DYNAUDIO Confidence C2 II

MJ23.09.2009

Floorstanding loudspeakers

Dynaudio doubled the midrange driver for the C2 II (which is not exceptional) but it also doubled the tweeter (which is exceptional). All the drivers are arranged in a kind of pseudo-d´Appolito arrangement that is derived from Dynaudio's Evidence Temptation and Evidence Master flagships. The resulting radiation pattern should be quite narrow which should help combat undesirable ceiling and floor reflections.

Function and form

80%
Ease of use
67%
Sound
83%
Appearance

The Dynaudio Confidence C2 II's baffles are very narrow, not wider than a sheet of A4 paper, but they are quite tall. To stabilize the towers Dynaudio designed a special plinth that locks the speaker to the floor and also provides anti-resonant decoupling. WBT binding posts are mounted onto the plinth (no bi-wiring here as Dynaudio considers bi-wiring unnecessary) which ensures the electromagnetical isolation from drivers and saves your money as you only need speaker cables to reach them without a necessity to travel up.

Like with other Confidence series speakers the drivers are mounted into an MDF subpanel (which looks like metal but is not). The drivers are usual suspects: 17cm Dynaudio midrange/bass drivers with 75mm aluminum voice coils and the latest versions of Esotar2 silk dome tweeter.

Bass management

Weight
66
Slam
60
Articulation
68

I have to dissapoint those who expect dinosaurs stomping in the room. The bass of the Confidence C2 II is not that deep. On top of that it is not the last word in articulation too, being a bit more loose than expected. I recommend to use a good subwoofer (or two) with these speakers.

Clarity & delicacy

Detail
88
Air
68
Transparency
67

The mids of the Dynaudio Confidence C2 IIs are to die for, however. Jacintha's vocals from Groove Note's SACD sampler was very liquid with soothing quality to it, the piano was rich and silky and the saxophone let me hear the air flowing out from its bell. If emotions were measured than a measuring device's hand would hit its stop at max. When I swapped Jacintha for Johnny Cash (Hurt) the voice was not less addictive, with wonderful intonation, textures and articulation.

Tonal accuracy

Timbre
69
Dynamics
79
Temporal resolution
64

As far as subtle micro-dynamic shifts are concerned I had no issue with the Dynaudios. With huge macro-dynamic sweeps the Confidence C2 IIs exhibited certain cautiousness and remained a bit constraint. The honey-like sound also did not support orchestral transparency.

Spatial resolution

Holography
69
Soundstage width
82
Soundstage depth
76

Dynaudios were excellent in lateral soundstaging. When I reviewed stand mounted Confidence C1 I liked their act of disappearance in my listening room. The much bigger C2 IIs disappeared with the same magic trick. The soundstage extended deep and wide and gave me the feeling of being comfortably deated in a large auditorium. The C2 IIs were definitely not about the 1st row perspective.

Price as reviewed:300 000,- Kč

Recommended resellers

Audiostudio s.r.o., Olomouc, tel. +420 608 752 475

Associated components

  • Sources: Accuphase DP-57
  • Amplifiers: Luxman L-550A II, Accuphase E-550
  • Interconnects and speaker cables: Audioquest Panther and Audioquest Cheetah, Nordost Flatline Super MkII, Audioquest Pikes Peak and Audioquest Volcano
  • Power conditioning: JenTech DB06 distributor, Quantum Resonant Technology QRT Qx4 EMF stabilizer, Cardas Cross power cables

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