On wall low profile fronts - Dali or MA?

evilnim

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Hi all. I’m in the market for a new LCR set after my center failed.

They’ll be paired up with existing Mission M3 cube satellites (2nd gen) for surround and the Mission M3 sub, and a pair of Cambridge Audio Minx C46 for Atmos duty. I won’t be replacing any of them any time soon.

I’m keen to get something a bit beefier than small cube LCR speakers now - but still need to be low profile-ish, so wall mountable really.

I’ve tried the KEF T101s - wasn’t sure about them to be honest.

My two options are:

1) 3x Monitor audio Radius 225s for LCR
2) 1x Dali Opticon on wall for centre and 2x Dali Oberon on wall for L and R.

Option 2 feels like it’ll be a more robust sound (as long as mixing between Dali ranges is ok here), but is a few hundred quid more expensive.

Anyone had any experience of both? Would be grateful for some thoughts.

Cheers
 
Dali Opticon/Oberon should be superior to those smaller thin Radiuses, as long as you like the Dali sound. Huge upgrade from tiny cube speakers!

Member @rriisshhii bought Oberon on-walls and XTZ Spirits, home demoed them. He prefered the XTZs and kept them. But we all have our tastes.

3 x Spirit 6:
XTZ Spirit 6 (C) Matte White
XTZ Spirit 6 (C) Matte Black

Here is AVF review of Spirit system where they used the smaller Spirit 2s as main channels. Going with three matching Spirit 6 would be superior of course as you have dual drivers in each channels and using exactly same speaker. L/R would be mounted vertically upright.
XTZ Spirit Series 5.1 Speaker Package Review

Hifipilot has demo room in Middlesbrough?, but they should also offer 30day buy&try at home, not sure about return costs. Anyway this is just another option to think about if the depth isn´t problem.

AVO has one ex-demo Opticon LCR if you looking black one! Easy savings there.
DALI Opticon LCR Black Ash Wall Mountable Speaker (Single) - DALI - AudioVisual Online - UK Home Cinema and Hifi Specialists

Here is (starting from left) Spirit 2, Dali Oberon on-wall, Spirit 6:
20181223_104701-jpg.1099942


20181223_104338-jpg.1099934
 
Man that is super helpful. Thanks so much! I think probably 12cm is the max depth I’d be allowed. Veering towards the Dali combo then.

What do you think about an Oberon on wall for LCR vs 2 oberons and an opticon on wall for Center?

Is it better to match all three?

Oberon on wall is a preferable size for the WAF.
 
Man that is super helpful. Thanks so much! I think probably 12cm is the max depth I’d be allowed. Veering towards the Dali combo then.

What do you think about an Oberon on wall for LCR vs 2 oberons and an opticon on wall for Center?

Is it better to match all three?

Oberon on wall is a preferable size for the WAF.

If you want more detailed answer, email to Dali headquarter and ask! [email protected]

I believe you can mix them as the similar tone is likely founded in both, some will get away with totally different brand speaker too without problems. Opticon is still superior to Oberon if looking things on paper; drivers, cabinet, audio crossover components/design are of higher quality like it should be for the higher price. Dali confirmed these, but also recommended to listen both series. Some member here said the new Oberon got very cloce to Opticon as he listened both i think. As always with this hobby some person might feel the higher serie is definitely worth the money and other person might not depending of many things. What is great with Opticon LCR is you can rotate the tweeter if you mount the speaker horizontally. And it could be nice move for future wise as you could move the Oberon on-walls from front to surrounds and buy pair of Opticon LCR later on. ;) So you would have nice upgrade route waiting.

I hope you will have a chance of listening both series before buying, even just the bookshelf versions to get idea will you like them. I found Dali to sound quite bright, but can´t say what you think. Very important to listen before buying!

