Dali speakers

I have only listened to the Dali Megaline speaker and boy, it is a great sounding speaker. I would probably never be able to afford it ($38k) but, it was a nice audition experience.

Dunno why, but Dali isnt very big in this forum.

They are a Danish speaker company that has only been marketing in the US for a couple of years. Both myself and a friend of mine auditioned about a dozen speakers in the 3-5k range in the Washington DC area and we both independently decided on the same speaker: the DALI Evidence 870. The DALI Helicons sounded even better, but we both thought that the Evidence was a better value.

The only downside to these speakers is that they are not well-designed for home theater. The Evidence center channel and bookshelf are cheap and not matched with the other speakers in the line.

Give them a listen.

I listened to the Helicons about six months ago and was EXTREMELY impressed. The Helicon centre is a great match for the mains. My friend who listened with me is planning to get a full 7.1 set.

I recently purchased a pair of Dali's IKON 2's with the VOKAL 2 center after demoing several other manufacturers. I am very happy with the way they sound, very crisp and clear. They put out some amazing sound even tho they are just bookshelves. The build quality of the Dali's is excellent and the dual tweeter makes for clearer sound with the high frequencies IMO.

Tom- I don't know what you heard, but the Dali HT setup I listened to sounded awesome. I think it had the Euphonia series speakers tho.

My comments applied only to the Evidence line. Since I bought the Evidence 870, I also needed a center channel and surrounds to match, and as I said the Evidence center channel, well, sucks, as do the bookshelf/surrounds.

At least in the Helicon line the drivers in the center channel and bookshelf match the main speakers.

I have never heard the evidence series, and from Tom's comments I'm glad I haven't. I think the way to go would be the $42K megaliners

dburchet,

Would you mind saying what other manufacturers' products you demoed, and your opinion on how each compared the IKONs?

Thanks
Bruce

TomHuffman,

Did you buy a center and surrounds to go with your Evidence 870s? If so, did you get something other than Evidences?

Thanks
Bruce

Bruce:

Yes, I did, but I'm not entirely happy with my choice. The speakers are fine in their own right, but they simply aren't matched to the Evidence 870. I currently use a NHT M6 as the center channel and PSB Image S50 surround.

The day after tomorrow, I'm going to audition the Triad LCR Gold in-room speakers. If they live up to my expectations I intend to replace the NHT center with one of these, and in the long run I may move the Triad entirely. However, I hate the thought of giving up the DALIs. They are wonderfully musical and dynamic full-range speakers.

Perhaps some day DALI will upgrade the Evidence line and provide a center and surround/bookshelf that equals the styling and build quality of the tower speakers of that line.

Tom - why not hang onto the Dali's and move them to a 2-channel music-only setup?

I think there will be no upgrade for the Evidence. Here in Germany they will sell not often. But if you listen to a Ikon 7 Setup, the way to the Helicons is not so far.

Greetings
Michael

That's a possibility.


That was my guess, although I don't know why they wouldn't sell. They look and sound great and they are at a lower price point than the Helicons.

Bruce
I tested the PSB Image Series, Polk Rti and LSi series, Dali IKON, Helicon and Euphonia series, Klipsch Synergy, JBL Northridge, Paradigm but I don't know the Make. I think that is the full list. There isn't alot of HT stores in my area, but I made it to all of them except the one that was closed for construction.

Both of the sets of Polks I listened to had a real boxy sound. Not a very technical term I know, but it seemed that there was something lacking in the sound especially with the center channel that went with it. For the price I don't think they are worth it. IMO they made a big mistake buy trying to market themselves into the big box stores.

The JBL's and Klipsch were demoed out of pure enjoyment of listening to the Salesman at Bestbuy trying to get me to buy them.

My dad has a HT setup with Paradigms, I don't know the make. They do sound good and I probably would have gotten some digms had I not found the Dali's.

I really liked the PSB speakers, I think that their owner used to work for Paradigm and the still communicate back and forth. Anyway I think they had a really good sound to them. The only thing I didn't like about them was they were very weak when used as a 2 channel. The speaking voices sounded slightly muffled and seemed to be over shadowed by the other frequencies. I know they probably would have sounded better with the matching center.

Then I heard the Dali's. I first listened to the IKON 7's with the Vokal 2 center, then the IKON 2's just as 2-channel. For all the Demo's I listened to the the Eagles Hell Freezes over CD. As soon as I popped in Hotel California I was amazed. The clarity of the music that came through these little babies was awesome. Since I have a small appartment I settles on the IKON 2's and have never been happier. Just for fun I had Brian (the owner of the store) let me try out the Euphonia series just to get a comparison between them and the IKON's. Once again I was wishing I were on an unlimited budget and could afford them. If you want some more info I would be glad to elaborate a little more if you had some specific questions.

For me, it is hard to describe why I didn't like a particular speaker other than it just didn't please my ear, but I could always try. Take into account that I am really green when it comes to all the technical jargon and have only been researching HT for a couple of months. After my excapades in speaker auditioning I am a firm believer in buying what pleases your ear, no matter what brand or model it is.

If you are looking at getting some new speakers I would highly recommend taking the time to listen to a Dali setup, I personally don't think I will ever stray from them.

Both are really sensational companies with stellar commitment to product design and customer service...

I have personally visited the factory where Dali speakers are made... This is THEIR OWN factory and it's really First Cabin... The Dali products represent outstanding value (IMHO) when compared to others in their price class... The finish is superb as is their overall design (in general)...

The owner of this business is the driving force (Peter Lyngdorf) and he's really something special...

