Dali Headphones
Nov 14, 2019 at 11:41 AM Post #406 of 1,056
By the way, one thing I do have to mention is that I really love that (a representative of) the vendor is on Head-fi, discussing with all of us and trying to answer our questions. This goes a long way for me, and was even taken into account when buying the IO6. I really, really appreciate this so kudos to @Brintkiks !!

I'm in the office today, so I'll have a go with them in the office and report back. Mainly on ANC performance.

Very, very true. He should get a raise. Confidence and brand support do go a long way for me too.
Other than trying out the PX7, my mind has the sound of the iO-6 clearly engraved in there and is still my choice right now.

Thanks @Brintkiks
 
Nov 14, 2019 at 3:05 PM Post #407 of 1,056
@Brintkiks is it a possibility that Dali is making different earcup sizes for the bayonet?
I would jump on the iO-6 instantly.
I’m going to use the “chosen ones” for around 8+ hours a day. SQ is definitely the most important parameter for me. But comfort is very important too.

Thanks.
I have brought the input to our product manager, but we are in the early process of the in-sale. So we can't say anything about a possible larger ear pad at this stage. But it's useful feedback. Thank you. :)
 
Nov 14, 2019 at 3:07 PM Post #408 of 1,056
I picked these up a few days ago and think I have enough experience now to give an initial opinion.

My headphones:
Campfire Cascades
Access to Sony 1000xm3 & B&O H9i (family members)

So on to the review...

Setup:

I did testing with the iO6 with a windows 10 machine & amazon music with ultra-HD tracks where possible, HD otherwise.

Comfort:

For me comfort is important. For the cascades I have the large leather pads (the ones that ship weren't quite there, didn't like the cloth). The cascades are comfortable, but bulky, and due to the larger pads more comfortable than the rest in this comparison.

The Sony's are not that comfortable over long use; the clamp and padding are light and end up hurting my ears over an hour or two. The B&O are just a bit more comfortable and come out being similar to the Dali iO-6; the round shape isn't ideal but the way they adjust to your ear and the padding material end up making them more usable over time.

In comparison the Dali are pretty comfortable; they aren't that noticeable when wearing them, although they can get a bit warm. The Sony 10000xm3's become painful (to me) after an hour or two of using them.

Audio (wireless, for Dali):

I'm not sure why people have said these are bass-lite or weak on bass; going to a song like Brass Monkey the bass was there and sounded fine. I mean, nothing like what the Campfire Cascades put out, but with the dampers removed (both optional and built in) that thing is a bass canon. Compared to the Sony it handled the bass in the songs with refinement and didn't drop out the mid's or highs at all. I then switched over to some other songs like Bubbles/Letter from Yosi Horikawa to test soundstage and how easy it is to pick up the small sounds. Compared to the Cascades... there is no comparison at all wireless vs the wired Cascades. The Cascade just sounds better. Compared to the Sony and B&O... the Dali's were clearly better; the Sony's sounded more muffled and B&O sounded more tinny and definitely lacking in bass. However, the Dali over wireless needed to be turned up quite a bit higher for perceived volume; the Cascades at 25% volume were louder than the Dali's at 70%. The Sony and B&O also were louder. Overall, when there is audio playing the Dali iO-6 picks up more detail than the Sony and B&O do by a long mile.

One note: when there is nothing playing there is a noticeable hiss with the iO-6 even with noise cancellation/transparency turned off. This is present if the headphones are turned on.

Audio (plugged in with cable):

Volume is much more comparable to the Cascades once plugged in and not playing through bluetooth. Audio level is definitely improved; the iO-6 sounds much better plugged in than it does over bluetooth. Again, doesn't touch the Cascades (especially with songs that have bass) but they sound better than the Sony by a pretty big margin. The sound-stage seems to be better when wired.

Note: if the headphone is 'on' the internal dac produces a noticeable hiss. When you plug in and make sure the headphones are turned off this hiss will go away; the audio quality is much better with the built in dac turned off.

