Choosing center speaker KEF Q250 vs Dali Oberon Vokal

[Gvtpraj]

Hi Guys,

My first post here. I’m currently living in Germany and in the process of building a home theater. I have a pair of KEF Q150s and Dali Oberon 1 speakers, DENON AVR X1600h and a BenQ Projector.

Now I’m looking for a center speaker and not sure weather to go with KEF Q250 or Dali Oberon Vokal for center.
If I get KEF center, I’ll use it with KEF Q150 in home theater and Dali Oberon 1 as stereo in another room. If I buy Dali Oberon Vokal, I’ll use it with Dali Oberon 1 in home theater.

Unfortunately I don’t have the possibility to audition where I live, so looking for help from you guys here.
I can buy both KEF Q250 and Dali Vokal for almost the same price here.

I searched for KEF q250c here but got no results. Does anyone here auditioned these speakers and how’s your experience?

Room size is 3m(W) x 4m(L) x 3m(H) and mostly use it for movies. 80% movies and 20% music.

Thank you and Regards from Germany.

 

[ukjeyaraj]

I havent listened KEF. Today I listened Oberon Vokal. Those are nice speakers for watching movies. Dialogues were clear with nice depth and it could fill the hall easily.

 

[Nitin K]

Hi Guys,

My first post here. I’m currently living in Germany and in the process of building a home theater. I have a pair of KEF Q150s and Dali Oberon 1 speakers, DENON AVR X1600h and a BenQ Projector.

Now I’m looking for a center speaker and not sure weather to go with KEF Q250 or Dali Oberon Vokal for center.
If I get KEF center, I’ll use it with KEF Q150 in home theater and Dali Oberon 1 as stereo in another room. If I buy Dali Oberon Vokal, I’ll use it with Dali Oberon 1 in home theater.

Unfortunately I don’t have the possibility to audition where I live, so looking for help from you guys here.
I can buy both KEF Q250 and Dali Vokal for almost the same price here.

I searched for KEF q250c here but got no results. Does anyone here auditioned these speakers and how’s your experience?

Room size is 3m(W) x 4m(L) x 3m(H) and mostly use it for movies. 80% movies and 20% music.

Thank you and Regards from Germany.

Hi Gvtpraj,

I am using the Dali Oberon Vokal with the Dali Oberon 1's and they sound quite good for movies with clear dialogues especially when the recordings are good. My room size is 14 ft X 11 ft X 11 ft.
I don't know how they compare with the Kef Q250c since I have not heard them.

Regards.

 

[ArunkumarMB]

Hi Guys,

My first post here. I’m currently living in Germany and in the process of building a home theater. I have a pair of KEF Q150s and Dali Oberon 1 speakers, DENON AVR X1600h and a BenQ Projector.

Now I’m looking for a center speaker and not sure weather to go with KEF Q250 or Dali Oberon Vokal for center.
If I get KEF center, I’ll use it with KEF Q150 in home theater and Dali Oberon 1 as stereo in another room. If I buy Dali Oberon Vokal, I’ll use it with Dali Oberon 1 in home theater.

Unfortunately I don’t have the possibility to audition where I live, so looking for help from you guys here.
I can buy both KEF Q250 and Dali Vokal for almost the same price here.

I searched for KEF q250c here but got no results. Does anyone here auditioned these speakers and how’s your experience?

Room size is 3m(W) x 4m(L) x 3m(H) and mostly use it for movies. 80% movies and 20% music.

Thank you and Regards from Germany.

Hi @Gvtpraj
I’m using Dali Oberon 1 & Dali Oberon Vokal in my home theatre setup and my usage is mostly movies. It’s sounds superb with clear dialogues. I haven’t heard Kef speakers, so I’m not sure which is better.

 

[Gvtpraj]

Thank you guys for the response.
I can get Dali Vokal for a very good price here. I liked both Dali Oberon 1 and KEF Q150s with Denon X1600, but found Dali to be more smoother and can listen to them for very long time. If I go with Dali center, I’ll definitely update the front stage to Dali Oberon 5 next year .

