Dali Ikon2 speakers

[dali]

Hi Vijay,
I am a Dali user or an ardent fan of the product rather (with due respect to all other brilliant brands).

You have guided best till now from rest of the friends, but kindly do get your ears to Dali IKON 1 as well. Shall save you a few thousand rupees and the difference is pretty minimal. Considering your requirements you could very well keep IKON1 in your choice.

As been said already ..they are musical, sweet to the ears and yes ribbon tweeter is a brilliant add on to Dali pieces. It sounds quite different than other sharp n piercing tweeters. Hence making it sound sweeter, but some ears may find the sound damp than feeling the sweetness. Thats a personal taste & preference.

If you get to hear any of the demo pieces of Ikon.. you will find them better and little more vibrant in highs/lows compared to a fresh piece, thats cause you shall have to wait till your fresh ones run for a few hours (80-100hrs) ..before they can reach their optimum performance levels.

I have a Dali setup but for the sub-woofer for my HT with an integrated Marantz amplifier & CDP. You have to listen to Dali with Marantz before you finalize.

All the best and do take a look at Ikon 1.

Hi Sidharth
Thanks for suggesting me Ikon1 . I have listened to Ikon2 and was impressed and i have not heard the Ikon1 . And i love to go for a new speakers and i want to see how the sound is changing after the break in . so no demo items , and i have not listened the dalis with Marantz. i have planned to buy the speakers and the amplifier within the first week of November . so i am narrowing to ikon 2 at the moment. The amplifier i have no idea, Which amplifier is best for the ikon2. any idea?

vijay.

 

[Sidharth Trehan]

You shud certainly go for the new ones, i wanted u to just hear the demo pieces to have a feel how it shall sound like gradually.

If u hv the buck, then yes settle for the Ikon2, i am going to use Ikon1 as rears in the setup. Picked them since i dont need lows from it just mids n highs. I got my supercube to bring tremors.

finally, u shall hear most seniors advise u that u should pick what ur ears like. I have had friends advise CA, NAD with Dali. But i heard Dali oN Musical Fidelity and Marantz. Both were splendid, Musical fidelity's amp i heard on was a 2lac plus piece and the one i have is almost half its price, so the little difference was obvious. Check the makes n models suggested by Venkat bhai. And audition a few makes, pick what pleases ur ears the most. Marantz is surely worth consideration.

Best

 

[dali]

Thank you Mr.Sidharth . I will audition the Ikons with the Marantz , since i have the Marantz CD 5001 it will be a match if i go for a Marantz amplifier. Any specific models in marantz? I have around Rs.25000/- left for the amplifier. can stretch to Rs.30K . And i also need some interconnects and speaker cables. kindly suggest.

thank you
Vijay.

 

[Sidharth Trehan]

ideally i wud want you to look at pm 7002 or 7001, keeping in view ur future speaker upgrades. But if u r on the move and wud want to keep this setup as is, then u shud stick to 4001 as venkat bhai suggested. it wont burn ur pockets as well.

Hmm interconnects... U may laugh if i tell u that i prefer wires straight up to the terminals than connects. Am yet to be convinced on connects, wrt a mediocre setup like i have. It wont make much of a difference in here. If i sound clumsy, then i shall rather ask Venkat bhai to assist u on this.

I use Dali's entry level white cables to connect my setup and as i hv always maintained that i came here listening sony for years, so even dali cables give an output that i can admire. You may want to have a second opinion here as well wrt to brands like monster, QED etc

Best

 

[Sidharth Trehan]

vijay, since u r in Pune. Have u spoken to one of the well known dealer/distributor for AV products - Sound n Vision, Pune. Talk to Mr. Jay Nihlani @ 9822088022

He has helped me alot in making my pick on technical grounds.

 

[mridulgoel]

Buddy

For Cables go in for :

Usher - 16 gauge - Rs.180 / mtr... Recommended
QED - Silver Gauge - Rs.150 / mtr...
Monster - S-16 - Rs.150 / mtr...

