Dali owners thread

I've put my Opticon 2 mk2 in place today with picture hanging strips fixing them to Fisual Uno stands. Tried some 2ch music with Denon 3500 in pure direct mode. Hoping to get the room quiet to run Audyssey this week. Watched some TV and streaming tonight in 4.1, they're great so far with a detailed sound. It will be interesting to see what it's like after Audyssey.

I'm wondering since if I should have half filled the stands first? They have a single column with a pair of holes for routing speaker cable. Perhaps the bottom hole could be plugged up, stand half filled and speaker cable tied on with cable ties. There is a dull ding when tapping the stand.
 
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It was interesting to run Audussey the other night for the first time with the new speakers. It picked them up as full range, which I changed to 'small' and raised the xo from 40Hz to 80Hz since it's recommended. The increased range along with my sub makes a noticeable difference. They also come across as more detailed than the previous satellites. It will be interesting to test my go to Blu-ray scenes once the speakers are run in. In 4.1 the phantom center works well considering there is no toe in.

In the meantime I will start looking for possible replacements for the surround channels. MA FX seem promising as speakers with more range that can fill the room with sound. The setup I have can be quite immersive, but leaves me wondering at times if the surrounds are doing much. Although, just turning my head a little the surrounds are clearly sounding, so must be adding to the experience.

PXL_20221021_110453891.jpg 1666350011682553455956584658936.jpg
 
It was interesting to run Audussey the other night for the first time with the new speakers. It picked them up as full range, which I changed to 'small' and raised the xo from 40Hz to 80Hz since it's recommended. The increased range along with my sub makes a noticeable difference. They also come across as more detailed than the previous satellites. It will be interesting to test my go to Blu-ray scenes once the speakers are run in. In 4.1 the phantom center works well considering there is no toe in.

In the meantime I will start looking for possible replacements for the surround channels. MA FX seem promising as speakers with more range that can fill the room with sound. The setup I have can be quite immersive, but leaves me wondering at times if the surrounds are doing much. Although, just turning my head a little the surrounds are clearly sounding, so must be adding to the experience.

View attachment 1770204 View attachment 1770199

Center speaker is more imporant- most important speaker in a HC...
 
Center speaker is more imporant- most important speaker in a HC...
I may lift the TV to accommodate one in future, but not certain if it will be comfortable to watch because of an old neck injury. As the distance I sit is greater than the distance between front left and right I tested phantom centre for a few weeks with my previous speakers. It worked quite convincingly so I thought about upgrading the front left and right channels first.
 
Putting a Dali in with Mordaunt Shorts?

My old Mordaunt Short MS304 center speaker has gone. I always felt it didn't deliver dialog particularly well.

So any thoughts of putting in a DALI OBERON VOKAL speaker in as my center speaker, keeping all the rest as my old Mordaunt Short speakers?

Here's my current speakers:-
Plummed into an Onkyo TX-NR646 amp.

A benefit of that DALI OBERON VOKAL is the center speaker sits in a shelf in the TV unit measuring 50cm wide, 16.3cm high, 38cm deep, which the Dali will fit into perfectly, and it's front ported which will help with it being in that 'hole'?
 
It was interesting to run Audussey the other night for the first time with the new speakers. It picked them up as full range, which I changed to 'small' and raised the xo from 40Hz to 80Hz since it's recommended. The increased range along with my sub makes a noticeable difference. They also come across as more detailed than the previous satellites. It will be interesting to test my go to Blu-ray scenes once the speakers are run in. In 4.1 the phantom center works well considering there is no toe in.

In the meantime I will start looking for possible replacements for the surround channels. MA FX seem promising as speakers with more range that can fill the room with sound. The setup I have can be quite immersive, but leaves me wondering at times if the surrounds are doing much. Although, just turning my head a little the surrounds are clearly sounding, so must be adding to the experience.

View attachment 1770204 View attachment 1770199
Couple of things.

I’d recommend at least experimenting with the crossover. I found my Rubicon 2’s sense of fullness in the midrange was improved by crossing over at 60hz instead of 80hz, and my Rubicon 2’s are not a dissimilar size to your Opticon mk2’s.

Your findings might be different in your room, but I preferred my setup that way.

Also for rear speakers, the Monitor Audio Silver (or Bronze) range should match the Opticons tonally pretty well.

My Silver FX rears sound great and don’t sound markedly different tonally to my Rubicons up front.
 
Couple of things.

I’d recommend at least experimenting with the crossover. I found my Rubicon 2’s sense of fullness in the midrange was improved by crossing over at 60hz instead of 80hz, and my Rubicon 2’s are not a dissimilar size to your Opticon mk2’s.

Your findings might be different in your room, but I preferred my setup that way.

Also for rear speakers, the Monitor Audio Silver (or Bronze) range should match the Opticons tonally pretty well.

