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Dynaudio exiting US.
- Thread starter analogonly
- Start date
They exited the DIY market 25 years ago.
These drivers were very popular for speaker projects back in the day. Those days are long gone.
qirex
Member
Yeah it seems like they just kept selling to a (literally) dying market rather than have any kind of entry level offerings, which is probably a challenge nowadays. Their last big product launches are a black Contour with a tweeter swap, a seven thousand dollar 6" bookshelf in a very nice cabinet and a $20,000 luxury soundbar. Lots of "heritage" and "legacy" branding. I always liked their designs, the special 40 or Contour in grey birch have been on my "maybe someday if I see a deal" list for a long time.
CDMC
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To me it just appears to be systemic of the overall audio market. Hi end audio has been on a slide for decades with fewer and fewer retail stores. Most people are only willing to pay so much to purchase speakers and have them shipped to their home at a significant cost if they have to return them. Likewise part of the market has gone to home theater. There is only so much of a small market to divide up.
At the same time, we have seen the rise of many high quality moderate price brands. For most people, why would they spend $10,000 on an amp when they can get a great amp for $1,000 or less? Look at the number of wonderful speakers now available for under $1,000 a pair, good subwoofers for $500, and so on. It is hard to make a compelling argument to throw $20,000 plus at a system, when for $2,500 you can go buy something like a Wiim Amp Ultra, Ascend Sierra 1, and a couple of RSL subs and have a simple system that sounds great, and for those that want to spend the time, better than most boutique systems.
At the same time, we have seen the rise of many high quality moderate price brands. For most people, why would they spend $10,000 on an amp when they can get a great amp for $1,000 or less? Look at the number of wonderful speakers now available for under $1,000 a pair, good subwoofers for $500, and so on. It is hard to make a compelling argument to throw $20,000 plus at a system, when for $2,500 you can go buy something like a Wiim Amp Ultra, Ascend Sierra 1, and a couple of RSL subs and have a simple system that sounds great, and for those that want to spend the time, better than most boutique systems.
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Seems they had stuff more recently than that....
I enjoyed my Dynaudio Contour a lot. They always highlighted their Esotar (sp?) tweeters but never said much about woofers, odd that. But the top line has also become much more expensive, and at that price level the decision making process is long, and other more innovative (and perhaps cheaper) solutions exist. I can't prove it, but I think their value proposition and brand cachee may be harder to defend?
I doubt it's a poltically motivated decision... if it was solely about tariffs, all you have to do is keep a more minimal local presence, lower cost of business... but get ready to ramp up when things inevitably change. Abandoning a market makes it hard to return. And no company likes giving up on growth prospects. So it is a bizarre decision. I asked ChatGPT and it also can't make sense out of it as a business strategy decision. It's anti-MBA 101...
I think a big factor for Dynaudio may well be the fact that the U.S. market is probably the most competitive and promotion-driven consumer market in the world. Consumers here have far less brand loyalty than, say, in Europe and Japan. It is my experience and I have seen that written often in biz mags.
It seems in the USA most consumers think in terms of...
"What's on sale?"
"What's the latest model?"
"What's Wirecutter recommending?"
"Can Amazon get it to me tomorrow?"
Whereas many European consumers are more likely to think:
"I've always bought Miele."
"My parents drove Mercedes."
"I'll keep this for 20 years."
And Japanese consumers arguably take this even further. In Japan, brand trust is almost a social contract. Companies spend decades building reputations because customers are extraordinarily reluctant to abandon brands that have earned their trust.
I doubt it's a poltically motivated decision... if it was solely about tariffs, all you have to do is keep a more minimal local presence, lower cost of business... but get ready to ramp up when things inevitably change. Abandoning a market makes it hard to return. And no company likes giving up on growth prospects. So it is a bizarre decision. I asked ChatGPT and it also can't make sense out of it as a business strategy decision. It's anti-MBA 101...
I think a big factor for Dynaudio may well be the fact that the U.S. market is probably the most competitive and promotion-driven consumer market in the world. Consumers here have far less brand loyalty than, say, in Europe and Japan. It is my experience and I have seen that written often in biz mags.
