Dali Oberon

[Southall-1998]

Just wondering if anyone here has heard the ''Oberon'' range from Dali?

S.

 

[suttondesign]

Oh behave!

 

[Southall-1998]

Oh behave!

Can't handle saucy rude sounding speakers?

S.

 

[renaudrenaud]

Maybe Salvador?

 

[AndyLu]

Just wondering if anyone here has heard the ''Oberon'' range from Dali?

S.

I have bought the Dali Oberon 5. I have them in my living room for about 2 months now. What follows is my subjective opinion. With speakers it is always very subjective because the sound depends on a lot of factors and not measurements alone. The room shape/size/furniture/floor/curtains etc. etc. play also a huge role. Of course what you prefer plays also a role. Do you prefer bright analytical sounding speakers (V-shaped) or do you prefer more mid-bass etc. etc.

First here is a review of the 'What-Hifi' magazine (5 stars). Take it for what you like
https://www.whathifi.com/reviews/dali-oberon-5

My room is 4x6x3 meters (W x L x H). The dampening in my room is average (about 50% rugs, curtains, furniture and about 50 % reflecting walls). I like the sound of the Oberons very much. Warning! Subjective terms ahead!

- Expressive sound, with detailed mids and highs. Compared to (for instance) B&W's they have more mid-bass (less V-curve) and (in my ears) sound more agreeable and less 'brittle' than B&W's I know. With 'expressive' I don't mean fatiguing because the Dali's certainly are not.
- They are compact floorstanders and officially go down to 36 Hz (minus 3 db). Low frequencies can be heard, but with less impact than bigger floorstanders. I use a good sub woofer in combination with these Dali's so I don't have that problem. If you don't want to use a subwoofer you are probably better off with the Oberon 7 (the bigger brother).
- The bass port is on the back of the speaker, so they need at least one foot distance from a wall (and/or a corner), otherwise they can get boomy.
- I like them very much, especially for the price. They also get very favorable reviews. I also have the Q-acoustics 3050i floorstanders and in my opinion the Dali's sound less 'laid back' and have a bit more control in the bass.

I know, a lot of subjective terms, but that is the only way for me at the moment to describe speakers, since measurements differ per room.
In short: I think they are very good speakers for the price (a lot of review magazines think agree with me... do with it what you want).
The best thing however is going to a hifi store and listen to them, because you may like other speakers more. There are a lot of speakers in this price range and your preference may be completely different from mine.

 

[Southall-1998]

I have bought the Dali Oberon 5. I have them in my living room for about 2 months now. What follows is my subjective opinion. With speakers it is always very subjective because the sound depends on a lot of factors and not measurements alone. The room shape/size/furniture/floor/curtains etc. etc. play also a huge role. Of course what you prefer plays also a role. Do you prefer bright analytical sounding speakers (V-shaped) or do you prefer more mid-bass etc. etc.

First here is a review of the 'What-Hifi' magazine (5 stars). Take it for what you like
https://www.whathifi.com/reviews/dali-oberon-5

My room is 4x6x3 meters (WxLxH). The damping in my room is average (about 50% rugs, curtains, furniture and about 50 % reflecting walls). I like the sound of the Oberons very much. Warning! Subjective terms ahead!

- Expressive sound, with detailed mids and highs. Compared to (for instance) B&W's they have more mid-bass (less V-curve) and (in my ears) sound more agreeable and less 'brittle' than B&W's I know. With 'expressive' I don't mean fatiguing because the Dali's certainly are not.
- They are compact floorstanders and officially go down to 36 Hz (minus 3 db). Low frequencies can be heard, but with less impact than bigger floorstanders. I use a good sub woofer in combination with these Dali's so I don't have that problem. If you don't want to use a subwoofer you are probably better off with the Oberon 7 (the bigger brother).
- The bass port is on the back of the speaker, so they need at least one foot distance from a wall (and/or a corner), otherwise they can get boomy.
- I like them very much, especially for the price. They also get very favorable reviews. I also have the Q-acoustics 3050i floorstanders and in my opinion the Dali's sound less 'laid back' and have a bit more control in the bass.