Noise Cancellation:

The Dali's noise cancellation is... ok? It is nice that it can be turned on and will do noise cancellation without being connected to a device playing audio, but it is nowhere near the equal to the Sony's implementation. They work better than simply passive, but aren't that good compared to the competition. If noise cancellation is a primary factor, the Dali's loses there.

Connectivity:

They are -much- easier to use than the Sony with multiple devices. They remember multiple devices and are pretty trivial to switch, although that said nothing compares to the Apple bluetooth options when it comes to connectivity. It's very easy to use the built in controls of the Dali, turning the various modes on/off and no accidental touches that are easy to trigger on the Sony headphones.

End thoughts:

I think these are better than the Sony and B&O and are great wireless headphones. The noise cancellation works, but is probably one of the weaker implementations out there. There is a noticeable hiss when nothing is playing that can be annoying that only goes away if you use these wired and turned off; the headphones shine when wired and have great audio quality when being driven through an external dac or just the device they're plugged into. There is a much more noticeable improvement than you'd get with the Sony's; they almost seem like they were more intended to be driven through a wired connection.

I think the Dali's are great headphones for the price; comparing them to my "at home" set isn't really that fair, but they're good enough for music/netflix/etc wireless and comfortable enough that I don't have as much urge to drag the bigger wired headphones around.
Thank you for taking your time to share your feedback. :)
 
Nov 14, 2019 at 7:03 PM Post #409 of 1,056
Hi,

I just picked up my iO6s yesterday that I had ordered some time ago from a local dealer.

I have owned several pairs of Dali speakers for many years which I've had a positive experience with, so I was intrigued when they came out with these.

I also own the NAD VISO HP70s and have used the Sony WH-1000MX2s (gift to my son).

I've played quite a bit with these newer high definition (not to be confused with high resolution audio. ) Bluetooth codecs, specifically AptX HD and LDAC. Other wireless gear I have which is related to this space include the Radsone Earstudio and the ifi Zen Blue.

My reference wired headphone setup is the JDS Labs Atom amp, OL DAC, and Sennheiser HD6XX from Drop.

The Dalis are definitely my favorite in terms of sound signature in a wireless configuration. They are also my favorite between the Sony and NADs in a wired configuration. They really sound great wired. I like a more neutral headphone, I don't feel these over emphasize bass or color the sound in any particular way. I find them to be detailed in the mids and highs. The NAD HP70s for comparison definitely emphasize bass, not in a bad way, but they do not offer the same clarity as the Dalis in upper frequency ranges.

I feel the build quality and design is superior to the others. The head band adjustment is really nice, I like that the charging port uses USB-C. These are far more comfortable than the others for me. Noise cancellation is sufficient, but I would give that edge to Sony. Noise cancellation is going to be better in others that have more clamping force. I prefer comfort. I know Dali licensed the active noise cancellation (pretty sure it is Sony's).

If you haven't tried them I highly recommend them.

If you have any further questions let me know.

-Scott
 
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Nov 15, 2019 at 6:38 AM Post #410 of 1,056
Hi y'all!
Just found a review with sound difference analysis between io-4 and io-6.
It is in russian, so I made some low-quality translation of the most interesting part by myself =)

Ofc, it is subjective, but makes sence. Would be interesting to see a confirmation or denial from @Brintkiks on this matter)

" ... Lows and mids are similar – full, open, without any defined accents.
However, highs presentation seems to be a bit different . In IO-6 area above 15 kHz is forced, and there is a small peak in 11 — 12 kHz area, making them sound a bit sharp sometimes.
iO-4 on the other hand have a smoother sound signature and less accented in highs.
And I think I know the reason – on the photos of IO-6 you can spot the ANC element, situated right on top of the diffuser.
It blocks some part of the "straight" sound signal, what is compensated by Dali engineers with highs correction, and this is creating the specific sound of this diapason. ... "

http://www.salonav.com/arch/2019/10/bluetooth-naushniki-dali-io-4-i-io-6.htm
 
Nov 15, 2019 at 10:02 AM Post #413 of 1,056
I got mine yesterday. Much cleaner sound than the PX7, and I agree with most of reviews I've read on this forum.