MK MP950 is 100mm depth wise, but likely out of your budget. Another very popular slim option.
M&K White MP950 On-Wall LCR Speaker (Single) - Bookshelf Speakers - AudioVisual Online - UK Home Cinema and Hifi Specialists
M&K Black MP950 On-Wall LCR Speaker (Single) - Bookshelf Speakers - AudioVisual Online - UK Home Cinema and Hifi Specialists
 
Thanks dude. Yeah it would be great to listen first - but my kids prevent me from doing anything I actually want to do, so it’s unlikely. Like the idea of an opticon centre exactly so I can mount horizontally. Pushes the budget up a bit though.

Really appreciate the advice though. Yet to check with the wife. Expecting her to want three Radius 225s as they’re thinner and friendlier looking.

Cheers
 
Also my listening area in my room is essentially only 3mx2.5m with one open wall leading into another room (see photo, it was clear 5 minutes before, and then suddenly a train track and a princess house got dropped in it), so I expect the radius will be fine if that’s what she decides. Though I’d rather have the Dalis...
 

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Also my listening area in my room is essentially only 3mx2.5m with one open wall leading into another room (see photo, it was clear 5 minutes before, and then suddenly a train track and a princess house got dropped in it), so I expect the radius will be fine if that’s what she decides. Though I’d rather have the Dalis...

Show her the couple pictures of bulkier & larger XTZs and how you want them. She is likely to say no to those, but keep talking and then later on start to play sad that you will agree to Dalis (not right away) and let her choose the colour also. :laugh: Problem is if you have showed the pictures of 225s already, then she knows there is something smaller that you have to agree on. It`s old trick to show wife something much larger (what you weren`t actually thinking in first place), then down play it and finally you should arrive to compromise, getting what you want. Not the smallest. :D

If she agrees to them and you have local Richer Sounds you can listen Dalis there, it takes literally under hour of your time example after work. You can order them from any shop you want then, i would ask around for some discount.

Keep us posted!
 
Nice plan. Had a good 45 minute pleasant discussion just now about it. Would be great to do it again soon :rotfl:

She’s fixated on the KEF T101s we tried out in the store. I’m not sure about them.

Maybe three T301s would be ok for now. But would probably have to get the T2 sub as well I think right? Read that the sub was aligned to the speakers.

Even so...then I’ve got a few years to work on the Dalis....
 
Ps didn’t even show her the radius!
 
Nice plan. Had a good 45 minute pleasant discussion just now about it. Would be great to do it again soon :rotfl:

She’s fixated on the KEF T101s we tried out in the store. I’m not sure about them.

Maybe three T301s would be ok for now. But would probably have to get the T2 sub as well I think right? Read that the sub was aligned to the speakers.

Even so...then I’ve got a few years to work on the Dalis....

Well looking some of the real world measurements the T301s are more like satellite speakers that rely heavily on subwoofer. No you don´t need to buy T2 with them!
549£ + 275£ for the speakers. They are quite expensive and there is better speakers out there for similar price, but not as slim. Try to speak her over. Why waste money in to speakers you don´t want, it´s very unlikely she would agree anything larger if you give up now so easily?! You got to make her understand that you want real upgrade from the tiny cube speakers. Something she will enjoy too in the form of better sound quality, more enjoyable to listen music & movies etc.

I have never understood why men give so easily up to their wifes regarding AV gear. Man up and make her understand that it`s you making the call, but she can have a saying and you should meet at the halfway. Sorry if i sound straight, but i just literally hate it when men let`s their wife choose everything. That is not how it should be in marriage. Dali on-wall is damn slim, some wood colour or white with white masks and they would look lovely on wall. Make sure you show every colour and tell her that there is front mask that covers the drivers! I recommend to show some youtube videos to get better idea of the size/finish. Here is couple:





 
20190215_233415.jpg

Unfinished, but I thought I'd show my setup in its final stages.

The Dali Oberons are a better looking speaker, no doubt. However the Spirits are the better kit. And they're cheaper. The Spirit 2s are smaller than the Oberons too. The Spirits are overall cheaper if you go for my setups.

