i popped in to the local hifi klubben shop in göteborg today and had an impromptu chance to demo both the dali and b&w speakers back to back with the same kit powering them. both of these were on my "to demo list" so i took the opportunity for a quick listen. and quick it was, barely 10 minutes with each speaker in place, but still.
the source was a thule spirit dvd/cd player with a matching thule spirit amp. the whole shop has been newly reinvested and the demo room was missing any kind of soft furnishing to help absorb the sound, but a least it was the same for both sets of speakers. both speakers come in at around 20ksek, which is roughly 1,500 pounds.
the test track used was a rather swinging rendition of nature boy by a swedish jazz group with vocals, bass, piano, drums and a brass section.
despite the room and short amount of time with them, the difference between the two speakers was quite stunning, and one that i feel would be the same with a better room and more time on my hands.
the b&w presented the music anda very upfront, all most forceful way with a very strong focal point between the speakers. the vocals came across as well in front of the other instruments and considerably louder. the bass, although quite deep and powerful for a standmont was a little strained, whilst i liked the sounds coming from the tweeter with high hats and cymbals.
the dali's sounded completely different, a much larger, read wider, presentation. the soundstage extended well beyond the boundaries of the speaker both torwards the middle and out to the side. the scale of soundgave the instruments a greater level of spacial separation, at the cost of a tighter sweat spot. the combination of the ribbon tweeter and normal dome one produced a more airy treble than the b&w's. unfortunately i can't remember enough about the bass extension to give an accurate account, but nothing seemed odd at the time.
as a brief conclusion the dali gave me more of what i'm looking for and will no doubt be arriving in a few weeks fora home demo. the b&w didn't give me the desire to listen to music, unlike the dalis.
the salesman summed it up nicely in swedish by saying the dalis give you the best seat in the house to listen to the orchestra, whilst the b&w's place you in the middle of the orchestra.
the only downside to the dalis is that the matching stands are 800 quid a pair! putting them tantalisingly close in price to their bigger brother the helicon 400's, hmmm
the source was a thule spirit dvd/cd player with a matching thule spirit amp. the whole shop has been newly reinvested and the demo room was missing any kind of soft furnishing to help absorb the sound, but a least it was the same for both sets of speakers. both speakers come in at around 20ksek, which is roughly 1,500 pounds.
the test track used was a rather swinging rendition of nature boy by a swedish jazz group with vocals, bass, piano, drums and a brass section.
despite the room and short amount of time with them, the difference between the two speakers was quite stunning, and one that i feel would be the same with a better room and more time on my hands.
the b&w presented the music anda very upfront, all most forceful way with a very strong focal point between the speakers. the vocals came across as well in front of the other instruments and considerably louder. the bass, although quite deep and powerful for a standmont was a little strained, whilst i liked the sounds coming from the tweeter with high hats and cymbals.
the dali's sounded completely different, a much larger, read wider, presentation. the soundstage extended well beyond the boundaries of the speaker both torwards the middle and out to the side. the scale of soundgave the instruments a greater level of spacial separation, at the cost of a tighter sweat spot. the combination of the ribbon tweeter and normal dome one produced a more airy treble than the b&w's. unfortunately i can't remember enough about the bass extension to give an accurate account, but nothing seemed odd at the time.
as a brief conclusion the dali gave me more of what i'm looking for and will no doubt be arriving in a few weeks fora home demo. the b&w didn't give me the desire to listen to music, unlike the dalis.
the salesman summed it up nicely in swedish by saying the dalis give you the best seat in the house to listen to the orchestra, whilst the b&w's place you in the middle of the orchestra.
the only downside to the dalis is that the matching stands are 800 quid a pair! putting them tantalisingly close in price to their bigger brother the helicon 400's, hmmm