filters (‘Dark’, ‘Neutral’ and ‘Bright’ adjustments derived from Dynaudio pro speakers); sample-rate conversion controls to preserve native resolution or enable true gapless playback; and native room-position settings (‘Wall’, ‘Corner’ and ‘Free’).
You can even control the LED logo’s brightness.