I know, a lot of subjective terms, but that is the only way for me at the moment to describe speakers, since measurements differ per room.
In short: I think they are very good speakers for the price (a lot of review magazines think agree with me... do with it what you want).
The best thing however is going to a hifi store and listen to them, because you may like other speakers more. There are a lot of speakers in this price range and your preference may be completely different from mine.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts.

Nowadays, I tend to keep away from online reviews. Was never a big fan of What Hi-Fi.

S.

 

[AndyLu]

Thanks for sharing your thoughts.

Nowadays, I tend to keep away from online reviews. Was never a big fan of What Hi-Fi.

S.

I agree. But we have to start somewhere and after that do our own investigation. Like listening to the speakers in a shop for example .

Choosing the right speakers is (in my opinion) always very personal. Measurements or subjective listening reviews are an indication, but I always want to hear them in person before I make a decision. I listened to the Dali's (before buying) in a hifi store (in Amsterdam) and compared them to other floorstanders of the same price they had in their listening room (B&W, Kef, Polk and Klipsch). The store also had the policy that I could try them for 30 days at home in case I did not like the sound in my own environment.

 

[Southall-1998]

I agree. But we have to start somewhere and after that do our own investigation. Like listening to the speakers in a shop for example .

Choosing the right speakers is (in my opinion) always very personal. Measurements or subjective listening reviews are an indication, but I always want to hear them in person before I make a decision. I listened to the Dali's (before buying) in a hifi store (in Amsterdam) and compared them to other floorstanders of the same price they had in their listening room (B&W, Kef, Polk and Klipsch). The store also had the policy that I could try them for 30 days at home in case I did not like the sound in my own environment.

Good to read that you are happy with the Dali's.

If I may ask. What amp are you using?

S.

 

[AndyLu]

Good to read that you are happy with the Dali's.

If I may ask. What amp are you using?

S.

At the moment I am using 2 Hypex nc400 mono blocks (class D) and a Pro-ject Pre Box DS2 Digital pre-amp. I am using this with a Topping D90 DAC. The DAC is connected to a PC via USB and the player I use on the PC is Foobar2000.

 

[MarcT]

I heard the Oberon 7 at RMAF 2018 and they can seriously rock. These sport two seven inch woofers, and I couldn't believe the bass extension and impact, without boominess, from towers of that size.

DSC_0036 by MDTshots, on Flickr

 

[whazzup]

Reviews in german (in-room measurements I think)

Oberon 1 measurements
https://www.i-fidelity.net/testberichte/hifi/dali-oberon-1/seite-5.html

Oberon 7 measurements
https://www.i-fidelity.net/testberichte/hifi/dali-oberon-7/seite-5.html

 

[Southall-1998]

Would be good, if someone sent a pair of Oberon 1 to Amir for measurements.

@amirm

S.

 

[napilopez]

Reviews in german (in-room measurements I think)

Oberon 1 measurements
https://www.i-fidelity.net/testberichte/hifi/dali-oberon-1/seite-5.html

Oberon 7 measurements
https://www.i-fidelity.net/testberichte/hifi/dali-oberon-7/seite-5.html

Those are quasi-anechoic measurements. Note that Dali speakers are designed to be listed to off-axis (pointed straight forward) so they're not actually as bright as they appear. 30 degrees off axis for both speakers looks quite flat, in fact, though the in-room balance might still leave them a little bright.

 

[richard12511]

30 degrees off axis for both speakers looks quite flat, in fact, though the in-room balance might still leave them a little bright.

That's something I've always wondered about brands like Elac, Kef, Ascend, Dali, ect. who design either some or all of their speakers to be listened to off axis. They generally do this by designing speakers that are a little bright on axis, so that the off axis will be flat. But, those speakers are still producing excess treble. The only difference is that those excess treble waves are no longer in a direct path to the ear. Given that direct sound is only part of what we hear, wouldn't those speakers still be a bit bright?

Btw, not saying those speakers are bad, only that I still see problems.

