New setup DALI oberon 3 or Wharfedale evo 4.1

[real_shark]

Hi all!

It is great to have a forum like this in which we can discuss a topic when in doubt.

I was almost decided for the DALI oberon 3 for my living room but I am now indecisive after stumbling with the Wharfedale evo 4.1

OBERON 3 | Stand-mount speaker with floorstander sound | DALI Speakers

The DALI OBERON 3 delivers the large sound of a floorstanding speaker in a compact stand-mount cabinet. Click to discover more.

www.dali-speakers.com

Evo4.1 - WHARFEDALE

www.wharfedale.co.uk

The living room is about 25sqm, there is no tv, the speakers will have to be placed high and very close to a wall, about 30cm from the ceiling. (there is not much I can do about this). They will be powered by a 35W-50W amplifier but this is not yet decided.

I have found lots of information on the DALI but not much on this particular Wharfedale (most info I find is on the evo 4.2).

Any advise? What do you think?

Thanks,
RS.

 

[PENG]

Hi all!

It is great to have a forum like this in which we can discuss a topic when in doubt.

I was almost decided for the DALI oberon 3 for my living room but I am now indecisive after stumbling with the Wharfedale evo 4.1

OBERON 3 | Stand-mount speaker with floorstander sound | DALI Speakers

The DALI OBERON 3 delivers the large sound of a floorstanding speaker in a compact stand-mount cabinet. Click to discover more.

www.dali-speakers.com

Evo4.1 - WHARFEDALE

www.wharfedale.co.uk

The living room is about 25sqm, there is no tv, the speakers will have to be placed high and very close to a wall, about 30cm from the ceiling. (there is not much I can do about this). They will be powered by a 35W-50W amplifier but this is not yet decided.

I have found lots of information on the DALI but not much on this particular Wharfedale (most info I find is on the evo 4.2).

Any advise? What do you think?

Thanks,
RS.

From my distant memory, Whafedale speakers were in the lower end, so I am biased and therefore would prefer Monitor Audio's.

 

[adk highlander]

Not sure about lower end. The EVO line is the mid level of their range. I have been very happy with mine EVO2 50's for the past 7+ years. I have found them to a very nice neutral speaker. These new models all have an AMT instead of the soft dome's in the past.

I also have Dali's. Much higher build quality and drivers and also made in Denmark instead of China.

 

[real_shark]

Thanks of your replies!

I would like to add that the difference in the pricesI can get for those speakers is very little. The pair of Dali Oberon 3 cost me around 40€ more than the Wharfedale evo 4.1

I expect the Oberon to be higher musical quality than the Evos... ¿Would it be worth the extra cost for you?

These speakers will be in the living room, really visible. I also believe the Evos look nicer and that is also a plus.

So we all agree the Oberon are definitely better quality thank the Evos?

RS

 

[PENG]

I expect the Oberon to be higher musical quality than the Evos... ¿Would it be worth the extra cost for you?

It depends a lot on the room and placement of the speakers, and is a highly subjective thing too so only you can answer such question. If you cannot do the necessary comparison yourself then I would suggest you go with reviews with measurements but ignore the reviewers subjective blurbs.

 

[zieglj01]

Thanks of your replies!
So we all agree the Oberon are definitely better quality thank the Evos?

With proper set-up, only your ears can decide

 

[real_shark]

Thanks guys!

In the end I have amnaged to book an apointment to audition both speakers. I will tell you how that goes.

Do you normally take your own sources when you go to a listening room to listen to loudspeakers? If so, how do you do this? Just a pendrive with flacs?

KRs,
RS.

 

[John Parks]

Thanks guys!

In the end I have amnaged to book an apointment to audition both speakers. I will tell you how that goes.

Do you normally take your own sources when you go to a listening room to listen to loudspeakers? If so, how do you do this? Just a pendrive with flacs?

KRs,
RS.

Hey @real_shark ! Well, a (very, very) long time ago, I used to lug in some well known (to me at least) LPs. Luckily, that did not last long, what with the advent of CDs and all. For the longest time, I would bring in a few select CDs to audition and probably would still do so if I was looking at a player. I would imagine most dealers have a setup that accepts a flash drive but with the advent (and ubiquitousness) of streaming that is how most dealers operate these days. Unless you have specific files that cannot be streamed (artist not on a service, DSD format etc.) streaming should be fine for your purposes.

Good luck with your auditions and let us know how they went! I am kind of leaning toward the Dali but you never know!

