Auditioned this past weekend; Era & Dali

[corysmith01]

Hey folks. Nothing earth-shattering here. Just thought I'd share some thoughts on speakers I heard this weekend that a) I had not heard before and b) don't see mentioned 'round these parts much.

I went out of town this weekend to visit family and friends in Richmond, VA. Stopped in Blue Oasis audio and was impressed by the offerings....a lot of sort-of off the beaten path brands. In the showroom were speakers from Dali, Quad, Era and a few others. I didn't have a whole lot of time (killing time while the wife was shopping), and didn't get to hear the Quads, but did listen to some Era's and some Dali's. I did at least get to see the Birds Eye Maple 11L's from Quad and wow, those things are beauties. Moving on.

I listened to the Era D4 sattelites as well as the Dali Ikon 1's. I told the guy I was very budget-conscious and he steered me towards these two as bang-for-the-buck offerings. In my opinion, he was totally right.

The D4 simply blew me away with what it was putting out for such a small speaker. 4 inch driver. Only 9 1/2 inches tall. But wow. What a ton of sound from these little things. I had him play them sans-subwoofer and I'm still scratching my head as to how they got that much low end out of a 4 inch driver. The highs were not as extended as I would like (I tend towards a brighter speaker), but by no means were they lacking. Overall, these little things are brilliant for those of you looking for great sound, but are, eh hem, constrained (*cough*wife*cough*) as to how large your speakers can be.

Next were the Dali Ikon 1's. I do not see many write ups on these speakers. Being perfectly honest, I couldn't even really say I had read anything on them. But, I did know them by name (sort of) and the guy suggested I give them a listen when I told him I was hoping for more extended highs. Well, let's just say I'm now shopping for a pair of these. At $875 msrp, they're not exactly "budget" but they ain't the most expensive out there either. Interestingly, they use both a soft dome tweeter and a ribbon tweeter in conjunction with one another. For me, the highs coming from these little speakers was sublime. The bass was taught and authoritative and the lower-mid range was clean and clear. But it's the upper-mid and up into the highs that were the real treat for me. I don't know if it's the ribbon tweeter as I've not heard any prior to these, but it was simply awesome.

Just thought I'd toss these out there b/c, again, I don't see much written up about them. Everyone's tastes are different, and what sounds great to me may not to you, so take this for what it's worth. Just thought I'd throw 'em out there in case you have a dealer near you. If so, give 'em a listen. I was well impressed.

 

[MDS]

There is only one 'high-end' audio type dealer here in Austin, at least that I am aware of, and I know he used to carry Paradigm speakers.

When I went there to try to audition Paradigms the guy told me he no longer carries them and now favors Dali.

The ones he showed me did look real nice with all wood construction and a beautiful Rosewood type stain. If I recall correctly, they weren't much more expensive than Paradigm. They sounded pretty good to me, but then again most speakers sound reasonably good to me in a listening room.

 

[Davemcc]

I've never heard the Dali, but once I heard the Era, I was hooked. I was just at my dealer's shop on Sat. to order my D5 LCR and I sat and listened a bit to the D3 and D4. The D3, in my opinion, is just OK, nothing special. I was thinking about using them as surrounds. The D4, however, is absolutely sweet, such a full, rich sound from such a small speaker. The D5, being a larger cabinet, expands on that same rich sound, but with bass that you wouldn't expect, expecially given the size of the driver.

I initially had the same response as you in the dealer's room, somewhat muted highs, but still detailed and clear. But once I got my D5's home, I found them to be much brighter than I expected in my untreated room vs. the dealer's treated room. I really wish that more people could audition the Era. If you can find them, its worth a few minutes to stop and listen.

 

[corysmith01]

The D4, however, is absolutely sweet, such a full, rich sound from such a small speaker. The D5, being a larger cabinet, expands on that same rich sound, but with bass that you wouldn't expect, expecially given the size of the driver.

Agreed. I'm sure the D5 is great, though I didn't get to listen to it. If it expands on the D4, well, that's gotta be a great speaker. Those D4's though...wow. They seem to defy logic. Such big sound from a small package.

I initially had the same response as you in the dealer's room, somewhat muted highs, but still detailed and clear. But once I got my D5's home, I found them to be much brighter than I expected in my untreated room vs. the dealer's treated room.

Yeah, I hope I didn't give the impression that these are laid-back, or lacked highs. Because they didn't. They had a very balanced presentation. And true, it could be the room (probably was). But again, I didn't find them lacking in anyway. These were really great speakers. I was really impressed.

 

[billy p]

Hey Cory how did they compare to your speakers? I think you are now using some av123 products (r1's?) are they in the same realm.

Thanks, Billy p

 

[corysmith01]

Hey Cory how did they compare to your speakers? I think you are now using some av123 products (r1's?) are they in the same realm.

Are you talking about the Era's or the Dali Ikons? I think you're referring to the Dali's since I said I now wanted a pair. If I'm wrong, sorry. But I'll answer this re: the Dali's.

Yes indeed, I am using AV123 speakers. I am in fact using the Onix Ref 1's. Wow, it's really tough to say. Different environment. Different source material. And I L-O-V-E the Ref 1's. Beautiful speaker and hands down the best pair I've owned. But, I can give you a top line view: if I was, for whatever reason, forced to give up the Ref 1's and replace them with the Dali's, I wouldn't be upset. Again, it's very tough to say. My Ref's are at home, the Dali's were at the store. I'd love to get them in same room. But, general impressions are that the Dali's don't lag too far behind. The strengths (and perhaps this is because of my leanings) are the highs in both speakers. The Ref 1's use the Vifa ring tweeter which is excellent and the Dali's use the dome/ribbon combo I mentioned in the initial post.

I wish I had listened to the Ikon 2's as they're closer to the Ref 1 pricepoint.

 

[billy p]

Wow!! I know you are very high on the R1's and assumed you were kidding. Thanks again!!