Small floorstander shootout! Dali Oberon 5, Wharfedale Evo 4.3, Monitor Audio Silver 200 6g

[JJHook]

Hello. Having been wondering if my Dali Oberon 5s are correct for my ears or environment, I have been seeking out the opportunity to listen to alternatives of a similar size.
This week, I have made some progress in that I have had the opportunity to directly compare some of these.
Using a Quad Vena 2 amplifier plugged into the Dali Oberon 5s, Monitor Audio Silver 200 6G, and Wharfedale Evo 4.3.
I was particularly interested in the Wharfedale which took some tracking down and aren't reviewed often. These were all tested using a mix of modern electronic pop music and soft rock by bands unknown to me as I didn't plan the opportunity, and didn't have my test CD!
First of all, size and build quality. All excellent for the price, all reasonably sized, not too intrusive. I would say the MA probably are the smartest looking and best actual build quality but the Wharfedales looked impressive in Walnut. The Oberon's look great too and are the shortest. The MAs are very slightly taller but are shallower front to back. The Wharfedales are little more chunky which makes them look solid. In the environment I was in, these are my hearing observations. The room was was approx 5m x4m with roughly 3m ceilings. Carpeted floors.
BASS.
In context, these speakers will not have the punch and depth of their bigger siblings, however..
The MAs have impressive bass for the size of them, and it is accurate, detailed and clearly defined. They lack a little in mid bass which shows up in distorted guitars and timbre in brass to my ears but seems to help just a little with detail and clarity in upper frequencies for vocals, snare snap, and air.
Oberon 5s again impressive for the size and detailed but not quite as defined. These do have more mid bass but this seems to take a just a little away from the definition compared to the MAs, but helps with timbre.
The Wharfedales impressed with speed, accuracy and punch in the bass.
MIDS
The MAs have very well tuned mids to my ears, just enough bite for clarity without going into brightness in the upper mids, but again could be better at timbre so be careful.
The Oberon's sounded at times a little muddy compared to my setup at home but sounded like they needed a partial bung in the bass port to me, from experience with them at home They do have soft mids compared to some speakers, but I have also experienced this as a good trait with some music types and forgiving with older recordings, especially when coupled with the timbre offered in the lower mids.
I really wanted to be impressed by the Wharfedales with their soft dome mid driver. While the delivery of mids was as expected from reviews in terms of dispersion and detail, I found the tone to be rather flat and lacking dynamics compared to the other two. They probably were better at detail in the mids than the Dali's but no better than the MA, but then lacked in other respects.
TREBLE
I found the MAs to have the best treble from the three sets. Great air, detail, zing, swish and snap, with the Dali Oberon 5s not far behind lacking maybe a little snap and zing compared to the MAs but this may have been linked to the different upper mid signatures in comparison.
Much like the mids, the Wharfedales impressed with detail in treble but then didn't match in terms of air, swish and zing but a flat tone signature that may suit people looking for a flatter maybe more accurate tone, with detail and control.
SUMMARY
I come away from this thinking that these are very different speakers to suit different musical tastes. I would suggest that the Wharfedales need to be definitely heard before buying. They sounded detailed to me but not with air, they have a flat tone with good bass control to my ears and gave me the impression they need to be played loud to get the best out of them.
The MAs I would suggest would be great for vocal music, bass and rythym, or in systems that can add timbre, maybe Arcam would be a good match.
In this set up, the MAs sounded the most balanced, accurate and pleasurable musical listen to me, and probably the best to look at over time. The Dali Oberon 5s sounded a little muddy in the mids in this setup compared to my setup at home.
SO
I tracked down a pair of Silver 200 (6g)s from a friend of mine to compare to my Oberon 5s at home using my Cambridge Audio Azur 851a and Arcam RDac.
My Oberon 5s are partially bunged in the bass ports I find it helps in my environment, only partially bunged mind.
Overall, these have a similar tonal signature in my system. While the MAs offer a slight improvement in treble detail, air and bass punch which makes them maybe slightly better to listen to at marginally lower levels , the Oberon 5s are offering more timbre, and overall weight while not losing any speed or timing compared to the MAs. They both sound great for different reasons.
Red Hot Chili Peppers Blood Sugar Sex Magic sounds great on both but the MAs have a slight edge over the Oberon 5s. Metallica sounds better on the Dali, especially the older stuff. ACDC goes to the Oberon's, along with all the other heavier distorted guitar stuff etc.
Dire Straits Brothers in Arms is a tie. The MAs play the beats better and capture the atmosphere on the title track, but the Dali's capture the depth and mood, and sound better with the guitars to my ears.
Nina Simone - MAs.
Dance beat / House - MAs
Weak recordings - Dali every time
For movies, I would imagine the auto setup on AV amps would balance any difference s between these two.
For placement, I would suggest the MAs may be better. I find the the bass port on the the Oberon 5 needs taming when closer than 400mm to the wall, not so much with the MAs. However, once tamed, no issues.
IMO, both the MA Silver 200 (6G) and Dali Oberon 5 are great speakers for the purchase price but need to be matched to musical tastes to some degree. Certainly a good lesson in getting speakers into your own environment to have a listen before buying where possible.