 

[abhijit15]

hi sidhart
i visited sound &vision 2/3 yrs back .i found him very rude like he didnt need business like that i was surprise to see that .but i think time is change now

 

[dali]

Hi

I am yet to talk with Mr.Jay , regarding the amplifier i will be auditioning the marantz PM7001 amd 6002 today. cables are not decided yet.

thank you

vijay.

 

[thevortex]

Dear Mr.Venkat

Thank you very much for the suggestions , Now i have ordered the Marantz CD 5001 from Bass Treble , i would like to go for a amplifier and a speaker ( dali ikon 2 or dynaudio audience 52 or epos m5i )

I auditioned the kef , monitor audio , Polk audio , B&W . But wasnt satisfied with the performance.

Help me choosing between the dalis , dynaudios and epos. or should i consider few other speakers .

dear sridhar : where to audition usher speakers in Mumbai or Pune.

thank you all

vijay

Vijay - I have heard the EPOS M12.2 and think they are awesome bookshelf speakers. A cut above many other speakers. I have heard them in comparison with Dynaudio Audience bookshelves and liked the EPOS better.

In fact I am thinking of getting EPOS's to upgrade my system as well. There are a couple of other contenders but EPOS still is a front runner.

As far as the Dynaudios are concerned, there is a school of thought that the Audience bookshelves dont represent the sound of Dynaudio and that you should listen to the Contour series. But then you would be getting above your budget on that series.

I have not heard the Dali speakers, so I do not know how they would fare against the EPOS or the Dynaudios.

 

[Sidharth Trehan]

Abhijit,
you know how it is, we all learn from our own errs or sometimes its just a bad day. But yes, client comes foremost to anything.

Best

 

[abhijit15]

yes sidhart thats true
@dali what price for PM 7001 Marantz,between23k to 25k?

 

[dali]

Vijay - I have heard the EPOS M12.2 and think they are awesome bookshelf speakers. A cut above many other speakers. I have heard them in comparison with Dynaudio Audience bookshelves and liked the EPOS better.

In fact I am thinking of getting EPOS's to upgrade my system as well. There are a couple of other contenders but EPOS still is a front runner.

As far as the Dynaudios are concerned, there is a school of thought that the Audience bookshelves dont represent the sound of Dynaudio and that you should listen to the Contour series. But then you would be getting above your budget on that series.

I have not heard the Dali speakers, so I do not know how they would fare against the EPOS or the Dynaudios.

Hi Thevortex ,

I have heard the Epos M12.2 and for me the Dali ikon2 was sweeter then the Epos . BTW which amplifier did you hear along with Epos.

thank you
Vijay.

 

[thevortex]

Hi Thevortex ,

I have heard the Epos M12.2 and for me the Dali ikon2 was sweeter then the Epos . BTW which amplifier did you hear along with Epos.

thank you
Vijay.

Thats interesting Vijay. The EPOS standmounter was among the sweetest speakers I have heard. By that I am referring to the way the speakers handled voices and instruments. Simply mesmerizing. I heard the EPOS on three different amps to get to know their capabilities. I heard them on a Marantz integrated amp and then I heard them on a Yamaha RXV663. And then I heard them with a high end Arcam system with a NAD CD player. I liked what I heard.

Which brings me to the question - is there anywhere here in Chennai where I can have a listen of the Dalis? Also Vijay, how much of a difference, sonic quality wise is there between Dali 1 and Dali 2 Ikons?

 

[dali]

i dont know where in Chennai the Dali is available. I heard it along with Nad and then with Matantz , both amplifier where good , it was even better with higher end amplifier ( but way beyond my budget)
i think the ribbon tweeter makes the difference. The Hi freq is very clear and clean, where as the Epos i heard along with Marantz PM7001 was not that great , may be taste differs . One has to hear the system before buying.

I have not heard the ikon 1 so far .

 

[abhijit15]

yes Dali ribbon tweeter makes the difference thats why its sound great and sweet,
and I think u try NAD 372 with thos spk

 

[dali]

I have ordered for the Dali ikon 2 speakers . Now i have around Rs.40k left for the amplifier . Is there any amplifier at that price range which will work fine with the ikons . I have also settled for the entry level interconnects for now , a company called Atalona . how good are they? any users, please comment.

thank you
Vijay.

