I found this random channel. These sound amazing. Have you heard anything else?
I have not heard the Oberon series in person, but i do own a pair of Dali Zensor 1 that i like very much.
They are a bit “laid back”, but still has quite a bit of detail and warmth. The bass is pretty good the size considering, but they do need a bit of power from the amp to be at their best… I mostly use these as a desktop setup, and i change up a bit between my to desktop computers when it comes to speakers and amps.
Bought them years ago (guess 5+) and back then i paid about $240 or so, and for the price i think they are a great value. I do own 2 other book shelf speakers, a pair of Klipsch RB81 mk2 and a pair of Bowers & Wilkins 685 s2.
Both the other two have bigger woofers, and the klipsch has a horn for treble. For vocals and mids i would say the Dali Zensor 1 are just ahead of the B&W and the Klipsch falls a bit behind. The Dali’s are great for when i watch a tv series i.e.
Regarding treble, the B&W are the best of the bunch with great detail with out being harsh or tiering to listen to. The Dali is at second place despite the Dali has the least detail. It is still a bit better than the Klipsch as the Klipsch is more sensitive to placement, the amp and the mix of the music… The Klipsch can sound great and it can sound harsh, all depending.
As for bass, the Dali has the smallest woofer, and even though it has a warm sound it doesn’t go that deep. I do use a sub with all these speakers and even the 8" Klipsch RB81 needs a sub for those deep notes. The B&W has a 6.5" woofer, but i do feel they are on par with the RB81, and perhaps delivers even more at the “mid bass” range. This might be down to the room, placement and amp though, but at least that is my experience. And at “near field” the B&W wins the bass even though the RB81 fills the room more.
All in all, i would say to my ears, of the 3 i would rank them as follows if i did not consider the price:
- B&W 685 s2,
- Dali zensor 1
- Klipsch RB81 mk2.
Considering that both the B&W and Klipsch speakers where almost 3x the price when i bought them compared to the Dali, i would say the Dali is a great value for money. I placed the Klipsch last, but when i put them in a bigger room with a bit more distance than i normally use with them, they do improve a bit, and in my living room i would prefer them over the smaller Dali.
Still, i do really like the Dali sound signature. I feel they strike a good balance of treble, mids and bass, and the sound signature is a bit warm rather than neutral, but not overly so. I would love to try out the Oberon 1 or 3 bookshelf speakers to replace my Zensor1, as they should have better treble (more detail) as far as i have been able to read about them. That would make them very interesting compared to my B&W, but i’m not sure if i could justify the expense vs the sound quality upgrade.
(sorry for the long read)
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I heard that demo of the Oberon and thought maybe Dali could be a nice budget speaker. I feel like I just need to buy a bookshelf from each company until i figure out what sound I want.
The Dali Spektor 2 is pretty great!