Dali opicon 5 mk 1 vs Dali oberon 5

[Error79]

Hi I have offer for used Dali Opticon 5 mk1 or Oberon 5 (around 500 €), will be driven by NAD C320, digital input and vinyl 60-40 %, didn't have chance to hear natjerati of them so would apricate opinion of someone whit more experiance.
Tnx.

 

[staticV3]

Until we see even one speaker with frequency response indicative of competent loudspeaker design, I would ignore Dali entirely.

So far, though luck: https://www.spinorama.org/?brand=Dali

For well designed floorstanders, consider Emotiva, Revel, KEF, Infinity, or Polk.

 

[Error79]

Thank you, hm Polk R600 was option, and Kef q550 .... will consider them also, there was so many talk about Dali so that was one of reasons i ended on them .....

 

[staticV3]

there was so many talk about Dali

Yeah I bet.
They simply raise the treble response of the majority of their speakers and everyone raves about detail and clarity.
Oldest trick in the book

 

[antcollinet]

On the other hand I have oberon 5's and am pretty happy with them.

Though I don't have much experience of similarly priced speakers to be able to say if they perform (subjectively) above or below average.

 

[Old_School_Brad]

Very similar response from the two.
I've heard both. Although not in my room and the Opticon was a MK2. Not my cup of tea but they are very popular and built well.

Dali Opticon 5
(Loudness roller coaster)

Spoiler: Dali Opticon 5 MK1 - Frequency response

Spoiler: Source

DALI Opticon 5

Jest to wyjątkowy i stylowy, wydajnościowy wulkan dźwiękowy - taki jest stylowy początek firmowego opisu (w polskim tłumaczeniu) Opticonów ...

audio.com.pl

Dali Oberon 5
(Also loudness rollercoaster)

Spoiler: Dali Oberon 5 - Frequency response

Spoiler: Source

DALI Oberon 5

Najnowsza seria Oberon jest już szóstą w ofercie Dali, i to licząc tylko serie konwencjonalnych (pasywnych i skrzynkowych) konstrukcji. Widząc, ...

audio.com.pl

 

[Error79]

Thank you Brad this will do some home work tonight and try to see litlle more about freq. responde chart.

 

[staticV3]

Thank you Brad this will do some home work tonight and try to see litlle more about freq. responde chart.

These frequency response curves should be flat and smooth, indicating accurate, neutral and predictable sound reproduction (signal in=signal out).

The curves above are neither of these things.

They're erratic and lop-sided, meaning that the speaker will impart its own, rather unpredictable sound characteristic onto each and every track that you play on it.

The same is true for every other professional measurement of Dali speakers to date, see the link I posted earlier.

 

[antcollinet]

These frequency response curves should be flat and smooth, indicating accurate, neutral and predictable sound reproduction (signal in=signal out).

The curves above are neither of these things.

They're erratic and lop-sided, meaning that the speaker will impart its own, rather unpredictable sound characteristic onto each and every track that you play on it.

The same is true for every other professional measurement of Dali speakers to date, see the link I posted earlier.

I should add my "I'm quite happy with them" involves Audessey room correction - which will have compensated for any FR anomalies.

 

[Jaxjax]

Its mind boggling how Dali doesn't produce a proper measuring speaker as I have watched many of their factory tours & being an ex Yacht builder I have incite on some of what I see. There have a serious operation going on & just can't wrap my head around on how they could get it wrong. That factory has spared no expense. They have to have a proper engineer team for what I see going on in that plant.? So weird.

 

[Old_School_Brad]

Its mind boggling how Dali doesn't produce a proper measuring speaker as I have watched many of their factory tours & being an ex Yacht builder I have incite on some of what I see. There have a serious operation going on & just can't wrap my head around on how they could get it wrong. That factory has spared no expense. They have to have a proper engineer team for what I see going on in that plant.? So weird.

Right or wrong might not be the best way to describe Dali speakers. It’s clear they know what they’re doing, and plenty of people enjoy their sound. That’s likely why they tune them the way they do -if there weren’t a market for this particular sound signature, they wouldn’t design them that way.
It's right for Dali. And for their customers.

 

[thewas]

I don't think that most Dali loudspeakers are poorly tuned, they mainly have their house voicing, especially that owners should not toe them in, which can be seen when both spins are compared:

Source: https://www.erinsaudiocorner.com/loudspeakers/dali_rubikore_6/

 

[ta240]

Very similar response from the two.
I've heard both. Although not in my room and the Opticon was a MK2. Not my cup of tea but they are very popular and built well.

Dali Oberon 5
(Also loudness rollercoaster)

Spoiler: Dali Oberon 5 - Frequency response

View attachment 432356

Spoiler: Source

DALI Oberon 5

Najnowsza seria Oberon jest już szóstą w ofercie Dali, i to licząc tylko serie konwencjonalnych (pasywnych i skrzynkowych) konstrukcji. Widząc, ...

audio.com.pl

There is a shop near here that carries those and I was looking forward to visiting for a listen. All the reviews I found online were very favorable but that is not a good frequency response. It probably sounds impressive for a quick demo and great with their selected track.

Yeah I bet.
They simply raise the treble response of the majority of their speakers and everyone raves about detail and clarity.
Oldest trick in the book

I'm guessing that would change "well, these sound a lot like the speakers I have" into "I hear so much more than I do with my current speakers".

I remember shopping at Frys one time and comparing smaller speakers. Especially in their big open warehouse, the speakers that sounded a bit lifeless were actually the better performing ones.

 

[LTig]

I remember shopping at Frys one time and comparing smaller speakers. Especially in their big open warehouse, the speakers that sounded a bit lifeless were actually the better performing ones.

Yep. IME a good speaker is not one with a Wow factor in an audition but one which shows no flaws. The latter is neutral and can play all kinds of music equally well.

 

[ta240]

From the radio tone control settings in some of the rental cars I've had, it would appear that some people like that curve.

Fortunately, this thread was helpful and I'll be moving on from considering these. It is a shame though because we don't have a lot of audio shops.

I wonder how annoyed an audio shop would be if I showed up with my laptop and a mic and ran frequency sweeps on their speakers.

 

[ta240]

Yeah I bet.
They simply raise the treble response of the majority of their speakers and everyone raves about detail and clarity.
Oldest trick in the book

I just stumbled on a video comparing the DALI Oberon 5 with the Wharfedale Linton and most of the comments were how the DALI sounded 'more open and detailed'

 

[d00]

I recently replaced Polk R200 with Oberon’s 5 in a 12m2 room and I am more satisfied with the sound (Yamaha A-S701 amp). I don't know why you write that they are weak just because you saw one frequency response created in unknown conditions. These are columns costing $850 in PL.

They have a fairly bright and open treble, a lot of bass and play nicely with a midrange. In addition, they are 80 cm high floors, which fits smaller rooms.