 

[Nitin K]

Thank you guys for the response.
I can get Dali Vokal for a very good price here. I liked both Dali Oberon 1 and KEF Q150s with Denon X1600, but found Dali to be more smoother and can listen to them for very long time. If I go with Dali center, I’ll definitely update the front stage to Dali Oberon 5 next year .

If you can get the Audyssey phone app then you can adjust the MultEQ filters by reducing the default filter range values and make them sound even better. It also depends on your receiver's sound signature and whether the model is compatible with the phone app. Currently using the Oberon's with the Marantz and they sound nice. Anyways all the best for your speaker hunt.

 

[ArunkumarMB]

Thank you guys for the response.
I can get Dali Vokal for a very good price here. I liked both Dali Oberon 1 and KEF Q150s with Denon X1600, but found Dali to be more smoother and can listen to them for very long time. If I go with Dali center, I’ll definitely update the front stage to Dali Oberon 5 next year .

Dali Oberon 5 is in my upgrade list as well

 

[selvaa_pr]

Hi Gvtpraj,

I am using the Dali Oberon Vokal with the Dali Oberon 1's and they sound quite good for movies with clear dialogues especially when the recordings are good. My room size is 14 ft X 11 ft X 11 ft.
I don't know how they compare with the Kef Q250c since I have not heard them.

Regards.

Nitin,

One basic doubt. I think Dali Oberon Vokal's nominal impedance is just 4 Ohms. So, during certain frequencies, it might even go low and might draw lot of current from the AVR channel. Is that safe? Even I am eyeing on buy that. But, I am bit skeptical as Oberon 1 is just 6 Ohms and Vokal is 4 Ohm, which is definitely a strain esp. when we fill in all the speakers in the bed layer and Elevations.

 

[fLUX]

I run front and rear 4 / 6 ohm speakers on X2600H, running at about volume of 50-60 most of the times and dont notice any strain as such. I have set the Speaker Impedance to 4 ohm in the settings.

 

[ssf]

I have set the Speaker Impedance to 4 ohm in the settings.

Please do not do this. Refer to the article below by Gene for a detailed explanation.

https://www.audioholics.com/audio-amplifier/impedance-selector-switch-1

 

[fLUX]

Please do not do this. Refer to the article below by Gene for a detailed explanation.

https://www.audioholics.com/audio-amplifier/impedance-selector-switch-1

Thanks for the article SSF, was very insightful. Their recommendation seems to be more on the lines of the below
I) Using a power amplifier to drive speakers which are not very efficient. This is not an alternative for X2600H as there is no pre-out present for any of the channels
II) Bass management via crossovers , this is somethign which is already done
III) Go for more efficient speakers (not really an option at the moment)

However i had a few questions pertaining to what Denon officially says about the same.
i) They say they can handle speakers 4-8 ohms and even provide an option to set the same. They mention that if any speaker is below 8 ohm to switch to the respective lowest impedance speaker switch

Before connecting speakers AVR-X2600H

manuals.denon.com

ii) Also if there is lot of load on the AVR , it would overheat and ideally power off due to the protection circuit if I am not wrong. Have not seen do it even once , this possibly might be due to the explanation in above article where they ask for Bass Management which is already done and no frequencies below 60hz goes to any of my speakers

While I do potentially understand that it might not be the most optimum way to go about things but with a lack of preout and Denon officially stating the same I feel it still should not cause any major concerns with the Amplifier.

 

[Nitin K]

Nitin,

One basic doubt. I think Dali Oberon Vokal's nominal impedance is just 4 Ohms. So, during certain frequencies, it might even go low and might draw lot of current from the AVR channel. Is that safe? Even I am eyeing on buy that. But, I am bit skeptical as Oberon 1 is just 6 Ohms and Vokal is 4 Ohm, which is definitely a strain esp. when we fill in all the speakers in the bed layer and Elevations.

