Source: HD199 Audio&Video Forum By Geir Nordby
The DALI Oberon 9 is a large, well-sounding floor-to-ceiling box that allows people to regain the fun of HiFi sound.
DALI Oberon 9
Our rating:
✔ Powerful speakers bring powerful sounds! Powerful low-frequency, fine and balanced sound, and a wide range of sounds.
× find an affordable, but powerful enough amplifier to unleash the potential of this speaker, it may not be easy
Specification:
Type: 3-way bass reflex
Frequency range: 35 Hz - 36 kHz (-3 dB)
Sensitivity: 90.5dB/4 ohms
Tweeter: 29 mm filament dome
Midrange unit: 7 inch wood fiber
Woofer: 9 inch wood fibre
Dimensions and weight: 117.2 x 26 x 40.6 cm/37.1 kg
Finish color: black gray or dark walnut
As more and more large speakers give way to small wireless speakers at home, it's nice to see that there are still some people who choose to swim against the current. Danish Dani is one of the brands that insist on large speaker speakers, and today we want to evaluate the largest one in the Oberon series, the Oberon 9, which has two heavy 9-inch woofers.
Since many brands seem to have cut off large cabinet speakers, Dani realizes that they are gaining more and more market share in this area – which seems to have become a niche area in recent years. But as Dani CEO Lars Worre puts it, "There's now a consensus that a good voice is an integral part of high-quality life."
Dani has been in this field for many years, and Lars himself grew up in this industry, and between 1983 and 1997, Dani was the main licensing manufacturer of Cerwin-Vega (Svenweger USA).
The Dali Oberon 9 is a large speaker with two 9-inch woofers. This image shows walnut.
Bodybuilders wearing tuxedos
Dani wanted to build a dynamic speaker with the Oberon 9, or as Dani's CEO and chief engineer Lars Worre described it, "a bodybuilder in a tuxedo." This means you can get a loud, tough and elegant speaker that still maintains high sound quality.
The Oberon 9 costs less than 20,000 yuan, so for those who don't want to compromise on sound but are shy, the Oberon 9 is the best choice. You don't have to be rich or overspend, just make sure you pair it with the right amplifier
The tweeter of the Oberon 9 has a diameter of 29 mm
New magnets
The Oberon series is Dani's most affordable range of speakers to date, and they use magnet technology they call SMC in the woofers and midranges. These letters stand for "soft magnetic compound," a technique we've seen and heard for the first time in the most expensive Epicon series. This material is somewhat similar to ceramics. First crushed into powder, then baked in the oven, hardened with magnetic, but almost non-conductive. This makes the distortion of the electronic music signal generated in the magnetic system much smaller. Other speaker magnets usually use ferrous magnets, which are also magnetic but can conduct electricity. The SMC has a more constant magnetic field at different frequencies, so it doesn't change with the music signal like a magnet.
The Oberon series of SMC magnets is relatively simple compared to the more expensive series, but we believe that Dani retains most of the advantages.
The woofer has a ceramic magnet that provides lower distortion than the magnet material.
The tweeter has a heavy magnet that is larger than a typical dome tweeter
Three-way design with wood fibers
The Oberon 9 is a three-way loudspeaker that, in addition to the larger 9-inch woofer, has a 7-inch midrange. Adopting this design can provide better dynamics because less work needs to be done per unit. The material of the diaphragm is wood fiber, which Dani believes is a good combination, light enough and rigid enough to produce a resonance that is more natural and friendly to the ear than the aluminum diaphragm.
Large tweeter
The tweeter at the top is half an inch wider than most conventional tweeters, which allows it to handle a wider frequency range.
When there is a dedicated midrange unit to handle frequencies between 780 and 3400 Hz, it provides good working conditions for each unit, so they are able to play loudly without distortion
The Dani Oberon 9 cabinet has as few parallel surfaces as possible inside to reduce standing waves.
