Dali Headphones
- Thread starter emba4
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That switch seems to be prone to failures. I would try to contact DALI support.
Apart from that I'm not using the DALI's anymore, since I decided for the Shure ANOIC 50.
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I’ve revised my Dali iO-6 review and dropped it by a star down to 3.5 due to the switch issue. It’s a pity ‘cos sonically the iO-6 is still very enticing.
Maukey
500+ Head-Fier
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Same. I sold my Dali iO-6. If you’re a fan of the Dalis but are dealing with the switch issue and/or lack of features, you have to try the Shure Aonic 50.
SouthMark45
New Head-Fier
Hi All
New to the forum but have read through all of the pages on this thread, learnt a lot and ultimately helped me to actually make my decision to purchase a pair of the Dali IO-6 (Receiving Tomorrow).
A Couple of questions that I have please Reference getting the best sound from these headphones. I will be using an IPhone X to connect these headphones to and play music and I currently use Spotify.
Is it worth getting a DAC and also is it worth using Tidal instead of Spotify to ensure I get the best sound quality?
any help/advise or recommendations appreciated
Thanks
Mark
New to the forum but have read through all of the pages on this thread, learnt a lot and ultimately helped me to actually make my decision to purchase a pair of the Dali IO-6 (Receiving Tomorrow).
A Couple of questions that I have please Reference getting the best sound from these headphones. I will be using an IPhone X to connect these headphones to and play music and I currently use Spotify.
Is it worth getting a DAC and also is it worth using Tidal instead of Spotify to ensure I get the best sound quality?
any help/advise or recommendations appreciated
Thanks
Mark
In my opinion you're better off with Tidal. Even my gf, using some old apple earphones with an iPhone, notices a fair difference.
anli
100+ Head-Fier
After weeks with semi-working power switch today I can not turn phone on at all. DALI keeps silent, so the only way is to try to repair that crap switch with my own. Has anybody some experience in IO-4 repairing? Or may be knows some blog or such?
Last edited:
That's unfortunate.
I don't have a lot of experience with the DALI support, because I decided to go for the Shure AONIC 50 instead. But I called DALI once and the support seemed to be competent and friendly and trying to make the customer happy.
wellokthen
New Head-Fier
Rightly or wrongly, I always feel slightly guilty when returning any purchase and don’t feel entitled to audition a succession of products at retailers’ cost. However, circumstance found me with four (!) new ANC headphones at home; one ordering mix-up, a conventional return and one borrowed set.
No need to @ me about the rampant consumerism and I’ve already had a word with myself. The least I could do was to compare and contrast for the good people of Head Fi the Marshall Monitor II ANC, Shure Aonic 50, Dali iO-6 and Sennheiser Momentum 3:
Build
— The Marshalls are well built; a really nice product to look at and to hold. Solid, metal build and subtle good looks. They are also very comfortable, nicely padded with a perfect weight.
— The Aonic A50s have very plush padding on the headband and ear pads. The build feels solid, with no creaks or rattles. They sit securely on the head and feel nothing but comfortable and unobtrusive. Really nice to wear and the weight was not a factor in any way for me; I thought it might be.
— Dali headband and ear pads are well padded and of a soft, tactile material. Dali/Shure/Sennheiser build is a shade less spectacular than Marshall but the iO-6 feels solid, with a pleasing heft. I had two pairs of these; one rogue set with the ‘cracking headband’ issue, replaced by a second set that felt far more confidence-inspiring in all ways.
— The Sennheiser Momentum 3 has rock-solid build in that there are no creaks and rattles. They weigh less than Shure or Dali, which is arguably a good thing though they feel perhaps a little less substantial as a result. The materials are high quality, if slightly less hewn-from-stone than Marshall. Ear pads and headset not bad at all and the Sennheisers are comfortable to wear; think lighter but less plush than the others.
