[Nemu]

Hey guys,
Bought the Dali IO-6 two days ago.
I just want to share my impressions.

First, I own a bunch of headphones and inears and I'm also working on an app for headphones compensation filters. So my preference are neutral sounding headphones, with a bit of excitement in their tuning.
I was looking for a pair of ANC, Bluetooth Headphones, which I can use during my business trips (will have a long flight mid of March, then I will test the NC in detail).
I've tested the Sony M3s, Bose 700, Sennheiser Momentum 3 and others.
Let's make it short... In terms of sound all of them are crap. Sony and Bose have superb NC, but if you are looking for neutral, good sound... You are lost. You can tune the Sony's to sound good, but not out of the Box. Sony M3 are for bass heads and Bose 700 ??? I don't find words. Inconsistent bass (depends on the position of your ears in the ear cups)... Brighter sound and weird sounding.

Here my thoughts on the Dali IO-6.
When we talk about neutral sound, they beat all previous mentioned models. The IO6 are maybe the best BT ANC headphones I've listened to, so far.
They lack maybe 1-2 dB in the deep bass region, when I think about Harman target. But the bass is punchy and even deep bass is sufficient for most tracks. They just give you the right amount, depending on the track.
The mids are above target and give you an intimate feeling.
Talking about female voices, the highs are cristle clear and pretty decent for me.
What bothers me more are male vocals. The IO-6 lack around 2-3dB at are around 4-5 khz and male voices sound a bit recessed and not so clear.
Wwwhyyy Dali???!!! They could be nearly perfect. For a closed BT headphone, the soundstage is pretty huge. Instrumental separation is really good, so no complaints here. So still the best sounding BT/ANC for me. Here my EQ

https://www.bilder-upload.eu/bild-5febf1-1582151031.jpg.html

My first impression regarding the ANC function. It's a toy, compared to Sony or Bose.
The passive isolation is pretty good, but the ANC doesn't filter out too much.
Sometimes I've had connections issues, with crackling for a few milliseconds.
My pair has a a slight hiss on the left speaker, with some electric crackling. Just noticable, if I have them in BT connection ANC off and a complete quite environment with no music playing.
I will check this with my Dali dealer.

Still I can highly recommend the IO6, if you are looking for a well balanced BT headphone and ANC is a "nice to have" for certain situations.

 

[The AC]

Regarding the hiss on the left speaker--did you buy the brown/White color of the headphones?

 

[Nemu]

Regarding the hiss on the left speaker--did you buy the brown/White color of the headphones?

I have the black/grey edition. I don't think, that issues can be limited to a specific color.

 

[The AC]

When i was buying them i wanted the white/Brown color and they had the hiss on the left side. Then we tried another White Brown and they also had the hiss. Then we tried 2 Black ones and they didnt have the hiss, thus my conclusion. i ended up buying the Black ones out of fear of the hiss.

 

[Picard7]

No-hiss user here (IB). I found the bass improved a little after using the Dalis for a few days. Could be my imagination, could be burn-in, could be magic.

 

[Nemu]

my IO-6 have a barely noticable crackling on the left speaker. But it's bothering me.

I've just tested them in fully passive mode with my mobile DACs (Oppo HA-2se and creative sxfi amp). And I have to say... In passive mode the nail it down. Seems Dali makes it different to all other manufacturers. Making their headphones worse with electronics tuning.

 

[Duckie7000]

I've had the Dali IO4's for a couple of weeks, and after extended listening and reading through this thread I wanted to leave my thoughts on them here;
I was initially using the Sennheiser M3's, which I liked however I was having a few issues with them so I exchanged them for the IO4. Initially I wasn't sure, as in comparison to the M3 they could feel a bit bass light (if you're used to bassy headphones) however it was only after going back and listening to the M3 after an extended period with the Dali's that I realised just how much better the Dali's do.. everything! I feel like the Dali's have almost spoiled a lot of other headphones for me!

The soundstage is much larger and everything is more open; it feels like there's more room for each instrument to be heard and even when lots of things are going on at once they don't struggle at all with the seperation. In comparison, the M3 felt more claustrophobic and it was easier for things to get muddled.

The biggest thing for me was the sheer amount of detail they have over other headphones in this price bracket (I've also tried the Sony XM3, nowhere near either the Sennheiser or the Dali's imo). They have such a musical feel and bring a lot of life into every genre I've tried (jazz, EDM, rock, pop, rap/hip hop) Cymbals, tambourines, strings etc sound incredible on these and made the M3 sound kind of boring and unimpressive by comparison. I mentioned earlier about the initial 'bass light' feeling; after listening to these for a week or so and then listening to the M3 again, the bass on those felt so overblown and overemphasised, and it felt like it bled into the track, making mids/highs suffer as a result. The Dali's have very accurate and tight bass, and while they are a more natural sounding headphone they will kick down pretty hard for bassy tracks. I agree with the other posters here reporting that the bass response improved noticeably with time.

