Ok,
So I couldn't resist and bought the IO4's.
I've logged in to give you my *very early* impressions while I listen to them. I may update as I go. Anglemon makes thegood point that it is hard to have lots of reference points from a single user, so I'll do what I can to incude reference to my experiences-in particular AKG 702, Beyer 880 (600 OHm), Sennheiser 599 (all open backed) and bose BT soundlink 2 (closed) and Sennheiser 598s (wired/closed.)
Out of the box-Packaging was good. Soft carry bag is what you'd expect-not as useful as a hard case. I like that Dali have kept it simple without an app etc. A charging cable and headphones cable is it. I like that even the charging cable is Dali branded. When I started them they were at 80% battery.
Comfort. My big concern was whether my ears would fit without touching the drivers. They do. There's not as much room left as in the AKG's but they are just fine. The headband etc. is comfortable. The ear pads themselves are relatively rigid, but feel soft on the head. That said, when I switched to the bose for comparison they seemed lighter, coller, and with less clamping force. I have no problem with the Dali's but they are pribably the least comfortable of all of the above headphones. This is partly because they are closed back, and partly because I don't much like the fake leather on these or the Bose. The furry fabric of the beyers, along with the fit makes them truly unnoticable. I don't think I'll ever forget that I have the Dali's on.
One point of note-as with some other closed back headphones when you walk you can really feel the thump of your feet through the 'phones. This is worse on the Dali's than the bose, and is bad enough that if I planned to use these when walking I think I would return them.
Controls and features.
Build quality feels excellent. The phones have a very premium feel in the hand. Materials and construction have that intagible quality. Everything is solid and perfected. In this respect they are probably better than all of my above phones. The Sennheisers feel precision made, but a bit too platicky. The Beyers have the heft and quality materials, but some of the machining is a little rough. The AKG's shocked me when I first got them-they feel like a cheap platic toy with nasty fauz silver and thin cheap materials (they sound sublime, though, and are comfortable on the pads which is why I kept them.) The Dali's are in a different league to the bose. When I switch over the bose feel very light but in a cheap way.
The box has a diagram for controls. It took a moment to realise that you press the top and bottom of the 'outer ring' for volume. The swicthes are solid and everything seems good.
Miscellaneous
I asked previously about the bluetooth hiss which all devices have, and I initially forgot to listen to it and without trying wouldn't ever detect it. On the Dali Katch it frequently makes itself know to me. Not so on the IO4's. Also, the IO4's turn off the hiss a monent or two after the signal stops, which the katch does not.
The voice that announces the volume etc. is very british. I don't know how many localised versions they have, but it makes a change to hear an English male voice telling me the volume, rather than a femaile American. They pair easily and get out of the way. The bose announce the name of the device as well, which is clever, but largely pointless and adds a bit more friction before the listening starts.
The bluetooth range seems typical of my other devices. They work easily from one room to the next, but not from one end of my house to the other. In moving around the ascertain this I was again appalled by the thudding when walking.
These are not proving problematic with glasses, and as per my previous question they are fine when lying in bed on a pillow. The cups do protrude a long way out from the head, but this is narrower than the pads and is no problem.
Sound
I've saved the important bit till last. I like it. I was initially a little underwhelmed. What was I expecting?? I like a clear neutral sound, and that's what I got. To have thrilled me they would probably have had to have had all sorts of unnatural boosts to treble etc.
They actually had more bass than I was expecting, and thta's before I noticed that my phone was also EQ'd to slightly reduce bass and boost treble. I returned EQ to normal and it took a few minutes for my ears to adjust.
All the details are there , and nothing gets in the way of (so they aren't muddy.) Vocals are clear and the full range is represented. They have power without effort.
I tried a few tracks with deep sub-bass such as All I need by Caribou and it's there but it doesn't feel like sub-bass as much as the bose do. In this respect it is closer to the HD599's (wired). One thing I noticed in comparing is that the passive isolation is (unsuprisingly) a lot better. With the HD599's (open backled) I can hear the clatter of my keyboard. With the Dali's not so much.
The soundstage is good for closed back, but nothing mind blowing. The AKG's have an almost artificially wide soundstage,
It is easy to distinguish betwen individual instruments and sounds.
I don't think I can say much more without further listening.
I didn't have the experrience of not wanting to take them off, or hearing stuff I never knew was there. I think that is reserved for the first time you get some relly great phones, and I've been through that with my exisitng pairs.
I have been listening to spotify at very high quality, via a Samsung Galaxy 7 (which has Aptx but not Aptx HD.)
I guess it is fair to say that the sound signature is a good match for my Zensor 1's.
Conclusion.
Feel free to ask me anything and I'll do my best to answer.
I like them, and I like the wirelss freedoms.
There are two poiints concerning me at present.
One is the thudding when walking, and the other is overall comfort. Even while typing I've switched between pairs and every time my head has felt 'relieved' when I removed the Dali's and every other pair has felt less clamping andf generally more unnoticed. In many ways they have made me listen again and apprecaite the qualites of all of the headphones I already have.
I'm not sure they will become my 'go to' pair, though it's a pretty close run thing.
I doubt anyone (excpet bass heads) would be disappointed at the quality for price proposition.