ANC
— None of these when set to ‘normal’ (or whatever the moderate value is where there’s any choice) have much cabin pressure sensation.
— All do a decent if unspectacular job at reducing noise when set to ‘normal’.
— I sometimes sense ANC almost amplifying higher frequencies in removing low rumble; this doesn’t really work for me on an aircraft for example, as it gives the impression of accentuating the air flow rush or the clinking of cutlery. While it’s true that the Dalis have less conspicuous ANC than others, I found the ANC quite effective on an aircraft - my perception was that all frequencies were attenuated without enhanced cutlery clink, helped by the great passive isolation. I didn’t have the opportunity to test any of the other on an aircraft but I thought the Dalis did a good job; conspicuously better than my old Marshall Mid ANCs, for example.
SQ
— Marshalls were pretty nice, though I could never get the perfect combination of punchiness and clarity through the Marshall app. The default ‘Marshall’ EQ setting sounds a little ‘metallic’ to me. ‘Rock’ is much better and if it suits then you’ll probably be happy with these, though I wanted to reduce the bass and up the mids ever so slightly. However, the moment you move any of the sliders, some of the vigour is also removed which I assume is deliberate. That left a very neutral sound, which I found too recessed. What I’m trying to say is that they sound nice overall and will suit if the defaults work for you, or if the less forceful sound of a modified default appeals. I had these at the same time as the Dalis and they weren’t as ‘rich’ as the Dalis for sure, though nothing I’ve tried is... And they sounded conspicuously worse on some low-quality recordings; not sure why and would be interested to know.
— The Sennheisers were as advertised in that they were clear, with a wide soundstage and prominent bass. I found the bass too insistent and less organic than Dali and found that moving the EQ slider away from ‘bass’ and towards ‘treble’ also acted to remove some of the warmth. That said, I believe that a firmware update has improved EQ. They might even be the perfect combination of bass and clarity for some but I found the sound slightly too synthetic.
— The Shures really are exceptionally clear and precise. It’s thrilling on the right track but sometimes a little too thin for me. Bass is controlled and enjoyable but not prominent.
— The Dalis also have a clear sound - a little less so than the Shures perhaps but still striking. Which is better comes down to personal preference of course but I found myself leaning towards the Dalis perhaps 75% of the time. On tracks that are a little recessed in the mids for example, I preferred the Shures in their ability to extract detail. On treble-prominent songs, I preferred the Dalis. They also have a really lovely warm bass undertone - not remotely forced or artificial and not especially prominent but characterful, enjoyable, and rarely lacking. Some say that Dali bass is missing-in-action; that’s not my experience.
I could make an argument for any of these but found Shure and Dali most appealing. A little more warmth with a hint more bass and I’d have gone with Shure; plenty will love the extraordinary clarity. But the character of the Dalis kept drawing me back and they proved the strongest combination for me.
No need to @ me about the rampant consumerism and I’ve already had a word with myself. The least I could do was to compare and contrast for the good people of Head Fi the Marshall Monitor II ANC, Shure Aonic 50, Dali iO-6 and Sennheiser Momentum 3:
Build
— The Marshalls are well built; a really nice product to look at and to hold. Solid, metal build and subtle good looks. They are also very comfortable, nicely padded with a perfect weight.
— The Aonic A50s have very plush padding on the headband and ear pads. The build feels solid, with no creaks or rattles. They sit securely on the head and feel nothing but comfortable and unobtrusive. Really nice to wear and the weight was not a factor in any way for me; I thought it might be.
— Dali headband and ear pads are well padded and of a soft, tactile material. Dali/Shure/Sennheiser build is a shade less spectacular than Marshall but the iO-6 feels solid, with a pleasing heft. I had two pairs of these; one rogue set with the ‘cracking headband’ issue, replaced by a second set that felt far more confidence-inspiring in all ways.