My Silver FX rears sound great and don’t sound markedly different tonally to my Rubicons up front.
That's interesting, I'll try the crossover tonight, I seem to remember reading they range from 59Hz. The MA FX sound promising, I'll see if I can make a cardboard mock up. Hopefully they would suit my room, their is curtain running down the left hand side and a brickwork doorway on the back right hand side.

PXL_20221021_173327307.jpg PXL_20221021_173323367.jpg
 
Opticons lcr?
I shall have to read up on them, with wide dispersion perhaps they would work well on the back wall. I sit off center and closer to the LS. The photo of it above was taken holding the phone directly over my head. The RS is turned to face my side and angled slightly down. The LS is also pointing towards my right shoulder, so as to not be too direct. It's something I've tested with the last few calibrations and seems to work well.
 
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I shall have to read up on them, with wide dispersion perhaps they would work well on the back wall. I sit off center and closer to the LS. The photo of it above was taken holding the phone directly over my head. The RS is turned to face my side and angled slightly down. The LS is also pointing towards my right shoulder, so as to not be too direct. It's something I've tested with the last few calibrations and seems to work well.

I would also consider Oberon On-Wall if you can`t find the Opticon LCR used as they are expensive! Dali just raised prices aswell. :(

Putting a Dali in with Mordaunt Shorts?

My old Mordaunt Short MS304 center speaker has gone. I always felt it didn't deliver dialog particularly well.

So any thoughts of putting in a DALI OBERON VOKAL speaker in as my center speaker, keeping all the rest as my old Mordaunt Short speakers?

Here's my current speakers:-
Plummed into an Onkyo TX-NR646 amp.

A benefit of that DALI OBERON VOKAL is the center speaker sits in a shelf in the TV unit measuring 50cm wide, 16.3cm high, 38cm deep, which the Dali will fit into perfectly, and it's front ported which will help with it being in that 'hole'?

I think our guess is as good as yours because you mixing certain brands. That is not to say it wouldn´t work fine especially if the earlier centre sounded poor. Your best bet is to contact few dealers and ask that you can have Oberon Vokal for home trial first. I would say Richer Sounds and Audio T should make this happen.

I`m bit worried about the speaker placement as it can have negative effect. Hopefully it would be at least decent height so speaker won´t be shooting your knees or you can at least angle it shooting upward toward ears and have it coming slightly out from the "hole".

Keep us posted if you go forward.
 
Just wanted to flag up this review from Cheshire Audio on the DALI Oberon 5. I really like this chap's reviews as although he's a dealer, he seems a real down-to-earth music and audio enthusiast. The sort of guy I would happily share a pint with chatting about all things audio.

He does a lot of his own turntable servicing, so he's quite a knowledgeable guy with a fair bit of experience in the industry.

I do like quite a bit of his stock: he has Neat Acoustics, Ophidian and some Monitor Audio stuff. But he's just starting stocking DALI. Although I own DALIs myself, I've always been a fan of Neat Acoustics and will probably think of an excuse to own something from their range one day.

But back to Cheshire Audio: he didn't stock DALI before, but he dipped his toes in the water with the DALI Menuet SE's, liked what he heard, so got himself a wider range.

So for anyone looking at some Oberon 5's, here's his take on them:

Cheshire Audio Review of DALI Oberon 5's...
 
Mulling over future options for the Opticon Vokal centre channel, but not sure if it would work out. Lifting the TV is very likely to be too uncomfortably high thanks to an old neck injury and chronic pain. It would not fit on the middle shelf of the glass TV stand, which would not have been great placement anyway. Setting in front of the TV on a low stand, with the top of the speaker just under screen, may work if the TV stand is placed close to the wall. There is 255mm of space between the back of the stand and the wall. With the 312mm depth of the Vokal, the front of the speaker would be about 3" further forward than the TV stand is now. The front of the left and right Opticon 2 are in line with the front of the TV stand.

Phantom centre has worked well from MLP were I always sit, but in testing out from the right-hand side couch, dialogue is more right side biased as you would expect. I've read of people who use 4.1 switching on the centre channel just for movie nights with visitors. I suppose this is an option, I shall try leaving it in 5.1 for a while to see how it sounds out of interest. As a compromise I wonder if any smaller Dali centre speaker would be worth using on the middle shelf instead of my Q Acoustic Q7000i with the Opticon 2
 
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@mr.black79 Do you have the option to use a floating shelf?

I have a set of these you can have and they supported my opticon vokal for a good long while until i upgraded it.

Amazon product ASIN B07K4BMJR5
Hi, thanks for the offer, I hadn't thought of a floating shelf. Unfortunately I wouldn't option to use one with my setup. We have a glass AV unit, the TV is flush to the edge, with the Opticons 5" either side. I'm not overly keen moving the TV further back, I sit almost 3 m away, but it may not be such a bad compromise to accommodate a larger centre.
 
