Dali Oberon 7 C Tower Speaker and Sound Hub Review

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shadyJ

Speaker of the House
Staff member
hreo.jpg

The popular Danish loudspeaker manufacturer Dali has gone all-in on wireless speakers, and it's hard to argue that isn't the future of audio, so they are certainly on to something. In for review today, we have the OBERON 7C as well as DALI’s Sound Hub. The OBERON 7 C are a pair of active, wireless floor-standing speakers, and the Dali Sound Hub is the base that collects the input signals and transmits the to the speakers. Together they make up a complete audio system, and all the user has to do is supply the source, whether that be a smartphone, Blu-ray player, Roku, or anything that is compatible with the Sound Hub’s plethora of different inputs. How well does it all work? How does it sound? Is it a worthwhile alternative to the way traditional hi-fi systems are arranged? Read our full review to find out...

READ: DALI OBERON 7 C Tower speaker and Dali Sound Hub Review
 
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-Jim-

-Jim-

Audioholic General
I've been thinking wireless speakers (a terrible term for a device that needs to be plugged in with a power cord) are probably going to be much more prevalent in the future. I see a time where each speaker has it's own internal amplification & DSP. Not only for Stereo, but for 5.1 & possibly 7.1 systems. (Of course multi-subs may also be in these systems.) Then everyone will need to wire their houses with lots of wall plugs to power these things. The Electricians will love this.

I look forward to reading this review.
 
ryanosaur

ryanosaur

Audioholic Overlord
@shadyJ
Thank you.

I agree that as cool as these may be, the fact the hub is a requirement is a major turnoff. They shouldn’t even offer the Speakers on their own but rather have the pricing options include the hub of choice by the purchaser.
In my eyes, they may have limited the value of this system too much and made it a niche product.
While I see the potential in their choices, I see greater potential in your comments about expanding connectivity at the Speaker rather than banking on the whole sale including one of their hubs.
 
ryanosaur

ryanosaur

Audioholic Overlord
Note: as Shady mentioned, the hub does have 2 expansion slots which will allow for multi-room or multi-channel (up to 7.1) use.

Edit: looks to be about $500 a pop for each expansion module. :oops:
 
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Hobbit

Senior Audioholic
I think wireless has a bright future. One, I think has been lacking. However, I see the future being better suited to satellite speakers, like for my patio, or surround speakers than for mains. In fact, I was rather dismayed at the lack of options looking for wireless, or semi - the speakers wired together - for my patio. Options were pretty much nonexistent for a house wide system.

The issue I have with wireless mains is, are you getting a better amp/speaker combo per $ spent than with separates? Also, finding three (one for each speaker plus the hub) more outlets around your main system (HT) is as much work as running some wire from an amp. Upgrading can be more expensive. Moreover, what about if one of the amps goes out? I can survive a while if one surround goes out.
 
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Danzilla31

Audioholic Spartan
Man I wish there was a way to have powered speakers connect wirelessly to a traditional reciever. Like have a hub connect to the back preout on the reciever for a certain speaker channel and a hub that connects to the speaker for that avr preout. Life would be so much simpler if you didn't have to run wires.
 
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Danzilla31

Audioholic Spartan
As far as the review goes it was a great read. Shows how awesome active designs can be over passive. Just 50 watts for each section and you get a speaker that has a neutral response with good dynamics for the price and size. Like you said Shady not being able to use these speakers without the hub is a killer for me. If it tanks your whole system is toast.

It would be cool if they could make a hub that connects to an avrs preouts and you could use these speakers wirelessly without wires with a traditional AVR or your own Dac the first company that does that with an affordable speaker line is going to hit it big I would think
 

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