[Duckie7000]

Been listening to these pretty heavily today, they sound great wireless but they really shine even more when listening in USB mode. Aboslutely incredible!

 

[Currawong]

1. How does the Dali IO-6 behave with power OFF but driven by an external amp? What kind of signal path loss are we expecting to have versus the same but with power ON?

It's a bit brighter. Seems more "clear" at first, but I'm finding the treble a touch fatiguing in direct mode with the power off. Powered on, the treble drops slightly and they sound a bit smoother.

 

[WDitters]

It's a bit brighter. Seems more "clear" at first, but I'm finding the treble a touch fatiguing in direct mode with the power off. Powered on, the treble drops slightly and they sound a bit smoother.

Note: In direct mode you have the option to either use the internal DALI DAC (via USB) or 3rd party DAC/AMPs (via 3.5mm jack). By using 3.5mm direct mode you have the possibility to influence the sound according to the DAC/AMP you choose. Most manufacturers have a "house sound" that is typical to them. Astell & Kern usually sounds a tad warmer, emotive than FiiO for instance, but in return FiiO can sound a bit more resolving ... In my opinion the IO-6 absolutely 'sing' when connected to the right AMP/DAC ... An Audioquest Dragonfly Cobalt for instance ...

 

[Nemu]

Here also a review of the IO6 and comparison of the frequency response to focal clear.
Pretty identical curve, but the IO6 have a bit more bass.
And the vocal clear are called one of the best sounding headphones.

https://thenextweb.com/plugged/2020...ontender-for-best-noise-canceling-headphones/

 

[WDitters]

Here also a review of the IO6 and comparison of the frequency response to focal clear.
Pretty identical curve, but the IO6 have a bit more bass.
And the vocal clear are called one of the best sounding headphones.

https://thenextweb.com/plugged/2020...ontender-for-best-noise-canceling-headphones/

Mind you .. Even though the frequency curves seem similar, don't forget that the Focal are open back, the DALI are closed back ... As such the focal have a wider much more open soundstage ... I would be careful comparing them too much .. However, for a closed back pair of wireless headphones the DALI do indeed sound amazing

 

[Nemu]

Mind you .. Even though the frequency curves seem similar, don't forget that the Focal are open back, the DALI are closed back ... As such the focal have a wider much more open soundstage ... I would be careful comparing them too much .. However, for a closed back pair of wireless headphones the DALI do indeed sound amazing

True... But, for a closed back headphone, the Dali have a really good soundstage. You can never compare headphones directly by their frequency response graph, but it's an indication, how they sound.
So still a decent pair of headphones.

 

[Kalli]

Hi,

I am quite new here and received a pair of Dali IO-6 yesterday. After listening to them for a bit I already fell in love
After reading this entire thread I would like to contribute with some thoughts and I will also add some questions.

There are a lot of sound comparisons and reviews already and most of them are written better than what I am able to do. So long story short:
I really like the sound very much! Mostly listening to classical and sometimes rock while walking in the city or sitting in a train. And I don't want to buy an extra pair of headphones just for occasional flights.

Build and aesthetics are pretty nice (black version) and I really like the non-touch controls. My left ear is a bit larger than my right ear and therefore touches the membrane between the ear and the driver a bit. This doesn't reduce the overall nice comfort for me. I also wanted to give an extra statement on the IP53 rating. In my eyes this is such a nice feature which should be done on any pair of headphones out there. No more fear outdoors in the rain .

A lot of people mentioned the missing Android/iOS app support. For me, all those extra features are mostly pointless to be honest. They just tie your already smartphone dependent life even more to this evil little device. There are a few reasons which may be quite useful for an app (in my opinion):

• firmware updates
• switch-off timer settings
• transparency-mode music volume settings

So, overall a really nice pair of headphones.

Now to my questions/problems (which may only affect my particular device):

