This is a retrospective review of two speakers I used to have in the past that I would love to review. As recently I had fond memories of my time with Dali`s, and the desire to review them arose, here I am today reviewing it. Buying them again, just simply for this review is just not the most sensible decision, so this kind of review is what I will do.
If you are interested in similar speakers or just how these speakers compare to others in a similar price range, please look at my video of my favorite speakers under 1000 euros. The link will be in the description section of this video.
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My History with Dali`s
I am a huge fan of Dali`s, but the reason for that might not lie in the fact I heard and owned and listened to a bunch of them. It is more about my growing into the world of HIFI.
I still remember vividly my first experience with HIFI was listening to a friend's Rega Planar 1 and Dali Spektor 2 speakers. To me, those speakers opened the gates of the audiophile world. To me, Dali`s were the best company in the world, and at that time, why would I need any speaker better than this? It impressed me how much my music sounded bigger.
The more I engaged myself in the HIFI world, the more I learned about other Dali speakers, and my eyes and ears were always pointed at the Oberon series of speakers. To be precise, Oberon 3 and 5. I found them elusive, mysterious, and just too good looking.
Its mystique lay in that they were really far in the food chain for me to get, as at that time acquiring them was a harder thing to do as I was younger and far poorer than now. But I used to listen to them a lot in audio stores, and talk to people that have them.
I knew I would get them eventually. To me, Dali Oberon 5 became a goal to be achieved, a goal to work for and dream for to eventually have that end-game speaker. I always wanted Oberon 5, but somewhere in me, I know that I would probably end with cheaper Oberon 3 or even 1.
And time has passed, I have gotten older, and years later I started falling down this rabbit hole of audiophile gear, and years later I had the privilege to spend some time with Oberon 3 and 5. It was not a triumphant achievement of a dream, rather a mixture of hard work, luck, and spontaneous decisions.
Dali Oberon 5 Review
"Just big bookshelf speakers"
Let’s first review a speaker that I think has better value out of the two, and that is Oberon 5. Also my favorite out of the two.
They are tower speakers, but to me, they are just tall bookshelf speakers. They are not full-fledged big towers, they have a very modest footprint. Which in my opinion is great, really it is because this way it can accommodate many different rooms and scenes.
It comes with its pros and cons, especially for people who aim to buy tower speakers for their strength, deep reach of bass and scaling this might not be up their alley as its smaller size comes with limitations.
Do I mind that, no! I certainly don’t as by default I am not a big tower guy, as my listening space does not benefit that much from them, even though I do appreciate myself nice defined bass and reach.
They are nicely built speakers as well, with wood veneer, and definitely bigger than usual woofer cones, leaving a feeling of prestige. Well not that much of prestige but they are definitely nice to look at.
Great for Accommodation
I am not going to bore you too much with technicalities like that Dali uses wood cones and an SMC disk for more clean reproduction of sound. But what I can tell you immediately is the great pro of the smaller size is how great it is to accommodate this in your room. They are exceptionally easy speakers to position in your room.
Which is such a great point for tower speakers, where many of them cheaper usually have issues with crossovers, which happens when there are more woofer cones that are supposed to work in synergy. And they achieve wide dispersion so, Dali has time and time said that you should not toe them in, rather have them firing in a straight direction. I know Dali and Focal usually recommend that. And that is probably what you should do.
Great Imaging and Soundstage
It has incredible dispersion and imaging, which surprised me to no end. Imaging was great, not just good like how many cheaper tower speakers sound, great. That is why I think Dali Oberon 5 is special, as to my previous statement that they are just big bookshelves, as they don’t compensate faithful reproduction and quality of details to grander sound signature.
To me, that is worth it alone, I am not saying that Oberon 5 is the only speaker which does that but it is in this price range the one that performs among the best. And Dali`s they… they care about performance above anything.
Dali`s want to be by your side as a speaker that respects your time and space. They don’t ask much and they work hard to entertain you. But they work hard, they are working man's speakers when you also at your job work hard and come home. They embrace you with musicality which is not aggressive in detail reproduction but fun.
