Dynaudio is giving U.S. audiences their first in-person look at two new loudspeakers this weekend at AXPONA 2025: the Confidence 20A and the Contour 20 Black Edition. Both models were officially unveiled last month, but this marks their North American show debut. Attendees can check them out in rooms 656 and 660 at the Renaissance Schaumburg Hotel and Convention Center in Chicago.

The two speakers take very different approaches to high-end listening—one sticking with a passive, component-friendly design and the other going fully active with built-in amplification and DSP. Whether you're into building your own setup piece by piece or you’d rather plug in and play, there’s something here that might catch your ear.

Contour 20 Black Edition

If the Contour 20 Black Edition looks familiar, that’s because it’s based on Dynaudio’s Contour 20i. But there are quite a few upgrades under the hood that make this version more of a stepping stone toward the company’s pricier Confidence lineup.

The tweeter is a big one—literally and figuratively. The Contour 20 Black Edition uses Dynaudio’s Esotar 3, which is a step up from the Esotar 2i found in the 20i. This new tweeter is meant to deliver clearer highs and more fine detail in the music.

The mid-bass driver gets a refresh too, now using a neodymium magnet and a longer voice coil winding. The idea here is to make imaging more precise—basically making sure instruments and vocals sound like they’re in the right place on the soundstage.

Another small but useful upgrade is the dual-flare bass port. It’s designed to smooth out airflow inside the cabinet, which can help tighten up the bass and avoid the kind of distortion that sometimes creeps in with ported speakers.

Internally, the crossover has been reworked with premium parts, including Mundorf capacitors and resistors, a larger air coil, and Van den Hul wiring. The crossover point remains at 3.6kHz and follows a second-order design, which helps blend the output between the drivers more naturally.

From the outside, the speaker lives up to its “Black Edition” name with an all-black finish across the cabinet, driver basket, tweeter plate, and baffle. The darker aesthetic isn’t just for looks—it can also help with vibration control.

The Contour 20 Black Edition is available now at $8,000 per pair. Dynaudio also offers matching speaker stands for $599.

Confidence 20A

If you’d rather not worry about picking the perfect amplifier or fiddling with crossover settings, the Confidence 20A takes a different path. This active model builds on the passive Confidence 20, but adds built-in Class D amplification and DSP.

Instead of using a traditional crossover, the Confidence 20A uses a DSP-based design, which helps manage timing between the drivers and pushes the bass response deeper. In fact, the Confidence 20A is rated down to 34Hz (-3dB), compared to 42Hz on the passive version. That means fuller bass, potentially without needing a subwoofer.

Each speaker includes two amplifiers—400 watts for the woofer and 150 watts for the tweeter—designed by Danish company Pascal. These are mounted in the speaker stands rather than inside the speaker cabinets, which helps with heat dissipation and keeps the speaker enclosures less crowded.

Connection options include digital AES3 (XLR) input and output, analog XLR input, and controls for room placement EQ and balance. You can tweak the sound depending on whether you’ve got the speakers out in the open, near a wall, or tucked into a corner.

Like the Contour 20 Black Edition, the Confidence 20A keeps a clean, understated design with a black baffle and matching trim. It’s available now for $24,000 per pair.

To give showgoers a feel for what these speakers can do, Dynaudio has partnered with longtime dealer Music For Pleasure. In room 660, the Confidence 20A will be paired with a Moon North 891 Network Player/Preamp. Room 656 will feature the Contour 20 Black Edition connected to Atoll’s new IN400 Evolution integrated amp, along with the ST300 Signature Streamer/DAC and CD400 Evolution CD player.

Both rooms will be wired up with Transparent Audio cables and power products.

These two models represent two very different ways of approaching audio. The Contour 20 Black Edition is for those who enjoy tailoring their system—swapping amps, upgrading sources, and dialing in every detail. The Confidence 20A, on the other hand, is more of a one-box (well, one-pair) solution that minimizes the guesswork with built-in tuning and power.

If you’re heading to AXPONA this weekend and you’re curious about how these speakers compare, Dynaudio’s demo rooms are worth a visit. Whether you lean toward a traditional setup or a more modern, simplified system, there’s plenty to explore.

AXPONA 2025 runs April 13–15 in Schaumburg, Illinois. Dynaudio is in rooms 656 and 660.