The Cutting Edge

equipment
report
be linear at very low levels, which
some people believe is connected to
perceived detail. But for whatever reason
the IKON 6 does provide a
detailed picture of things, such as the
intricacies of piano note decay, the little
rings and shifts attached to the
dying of the tone, and is surprisingly
detailed for what is, after all, almost a
mass-market-priced speaker.
Of course, it would be more than a
little extraordinary if a speaker at this
price point offered anything like the
performance of speakers many times the
cost. And switching back to my Harbeth
M40 or to the now discontinued DALI
Grand did give a more neutral and
smoother sound, increased coherence
and refinement, more bottom-octave
extension, and all the other things that
people who spend much more money
expect, and sometimes even get.
On the other hand, to my ears, the
IKON 6 gets a lot closer than one might
suppose. With careful placement and
setup (and for a balance freak like me a
little reduction of the mid-prominence
and a mild treble cut) the results are a
lot closer to the more expensive designs
than most speakers in the IKON 6’s
price range.
The whole thing is rather surprising.
These speakers are manufactured
not in China but in DALI’s own
European factory—and DALI also has to
deal with the decimated dollar when it
comes to U.S. pricing. Yet here they are:
amazing quality, and a true bargain for
the price. As I listened to the 6’s effortlessly
reproducing the orchestral music
of Rachmaninoff and Richard Strauss, I
thought how power, substance, and clarity
really matter with the orchestral
music of the late 19th and early 20th
centuries. If these sonic qualities are
similarly meaningful to you, I think you
will like these speakers very well,
indeed, just as I did.
&
SPECIFICATIONS
Type: 3-way floorstanding loudspeaker
Driver complement: Two 6.5" wood-fiber
cone woofers, one 1" soft-textile dome
tweeter, one .75" x 1.75" ribbon supertweeter
Frequency response: 37Hz–30kHz
Sensitivity: 91.5dB
Impedance: 6 ohms
Recommended amplifier power: 25–150 watts
Dimensions: 7.5" x 39.4" x 13"
Weight: 41 lbs.
MANUFACTURER INFORMATION
DALI USA
3957 Irongate Road
Bellingham, Washinton 98226
(360) 733-4446
info@dali-usa.com
dali-usa.com
Price: $1600
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