If XTZ offered a walnut option, I would've been all over them. Put simply; Dali for looks, XTZ for everything else.
 
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@Gasp3621 - thanks for the advice, all much appreciated. Some wives are easy to persuade, others are harder. Some wives earn more than us and hold the purse strings, others don’t. Some wives can easily tip the balance of a reasonable and pleasant married life - sometimes it’s not worth that for better audio quality. As you say - married life is a compromise, it’s all about meeting halfway - but where that halfway is can vary hugely!

@rriisshhii - nice looking set up indeed. Spirits certainly look the part. I guess part of my issue is my TV is set back into the wall, so on wall speakers sitting proud are even more noticeable.

To be honest, any speakers I get are likely to be significantly better than my Mission cubes, be it KEF, Dali, Spirit or whatever.

Appreciate all your help guys. Will let you know what happens.

Cheers
 
I guess part of my issue is my TV is set back into the wall, so on wall speakers sitting proud are even more noticeable.

They'd be significantly less noticeable if you put them lower down in line with your centre where they should really be.
 
Thanks everyone. To close this particular thread (for the time being anyway), I ended up with the Kef T301s for LCR. I’m pleased - a significant improvement over my previous little Mission cubes. I’ve still got them for surrounds and the sub. I’m happy with the overall sound improvement, and the wife is not overly angry that there are new bigger speakers in the room. And I have set them a bit lower.

Thanks for all your help.
 
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Well looking some of the real world measurements the T301s are more like satellite speakers that rely heavily on subwoofer. No you don´t need to buy T2 with them!
549£ + 275£ for the speakers. They are quite expensive and there is better speakers out there for similar price, but not as slim. Try to speak her over. Why waste money in to speakers you don´t want, it´s very unlikely she would agree anything larger if you give up now so easily?! You got to make her understand that you want real upgrade from the tiny cube speakers. Something she will enjoy too in the form of better sound quality, more enjoyable to listen music & movies etc.

I have never understood why men give so easily up to their wifes regarding AV gear. Man up and make her understand that it`s you making the call, but she can have a saying and you should meet at the halfway. Sorry if i sound straight, but i just literally hate it when men let`s their wife choose everything. That is not how it should be in marriage. Dali on-wall is damn slim, some wood colour or white with white masks and they would look lovely on wall. Make sure you show every colour and tell her that there is front mask that covers the drivers! I recommend to show some youtube videos to get better idea of the size/finish. Here is couple:






Hello Gasp, bumped into your post and the videos. You are right, the Dalis do sound bright, but to me its like a kind of silky airy bright as opposed to the forward bright of Klipsch. Havent heard the latest ones though. Logically one would start thinking as to how bright 3 of the Opticon LCR + 2 x Opticon 1 would be overall. Would ARC help to tame them highs a bit if required? Thanks.
 
Hello Gasp, bumped into your post and the videos. You are right, the Dalis do sound bright, but to me its like a kind of silky airy bright as opposed to the forward bright of Klipsch. Havent heard the latest ones though. Logically one would start thinking as to how bright 3 of the Opticon LCR + 2 x Opticon 1 would be overall. Would ARC help to tame them highs a bit if required? Thanks.

I haven´t heard the Opticons only Zensors but i remember people saying they are more natural with the top end and with more detail, i don´t remember the exact words but they are more audiophile range vs. the budget Zensors and should sound better. They aren`t cheap though, but rarely this hobby is.. Also what i remember chatting with members here saying that Opticons have come quite close to Rubicons musically. Now the latter is quite expensive so i have a feeling that the Opticon range is the sweet spot with good amplification which you have!

I don´t know anything about ARC Genesis which you have on 720, best to ask on the thread below:


Arendals new 1961 range would have been spot on for you! But i`m not sure can they be shipped and for what cost. Just a smaller version of the very popular 1723 THX range! Low depth and sealed cabinets for wall mounting.
 

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