SEPTEMBER 2019 HOME CINEMA CHOICEThis is Dynaudio's Magnesium Silicate Polymer
(MSP) membrane, which has been created to
deliver low mass, high rigidity and strong internal
damping properties. The cones' geometrically
optimised form also aims to produce an even
dispersion, while dust caps, often found at a
diaphragm's centre, are eschewed. Having a hole
in the centre of the cone with a dust cap glued in
place creates compromises in the sound that have
to be countered elsewhere, I was told. The company
instead creates single-piece drivers that the rest
of the speaker can be built around.
Voice coils are another vital consideration.
'A key issue with coils is the length,' explains
Hoff man. 'The longer the coil, the more range the
speaker has, but if the coil is too large, the extra
weight causes performance issues. While most
makers use copper, we use aluminium. It has half
the mass, so we can have more windings before you
encounter any weight problems. It gives us the
performance we want.'The soft approach
Stepping into the company’s tweeter production
area, I'm told that, once again, Dynaudio chooses
a path less travelled, opting for a soft dome design
given a bespoke coating (the exact make up of
which is a guarded secret). Hoff man admits the
way Dynaudio produces its tweeters is more time
consuming than some other methods – once the
drivers are coated they have to be dried in special
cabinets for eight-to-nine hours – but this is
preferred to using a harder material that, while
responsive, can introduce unwanted resonance.
Uniformity of design and production is critical
in audio, especially in home cinema where multiple
cabinets are in play. This, says Hoff man, is why
his company goes to great lengths to makeLOUDSPEAKER MAKER DYNAUDIO has the
kind of HQ that impresses even before you enter
it. Like much of its product line, the building, in the
Danish town of Skanderborg, oozes style and an
eye for detail.
The company has been based at the same
site since it launched in 1977 with the avowed
aim of producing the purest-sounding products
it could. Most recently this ambition has driven
Dynaudio to increase its home cinema options,
including a new in-wall/in-ceiling Custom
Performance series. It was these models that
I was here to see, in the company of Roland
Hoff man, Dynaudio’s Academy Director. But I was
equally excited to be paying a visit to the room the
manufacturer calls 'Jupiter'...Driven to perfection
First, though, Hoff man was keen to discuss the
ethos behind Dynaudio's product development,
particularly its driver technology. He began with
the ring magnets used to propel its speaker cones.
Eighty diff erent types are created on-site, and as
the company magnetises its own core material,
it has control over the level of magnetism for each
end scenario.
It's choice of cone material, however, that is
perhaps the most crucial decision any loudspeaker
manufacturer has to make. 'There is a huge choice
of materials out there,' admits Hoff man.
'Everything has pros and cons. Paper cones
can be prone to humidity variations, thin metal can
present colouration issues, so you probably need
to do something in the crossover to compensate.
Kevlar off ers good damping, but lacks a little bass- you can stiff en it, but then that has disadvantages
too. We avoid many of these issues by using our
own unique material developed in-house.'
ACCESS ALL AREAS 21
Dynaudio's new Skanderborg lab