It seems in the USA most consumers think in terms of...
"What's on sale?"
"What's the latest model?"
"What's Wirecutter recommending?"
"Can Amazon get it to me tomorrow?"
Whereas many European consumers are more likely to think:
"I've always bought Miele."
"My parents drove Mercedes."
"I'll keep this for 20 years."
And Japanese consumers arguably take this even further. In Japan, brand trust is almost a social contract. Companies spend decades building reputations because customers are extraordinarily reluctant to abandon brands that have earned their trust.
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I enjoyed my Dynaudio Contour a lot. They always highlighted their Esotar (sp?) tweeters but never said much about woofers, odd that. But the top line has also become much more expensive, and at that price level the decision making process is long, and other more innovative (and perhaps cheaper) solutions exist. I can't prove it, but I think their value proposition and brand cachee may be harder to defend?
I doubt it's a poltically motivated decision... if it was solely about tariffs, all you have to do is keep a more minimal local presence, lower cost of business... but get ready to ramp up when things inevitably change. Abandoning a market makes it hard to return. And no company likes giving up on growth prospects. So it is a bizarre decision. I asked ChatGPT and it also can't make sense out of it as a business strategy decision. It's anti-MBA 101...
I think a big factor for Dynaudio may well be the fact that the U.S. market is probably the most competitive and promotion-driven consumer market in the world. Consumers here have little brand loyalty that, say, in Europe and Japan. It is my experience and I have seen that written often in biz mags.
It seems in the USA most consumers think in terms of...
"What's on sale?"
"What's the latest model?"
"What's Wirecutter recommending?"
"Can Amazon get it to me tomorrow?"
Whereas many European consumers are more likely to think:
"I've always bought Miele."
"My parents drove Mercedes."
"I'll keep this for 20 years."
And Japanese consumers arguably take this even further. In Japan, brand trust is almost a social contract. Companies spend decades building reputations because customers are extraordinarily reluctant to abandon brands that have earned their trust.
Just to expand on my point... I went and researched and confirmed the dramatic price increases... and no way can that be justified with inflation... for example:
- 2005 Contour: $3,500
- 2015 Contour: $6,000
- 2025 Contour: $10,000 to 12,000
When you do that, you push your customer base beyond asking "Should I buy Contour or Special Forty?" and into asking ""Should I buy Contour, Focal Kanta, KEF Reference, Sonus faber Olympica, B&W 804, or Magico A3?" That's a MUCH tougher competitive set.
I think they may have noticed that business trend, or something else is going on, like "The US market numbers are not in line with other geos, and we are setting up the books to sell ourselves". That's my business strategy read.
I am sorry, but I ran my intuition by ChatGPT and I think the response may be revealing:
"..
I think your intuition about pricing is stronger than the official narrative.
You're basically saying: "If the market hasn't grown (Dynaudio revenue has just been basically stagnant for well over 10 years according to available sources), but prices have risen dramatically, eventually you narrow your Total Addressable Market."
The available numbers are consistent with that. Not proof—but certainly consistent.
Here's the business model I think they accidentally drifted into...
Early Contour: "A premium speaker for serious enthusiasts."
Current Contour: "A luxury product competing for luxury buyers."
Those are very different businesses.
.."
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I think it took awhile to exhaust existing inventory back then.
"Founded in Denmark in 1977, Dynaudio initially manufactured speakers using its own crossovers while relying on OEM drivers. Within three years, all of Dynaudio loudspeaker systems were equipped with their own drivers which were developed by their in-house R&D team. At this point in time, Dynaudio began selling its drivers to other speaker manufacturers. According to Wilfried Ehrenholz, Dynaudio's co-founder and sole owner " This proved to be a very successful move because, while there are many different speaker manufacturers, there are only a few driver manufacturers - and even fewer at the quality end of the market. Within a very short period of time Dynaudio drivers became popular all over the world and were widely recognized for their quality by audiophile consumers ".
Although Dynaudio's fame centers around its drivers, the company's biggest business has been and continues to be its finished home audio loudspeaker systems. At the present, over 55% of Dynaudio's worldwide annual sales are attributed to its Authentic Fidelity home audio loudspeaker line.
