This is a review, listening tests, EQ and detailed measurements of the DALI Oberon Vokal center home theater speaker. It is on kind loan from the member and is on sale for $US 480.
The word "cute" comes to mind given the rather compact size and look of the Oberon Vokal. What is unusual is a front port. Center speakers usually don't have one. Back panel showcases pride in country of design with manufacturing in China:
Measurements were performed on Klippel Near-field Scanner. Temperatures are on the cooler side at 58 degrees F. Grill was removed for testing and tweeter was the reference axis.
DALI Oberon Vokal Measurements
As usual, we start with our group of speaker frequency response measurements:
As noted, at macro level, response is more of less flat but detailed view shows a resonance around 700 Hz and general boost in that area. On positive side, sensitivity is unusually high at 90 dBSPL. Typical speaker I test is around 85 to 86. Bass extension is also impressive for such a small speaker. Both of these are likely due to use of port and dual woofers.
Near-field measurements show the reason for resonances:
The front port lets out some and the woofer is creating some on its own.
Early window is decent especially if you can absorb floor reflections:
Predicted in-room response is again, not too bad although it does hint at some brightness:
MTM configuration (dual woofers) causes beaming/narrowing of the response when the wavelength of sound starts to approximate the distance between the two woofers:
Vertically it is fine:
Positive of dual woofers is much better bass handling or said inversely, lower distortion at the same loudness level:
Waterfall shows the obvious: effect of resonance:
Step response for those interested in it:
DALI Oberon Vokal Speaker Listening Tests and EQ
First impression was that of extra detail/openness at the expense of lower treble brightness. I could see one liking the speaker a lot in short term listening. While I am fan of such spatiality in headphones, in speakers I don't like the brightness/edginess so decided to EQ that out:
The extra treble is in the shape of a plateau which I tried to emulate quickly using two filters. That added the necessary warmth I wanted without detracting too much from the spatial qualities. Speaker has extended bass which managed to trigger a room mode I have at 105 Hz, resulting in somewhat boomy sound on some tracks. So I dialed in a bit of reduction there while maintaining most of the bass response.
Once there, the sound was quite enjoyable. There is something about high sensitivity speakers where you are able to able to get a dynamic sound with a lot of detail with relatively little power. Such was the case here with Dali. Whether imagined or it is due to low distortion, I really liked the clarity of said detail.
On tracks with sub-bass, the speaker produced them at very low level with audible distortion but not remotely like a lot of small speakers do.
I was once again impressed with how these MTM speakers are able to pump out a lot of power which is the likely reason they continue to get built that way. On their narrow directivity, that was a thing when I sat in front of the speaker. At my normal seating, I was not hearing it a lot. And what I heard could be a good thing in reducing a bit of that brightness.
Conclusions
The Oberon Vokal puts a twist on the typical MTM formula in center speakers by including a port and pumping up the sensitivity. The front port does let out some resonance but with some EQ, you can deal with that. Once there, the sound is quite satisfying given the deep bass, low distortion and good dynamics.
I am going to recommend the Dali Oberon Vokal with EQ. Without EQ, you may still like it if you are a fan of highly detailed sound and get lucky with some bass boost from your room.
------------
As always, questions, comments, recommendations, etc. are welcome.
Any donations are much appreciated using: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/how-to-support-audio-science-review.8150/
The word "cute" comes to mind given the rather compact size and look of the Oberon Vokal. What is unusual is a front port. Center speakers usually don't have one. Back panel showcases pride in country of design with manufacturing in China:
Measurements were performed on Klippel Near-field Scanner. Temperatures are on the cooler side at 58 degrees F. Grill was removed for testing and tweeter was the reference axis.
DALI Oberon Vokal Measurements
As usual, we start with our group of speaker frequency response measurements:
As noted, at macro level, response is more of less flat but detailed view shows a resonance around 700 Hz and general boost in that area. On positive side, sensitivity is unusually high at 90 dBSPL. Typical speaker I test is around 85 to 86. Bass extension is also impressive for such a small speaker. Both of these are likely due to use of port and dual woofers.
Near-field measurements show the reason for resonances:
The front port lets out some and the woofer is creating some on its own.
Early window is decent especially if you can absorb floor reflections:
Predicted in-room response is again, not too bad although it does hint at some brightness:
MTM configuration (dual woofers) causes beaming/narrowing of the response when the wavelength of sound starts to approximate the distance between the two woofers:
Vertically it is fine:
Positive of dual woofers is much better bass handling or said inversely, lower distortion at the same loudness level:
Waterfall shows the obvious: effect of resonance:
Step response for those interested in it:
DALI Oberon Vokal Speaker Listening Tests and EQ
First impression was that of extra detail/openness at the expense of lower treble brightness. I could see one liking the speaker a lot in short term listening. While I am fan of such spatiality in headphones, in speakers I don't like the brightness/edginess so decided to EQ that out:
The extra treble is in the shape of a plateau which I tried to emulate quickly using two filters. That added the necessary warmth I wanted without detracting too much from the spatial qualities. Speaker has extended bass which managed to trigger a room mode I have at 105 Hz, resulting in somewhat boomy sound on some tracks. So I dialed in a bit of reduction there while maintaining most of the bass response.
Once there, the sound was quite enjoyable. There is something about high sensitivity speakers where you are able to able to get a dynamic sound with a lot of detail with relatively little power. Such was the case here with Dali. Whether imagined or it is due to low distortion, I really liked the clarity of said detail.
On tracks with sub-bass, the speaker produced them at very low level with audible distortion but not remotely like a lot of small speakers do.
I was once again impressed with how these MTM speakers are able to pump out a lot of power which is the likely reason they continue to get built that way. On their narrow directivity, that was a thing when I sat in front of the speaker. At my normal seating, I was not hearing it a lot. And what I heard could be a good thing in reducing a bit of that brightness.
Conclusions
The Oberon Vokal puts a twist on the typical MTM formula in center speakers by including a port and pumping up the sensitivity. The front port does let out some resonance but with some EQ, you can deal with that. Once there, the sound is quite satisfying given the deep bass, low distortion and good dynamics.
I am going to recommend the Dali Oberon Vokal with EQ. Without EQ, you may still like it if you are a fan of highly detailed sound and get lucky with some bass boost from your room.
------------
As always, questions, comments, recommendations, etc. are welcome.
Any donations are much appreciated using: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/how-to-support-audio-science-review.8150/
