Dynaudio presents soundbar for 20,000 dollars

In the USA, the motto "Bigger is Better" has always applied. In this respect, it says a lot when a prototype of a new soundbar shown at CES causes a stir. However, the Symphony Opus One from Danish company Dynaudio easily outshines previous soundbars in several respects, including its width of a whopping 185 centimetres. According to the manufacturer, the model should therefore fit perfectly under 83-inch televisions.

The cabinet houses 14 bass-midrange drivers, 6 tweeters and 4 dedicated bass drivers. The latter are made up of two diaphragms arranged opposite each other. This is intended to minimize disruptive resonances, as opposing forces cancel each other out (force cancelling). Two of the tweeters and two of the bass-midrange drivers radiate towards the ceiling, while two bass-midrange drivers radiate to the side. The drivers are powered by a Class D amplifier with a total of 1,500 watts. In comparison, Sennheiser's already massive top model Ambeo Soundbar Max "only" has a total of 13 drivers and a total of 500 watts

You can imagine that the Symphony Opus One will not be cheap. Dynaudio is aiming for an RRP of 20,000 US dollars for its first soundbar, which should be ready for the market by the end of the year / beginning of next year. It should be noted that the base presented at CES is not yet included, as this is an accessory. However, a remote control with an integrated measuring microphone is included, which is used to calibrate the system. An in-house calibration procedure is used for this.

However, the Symphony Opus One also offers a little show for its money: at the start of playback, 72 motorized wooden slats open one after the other. They adapt to one of the four sound modes and can also remain closed in front of the drivers responsible for the center channel during pure stereo playback. However, they should not act dynamically during playback. When asked by heise online, the manufacturer explained that every effort is being made to rectify defects in the folding mechanism as easily as possible.

During the demo, the manufacturer demonstrated that it is actually a sound projector: the sound could be sent to specific seating positions in the room using beam forming (referred to here as "Deep Dive"), so that the person sitting there was enveloped in a kind of sound bubble. The Symphony Opus One should be able to compensate if someone is not sitting in the optimum position in front of the soundbar or if several sweet spots are required in the room.

During the demo, the height effects of Dolby Atmos soundtracks came across clearly. It is still unclear whether the Symphony Opus One will also be able to process Auro-3D soundtracks. However, the chances of this are good, as Dynaudio's Chinese parent company Goerdyna Group recently acquired Auro (as NewAuro and now NewAuro BV). Dynaudio has therefore not yet provided any information on the virtual channel configuration with which the Symphony Opus One will ultimately be advertised.

(nij)