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Dynaudio Confidence 50
With great power comes great responsibility. That’s why these large floorstanders are just as adept at shaking the room as they are reproducing the finest of details.
Confidence 50
With great power comes great responsibility. That’s why these large floorstanders are just as adept at shaking the room as they are reproducing the finest of details.
The Confidence 50 stands shoulder-to-shoulder (or baffle-to-baffle) in height with the Confidence C4 – the previous flagship of the range.
Like that legendary speaker, it’s a three-way design with twin woofers and twin midrange drivers. It’s stunningly constructed. Stunningly finished. And a stunning performer. It uses DDC (Dynaudio Directivity Control) technology to form a sound ‘beam’ that avoids reflections from floors and ceilings. And it features an Esotar tweeter and MSP woofers.
But it takes all of this – every single component – to an elevated level of performance.
You might notice that while the previous Confidence floor-standers used two tweeters, the updated Confidence 50 has just one. That’s because the engineers toiling away in Dynaudio Labs have discovered ways to optimise crossovers, waveguides and baffles to create a much simpler, better-performing version of the DDC platform(Peek behind the curtain and see how we decided to go with one tweeter instead of two in our six-part podcast series on Confidence).
DDC Lens
It all centres on the DDC Lens – the stunning precision-machined waveguide around the Esotar3 tweeter (we think you’ll agree that’s a mouth-watering combination right there).
The DDC Lens has been simulated and topology-optimised to vertically focus the tweeter, midrange drivers and woofers on the listening position. That results in dramatically reduced reflections from floors and ceilings – which means you hear exactly what the driver system, and not the room, is doing.
Esotar3
The 28mm Esotar3 soft-dome tweeter takes over 40 years of Dynaudio expertise, plus plenty of learnings from the award-winning Esotar Forty unit – and rolls it all into the finest tweeter we’ve ever developed.
A powerful neodymium magnet system, innovations in airflow routing, the resonance-busting Hexis inner dome … it all combines to increase detail, clarity and sensitivity.
You have to hear it to believe...
The Confidence 50’s updated MSP midrange drivers are a big departure from previous Dynaudio designs.
They use a radical surround design – the Horizon – that follows the cone’s shape right to the edge of the driver. This reduces the surround’s first resonant mode to effectively increase the whole playing surface area and improve performance. They also sit flush with the baffle to reduce diffractions from the diaphragm and the adjacent tweeter.
Behind the scenes, the basket has been given a lightweight organic design – one that’s come from extensive topology-optimisation simulations. It increases airflow, maintains its stability and rigidity and reduces weight simultaneously without sacrificing performance.
Everything is held securely in place in the ultra-rigid, super-damped and acoustically inert Compex composite baffle. It echoes the design of previous Confidences – but brings the look up to date in aesthetics and acoustic principles. That’s because it forms an integral part of the DDC Lens system, as well as providing perfect coupling and decoupling of the drivers.
Down below is the bass port . You won’t see it; it sits under the speaker. And because it fires downwards, we’ve been able to design it to perform exactly as we want it to without having to worry about putting a big hole in the beautiful finish.
And, honestly, you have to hear it to believe it…
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Professional Reviews 93/100
Deliciously Crispy
Sound Quality
94/100
Build Quality
91/100
Value for Money
93/100
Dynaudio’s Confidence 50 delivers room-pressurising bass, exceptional Esotar 3 treble detail and a deep, stable soundstage without sacrificing composure at serious levels. The Absolute Sound praises its scale and tonal colour, while Part Time Audiophile found a powerful, richly defined presentation that thrives on demanding modern music.
What Reviewers Are Saying
Pros
Delivers massive, controlled low-end weight with clear midbass and lower-midrange definition.
Esotar 3 tweeter combines abundant resolution, air and separation with smooth, non-fatiguing treble.
Scales effortlessly from intimate recordings to orchestral, metal and electronic music at high volumes.
Produces deep imaging, a stable centre image and richly coloured vocals and instruments.
&
Cons
Reaches its best imaging only with careful positioning, including wide spacing and substantial toe-in.
The warm, relaxed balance can slightly soften microdynamic contrasts and midrange textural richness.
Bass is natural and powerful rather than the tightest or punchiest presentation among premium rivals.
SOUND QUALITY PERFORMANCE 94/100
Reviewers hear a large-scale, refined loudspeaker with powerful low frequencies, rich tonal colour, exceptional treble resolution and unusually convincing depth. It is capable of very high output without obvious strain, although its relaxed warmth, setup sensitivity and slightly softened micro-contrasts make it less overtly incisive than some rivals.
Bass
94/100
The Confidence 50 combines substantial room-pressurising weight with clear midbass and lower-midrange definition; Part Time Audiophile found it delivered exceptional low-end power even against a speaker that reached somewhat lower. HiFi Turtle calls the bass natural and neutral rather than forward, while noting it is not the very tightest or punchiest presentation.
Mid
92/100
Voices and instruments are described as richly coloured, full-bodied and clear, with Part Time Audiophile hearing more "meat on the bone" through vocals and bass instruments. That reviewer also detected a slight lack of textural richness and a mild presence-region dip, giving the overall balance a gently warm, relaxed character.
Treble
96/100
The Esotar 3 earns especially strong praise for combining abundant detail and air with smooth, non-fatiguing behaviour. Part Time Audiophile found it never harsh or attention-seeking, while HiFi Turtle called it the best tweeter they had heard, praising its ability to resolve brightly recorded material without turning abrasive.
Soundstage Imaging
93/100
Reviews consistently praise the speaker's deep, well-defined spatial presentation, stable centre image and finely resolved ambience. Placement matters: Part Time Audiophile only achieved the best imaging after widening the speakers and applying substantial toe-in, and described the stage as largely contained between the cabinets rather than exceptionally wide.
Dynamics
95/100
The Confidence 50 is repeatedly praised for scaling from intimate music to orchestral, metal and club-level electronic material with convincing heft and little sense of compression. Part Time Audiophile found it could play extremely loudly without strain, though the smallest dynamic contrasts were described as somewhat smoothed over.
Assessments of Build Quality, Usability, and Overall Propositions.
Build Quality
91/100
The 109-pound cabinet, integrated metal stand and extensive adjustment hardware convey a substantial, carefully engineered product. Reviewers note the redesigned drivers, crossover, cabinetry and DDC Lens assembly, while the supplied levelling system and foot hardware make final placement more manageable than the size suggests.
Value for Money
93/100
At roughly $27,000 to $33,500 per pair, this is clearly a high-end purchase, and Part Time Audiophile says it rewards owners willing to invest in careful setup and suitable electronics. HiFi Turtle considered its performance extraordinary for the money, saying they would struggle to choose an $800,000 alternative over the Confidence 50.
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Authorized dealers for Dynaudio Confidence 50
- In Living Stereo — in-store — New York City, New York, United States (website)
- Resolution A/V — in-store — New York City, New York, United States (website)
- Accent On Music — in-store — Mount Kisco, New York, United States (website)
- Acclaim Sound and Light — online and in-store — North Bay, Ontario, Canada (website)
- Acoustica — online and in-store — Chester, England, United Kingdom (website)
- Addicted to Audio — online and in-store — Epping, Victoria, Australia (website)
- AES — in-store — Mitte, Hessen, Germany (website)
- Ahead Stereo — in-store — Los Angeles, California, United States (website)
- Alpha High End — online and in-store — Brasschaat, Vlaams Gewest, Belgium (website)
- AMPL’HIFI — online and in-store — Nîmes, Occitanie, France (website)
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