I also get why they do it. Andrew Jones basically admitted it was a compromise, but that he did it because he knew that speakers in that price range are most likely going to be listened to with no toe in.

 

[ttimer]

That's something I've always wondered about brands like Elac, Kef, Ascend, Dali, ect. who design either some or all of their speakers to be listened to off axis. They generally do this by designing speakers that are a little bright on axis, so that the off axis will be flat. But, those speakers are still producing excess treble. The only difference is that those excess treble waves are no longer in a direct path to the ear. Given that direct sound is only part of what we hear, wouldn't those speakers still be a bit bright?

Btw, not saying those speakers are bad, only that I still see problems.

I also get why they do it. Andrew Jones basically admitted it was a compromise, but that he did it because he knew that speakers in that price range are most likely going to be listened to with no toe in.

Part of the explanation might be that this is an optimization for real rooms. High frequencies are more easily absorbed by fabrics and other materials usually found in rooms. If the on-axis sound only reaches the ear after getting bounced around the room, it will arrive with reduced treble.
This is also something that I am curious about with respect to the Harman research. If the main goal of controlled directivity is that reflected tonality matches direct tonality, wouldn't we want the sound which will be reflected to be brighter? So that when it reaches the ear, it is closer in tonality to the direct sound?

 

[tuga]

Dali designs their speakers to be used with no toe-in.
This means that they have a dip in the crossover region on-axis and are flat at 30°.
I'd only use them in very wide rooms (long wall setup) or with treated side-wall early reflection zones.

Dali Oberon 7 (source)

 

[restorer-john]

I'd rather have a speaker that can be tuned in the top end, with toe-in, especially in absorbing rooms, than a speaker that needs a treble boost in such a room.

All Dalis I have heard are bright on axis, but very nice sounding slightly off axis. I like them as a brand- their products are very nicely made.

@southall-1998 Do you have a pair of Zensor 3s (your avatar)? I have a pair of Zensor 1s here. Not a bad little speaker- I use them as test speakers for amp repairs.

 

[napilopez]

That's something I've always wondered about brands like Elac, Kef, Ascend, Dali, ect. who design either some or all of their speakers to be listened to off axis. They generally do this by designing speakers that are a little bright on axis, so that the off axis will be flat. But, those speakers are still producing excess treble. The only difference is that those excess treble waves are no longer in a direct path to the ear. Given that direct sound is only part of what we hear, wouldn't those speakers still be a bit bright?

Btw, not saying those speakers are bad, only that I still see problems.

I also get why they do it. Andrew Jones basically admitted it was a compromise, but that he did it because he knew that speakers in that price range are most likely going to be listened to with no toe in.

Well, these companies take slightly different approaches. Some Dalis are quite noticeably bright on axis, while in my experience KEFs are just not as 'refined'/flat on axis, sometimes with a boost in the presence region. But anyway As @ttimer said, high frequencies get absorbed rapidly so I don't think it's as much of a difference as you might believe.

Considering the typical geometry of a rectangular room with a no toe-in setup, it's likely you don't hear the on-axis sound until it has bounced off quite a few surfaces. Moreover it's worth remembering that one of the known flaws of the predicted in-room is that the direct sound -- as in, sound from the actual angle that's hitting your ears/microphone -- should be weighed more heavily for the top octave or two. I also agree with @restorer-john that I like a speaker I can tweak a bit with toe in.

 

[Southall-1998]

I'd rather have a speaker that can be tuned in the top end, with toe-in, especially in absorbing rooms, than a speaker that needs a treble boost in such a room.

All Dalis I have heard are bright on axis, but very nice sounding slightly off axis. I like them as a brand- their products are very nicely made.

@southall-1998 Do you have a pair of Zensor 3s (your avatar)? I have a pair of Zensor 1s here. Not a bad little speaker- I use them as test speakers for amp repairs.

Just only saw this. Sorry for the late reply.

I used to have some Zensor 3 Speakers. Very good speakers. Might get another pair someday.

S.

 

[Southall-1998]

Wondering are the Dali Oberon 1 fairly easy to drive?

S.