 

[real_shark]

Hey @real_shark ! Well, a (very, very) long time ago, I used to lug in some well known (to me at least) LPs. Luckily, that did not last long, what with the advent of CDs and all. For the longest time, I would bring in a few select CDs to audition and probably would still do so if I was looking at a player. I would imagine most dealers have a setup that accepts a flash drive but with the advent (and ubiquitousness) of streaming that is how most dealers operate these days. Unless you have specific files that cannot be streamed (artist not on a service, DSD format etc.) streaming should be fine for your purposes.

Good luck with your auditions and let us know how they went! I am kind of leaning toward the Dali but you never know!

Thanks for your insight.

As I mentioned I have an appointment for auditioning the DALI oberon 3 and Wharfedale evo 4.1 in a couple weeks, however that place is quite far so yesterday I managed to listen to the DALI oberon 3, the DALI oberon on wall, the B&W 607 and some other ramdom speakers they had.

My baseline is the system I have now, in which I use floorstanding Infinity studio monitors so I was expecting a significant difference, and I found it.

I took some files to the shop but we ended up just using their Tidal account to stream some songs.

My veredict is that to my ears, all three speakers are clear and crisp. The voices and guitars sound probably as well as in my current system (but I would need more time to test). The Oberon in wall have practically no bass. The Oberon 3 and 607s have significantly more, but in either of them I would need a subwoofer or I will be looking for a new setup as soon as I start using these.

All I all, after this visit I have completely rethought the way I wanted to set up this room and I am going to forget about the Wharfedale evo 4.1. I may still consider the DALI Oberon 3 with a subwoofer.

I am now looking into Wharfedale evo 4.2 or B&W 606 (even 706 but not likely).

So, I guess that as expected I am stepping up from what I originally wanted to get, let's see where this takes me

I will open another thread to hopefully get some friendly feedback!

RS.

 

[XDM]

From my distant memory, Whafedale speakers were in the lower end, so I am biased and therefore would prefer Monitor Audio's.

Monitor Audio in the same price class is worse than Wharfedale for sure.


After listening to it, I wouldn't recommend the Monitor Audio Bronze 50 (Monitor Audio Bronze 6th generation) either. There's something wrong with the tuning of the Monitor Audio Bronze 6th gen.

The midrange is recessed and the treble is shrill/aggressive/harsh. I'm not the only one with that experience. Check out this YouTuber's comments under his video on the Bronze 100 it's bigger brother:

I'll quote some of his comments which he left below the video review to clarify, which aligns perfectly with my own experience:

-When I said these were bright and sharp I really meant it guys, they're shouty for sure.
(...)
If you don't believe me buy them for yourself and experience the disappointment first hand. I believe in break in but no amount of break-in can fix these. I had them connected to $7500 worth of what is otherwise smooth/neutral sounding gear and another few hundred dollars in room treatment. I gave these 30 hours, that should have gotten them most of the way there.
(...)
The Bronze 100 does a few things really well like imaging and soundstage but the presentation within is terribly unbalanced.

(...)
I'm still trying to understand who loves these, I honestly think it might be good for guys who have been to too many concerts and maybe lost a bit of hearing.

 

[PENG]

Monitor Audio in the same price class is worse than Wharfedale for sure.


After listening to it, I wouldn't recommend the Monitor Audio Bronze 50 (Monitor Audio Bronze 6th generation) either. There's something wrong with the tuning of the Monitor Audio Bronze 6th gen.

The midrange is recessed and the treble is shrill/aggressive/harsh. I'm not the only one with that experience. Check out this YouTuber's comments under his video on the Bronze 100 it's bigger brother:

I'll quote some of his comments which he left below the video review to clarify, which aligns perfectly with my own experience:

-When I said these were bright and sharp I really meant it guys, they're shouty for sure.
(...)
If you don't believe me buy them for yourself and experience the disappointment first hand. I believe in break in but no amount of break-in can fix these. I had them connected to $7500 worth of what is otherwise smooth/neutral sounding gear and another few hundred dollars in room treatment. I gave these 30 hours, that should have gotten them most of the way there.
(...)
The Bronze 100 does a few things really well like imaging and soundstage but the presentation within is terribly unbalanced.

(...)
I'm still trying to understand who loves these, I honestly think it might be good for guys who have been to too many concerts and maybe lost a bit of hearing.

I have no experience with the bronze, only Silver and higher models so I am not qualify to comments on them.

 

[MrBoat]

First consideration to audio upgrade is to consider the acoustic of the room, over the aesthetic. Compromises with the alternative ends up usually being a waste of time and money, and is possibly the highest source of bad reviews. I'd at least consider the possibility that I might have to have a more optimal way and position to move the speakers into when I really want to hear the best possible performance.

This idea of permanent compromised placement happens way too often, especially with smaller stand mount sized speakers. There's simply no good reason for it, unless perhaps one lives in a cave and there is a boulder in the way, or something.