Considering their obvious practicality, it’s odd that ‘active’ speakers haven’t made a bigger splash in the world of Hi-Fi.
Used almost exclusively in DJ setups and in professional recording studios, active speakers have an amplifier built into one of the speakers, making them a great way to get top quality sound but saving on space. In recent years more and more Hi-Fi companies have released their own take on this type of design, and Danish loudspeaker manufacturer, DALI, are the latest to give ‘active’ a go.
Based on the Zensor 1 and Zensor 5 models, the 1AX and 5AX are bookshelf and floorstanding models respectively. Both models are packing in DALI’s own Class-D amplification capable of a chunky 50 watts per channel. With convenience the name of the game, DALI have made sure to add the key playback tool of recent times into the AX series – Bluetooth. Using the latest version, ‘AptX‘, compatible devices are now able to play back audio in near CD quality directly to the speakers.
The DALI AX5s are active Bluetooth floorstanding speakers.
As well as Bluetooth, a 3.5mm analogue connection and digital optical socket are included. The optical connection in particular is an important inclusion, allowing almost all modern TV sets a way of connecting in. Given the proliferation of soundbars and sound bases used for this purpose these days, the DALIs would offer a huge improvement over the vast majority of these small and slim boxes.
As mentioned previously, the 1AX and 5AX are based on the ‘passive’ equivalent models in the Zensor range. DALI claim that, sonically speaking, both models will be identical to the originals. With their use of the their own ‘wood pulp’ drive units and in-house designed tweeters, this will ensure a fantastic, detailed sound but without any of the tinniness that can plague soundbars and sound bases at times.
To find out more about the Dali AX Active Speaker Range, click here.
Author: Chris, Liverpool store