— The Sennheiser Momentum 3 has rock-solid build in that there are no creaks and rattles. They weigh less than Shure or Dali, which is arguably a good thing though they feel perhaps a little less substantial as a result. The materials are high quality, if slightly less hewn-from-stone than Marshall. Ear pads and headset not bad at all and the Sennheisers are comfortable to wear; think lighter but less plush than the others.
ANC
— None of these when set to ‘normal’ (or whatever the moderate value is where there’s any choice) have much cabin pressure sensation.
— All do a decent if unspectacular job at reducing noise when set to ‘normal’.
— I sometimes sense ANC almost amplifying higher frequencies in removing low rumble; this doesn’t really work for me on an aircraft for example, as it gives the impression of accentuating the air flow rush or the clinking of cutlery. While it’s true that the Dalis have less conspicuous ANC than others, I found the ANC quite effective on an aircraft - my perception was that all frequencies were attenuated without enhanced cutlery clink, helped by the great passive isolation. I didn’t have the opportunity to test any of the other on an aircraft but I thought the Dalis did a good job; conspicuously better than my old Marshall Mid ANCs, for example.
SQ
— Marshalls were pretty nice, though I could never get the perfect combination of punchiness and clarity through the Marshall app. The default ‘Marshall’ EQ setting sounds a little ‘metallic’ to me. ‘Rock’ is much better and if it suits then you’ll probably be happy with these, though I wanted to reduce the bass and up the mids ever so slightly. However, the moment you move any of the sliders, some of the vigour is also removed which I assume is deliberate. That left a very neutral sound, which I found too recessed. What I’m trying to say is that they sound nice overall and will suit if the defaults work for you, or if the less forceful sound of a modified default appeals. I had these at the same time as the Dalis and they weren’t as ‘rich’ as the Dalis for sure, though nothing I’ve tried is... And they sounded conspicuously worse on some low-quality recordings; not sure why and would be interested to know.
— The Sennheisers were as advertised in that they were clear, with a wide soundstage and prominent bass. I found the bass too insistent and less organic than Dali and found that moving the EQ slider away from ‘bass’ and towards ‘treble’ also acted to remove some of the warmth. That said, I believe that a firmware update has improved EQ. They might even be the perfect combination of bass and clarity for some but I found the sound slightly too synthetic.
— The Shures really are exceptionally clear and precise. It’s thrilling on the right track but sometimes a little too thin for me. Bass is controlled and enjoyable but not prominent.
— The Dalis also have a clear sound - a little less so than the Shures perhaps but still striking. Which is better comes down to personal preference of course but I found myself leaning towards the Dalis perhaps 75% of the time. On tracks that are a little recessed in the mids for example, I preferred the Shures in their ability to extract detail. On treble-prominent songs, I preferred the Dalis. They also have a really lovely warm bass undertone - not remotely forced or artificial and not especially prominent but characterful, enjoyable, and rarely lacking. Some say that Dali bass is missing-in-action; that’s not my experience.
I could make an argument for any of these but found Shure and Dali most appealing. A little more warmth with a hint more bass and I’d have gone with Shure; plenty will love the extraordinary clarity. But the character of the Dalis kept drawing me back and they proved the strongest combination for me.
thehadi
100+ Head-Fier
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@Brintkiks Any solution for the on&off issue?
miccheck12
New Head-Fier
Dali ended up sending me a new pair of headphones, but armed with the new pair I decided to try to repair my old ones. I couldn't tell you why, but taking them fully apart and putting them back together again seems to have fixed it. I did move the switch quickly back and forth once apart a bunch, like works with stereo knobs.
We are aware that some models may have an issue with the ON/OFF button. If you have received one of these pairs, you can contact your local DALI dealer and make use of your warranty to swap them for a replacement.
behemothkat
500+ Head-Fier
@Brintkiks any chance to got genuine leather pads replacement instead of faux leather? Ears makes a really hot during listening sessions, I'm pretty sure genuine leather option will have demand among of IO4/6 owners.
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