Do consider their products... You cannot go wrong...

All the best...

mls

SPECTACULAR loudspeaker... Blew me away when I heard it some years back at Mr. Lyngdorf's home...

Never forgot that sound...

All the best...

mls

dburchet and TomHuffman,

Thank you both for your feedback. Helps to reinforce my thoughts that the Dali IKON line is one of the speaker systems (7.1 setup) I should audition if / when I decide to look for alternatives to my M&K system.

Bruce

Hello,
I'v been looking for dali "Concept" line reviews but to no vail !
Can enyone point me in the right direction to eny reviews of these speakers, Concept 6 and concept center.
Many Thanks
Will.

Has anyone heard the Dali Suite Series? I started a thread a couple of days ago hoping to get some feedback on these, but no one responded. Since this thread is for Dali speakers and has some activity, I'd appreciate any information / experience on the Suite series that you can share.

Thanks ........... Obi

To the OP, where in NJ was the store? I'm in NJ and it never hurts to check out another pair of speakers , but maybe I shouldn't...what's the price on these things?

DALI has several series, each at a different price point.
Evidence 870 2800/pr
Evidence 470 1800/pr
Helicon 400 4200/pr
Helicon 800 6000/pr
Euphonia MS4 9000/pr
Euphonia MS5 12000/pr

They also offer the Royal, Suite, Concept, and IKON series all at lower price points.

See for yourself at http://www.dali-usa.com

Anyone have experience with the Piano series? I'm hoping for a step above the typical "lifestyle" speaker that will satisfy both the WAF and my ears.

I'm surprised SteveH hasn't chimed in on this thread yet. He's been a Dali fan since first auditioning them a few years back and has been a strong dealer for them since AFAIK. In fact, I think there are some archived threads with his comments before and after auditioning the Euphnia line. Steve, you out there?

Jeff

By the way, they could really benefit from adding a black finish option to the Euphonia line. While the finishes are attractive and the Alpi truly is unique, sometimes black works best in certain rooms. This can be especially true when the WAF is involved.

Jeff

Just to follow-up on my quest for a high-quality center channel to match my DALI Evidence 870, I auditioned the Triad LCR In-Room Golds. These sounded almost exactly the same to me (based on memory) as the Aerial CC3/LR3. Although both speakers are very well made and highly regarded by many, neither are my cup of tea. I thought that both gave up something in openness and midrange neutrality.

I took a chance an purchased a center channel from an direct Internet sales company I had never heard of until some enthusiasts on this forum altered me to them. The company is Audio Concepts Inc. (ACI) http://www.audioc.com/index.html
a company based in Wisconsin.

I purchased their top-of-the-line Essence center channel http://www.audioc.com/speakers1/essence/essence.htm

MSRP $1100 w/cherry wood panels.

I really lucked out on this one.

1. The speaker cost about exactly 1/2 of the Triad or Aerial equivalent.
2. Its build quality is extremely high, on the same level as the Triad and Aerial.
3. It sounds fabulous: powerful, but very neutral and open. No hint of boxiness and a very sweet and natural high end.
4. Best of all, it is voiced almost exactly the same as my DALI mains. There is barely a hint that I even have a center channel playing until I listen off-axis, when the vocal localization becomes evident. It's a major upgrade from the NHT M6, in terms of build quality and overall sound quality and it's a much better match with the DALIs to boot.

I haven't heard any of this company's other speakers, but if the Essence center channel is any indication, they offer one of the great buys in high-end audio.

If I had it to do all over again, I suspect I would have gone with all ACIs across the front. I'm guessing they sound as good as the DALI Evidence 870 and they are a little cheaper. The L/R match to the Essence center channel MSRP at about $2000/pair.

Tom:

FWIW, I have heard only good things about ACI both on this forum and others. Triad and Aerial are certainly excellent in their own right, but ACI offers wonderful speakers and great value. A co-worker has an all-ACI 7 channel system that includes the Essence and I have been nothing but impressed with the sound quality, appearance and build quality. I personally think you made a great choice and should be pleased for a long time.

Regards .......... Obi Wan

Of all the speakers I have auditioned, the Dali Megaline still stands as my fantasy speaker. No other speaker has come close for me...

The other lines are very nice for the money and would be a good buy if you don't want to break the bank.

Has anyone had a chance to compare the IKONs to the Helicons? I would assume there is a similarity due to similar tweeters, but am curious as to how similar / dissimilar they are. Yesterday, my wife and I did our first listening to potential new speakers. I found a local dealer via the Dali web site, and listened to the Helicon 800s. We really liked those, but the dealer did not have the IKONs to compare.

FYI, I doubt that dealer will carry IKONs. They were very snooty. At fist they swore the IKONs have a real wood veneer finish. Later, after I mentioned several times that I read the finish was a laminate, they then said they would never carry the IKON series if it was laminate rather than real wood.

Thanks
Bruce

I demoed the IKON 6 speakers and the Helicon 800s over the Christmas holidays. I personally think that the Helicon sounded better by a small margin. I was very impressed with the IKONs listening to only CDs, since the IKON center had not yet arrived. The IKON was probably 90-95% as good as the Helicon. The sales guy was unaware that the IKON was vinyl, but I believe that it is a nice vinyl laminate if you like one of the two available colors. The problem with demoing the speakers was that they were in different rooms with different amps. If you were going by looks the Helicons would win hands down as they are beautiful speakers. But for the value (less than half the Helicon 400 price) and sound you get out of the IKONs it would be a tight race.

Their speakers are world-class. I love their whole range, and they have all speakers to fit all budgets.