Hello All,
Adding to this old post because there isn't a lot of information on these speakers, and there is definitely some mis-information.
The Dali Ikon 2's and Ikon 2 Mk II's are both amazing speakers that will cater to a specific type of listener. It should be noted that the Ikon 1's right through Dali's top of the line flagship speakers use a combination of silk dome tweeter AND a ribbon tweeter. This gives the speakers superior off-axis dispersion, amazing high frequency extension (I believe into the 40kHz range).
This also does one more thing... It produces once of the cleanest, most transparent and razor sharp stereo images I have ever heard. This also happens to be my weakness when it comes to audio performance.
I also have spent many years working in the audio industry and I have been fortunate to have spent a lot of time with many different expensive and highly regarded systems. After hearing all different types of performance capabilities, I find that what transports me into the music the most and out of my listening space is the quality of the soundstage.
Massive Krell and Threshold amps with top of the line B&W speakers with Boutique DAC's and high end transports all sound very nice indeed, but in all honesty a little lifeless. The solid state amps have plenty of muscle, but are very sterile. The B&W's are flat from 20Hz - 20kHz and the soundstage has a nice black background. It's all quite impressive and gets high marks in all the literature, and I enjoyed selling it because there were great commissions and people WANTED to buy it.
Then there's a product like Dali. As the above post correctly observes, Dali doesn't make you sit back and look at all the great equipment you bought, they make you FORGET IT'S THERE. To my mind, that's what really great equipment should do.
There is some mis-information, primarily that the Dali's are a little bright. This is because people don't follow instructions. Dali tells you specifically NOT to toe-in their speakers. Don't toe them in as you would a traditional pair of speakers, don't toe them in just a little.... DO NOT TOE-IN THE SPEAKERS AT ALL!
Adding insult to injury, aside from many reviewers not following simple instruction, there was even one reviewer who added a THIRD Ikon 2 as a center channel. For a speaker whose main strength is stereo image, why on Earth would you ruin it by sticking an extra speaker right smack in the middle of your stereo image? And yeah, it's going to be too bright.
This is because the two tweeters will sound a little hot if they're pointed directly at you, and they also measure a little hot if they're pointed directly at you. But if you position the speakers straight ahead, parallel to the side walls as per instructions, the tonal balance will be spot on. And because the ribbon tweeters have excellent off-axis dispersion, you don't lose any performance.
What you do get are spectacular, breathy mids and highs, with mind-bending detail, and a sense of space that will have the hairs on the back of your neck tingling. Both the space implied in the source recording and the space between the instruments. Even the space between the notes.
When I was a kid, I liked the sensation, sometimes, when it seemed like I could reach out and touch the moon. With these speakers you will feel like you can reach out and touch the notes. You will feel like you can walk over and lean on Miles Davis's shoulder as you listen to the spittle collect in his horn.
That's what these speakers are capable of doing. And they can do this with even crappy, low-end electronics. Of course, the more you put into the accompanying equipment, the more you'll get out of the Dali's, but it's impressive what they do with moderate, commercial receivers.
Now the Ikon 6's (the floorstanding model) took a bit of a beating from reviewers for having some bass bloat. For the Ikon 2's this is a non-issue as there isn't much bass to speak of. But who cares? It's a bookshelf speaker for crying out loud. If you want bass, add a subwoofer. With a good sub, these will slay most speakers many, many times their price.
I've experimented with lots of different equipment over the years, and my main stereo still plays host to two massive Snell CV's with an MTM d'Appolito array, and they image quite well. My computer system consists of a pair of NHT SuperZero's with a sub. And my bedroom system has a pair of Ikon 2's with a pair of subs. And as nice and impressive as my Snell's sound, I think they would easily be bested by these little Ikons with subs, so much so that I haven't tried them in my main system for fear of falling out of love with the Snell's that have served me so well for so many years.
If you appreciate holographic imaging (a strength of the NHT's as well), then you will be overjoyed with almost any of the Dali line, but you aren't settling if you get the Ikon 2's, as their performance in combination with a sub is world-class.
MF
