- 72 directional fins move audio around
- Amps and processing are no longer external
- It'll cost "around" $20K if you don't want a fancy finish
Earlier this year, Danish high-end hi-fi expert Dynaudio unveiled its astonishing Symphony Opus One soundbar and everybody went "ooh", including us. And since then, its engineers have found ways to make it even better, and to make people go "oooooooooh".
It remains eye-wateringly expensive – final pricing hasn't been confirmed but Dynaudio says it'll cost "around $20,000 depending on the options chosen" as custom finishes will also be available. That'll be confirmed when the product actually launches, but for now there's going to be a new demo at the CES show in January.
On the first day of CES my true love gave to me...
We got to experience the first Dynaudio Opus One demo demo when it was still a concept and far from production. To say we were impressed would be an understatement: it delivers genuinely room-filling Atmos sound from a soundbar that's fairly room-filling itself due to its large size. You're going to want one of the best 85-inch TVs if you want this to look like a normally sized soundbar.
It needs to be big because listing what's inside feels rather like singing the 12 days of Christmas: there are 72 wooden fins, six tweeters, 14 mid/bass drivers, FIVE GO-OLD RINGS, four dual-diaphragm force-cancelling subwoofers, 1500W of digital amplification, and a partridge in a pear tree. I'm lying about the rings and the tree; I suspect that wood isn't 'pear'.
The big difference in this new version of the design is that that amplification and processing is now inside; previously it was external. That makes for a more elegant appearance, and considerably less connecting when you're installing it. Or for whoever you're paying to install it, probably.
Sadly I won't be at CES to experience this or to try to stuff it into a comically large backpack, but TechRadar will have people there, so we'll aim to visit the behind-closed-doors CES demo. But if you're a big-spending fan of iconic design as well as intense audio, this could well be the soundbar you'll want to buy in 2025.