Which is warm and uplifting, while you sit in your favorite chair in your favorite position, listening to your favorite tracks. You and Dali got married together to create a universe for yourself of coexisting in a state of perpetual gratification and validation. Time for you, your time respected by the gear you use.
Sound Quality and Characteristics
It’s a dynamically rich presentation, which is also informative, yet as it is tweaked EQ towards treble, it is not overwhelming putting all its cards into detail reproduction and detailed Treble, rather it knows to respect your listening hours with a more balanced approach.
That is where Dali`s musicality comes from, as it allows details, and even a very light clinical listening, but also not overwhelming you to create fatigue. It weaves all these musical elements together, so immaculately, to create a great flow with every track.
Its treble is highlighted with each hit of cymbals, hi-hats, with the expansion of strings, winds of brass and snares. It separates greatly in layer reproduction. We all want that, we all want them to be clear enough to have an impact in our listening sessions, but also to be textured with details enough so we can distinguish its weight and material properties. Treble is there up, but balanced.
I think Dali`s do a great job of informing us, of what producers and musicians intended to do with the dynamic range of every instrument, or how little they did to produce these tracks for us. Like every HIFI gear the sound will open as the dynamic range of the recording is better and it will tell you that those precautions, are synthetic or organic. Dali organizes them properly and plays with you how it should.
But the elevation of soundstage, and dispersion is fantastic in Dali`s, it opens the soundstage superbly. It allows all what I spoke about detailing to shine here, as it gives you enough room to listen to hear it. It has its lane and support. It helps play with micro tonalism, in that way only HIFI gear can, to color the sound and fill the gap on the soundstage.
It is not a black background how some speakers present it, you will not get that clear transparent background with ultimate precision.
Dali is a host and entertainer, not a doctor. It is an artist, maybe not a surrealist like its name suggests rather maybe some fun post-impressionism piece.
Don’t expect its clinical approach of everything that Dali does, it is not in his DNA.
Vocals
But vocals did sound lovely on it, it had enough energy, and imaging was great. It separates among the layers of sound, to have this great midrange output which is expressive and emotional.
If you listen to some Nina Simone, Joni Mitchell something that sings from the heart as much from the gut, you will feel it in your heart and gut too. It is expressive, emotional, and forward.
Bass
Bass is maybe where the Dali`s don’t have an ace under their belt. It depends heavily on how you pair and partner this device, but its bass is not that larger than life you have in other speakers. It is there, it has detailed, spike, and agility to it. But nothing commanding, thumping, or something that has that earthshattering lower end. Will that be in upper or lower bass registry.
Greatest Strength
I like Joni Mitchell, a lot. From her folk records to improve jazz ones, from Blue to hissing lawns. So the reworked completion of their previous work is one of my favorite listens. It is not an ordinary compilation, Both Sides Now is a rework of her previous work, it is more chamber orchestrated jazzy rock rendition of her previous work.
So some tracks are more now complex with instrumentation and layers. But as always the star of the show is the magical solemn voice of Joni, it is her passion and strength to carry these hard emotions on her sleeve what makes it so special to me. Same as the cover of a woman in the bar with cigars and wine, I always imagine that the entire album is palpable enough that you can feel the smoke of cigars and euphoria of night tales and longing makes this atmosphere perfect for night listening.
Relaxed night listening, and Dali images so lovely her voice. Midrange is so full and rich here, that Joni is in the middle of the room singing, looking at you directly. All the brass instrumentation, pianos, saxophones layer around her greatly, I would hate if these speakers could not unclutter them correctly. It is a wonderful experience, how musically Dali`s can interpolate such complex sections with such raw emotions and yet not go into the territory of overwhelming treble.
It truly brings that cloudy cafe into your room, with love and heartbreak of years lived... in your living room. I enjoy such a rendition, and it shows how much care Dali put in mind when creating this series.