While the company is best known as a producer of drive units, the smallest part of Dynaudio's overall business (about 3%), ironically, is in fact the sales to OEM users (which include some of the world's highest regarded loudspeaker manufacturers) and the DIY hobbyist market. As of January 1, 2000 , Dynaudio officially stopped all production and support of the hobbyist drivers and kits. The market was so small in the grand scope of the company's production, that the decision was mostly based on this fact.
Dynaudio's manufacturing facilities are based in Skanderborg , Denmark , where both production and R&D is conducted. The company's worldwide sales, marketing, and distribution offices are headquartered in Hamburg , Germany . Drivers are manufactured under laboratory conditions in a recently expanded facility dedicated to driver production, while all high quality cabinets are produced in a separate specialized carpentry facility isolated from the driver production.
According to Ehrenholz, " an increasing worldwide demand on high quality loudspeakers fueled in part by new digital recording technologies and better educated consumers provides Dynaudio a perfect platform to increase its market share. Over the past decade, the company has experienced consistent growth and has added additional personnel, while also expanding its research and development. At present, Dynaudio invests more than 10% of its annual turnover on R&D."
Also covered here:
www.strata-gee.com
Dynaudio to Exit North America; Will Focus on Markets Offering Greater Opportunities
Dynaudio says it will exit the North American market, shifting its priorities to other markets. As such, it will close its U.S. subsidiary
www.strata-gee.com
Yes, the competition in the US market is brutal, especially now with the availability of so many great speakers from direct companies like Ascend and Philharmonic, not to mention how easy it is to try quality speakers with free trial periods from outlets such as Crutchfield, Best Buy, Audio Advice, ect.
I owned two sets of the largest Dynaudio tower speakers in two lines and I just never did really enjoy the sound that much. The first was the Audience 82 and the second was the Excite X-44, which were huge. The tweeters in these just didn't seem very good to me.
I owned two sets of the largest Dynaudio tower speakers in two lines and I just never did really enjoy the sound that much. The first was the Audience 82 and the second was the Excite X-44, which were huge. The tweeters in these just didn't seem very good to me.
Newman
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Just last month they released a EUR 13,000 soundbar with a custom spatial engine.... I wouldn't say they show no innovation.
AcousticTheory
Member
Still highly likely a distributor will handle the importation and U.S. sales, as with many other brands. No need to maintain a U.S. subsidiary unless you have business clients here that need direct support from the company. This is not necessarily a crashout, or even political, just a reorientation of priorities and a different approach to the U.S. market.
Bleib
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That's not uncommon though (as has already been pointed out). A lot of companies in many countries receive subsidies, pay zero taxes and even help write the laws (USA in particular) through lobbying and donating to political candidates
I think another reason is that many simply buy soundbars, we all used to have real stereos in the 70s to 90s but modern era is pretty much about minimalism
At least in my case Chinese speakers aren't really big yet, nothing is made in China
Their financials show large losses for years.....
https://regnskaber.cvrapi.dk/655512...zA5L2Q1YzctNDhkMS04MDlmLTI1NWNjM2RjMTY2Nw.pdf
https://regnskaber.cvrapi.dk/655512...2U0L2IxY2EtNDZlNC04N2YwLTQxOTQyNzZkNDk2OA.pdf
https://regnskaber.cvrapi.dk/655512...zA5L2Q1YzctNDhkMS04MDlmLTI1NWNjM2RjMTY2Nw.pdf
https://regnskaber.cvrapi.dk/655512...2U0L2IxY2EtNDZlNC04N2YwLTQxOTQyNzZkNDk2OA.pdf
They were good speakers used in a lot of studios. The guy I bought my Legacy Whispers from replaced them with Dynaudio Confidence 20's.
You didn’t look up the latest, 2025, is even worse than 2024. One or to more years like that and the equity is lost.
Like others have noted, this probably does not mean that US consumers will not be able to buy Dynaudio speakers, it means they are shutting down their corporate office in the USA. Guess they felt the revenue trend vs expenses in the US wasn't making sense. I am not sure how many audio companies have a wholly owned subsidiary...