 

[password1]

Thanks for your thoughts.

One thing to keep in mind is that the Oberons are equivalent to Bronze and Diamonds. Opticons would be a fairer comparison to Silvers and Evos.

The silver 200 and evo 4. 3 have an original rrp of £999 in standard finish.

The equivalent and similar price range to the Oberon 5 are the Bronze 200.

The equivalent of the silver 200 6g are the DALI Opticon 5. The new silver 7g compete against the Opticon mark 2.

Unfortunately Dali dont manufacture the compact opticon 5 floorstanders anymore which would have been the equivalent to the silver 200.

 

[pinkfloyd4ever]

Hi @JJHook thanks for this post. I'm trying to decide between the Oberon 5 and the MA Silver 200 6G, and found this post very helpful. But I have some questions.

Since the Silver 200 6G is now discontinued and the Oberon 5 (like most other British or European speakers) tends to sell new for 2x more on this side of the pond, I'm looking at getting these used or on closeout, and unfortunately don't have the option to listen before buying.

Which did you end up keeping, the Oberon 5 or the Silver 200 6G?

Which do you think is least likely to be fatigueing to someone sensitive to sibilance or other harshness in the treble?

What did you use to partially bung the port, just a big rolled up sock?

Do you think the MA Silver 200 6g really needs a minimum of 60 wpc like the specs say? If so maybe I'm best off with the Dali.

I know the current generation Bronze 200 is 8ohms nominal (min 4.4) with a sensitivity of 88 and the minimum recommended amp power is 40 wpc. So at 8ohms nominal (4.7 minimum) and 89 dB, I'd think the SIlver 200s would be ok with less than 60w, but I'm not sure. I'm in the process of building a DIY Pass Class A amp (Aleph J and maybe M2x), which will be 25wpc into 8 ohms, though I may also build another one that's 40wpc (Alpha Nirvana).

Hell, my current speakers are 6ohms/ 88dB and I'm listening with a 5WPC Pass DIY design and don't feel like I'm missing anything. Maybe a little light in the bass, but I'm the opposite of a basshead if there ever was one.

From your descriptions it looks like the Dalis were your favorite with rock and more upbeat music, whereas more subtle vocal, piano, or classical music might be best on the MAs. Tough choice cause my music listening is split about 50/50 between upbeat rock/pop/electronic(sometimes) and more subtle/insightful vocal, piano, and classical.

We have our first child on the way in January, so to that point, do you think either one would be harder than the other for a toddler to tip over?

 

[Helix Hifi]

Both this speakers are fairly easy to drive. Oberon 5 are easier to drive. Silver 200 need bit more power, since they drop below 4 ohm.

However I don’t believe in normal living room you don’t need an amplifier more powerful then 70 watts.

I use the Marantz PM8006 with the Silver 300. Sounds awesome.
Of course more watt is better, still...