 

[girl21]

Venky, how do u manage to get the cost of all products its really good..tks

Dali, because your handle is Dali, you want to buy Dali? Just joking. I have reassembled your text to see if I can bring some sense to my thought process.



I have not heard any Dali speakers, so I am not aware of their sound signatures. But I did some quick reading, and here is what I have to say. The Dali Ikon 2 seems to be bookshelf speakers that are part of the Dali HT System. The International prices for the Ikon 2 is about $1100, so I am assuming their prices in India will be around 50 to 60K. This seems to be a bit steep for a pair of bookshelves that don't have an independent standing. You should definitely audition models from other brands such as the following:

• B&W 685 - 39K
• Dynaaudio Audience 52 - 59K
• Epos M12i - 42K
• Mission M33i - 18K
• Monitor Audio Bronze BR5- 38K
• Quad 12L2 - 37K

I dont know what kind of music you listen to. But if you are interested in Western Classical and music that have multiple instruments, see if you can audition a few floor standing speakers. They will provide a larger soundstage, and a deeper bass. They will be available for around the same price.



Assuming you spend 50,000 for speakers, you should set aside another 10,000 for interconnects and speakers cables. So you have 40,000 left for CDP and Amplifier. One of the best combination for that price is the Cambridge Audio Azur 640A, and 640C.

A few other options are:

CD Players:
Marantz CD 5400 - 21K
Marantz CD 5001 - 16K
NAD C521BEE - 18K
NAD C542 - 28K

Amps
Marantz PM7001 - 29K
Maramtz - PM4001 - 20K
NAD C320BEE - 22K
NAD C315BEE - 18K
NAD C352 - 28K
Rotel RA-05 - 37K



Since you are, rightly so, worried about the money and the need to use the system for a long time, do not be in a hurry to run out and buy. Take what I say as a starting point, and go out and do some auditioning. Carry your own CDs, and use them again and again to audition CDPs, Amps, and speakers. All dealers today oblige and will play your CDs. Carry one CD from each genre of music you like, If you like Indian music, please carry a few, as they sound dramatically different as compared to western music. I have found most system struggling to play Indian music well.

You should also browse through the forum. There are a number of other threads with similar queries and similar answers.

Happy hunting.

Cheers.

 

[dali]

Mr.Venkatcr was not only helpful in informing about the Pricing of the products , but also in choosing them. thank you sir.
Now i need your help as well as the other experts in choosing the amplifier for the ikon 2 speakers.

Vijay.

 

[venkatcr]

Venky, how do u manage to get the cost of all products its really good..tks

That is my little secret, Swhetha.

Mr.Venkatcr was not only helpful in informing about the Pricing of the products , but also in choosing them. thank you sir. Now i need your help as well as the other experts in choosing the amplifier for the ikon 2 speakers.

Well Vijay, as per my original list there are two amps that we had shortlisted for your budget

Marantz PM7001 - 29K
Maramtz - PM4001 - 20K

Since you have purchased a Marantz CDP, it may a good idea to audition these and see. The 7001 is supposed to be good. If you want to broaden your search you can include the following models:

CA 640A v2 - 23K
CA 740 A v2 - 44K
Yamaha RX-497 - 21K

The 640 is a safe bet. Winner of multiple awards for a couple of years. The 740 is CA's attempt at a slightly higher version with a more specialised and high end DAC. The 740 is a also a Stereophile recommended component, at least as per CA web site.

You might wonder why I am suddenly bringing in the Yamaha. I heard this recently at a dealer's place hen he insisted I hear it. Pumping out nearly 100 watts per channel, the Yamaha sounded very nice for its price. But I would very strongly advise you to hear it before you even think of buying it, and not go by my word. Some may call it harsh and forward sounding, and I did not have enough time at the dealer to make a proper audition with my own CDs.

Cheers

 

[anm]

you may also try Harman Kardon's 3490 stereo receiver - it is 120x2 watts @ 8 ohm, has digital inputs - may have a better DAC than your CDP.
There are 970, 980 and 990 amplifiers also you can try. Not sure whether 980 and 990 are available in India.
I talked to the Yusuf Sarai (delhi) jbl dealer and he was more than ready to come to home to demo the equipment.