After decades of serving the professional recording and audiophile markets, the Danish high-performance loudspeaker company Dynaudio is making a push into the Americas to support the entire consumer audio industry.
In recent months, the company has made key promotions and appointments in North and South America, extended its reseller network in Latin America in partnership with Audio Americas, and introduced a new range of custom installation in-wall and in-ceiling loudspeaker models, along with updated versions of its high-end loudspeakers for the specialty retail and home theater markets.
“We have a long history of making the absolute best loudspeakers in the world, and we have built an exceptional reputation over 40 years of in-house manufacturing,” says Andrew Werdean, CEO of Dynaudio Americas. “Just this past year, we have been able to leverage the technical innovation and uncompromising sound quality of our free-standing hi-fi and pro-audio loudspeakers to build a really amazing in-ceiling and in-wall speaker.”
Ambassador Tour Demonstrates its Focus on Custom Install
Dynaudio recently provided a select group of dealers a closer look at its Custom Install range, as well as its complete loudspeaker portfolio.
Terming this preview an Ambassador Tour, Dynaudio brought an inaugural group of “ambassadors” to its factory and the R&D facility in Skanderborg, Denmark. During the week-long Ambassador Tour in May, the executive team from Dynaudio introduced top dealers and integrators to the unique people, processes and philosophies behind the Dynaudio brand.
Participating dealers included personnel from Admit One, Atlantic Stereo, Audio Vision SF, Boca Theater & Automation, Crescendo, Eagle Sentry, Environmental Technology Control, Logic Integration, Music for Pleasure, Russ Berger Design Group, Wipliance, and World Wide Stereo.
“I enjoyed meeting so many senior officers and the people who ran specific divisions; it was a great way to be introduced to Dynaudio,” says Greg Simmons, vice president, Eagle Sentry. “For those of us who aren’t as familiar with the company’s history and product line, it was great to learn about how Dynaudio loudspeakers have matured over the years and what it takes to achieve such a high level of performance.”
During the event the Ambassador Group got a firsthand look at Dynaudio’s operations and staff, design and build processes, and how they impact the company’s studio, home and in-car products.
Dynaudio explained that it builds every part of every loudspeaker, including the aluminum voice coils, the specially coated tweeter domes, and the MSP (magnesium silicate polymer) woofer cones at its Skanderborg factory.
The Ambassador Group trip to Denmark also included a visit to the to the Danish national Broadcast Center, DR-Byen, which features more than 400 Dynaudio speakers, as well as excursions to castles and canals.
“The Dynaudio tour was absolutely one of the more impressive factory tours I’ve done,” says Lance Anderson, owner of Admit One Home Cinema. “The company really does make all of its product in house, and that’s a rare thing these days. It was also cool that we got to witness Danish design firsthand.”
Simmons points out that one of the most striking parts of the tour was seeing how Dynaudio breaks so many of the traditional stereotypes that are associated with the consumer audio market.
“I was impressed by the number of women on the factory floor,” adds Simmons. “Our industry is so male-dominated, and it was refreshing to see so many women in the facility. I was also impressed by the scope of the company’s car audio business, and by the fact that Dynaudio crafts its cabinets right there on site.”
Integrators also had the chance to check out Dynaudio’s new three-story, 17,000-square-foot R&D center, which includes some of Europe’s most advanced measuring facilities.
“Following the strategies developed with Dynaudio’s parent company, Goertek, we have tripled the number of employees in R&D and created a facility with the space and creative atmosphere to support the future of sound reproduction,” says Brian Kjaer, senior manager of Dynaudio Academy. “With these resources, we can ensure that Dynaudio products are always built on unparalleled technologies.”
Chris Livengood of Audio Vision S.F., says that witnessing the steps that Dynaudio takes to ensure the performance of its products was impressive.
“When Dynaudio redesigned its R&D lab, the company did a top-down reinvention of how it creates new products,” comments Livengood. “The company measures every single product in every way possible, many, many times throughout the process of designing it, and that’s very unusual. Few speaker manufacturers make their own drivers, much less measure them in house and do it more than once or twice. With its R&D labs, Dynaudio can go from prototype to product much faster and perform the constant measurement that is critical to creating a better product.”
Dynaudio Brings New Innovations to CEDIA 2017
Looking back on the tour, the group of custom installation professionals found the time spent with Dynaudio provided a higher level of insight than just standard product presentations.
“The tour was great, as it allowed us to better understand how the speakers are actually built and to see the steps that Dynaudio takes to make perfect audio,” notes Tom Farinola, president of Atlantic Home Entertainment and Stereo. “Dynaudio showed the kind of graciousness that makes you want to partner with the company, and this is increasingly important in our industry because the traditional camaraderie between dealer and manufacturer — and their shared passion — has really suffered with the rise of the just-in-time supply model. With this facility tour in Denmark, Dynaudio recreated that passion.”
Werdean admits the tour is purposely designed to engage integrators, and the company will rely on that engagement to help it to increase is presence in the consumer audio market.
“We’re making huge steps in the U.S. and around the world; our business worldwide has doubled this year,” says Werdean. “While this growth is exciting, we want to make sure we’re taking the company down the right path. We’ll be counting on our Ambassador program to help us do so. They have seen the amazing technology and experienced the outstanding sonic performance of our speakers, and they understand our history, our current direction, and where we can go in the future.”
As part of the company’s 40th anniversary, Dynaudio is celebrating its heritage through the release of the new Special Forty anniversary speaker.
Dynaudio says the speaker draws on its 40 years of research and highlights the level of craftsmanship, performance and attention to detail that it brings to the market. The Special Forty Anniversary features Dynaudio’s new Esotar Forty tweeter, along with a high-performance 6.6-inch (17-cm) woofer yet, and a classic crossover topology incorporating phase alignment and impedance alignment technologies.
The Special Forty is available in exclusive grey and red birch high-gloss finishes. Learn more about the Special Forty.
Other new products available from Dynaudio include its new Custom Install architectural range. Dynaudio says that its new architectural products embody the same core technology, expertise and attention to detail found in its traditional products, as well as its professional products. Those products will join the Special Forty this year in San Diego as part of its CEDIA exhibit on September 5-9.
Exhibiting at booth #2700 at CEDIA, Dynaudio will also introduce the first products in the ultra-high performance Dynaudio Cinema Series: the Cinema Master 60.
“Dynaudio will equip a special exhibit room at the Marriott Marquis Hotel with a high-end home cinema system, partnering with Datasat Electronics to create the most realistic cinema experience,” explains Mick Tillman, Eastern sales director, Dynaudio.
Werdean adds the company’s demo and overall commitment to the custom channel will be a priority during the show in order to impress upon show attendees the level of performance the company brings to market.
“The first Dynaudio loudspeakers were a revelation when they were introduced,” says Werdean. “We’re confident that integrators and dealers who get the chance to see and hear our newest products will find them to be similarly transformative. We can’t wait to blow them away at CEDIA.”
See photos of the Ambassador Tour and Dynaudio R&D facility.
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