• My pair seems to have a pretty loud hiss, like other people already mentioned
  • While music is actually playing at not too low levels the hiss can't be heard. But a lot of times it's quite present while listening to classical music in lower volume parts of the music. This seems unacceptable compared to way lower priced headphones I listened to recently.
  • With ANC off: slight static hiss and electric sounding crackling sometimes
  • With ANC on: slightly more static hiss but no crackling (the additional hiss is probably the ANC, which seems to be totally fine)
  • With transparency on: same hiss as with ANC off and no crackling, but additional somehow "wobbling" noise
  • In passive mode: all fine and none of the above occur
  • The hiss is more present on the left ear cup. And the crackling with ANC off is only on the left ear cup. Maybe due to my left ear being bigger and there for nearer to the driver?
  • As I couldn't read any of the hiss problems in the early posts in this thread, this may be related to a later production batch or a firmware update on later units? (after beginning/mid November)
• Does it matter in which mode I do the burn in (active/passive/ANC on/ANC off/...)?
  • To address the hissing problem someone stated to burn-in the headphones (let's hope that this works)
  • I am doing this at the moment whenever not listening to them with some noise generating youtube downloaded file, which was stated in this thread somewhere.
• Bluetooth connection randomly lost
  • Last night I tried to burn-in via Bluetooth (forgot the ANC state used ;/). There was no music playing on the headphones when i woke up and the Bluetooth LED was off. The headphones were on though and the power LED was green. My phone (Oneplus 3 (Bluetooth 4.2 with aptX HD)) still showed the Dali's as connected and active and the music player (Musicolet) was still playing music.
• High pitched tone occurs sometimes
  • Happened twice now and lasted for like a second. It seems to be related to the usage of the controls.
• Since there is no app, is there any necessity/possibility to update the firmware?
• Did anyone manage to use the headphones via USB on linux?
  • I tried it for a few minutes without too much success (didn't dig into it yet). My PC did recognize the headphones in lsusb, but nothing more happened. My Laptop (Thinkpad T420) showed the headphones as input and output devices and I was able to play sound. The sound however was crackling like hell so you could only recognize that it seems to transfer the data to the headphones, but the output was far from being able to understand a word. A short Windows 10 VM test with USB-pass-through worked fine.
• Since the DALI's are made for on-the-go/outdoor usage, does anyone know if they have a min/max temperature to use them in? Or the min/max is stated by the generally recommended temperatures of batteries, since this is probably the weakest point?
• Maybe a stupid question, but any idea how the Dali's compare to the Marshall Monitor Wireless or the new Monitor II ANC? (only sound wise)

I would be happy for any advise.

 

[SoundSquare]

• My pair seems to have a pretty loud hiss, like other people already mentioned
  • While music is actually playing at not too low levels the hiss can't be heard. But a lot of times it's quite present while listening to classical music in lower volume parts of the music. This seems unacceptable compared to way lower priced headphones I listened to recently.
  • With ANC off: slight static hiss and electric sounding crackling sometimes
  • With ANC on: slightly more static hiss but no crackling (the additional hiss is probably the ANC, which seems to be totally fine)
  • With transparency on: same hiss as with ANC off and no crackling, but additional somehow "wobbling" noise
  • In passive mode: all fine and none of the above occur
  • The hiss is more present on the left ear cup. And the crackling with ANC off is only on the left ear cup. Maybe due to my left ear being bigger and there for nearer to the driver?
  • As I couldn't read any of the hiss problems in the early posts in this thread, this may be related to a later production batch or a firmware update on later units? (after beginning/mid November)
• Does it matter in which mode I do the burn in (active/passive/ANC on/ANC off/...)?
  • To address the hissing problem someone stated to burn-in the headphones (let's hope that this works)
  • I am doing this at the moment whenever not listening to them with some noise generating youtube downloaded file, which was stated in this thread somewhere.
• Bluetooth connection randomly lost
  • Last night I tried to burn-in via Bluetooth (forgot the ANC state used ;/). There was no music playing on the headphones when i woke up and the Bluetooth LED was off. The headphones were on though and the power LED was green. My phone (Oneplus 3 (Bluetooth 4.2 with aptX HD)) still showed the Dali's as connected and active and the music player (Musicolet) was still playing music.
• High pitched tone occurs sometimes
  • Happened twice now and lasted for like a second. It seems to be related to the usage of the controls.
• Since there is no app, is there any necessity/possibility to update the firmware ?

From my own experience with them (a week, 50h burn in) :

The hiss doesn't disappear with burn in. It's annoying but these headphones are supposed to be used outdoor so it's barely noticeable, if you wanted something to listen at home at quiet volume in a quiet environment i wouldn't have chosen these.
Firmware updates through the USB port should be possible but i have no idea if Dali planned any updates, i doubt so.

Otherwise i don't think they are as good as most reviews state, they sound kinda veiled, and the bass emphasis may be way reduced compared to Sony or Bose wireless headphones but still too prominent for my taste. The soundstage is not too narrow but not as wide as some may say, i know plenty of closed cans with a more expansive soundstage. They can sound boxy at times. The treble is smooth and rolled off and they lack some clarity for me. Some highlighted the great instruments separation but i also don't agree, they sound congested on rich layered tracks. I've also read that they sound more "audiophile" than the competitors but honestly they are just consumer headphones that sound less boomy and a bit more even than the big names, nothing to get crazy about.

Using them through USB sounds slightly better to my ears than using them with an external Dac. I used them with a Topping D50s DAC and SMSL SP200 amp (THX) and they sounded better (and way louder) using the built in DAC (surprisingly). Maybe the jack input sucks... (and how comes you get hiss and static noise with wireless off ? )

I'm still hesitating on keeping them, i wouldn't if they were around 200$ but at almost 400 they are way too expensive for the performance. I'm a bit disappointed, especially while i have some Dali speakers that i absolutely love !

Edit : hiss is vastly reduced to almost no hiss through USB connection but still a few faint static noises in the right cup, where the electronics is. They are probably poorly isolated.