That said, is it just me or does it get really tight (or could be that my head is really big...)? I understand that headphones loosen up over time, but I found the headset really tight especially around the head band, and I started having headache after 15 minutes of listening.

I didn't have this issues with previous headphone I've used recently (PX, PX7, MW65).
 
Nov 15, 2019 at 11:50 AM Post #414 of 1,056
I got mine yesterday. Much cleaner sound than the PX7, and I agree with most of reviews I've read on this forum.

That said, is it just me or does it get really tight (or could be that my head is really big...)? I understand that headphones loosen up over time, but I found the headset really tight especially around the head band, and I started having headache after 15 minutes of listening.

I didn't have this issues with previous headphone I've used recently (PX, PX7, MW65).

How's the bass on these compared to PX7? I currently have PX7 but I think I will send it back because the SQ is not where I want it to be. I am not a big bass head but I do enjoy quality, enhanced bass (something between flat and V shaped freq) and wonder how IO6 is. It's either this or M3 (also haven't heard) for me next but if IO6 does everything better than PX7, M3, XM3 and P7W (even with less bass not with anemic bass) I may just go straight to it.

Also, how did you get the headphones already in the US? Everywhere I looked the shipping date was end of November or beginning of December.
 
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Nov 15, 2019 at 11:57 AM Post #415 of 1,056
Bass is there, but more measured, so nowhere near the PX7. IO-6 is not V-shaped. Very flat, I would say.

I got it from Amazon UK shipped to the U.S, but it looks like that’s no longer an option.

I will try the IO-6 for another week or so to see if it becomes more comfortable, and if it doesn’t improve, then I might need to sell this one...
 
Nov 15, 2019 at 1:29 PM Post #417 of 1,056
How's the bass on these compared to PX7? I currently have PX7 but I think I will send it back because the SQ is not where I want it to be. I am not a big bass head but I do enjoy quality, enhanced bass (something between flat and V shaped freq) and wonder how IO6 is. It's either this or M3 (also haven't heard) for me next but if IO6 does everything better than PX7, M3, XM3 and P7W (even with less bass not with anemic bass) I may just go straight to it.

Also, how did you get the headphones already in the US? Everywhere I looked the shipping date was end of November or beginning of December.

I ordered mine through a local dealer in MA (Special Order). Anyone that sells Dali or NAD can get them for you. Lenbrook (who owns Bluesound, NAD, and PSB) is the US distributor for Dali.
 
Nov 15, 2019 at 8:17 PM Post #418 of 1,056
So I have the Dali io-6 and the PX7s right now and i am kind if torn. First I have a weird shaped head, so it hard to find a pair of headphones that dont slip off of my head even on the smallest size. So in my non professional opinion I like the Dalis better, but they tend to fall off my head. The way the PX7s headband arm are they force the headband closer to the front of my head and just fit perfect. Dont know what I'm going to do.
 
Nov 15, 2019 at 11:01 PM Post #419 of 1,056
So I have the Dali io-6 and the PX7s right now and i am kind if torn. First I have a weird shaped head, so it hard to find a pair of headphones that dont slip off of my head even on the smallest size. So in my non professional opinion I like the Dalis better, but they tend to fall off my head. The way the PX7s headband arm are they force the headband closer to the front of my head and just fit perfect. Dont know what I'm going to do.

Dali all the way
 
Nov 16, 2019 at 4:28 AM Post #420 of 1,056
So I have the Dali io-6 and the PX7s right now and i am kind if torn. First I have a weird shaped head, so it hard to find a pair of headphones that dont slip off of my head even on the smallest size. So in my non professional opinion I like the Dalis better, but they tend to fall off my head. The way the PX7s headband arm are they force the headband closer to the front of my head and just fit perfect. Dont know what I'm going to do.

Unfortunately a good fit is crucial in terms of proper sealing and the overall degree to which you can enjoy your music ... I would advise against purchasing the DALI if you cannot get them to fit and seal properly, even if you dig their sound signature ... It would only cause frustration ... So potentially you still have to continue your quest for a well balanced package where sound and fit work equally well for you ... Perhaps the B&O H9 3rd gen could work? As I understood they do not completely match the DALI SQ but at least manage to come close....
 

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