Silver 300 appears to be sweet spot of all the MA Silver floor standing speakers.

Silver 200 might sound bass light. I had the Silver 200 for only 2 weeks. I didn’t get along wit( them. They sound thin in midrange, treble. No bass.

Silver 300 is the opposite. But! It might be at the time I didn’t have enough patience, because to some extent the Silver 300 sounds the same brand new.

They need around 100-120 hours of break in to sound optimal. Then the sound is full in bass, midrange. Not bright sounding. Dynamic, wam sounding.

Oberon 5 does not need a lot of break. Simply because the drivers are not as stiff as Monitor Audio. Monitor Audio has C-Cam drivers. Dali has wood fiber drivers.

Dali doesn’t have the same full, warm midrange as Monitor Audio but more upfront sounding. More dynamic fun sounding. Better imagining then Monitor Audio.

Bass is leaner sounding, though incredibly fast precise sounding. The treble can at times be too sibilant sounding.

This is my opinion, but only because in my opinion Monitor Audio need around 100 hours to sound optimal. So if I kept the Silver 200 then my opinion could have changed.

Speakers are incredibly difficult to say which one is better! In your case try looking for QA 3050i

 

[Helix Hifi]

Since you are Floyd fan, then simply listen if the upper midrange is too bright. The intro on Brain Damage as example. The cymbals can be too bright on Dali. More zzzzz sound.

Whereas on Monitor Audio it doesn’t. More natural sounding.

I recommend other speakers because Monitor Audio needs 100 hours to sound optimal.

If you have patience, then Monitor Audio is one of the best speakers in its price class.

Real wood finish compared to Dali. Heavier, more weight too. Though QA Concept 40, 3050i sounds perhaps better. More timbre to the vocals.

This of course depends on the listing room, amplifier. I find Marantz, Denon, Yamaha suits Monitor Audio quite well.

Speaking of break in. Just put on some really bass heavy music. Or Floyd. Can’t go wrong with Floyd.

Though I see you have the wrong album as your avatar!

 

[Helix Hifi]

Female vocals the Oberon 5 bugs me!

It doesn’t sound natural. The upper midrange is way too thin sounding. As example Alanis Morrizette Unplugged album.

The microphone on this album sounds strange. It is sibilant album too begin with. With Oberon 5 it sounds unbearable.

 

[Helix Hifi]

Current wise... Dali Oberon 5 has room sensitivity at 88 dB. This means if you sit on meter away from the speakers you only need 1 watt. 2 meters away from the speakers, then 2 watts.

Most likely you we’ll only need 1-3 watts. This is why you’re current speakers sounds fine, but lacks bit bass weight.

You need an amplifier around 50-100 watts to control the drivers, also the speaker impedance. Then you’ll notice the bass breaths more on loud volume. More importantly on low volume also.

Take Silver 200. They drop below 4 ohm, this takes a lot toll on the amplifier. So 5 watts amplifier we’ll struggle!

 

[Helix Hifi]

I recommend Denon PMA 8000NE with Silver 200. Same with Dali Oberon 5. Even if you most likely need only 5 watts, the first 5 watts are important!

With 40-70 watt amplifier, the speakers breath more. You can have the volume louder without the volume clipping.

Try looking for used Nad C352 also.

 

[Helix Hifi]

But to be honest, why change the current speakers if it sounds fine? If you build your own amplifiers, I don’t think you need to buy any of the amplifiers mentioned.

40 watts probably well be fine. Try and see.

But my opinion is at least 70 watts. The amplifier I have is measured to have 100 watts. More then enough for most people.

I don’t remember how much watts the Denon has, still many people are happy with it.

 

[Kapkirk]

Hi @JJHook thanks for this post. I'm trying to decide between the Oberon 5 and the MA Silver 200 6G, and found this post very helpful. But I have some questions.

Since the Silver 200 6G is now discontinued and the Oberon 5 (like most other British or European speakers) tends to sell new for 2x more on this side of the pond, I'm looking at getting these used or on closeout, and unfortunately don't have the option to listen before buying.