Edit 2 : i noticed that the max bitrate/freq that the internal DAC supports is 24bit 96Khz which is pretty nice. Really preferring the sound of them through USB ! this is the way to listen at them at low volume

 

[fiolmattias]

From my own experience with them (a week, 50h burn in) :

The hiss doesn't disappear with burn in. It's annoying but these headphones are supposed to be used outdoor so it's barely noticeable, if you wanted something to listen at home at quiet volume in a quiet environment i wouldn't have chosen these.
Firmware updates through the USB port should be possible but i have no idea if Dali planned any updates, i doubt so.

Otherwise i don't think they are as good as most reviews state, they sound kinda veiled, and the bass emphasis may be way reduced compared to Sony or Bose wireless headphones but still too prominent for my taste. The soundstage is not too narrow but not as wide as some may say, i know plenty of closed cans with a more expansive soundstage. They can sound boxy at times. The treble is smooth and rolled off and they lack some clarity for me. Some highlighted the great instruments separation but i also don't agree, they sound congested on rich layered tracks. I've also read that they sound more "audiophile" than the competitors but honestly they are just consumer headphones that sound less boomy and a bit more even than the big names, nothing to get crazy about.

Using them through USB sounds slightly better to my ears than using them with an external Dac. I used them with a Topping D50s DAC and SMSL SP200 amp (THX) and they sounded better (and way louder) using the built in DAC (surprisingly). Maybe the jack input sucks... (and how comes you get hiss and static noise with wireless off ? )

I'm still hesitating on keeping them, i wouldn't if they were around 200$ but at almost 400 they are way too expensive for the performance. I'm a bit disappointed, especially while i have some Dali speakers that i absolutely love !

Edit : hiss is vastly reduced to almost no hiss through USB connection but still a few faint static noises in the right cup, where the electronics is. They are probably poorly isolated.

My guess is that you either have a faulty kit or very good reference cans

 

[SoundSquare]

My guess is that you either have a faulty kit or very good reference cans

haha i do indeed have quite a collection of mid/high end cans and also a very picky ear when it comes to hiss (sold my andromedas for that reason)
check my edit, using them through USB makes hiss mostly disappear

also i listen mostly at very low volumes, best way to highlight any hissing even the faintest.

 

[Kalli]

thanks for the answers guys.

The hiss doesn't disappear with burn in. It's annoying but these headphones are supposed to be used outdoor so it's barely noticeable, if you wanted something to listen at home at quiet volume in a quiet environment i wouldn't have chosen these.

that's true

I'm still hesitating on keeping them, i wouldn't if they were around 200$ but at almost 400 they are way too expensive for the performance. I'm a bit disappointed, especially while i have some Dali speakers that i absolutely love !

Any chance you can name anything at -+200 which is comparable? I would be interested a lot
I checked quite a few headphones yet, and those are the ones which I like the most by far.

 

[SoundSquare]

Any chance you can name anything at -+200 which is comparable? I would be interested a lot
I checked quite a few headphones yet, and those are the ones which I like the most by far.

Unfortunately i can't think of a decent (to my taste, trying not to be dogmatic) bluetooth set for this price. Unless you go for a good BT cable and iems.
I used the Audio Technica ATH DSR9BT for some time and it was quite good but it's on a superior price range and may not please everyone.

But to go back on the Dali, it's slowly growing on me, i can get used to his sound signature and it surprised me from time to time, but again it's over priced.

 

[firewatersun]

I'm between the Dali iO-6 and the Beoplay H9i - used, the H9i is going for almost $120 less than an iO-6 where I am (Ireland)

Does anyone with both headphones (or who has tried both) have an opinion if the difference in sound quality is really that big between the two?

I'm looking for headphones with decent ANC - I have the h8i and ANC performance on that is perfect for me, don't need much more. However I also want to get the best sound quality possible with that ANC, so e.g. Sony XM3 or Bose are out. I tried the Momentum M3 and it was too fake-bassy for my liking. The Dali ANC seems to be getting very mixed reviews which is concerning.

 

[behemothkat]

I'm between the Dali iO-6 and the Beoplay H9i - used, the H9i is going for almost $120 less than an iO-6 where I am (Ireland)

Does anyone with both headphones (or who has tried both) have an opinion if the difference in sound quality is really that big between the two?

I'm looking for headphones with decent ANC - I have the h8i and ANC performance on that is perfect for me, don't need much more. However I also want to get the best sound quality possible with that ANC, so e.g. Sony XM3 or Bose are out. I tried the Momentum M3 and it was too fake-bassy for my liking. The Dali ANC seems to be getting very mixed reviews which is concerning.

I don’t have anymore my Beo H9i, but sound quality was one of factors why I have sold them. Dali IO6 SQ is amazing to my ears.
ANC of course is another aspect: IO6 ANC tuned more to low frequency noise (I have tested them during one flight I have done before lockdown, ANC was very comfortable to me but in my office I can hear typing on keyboard), while H9i ANC filters much broader spectrum, hence canceling environmental noise much better.

 

[NY24]

I see on Dali's site you can buy additional ear pads but they don't ship to Canada, does anybody know where I can get them for my iO6 in black