Hi Selvaa,

You are right, the Oberon 1's are 6 ohms at 86db sensitivity & the Oberon vokal is 4 ohms, but the sensitivity is at 89.5 db. Currently I am using Marantz SR 7011 with the SVS subwoofer crossed at 80 hz. Hence I have never felt the receiver straining at any point in our 14 ft X 11 ft X 11 ft room.
The sub takes over the load below 80 hz for the fronts & center & my listening levels are at 55 % to 60 % max of the volume.
Besides all the speakers especially the atmos & the surrounds don't demand an equal amount of power at all times as compared to the fronts.
In case if you feel after buying the vokal that there is a strain on your amp then you can always add a power amplifier later provided your amp has pre-outs. It's a decision you can defer & take a call later.

Regards.

 

[Passive_audio_enthusiast]

Oberon Vokal is a no brainer here .

 

[ssf]

While I do potentially understand that it might not be the most optimum way to go about things but with a lack of preout and Denon officially stating the same I feel it still should not cause any major concerns with the Amplifier.

OT

Gene says that setting the impedance switch to 4 Ohms robs the receiver of power. It does not harm the receiver. However, connecting low impedance speakers to a receiver with it's impedance switch at it's default 8 Ohms and playing at continuous high volumes will put a strain on the receiver without a doubt. For normal usage, it should not be a issue especially when one is using bass management.

OT/

 

[Raja.chn]

Hi am using Denon 1800h and Dali Oberon 5 FS , reading from above posts can the AVR support Dali vokal centres being a 4 ohm speaker

 

[Passive_audio_enthusiast]

Hi Guys,

My first post here. I’m currently living in Germany and in the process of building a home theater. I have a pair of KEF Q150s and Dali Oberon 1 speakers, DENON AVR X1600h and a BenQ Projector.

Now I’m looking for a center speaker and not sure weather to go with KEF Q250 or Dali Oberon Vokal for center.
If I get KEF center, I’ll use it with KEF Q150 in home theater and Dali Oberon 1 as stereo in another room. If I buy Dali Oberon Vokal, I’ll use it with Dali Oberon 1 in home theater.

Unfortunately I don’t have the possibility to audition where I live, so looking for help from you guys here.
I can buy both KEF Q250 and Dali Vokal for almost the same price here.

I searched for KEF q250c here but got no results. Does anyone here auditioned these speakers and how’s your experience?

Room size is 3m(W) x 4m(L) x 3m(H) and mostly use it for movies. 80% movies and 20% music.

Thank you and Regards from Germany.

Hi, get the kef’s center. With center Speakers coaxial has way better even dispersion than seperate tweeter and midrange. It creates better point source for people sitting off axis even. In Germany the used market is absolutely superb. You get lot of good deals on used gear as lot of people are into hifi

 

[ssf]

Hi am using Denon 1800h and Dali Oberon 5 FS , reading from above posts can the AVR support Dali vokal centres being a 4 ohm speaker

It is a 6 ohm speaker. Should be ok as long as you don't drive them too hard.

 

[Nitin K]

Am using Oberon Vokal. It is a good center channel and is rated at 4 ohms. But if there is a subwoofer, am sure the amplifier can take the load without any issue.

 

[Gvtpraj]

It's a very old post created by me in 2020. Here is a small update of what I ended up with.

At that time, I choose Emotiva C1+ center channel after trying KEF Q250c, Dali Oberon Vokal and Emotiva C1+- in my room.

Later I ended up with an Ascendo speaker system. Using them since 2021 and no plans to change them.

I liked Emotiva C1+ so much that, I carried it to India and installed it there for my parents.

 

[Murlidher]

It's a very old post created by me in 2020. Here is a small update of what I ended up with.

At that time, I choose Emotiva C1+ center channel after trying KEF Q250c, Dali Oberon Vokal and Emotiva C1+- in my room.

Later I ended up with an Ascendo speaker system. Using them since 2021 and no plans to change them.

I liked Emotiva C1+ so much that, I carried it to India and installed it there for my parents.

I agree. Though I gave away my Emotiva T1+ and C2+, but still kept the C1+. It nicely blends with any different brand you put in Fronts. For the user (Raja), I suggest to go with the speaker which is the safe bet and under his budget. HT is a long journey, there would always be some give and take in the long run.