Which did you end up keeping, the Oberon 5 or the Silver 200 6G?

Which do you think is least likely to be fatigueing to someone sensitive to sibilance or other harshness in the treble?

What did you use to partially bung the port, just a big rolled up sock?

Do you think the MA Silver 200 6g really needs a minimum of 60 wpc like the specs say? If so maybe I'm best off with the Dali.

I know the current generation Bronze 200 is 8ohms nominal (min 4.4) with a sensitivity of 88 and the minimum recommended amp power is 40 wpc. So at 8ohms nominal (4.7 minimum) and 89 dB, I'd think the SIlver 200s would be ok with less than 60w, but I'm not sure. I'm in the process of building a DIY Pass Class A amp (Aleph J and maybe M2x), which will be 25wpc into 8 ohms, though I may also build another one that's 40wpc (Alpha Nirvana).

Hell, my current speakers are 6ohms/ 88dB and I'm listening with a 5WPC Pass DIY design and don't feel like I'm missing anything. Maybe a little light in the bass, but I'm the opposite of a basshead if there ever was one.

From your descriptions it looks like the Dalis were your favorite with rock and more upbeat music, whereas more subtle vocal, piano, or classical music might be best on the MAs. Tough choice cause my music listening is split about 50/50 between upbeat rock/pop/electronic(sometimes) and more subtle/insightful vocal, piano, and classical.

We have our first child on the way in January, so to that point, do you think either one would be harder than the other for a toddler to tip over?

Personally I don't think either of these speakers would be to your taste if you are sensitive to sibilance or harsh treble. If you did choose one of them you would need a very clean source.
The Monitor Audio can sound peaky in the upper mid/lower treble (with the wrong amplifier) and the metal tweeters don't do them any favours either, most Dali speakers I've heard are quite bright sounding and not particularly kind with poor source material. The Monitor Audio would be sturdier if you have kids around as the feet are excellent.

 

[pinkfloyd4ever]

Cool thanks for all the input, Helix.

Both this speakers are fairly easy to drive. Oberon 5 are easier to drive. Silver 200 need bit more power, since they drop below 4 ohm.

You must be talking about the current (7th gen) Silver 200s. The 6g 200s only go down to 4.7ohms according to MA's site.

But to be honest, why change the current speakers if it sounds fine?

The main reason is that they are pretty harsh in the treble, which was the case when I was using a much more powerful amp...so I don't think my grievances with it have anything to do with not having enough amp power. They also don't look great. But they were $200 for the pair. They're Sony SS-CS3.

Personally I don't think either of these speakers would be to your taste if you are sensitive to sibilance or harsh treble. If you did choose one of them you would need a very clean source.
The Monitor Audio can sound peaky in the upper mid/lower treble (with the wrong amplifier) and the metal tweeters don't do them any favours either, most Dali speakers I've heard are quite bright sounding and not particularly kind with poor source material. The Monitor Audio would be sturdier if you have kids around as the feet are excellent.

Hmm maybe I was a little misleading. I don't necessarily want something with a rolled off top-end, just something that's less fatiguing than my current speakers, and I figured a well-reviewed pair of Dalis or MAs would fit the bill. I do tend to like a good clean and detailed top end that could be called "fun". The question is, where is my own ears' line between "fun" and "harsh".

I think at this point I really just need to listen to both and make my own decision. Trying to figure out a way to do that.

 

[Kapkirk]

@pinkfloyed4ever I think it may also depend on your age with regard to the treble harshness, many of us oldies seem to be more sensitive to the sibilance/harshness which is usually down to our own hearing diminishing (lopping off the high frequency but accentuating the lower treble region)

I had owned the Silver 200's 6g for about 12 Months and overall I quite liked them but I did find they gave me a bit of listener fatigue after more than 30 Mins and depending on what I was listening to and on what source, I can't totally blame the metal tweeters either because the Focal 906 Aria's I had also owned previously had metal tweeters but did not have the same harshness of the Monitor Audio's, although most of that harshness was alleviated when I bought my current Denon Amp.