Pairing Suggestions
Now when we are on the subject of pairing, like with every HIFI device it is paramount to pair these correctly to create that perfect HIFI cocktail. The great thing is, like with accommodation, pairing Dali`s is not a problem. They honestly work with every type of amp. In my experience, I like when amps that pair with them have more lower end or are on the balanced side.
Audiolab comes to my mind that pair excellently, some Denon, or Naim. Audiolab helps with helping this amp to be more open and expressive, especially in the midrange section. That is why I think it is such a great combination together. Denon and Naim bring more weight to these speakers, grounding them more, creating a sound that is more driven especially if you listen to jazz or rock. Cambridge Audio CXA 81 was also a pleasing companion to it, it gives great results, but maybe not a perfect mixture of ingredients, as Dali`s become more open and detailed, but also a bit reserved and shy.
Conclusion
Dali`s are a working man’s speakers we already spoke about that, but they are fine artists as well. Artistically with a lot of soul weaving many different layers on the sound spectrum to create and give birth to a canvas full of colors and sonic qualities. It plays with bright eccentric colors when needed but not goes too much in the territory of overindulgence.
Which means to speak less in metaphors treble while being detailed and rich is also balanced enough and knows to respect you and your easy listening seasons.
Midrange is the star of the show, as it really plays perfectly into that expression of dynamics and pleasing rendition of vocals which are full of emotion and definition. You feel those vocals, maybe not with the biggest weight and details but with the biggest heart that takes you straight to the center of the actions of the song.
Soundstage and imaging are also really great, especially imaging that is far better than I expected for cheaper tower speakers. The weakest part is the bass, and that is a bit of a problem for people who aim for tower speakers for their reach and bass presence. These are smaller towers so bass will not be commanding, and it will not be able to cover big rooms. If you intend to listen to this in a big living room I don’t recommend them.
The conclusion is that this is a big recommendation on my side. These speakers sonically touched me and my heart and I think they will also inspire you to relax yourself and rediscover your favorite tunes all anew while you discover new ways that you missed having your inner universe with just you and music.
I will now do a short review of Oberon 3, maybe better to explain how different they are compared to Oberon 5.
Oberon 3 Review
Oberon 3 were speakers I had shortly in my home, I personally never owned them like Oberon 5. But I understood what is better and what is worse with time when they were with me. Firstly as value, they are not as strong of a buy as Oberon 5. Oberon 5 has competition from Q Acoustics, Wharfedale but among them arguably I like them the most. Oberon 3 has a bunch of really tough competition.
It is not that they are not worthy or so, it is just they have to be a speaker that sonic character fits you the best so it will justify its price range.
Firstly, incredibly, these speakers image better than the bigger brother, it has incredible imaging and a sense of space. It is all about a less complex crossover that it allows for such a thing. And if you prefer more clarity out of the two and imaging 3 might be more for you.
They are also far easier to be driven than the older brother. Even the most basic amps will be able to drive them with relative ease, and the same as his brother they are easy to accommodate in a room.
They have a big, hefty sound, and maybe the first fault of this speaker is that they are sacrificing a bit of dynamic reach and details while achieving large scope and weight. Dali Oberon 5 does not do that, it has its bigger reach, while remaining informative to the ear.
But nonetheless, while not being an audiophile luxury, there is a lot of fun listening to music with Oberon 3 and that makes it a phenomenal companion. How it just gives drive and push to your music, and how the rhythmic section is highlighted. It does make up with bass to what they lose on the treble side of things.
In the end, they are energetic speakers with a great sense of scale and imaging. If that is up your alley please look them up. Many people will be quite satisfied with them, and I know many people that they are. It is all that you know your speaker's weaknesses and strengths and how you build around them to create speakers that benefit you the most. That joy and heartfelt moment of enjoying your music, which these speakers deliver can be priceless. Especially when that big soundstage hits, that is massive and full of energy and life to truly wake you to tap your hand in rhythm with the music.
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All the best, bye.
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