DALI’s latest floorstander carries on it’s critically acclaimed lineage, with many signature DALI traits along for the ride.
Danish Audio Loudspeaker Industries, or DALI for short (thankfully!), have on more than one occasion proven themselves to be masters of the hotly-contested budget loudspeaker arena, with the Lektor, and more recently the Zensor series picking up 5-star reviews and Product of the Year recommendations from industry authorities around the world over the past decade. And whilst things move fairly slowly in the loudspeaker market – product ranges tend to be renewed every 3-5 years, unlike most electronics with their 12 month cycles – it’s once again time for DALI to show what they’re made of, with their all-new Spektor range of speakers looking to emulate these older favourites.
With four models in the Spektor range, including two bookshelf pairs and a centre speaker, we’ll be looking at each model individually here on the Tech Blog over the coming weeks (see http://www.blog.richersounds.com/product-review-dali-spektor-2-speakers/ for our Spektor 2 review), but today’s review subject is the Spektor 6, the series’ only floorstander. Let’s take a closer look…
Whilst not too physically imposing, the Spektor 6 is one of the bigger floorstanders at this price point, standing at 972mm in height and with a depth of 313mm. This makes it bigger than DALI’s Zensor 5 floorstander, and is on a par with Monitor Audio’s excellent ‘Bronze 6’ speaker. Given that floorstanding speakers are often the preferred option for those with larger rooms to fill, it’s nice to see DALI making sure that the Spektor 6 won’t underwhelm in a larger space.The cabinets themselves are made from MDF (as is usually the case at this price) and offered in a choice of two vinyl wraps: walnut or black. Both options look and feel fantastic, giving the impression of a real wood veneer for a fraction of the cost. A black matte-finish front fascia is found on each of the models in the range, and again, the look holds up well. A tap on the side of the casework reveals the cabinets to be of a good density, and at 13.8kg, the speakers certainly have enough weight to inspire confidence in their build and design.
DALI’s signature paper cone makes a welcomed appearance on the Spektor series.
None of that cabinetry is put to waste, either, with a 25mm soft dome tweeter sat atop two 16.5cm woofers, fashioned from DALI’s favoured wood fibre and paper. These drive units, with their purplish hue and flecked pattern are recognisable across all of DALI’s range, although they are improved upon as the price goes up. What they do offer at all prices though is superb rigidity and a very low weight, which combine to make a really responsive driver that remains in control whatever the genre. Coupled with DALI’s soft dome tweeter, the Spektor 6 really do bring to mind their higher end stablemates, and on past form this is no terrible thing!
At 88.5db sensitivity and with a nominal impedance of 6 ohms, it isn’t the easiest speaker on the market to drive, but DALI’s recommended power requirements of 30-150 watts ensures that the vast majority of amplifiers out there are still going to get plenty out of these, as we found out during our listening. The speakers are rear-ported, and we found that they worked at their best with a good amount of free space behind them, although port bungs are supplied for those with limited room to work with. Onto the listening…
DALI’s dome tweeter delivers a broad and immersive soundstage.
Beck’s latest album, Colors sees the musical chameleon change his *ahem* colours once again, with a heavily pop-influenced work that sees a total departure from the melancholy mood of the Grammy-winning Morning Phase. “Seventh Heaven” is a great example of why Beck manages to remain fresh and unique after so many years in the business, offering a take on rhythm-driven, chart-bothering pop with a big chorus to match and still making it his own. The Spektor 6 soaked up the bombast, showcasing the guitar licks that play behind Beck’s vocal during the verse superbly. As the song kicks up a gear during the chorus, the speakers kept things nicely in check, with the bass line sounding solid and weighty, and the percussion still showing great impact.
Switching genres completely, and with a focus more on acoustic, rather than synth/electric instrumentation, the Bill Evans Trio’s Waltz For Debby album showcases the musicians in a live setting, with a recording that is widescreen and full of spacial cues for an amp and speaker to show up. The speakers did a great job with Evans piano placed on the right hand side of what was a fairly wide soundstage, particularly for this price point. The tone of the instruments was again very good. The speakers could fairly be called a relatively neutral speaker, with a slight leaning towards warmth in the mid-range and treble, making for a very pleasant listen, but this also didn’t leave us hankering for more sparkle in the treble or an increase of dynamics.
So there you have it – another solid performance from the loudspeaker-loving Danes. DALI continue to do what DALI have seemingly always done: make fantastic loudspeakers at sensible prices. Highly recommended!
Why not hear these fantastic speakers for yourself and swing by your local Richer Sounds today?
Click here to learn more about the Spektor range
Author: Chris, Liverpool store