A demo is a must, only you can decide what sounds right for you but it's good to get some feedback from previous owners so you know what to expect.
Judging on the sound you prefer I think you might find you actually like the Dali's more than the MA but both will work well with the type of music you listen to.

It's great you are having some fun with building your own amplifiers, I built my first amplifier when I was 14 yo (now in my 60's) and would love to build something better, like a more powerful Class A similar to the one you listed perhaps (Alpha Nirvana) but I am of an age now I don't need the headaches, it can get quite involved as you know .. and you need plenty of measuring equipment to get it spot on. The annoying thing is I pretty much have most of the components laying around to actually build one, apart from the case so it's always nagging me when I open my components draw and see all those NPN MJ802's, Toroidal Transformers, power caps and massive heat sinks etc just sitting there doing sod all, who know's maybe one day.

 

[JJHook]

Thanks for your thoughts.

One thing to keep in mind is that the Oberons are equivalent to Bronze and Diamonds. Opticons would be a fairer comparison to Silvers and Evos.

The silver 200 and evo 4. 3 have an original rrp of £999 in standard finish.

The equivalent and similar price range to the Oberon 5 are the Bronze 200.

The equivalent of the silver 200 6g are the DALI Opticon 5. The new silver 7g compete against the Opticon mark 2.

Unfortunately Dali dont manufacture the compact opticon 5 floorstanders anymore which would have been the equivalent to the silver 200.

It's a little late but for the sake of good info I'll reply.
I kept the Dali's. Better for my older under produced metal albums.
On my Azur851a I didn't find either the Oberon 5s or MA silver 200s particularly fatigueing. I have tinnitus, which means Sibilance can be additionally annoying amongst other things. I find that actually the fatigue comes from not only poor speaker amp matches or poor tweeters but trying to listen to speakers at low volumes which aren't meant to play at low volume and don't sufficiently project frequencies outward above the dB level of my tinnitus, or at least that what it feels like. If you play at lower volumes you may be better with standmounts + sub. The better clarity at lower volume will be less fatigueing.
To clarify, both these speakers sounded good in my set up. If I was to choose which was less fatigueing I would say the Oberon's. The soft dome tweeter on the Oberons is much better than the old tweeter in the Zensor so be careful not to expect the same sound. Totally different much clearer, easier to listen to but less fatigueing for those reasons. Having said that, my amp is probably flat neutral, not bright, not warm. On a bright amp, or a weak amp they (Oberon's) may sound fatigueing. They definitely sing with more power.
The silvers are definitely better build quality and steadier with kids around. They also have a mesh protection over the tweeter, so that they don't suddenly look like metal tweeters from Focals!
The Oberon's sound different to the previous Zensors. Much clearer but at the same time not as forward. I found the silvers to be slightly more forward than the Oberon's.
I found while the Oberons are probably not that hard to drive, they sounded better with power. I didn't notice that with the silver 200s so much.
I found that a curled dish sponge acts as a good partial bung in my Oberon's. It tames the huge hole in the back and tightens things up a little - only partially bunged.
On a different note, for those of you with some tinnitus like me, the best purchase I made was a graphic equalizer. Controversial I know. Wait until you get older before commenting! Its a 30 band modern one (i.e not an 80s technics etc) with the 6/12 dB switch option. I set the graphics to my liking in my case some lift from 2khz upwards. My DAC plugs into it, then the GE to the amp. At lower volumes I click the 12db which massively increases clarity. In-between medium volumes it's at 6db and when I'm rocking out, I turn it off as it isn't needed.
Much better for avoiding fatigue caused actually by reasons as before described in my opinion and experience.
An added benefit with the the 2 channel EQ models with with separate equalizers for each speaker is that some mild manual room correction can be made. My left channel suffers from colouration due to it being positioned nearer the corner of the room. A slight adjustment on the equalizer, no problem.
Hope this helps.