Hey,
is there anyone in this thread who could tell me if the opticon LCR is an noticable upgrade to the Oberon on-wall ? maybe anyone did hear both speakers or even owned them and could help me out with my decision. I currently run a 5.1.4 setup. I dont listen to music only watch movies and series on this setup. 4 Oberon on-wall for FLR +surrounds with an oberon vokal as center channel. 1 SVS SB 2000 subwoofer (with a second one joining soon) and 4 dali alteco c1 for the height channels. Im asking myself if or if so what benefits changing the front speakers to three Opticon LCR would have.
 
Hey,
is there anyone in this thread who could tell me if the opticon LCR is an noticable upgrade to the Oberon on-wall ? maybe anyone did hear both speakers or even owned them and could help me out with my decision. I currently run a 5.1.4 setup. I dont listen to music only watch movies and series on this setup. 4 Oberon on-wall for FLR +surrounds with an oberon vokal as center channel. 1 SVS SB 2000 subwoofer (with a second one joining soon) and 4 dali alteco c1 for the height channels. Im asking myself if or if so what benefits changing the front speakers to three Opticon LCR would have.
Yes they are better. You could get them for the front and keep the other ones for the back and maybe upgrade your sub.
 
Hey,
is there anyone in this thread who could tell me if the opticon LCR is an noticable upgrade to the Oberon on-wall ? maybe anyone did hear both speakers or even owned them and could help me out with my decision. I currently run a 5.1.4 setup. I dont listen to music only watch movies and series on this setup. 4 Oberon on-wall for FLR +surrounds with an oberon vokal as center channel. 1 SVS SB 2000 subwoofer (with a second one joining soon) and 4 dali alteco c1 for the height channels. Im asking myself if or if so what benefits changing the front speakers to three Opticon LCR would have.
I’ve been thinking the same for when I move house. I currently have 5.2 oberon On wall and vokal and 2 Svs 1000 subs. I’m going to be adding 2 ceiling for Atmos as well.
 
Yes they are better. You could get them for the front and keep the other ones for the back and maybe upgrade your sub.
Better in what way ? i mean will there be a huge audible difference between the on-wall and the LCR and how would you describe this difference ? i know that i can't go wrong with this upgrade but im asking myself if this would really be a necessary thing to do or just a minute difference.
 
Better in what way ? i mean will there be a huge audible difference between the on-wall and the LCR and how would you describe this difference ? i know that i can't go wrong with this upgrade but im asking myself if this would really be a necessary thing to do or just a minute difference.
I use the LCR as surrounds in a 5.1 config - they sound amazing. I dare say if I do have to lose the towers at the front (or indeed the vokal) I wouldn't hesitate to try the LCR is all 5 positions. I've had a few speakers over the years, but man these things envelope you in sound when set up. I have a full MK2 5.0 base layer and never been happier - tried them with an Anthem MRX740/ Nad T778 and countless power amps over the past year. Just waiting on an AV40 to see what all the fuss is about on the Arcam thread. =]
 
Hi i am replacing the current speakers for a new set of 5.1 surround for music and movies in the living room.

Source material will be streamed from spotify and netflix like services
Av receiver in use is a onkyo tx-nr656

Was not thinking of either
Dali opticon lcr mk2
Or dali opticon 2 mk2 at the front
And dali oberon on wall an rear
Would this be any good with the source material and the onkyo or is this overkill

And should i consider a more budget line of speakers?
 
Hi i am replacing the current speakers for a new set of 5.1 surround for music and movies in the living room.

Source material will be streamed from spotify and netflix like services
Av receiver in use is a onkyo tx-nr656

Was not thinking of either
Dali opticon lcr mk2
Or dali opticon 2 mk2 at the front
And dali oberon on wall an rear
Would this be any good with the source material and the onkyo or is this overkill

And should i consider a more budget line of speakers?
I don't know if you have a partner, but I had the cash to get all identical speakers then the Opticon lcr mk2 would be right up there. My wife would prefer this. I have a Rubicon lcr as a centre and I'd definitely have them all around if I could afford it. If money is tight then I'm sure the Oberons instead of Opticons at the rear would be great too.
 
I don't know if you have a partner, but I had the cash to get all identical speakers then the Opticon lcr mk2 would be right up there. My wife would prefer this. I have a Rubicon lcr as a centre and I'd definitely have them all around if I could afford it. If money is tight then I'm sure the Oberons instead of Opticons at the rear would be great too.
Thats the case we like the lcr for at the front center
and either lcr as fronts or the opticon 2 as left and right but 5x lcr is out of budget. And then those will be the compromise

Any thought on the onkyo?
 
Thats the case we like the lcr for at the front center
and either lcr as fronts or the opticon 2 as left and right but 5x lcr is out of budget. And then those will be the compromise

Any thought on the onkyo?
Sorry I've not had much experience with Onkyo, but as they now are under the same owner as Pioneer then I assume it'll be fine to drive those LCR's and sound great. I've had Pioneer AVR's for a few years now, and mainly with Dali speakers. Loved the sound. I will look for another AVR upgrade next year though :)
 

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