It's worth mentioning the design on the Dali also, the round cups look nice and are very comfortable (for my ears) and weight wise are on point. I can wear these for a long time without feeling uncomfortable at all. I usually wear earbuds when excersising however I did try these out at the gym and they were relatively comfortable, although my ears were a bit sweaty by the end of it. In normal situations my ears don't get hot wearing these.The passive isolation is also really good on these, I can only see myself missing the ANC in situations where there is constant low rumble sounds (like on a plane) because everything else is barely noticeable when music is playing. I don't think anyone in this thread or the Sennhesier thread has mentioned the issues you may have if you have long hair! The cups are on adjustment rails (whatever you want to call them) and I was constantly ripping hair out with these! The Dali's have no such issues for me and I find that when you adjust them to your head they will stay in place, meaning you don't have to readjust.

The 60 hours battery life is a huge plus also. The IO4 unfortunately don't come with the travel case like the IO6 but they've recently started selling the case seperately, and IMO it's well worth picking one up if you go for the IO4.

 

[Nemu]

The guys from soundstage tested the IO6 and posted the measurement results.
The frequency response graph confirms what I'm hearing. I've posted a screenshot of my EQ to compensate, which is pretty accurate.

https://www.soundstagenetwork.com/i...ise-canceling-headphones&catid=263&Itemid=203

 

[angelom]

The guys from soundstage tested the IO6 and posted the measurement results.
The frequency response graph confirms what I'm hearing. I've posted a screenshot of my EQ to compensate, which is pretty accurate.

https://www.soundstagenetwork.com/i...ise-canceling-headphones&catid=263&Itemid=203

Is interesting that almost every person in this thread always saying io6 is have the best sound of all the bt headphones. I think sennheiser m3 is better. The graph of the frequency response of io6 is the same I always hearing the io6, the bass isn't enough good and the highs is very bright.

 

[anli]

the bass isn't enough good and the highs is very bright.

I guess it is matter of habit as a result of preferred genres and overall melomaniac's history specifics.
As for me, even with DALI IO-4 sometimes I use parametric EQ to reduce LF a little on EDM (while on classics and jazz EQ is not used).

 

[Nemu]

Is interesting that almost every person in this thread always saying io6 is have the best sound of all the bt headphones. I think sennheiser m3 is better. The graph of the frequency response of io6 is the same I always hearing the io6, the bass isn't enough good and the highs is very bright.

The IO-6 are ONE of the best sounding BT headphones. But as always, it's a matter of preference. If someone says, the IO6 has less bass, I call him a bass head. Definitely! Most people are educated to bass, bass and more bass. If you listen to e.g. the IO6 or even better balanced headphones for a longer timer, you will notice that other headphones just have bass and nothing else. This includes the Sennheiser M3 as well. Their bass response is around 4 to 5db over Harman target, which is a lot. I don't think, that they are bad headphones, but they are not neutral and more for electronic music.
I've tested the IO6 with a lot of music genres and they do pretty well with all of them. Even songs like Zomboy- get with the program.
They are brighter sounding headphones, but this gives also more detail and airness.
Also the soundstage is another factor. For a closed BT headphone, I would state, that they have a really broad soundstage and a good separation of instruments.
Music is a matter of taste.

 

[angelom]

The IO-6 are ONE of the best sounding BT headphones. But as always, it's a matter of preference. If someone says, the IO6 has less bass, I call him a bass head. Definitely! Most people are educated to bass, bass and more bass. If you listen to e.g. the IO6 or even better balanced headphones for a longer timer, you will notice that other headphones just have bass and nothing else. This includes the Sennheiser M3 as well. Their bass response is around 4 to 5db over Harman target, which is a lot. I don't think, that they are bad headphones, but they are not neutral and more for electronic music.
I've tested the IO6 with a lot of music genres and they do pretty well with all of them. Even songs like Zomboy- get with the program.
They are brighter sounding headphones, but this gives also more detail and airness.
Also the soundstage is another factor. For a closed BT headphone, I would state, that they have a really broad soundstage and a good separation of instruments.
Music is a matter of taste.

I'm not agree with you. io6 is more close with Difuse Field target (Etymotic), and sennheiser m3 is more close with Harman target. Harman target in my opinion is more real than Diffuse Field curve. The graph for io6 is clear, and isn't opinion: the io6 is bass light and treble happy. Momentum 3 isn't perfect but in my opinion is very clear more close with real sounds producing in life than io6.

 

[fiolmattias]

I'm not agree with you. io6 is more close with Difuse Field target (Etymotic), and sennheiser m3 is more close with Harman target. Harman target in my opinion is more real than Diffuse Field curve. The graph for io6 is clear, and isn't opinion: the io6 is bass light and treble happy. Momentum 3 isn't perfect but in my opinion is very clear more close with real sounds producing in life than io6.

io6 sounds better to my ears. My problem with Momentom 3 is that it is muddy (comparatively), the timbre of instruments are not as exact (one example is that the difference between 2 violins are clearer op the io6) and the soundseparation is not as good as on the io6.
The momentum 3 is not bad (i rank them higher than Sony xm3), but to my ears the io6 ar better.

 

[The AC]

I agree, the momentum m3 is not that bad but io-6 is way better for my expectation of sound quality. The Xm3 sound just so bad to me.

 

[Picard7]

Identical experiences to previous posters - Dali, then Sennheiser, then Sony.