Foot studs and mesh covers
The Oberon 9 comes with foot studs, which I still recommend if your floor allows. For such a large speaker, the foot studs may not be large, but they are competent enough. If you are worried about scratching the floor, you can use the included rubber foot pads. The speaker is mounted on a solid aluminium base.
The mesh cover covering unit is pretty, but I prefer it to be magnetic so that the jack that is exposed after the mesh is removed is avoided.
Positioning
The larger the speakers, the harder they are to place. What's more important is their low-frequency depth, as extremely low frequencies can be tricky. The Oberon 9's low-frequency depth is not very deep, and the linearity of 35Hz is -3dB, which is actually quite standard in the floor box, even for those that are relatively small. This also makes the Oberon 9 more suitable for working in smaller rooms.
I still don't put the speakers close to the back wall, and air circulation can do a lot of good. In our audio-visual room, the position we placed was measured from the front barrier, about 1 meter from the back wall, and from the center of the tweeter, it was about 70 centimeters from each wall. But the sound conditions in each room are different, and it takes several attempts to find the best placement. And I recommend finding the best position before fitting the foot nails
Dani recommends a position 20-80 cm from the back wall. We installed the baffle about 1 meter from the back wall and got the best results.
Very impactful sound!
These speakers are designed to fill a larger room with sound, or to play louder and more formally in smaller rooms. Although I thought the NAD C388 was the best amplifier for the Oberon 9, I didn't have it on hand, so I used the Hegel H390. For the Oberon 9, a 35,000 yuan amplifier is actually too expensive, but it is perfectly matched in terms of power and control, and it will unleash more potential in the speaker. You can also use the H190, but if you want to control your budget, you should choose the NAD C388.
With the advent of Billie Eilish's song "Therefore I Am," a large party appeared on stage. The volume of the H390 is turned on very high, and the bass tone at the bottom is very large and shaped. Meanwhile, Billie's bass and consonant-bass-bass voice reproduce well behind the ear. Traditional party speakers tend to be powerful but sound sharp and mushy, while Dani speakers have a good grip on the soundstage. Stereo imaging is solid, and what you get is surprisingly neat sound. I was worried that there would be too much rumbling in its cabinet, but it worked surprisingly well. The same is true when playing lower and higher quality acoustic music.
Tori Amos' grand piano sounds like a good backdrop in the song "A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square" from the TV series Good Omens. At the same time, there is a light and free touch on the lighter keys, and Tori's voice has both strength and momentum. The strings also perform well, filling in the soundstage in a skilful way.
There is only one dash post and no two-line splits can be performed. It's also not the way most people will play.
Slightly harsh?
Of course, there's a reason why speakers of this size are so expensive, and when it comes to some minimal nuances in the soundstage, the Oberon 9 outlines it with a slightly larger brush. The sharper rock 'n' roll works sound a bit bland and on the verge of harshness. If you're going to play electric guitars and percussion instruments loudly, then I like the more elaborate speakers.
But that drawback is trivial, because the Oberon 9 is a truly powerful all-rounder: They can be used as background music when two people have dinner; they can also drive people half a block crazy when you want.
Competitor analysis
Finding a direct competitor to oberon 9 is a bit harder. Speakers in this price range have become very small and few. Bowers & Wilkins 603 and Audiovector QR3 are more detailed and "standard" speakers, but the Oberon 9 is also not to be overlooked.
The Oberon 9's direct competitors are the KEF Q950 and Klipsch RP-8000F. I haven't used them yet, and I can't give an opinion, but the Oberon 9 sounds more nuanced than the KEF Q900
summary
The Dali Oberon 9 has almost everything you need for a large speaker. Either musical style sounds balanced and fulfilling, dynamic and controlled, and it gives you plenty of addictive low frequencies if you like it.
With its sensitivity of more than 90dB, amplifying sound playback with most of the power is no problem, but for the speaker to show good control, a more powerful amplifier is still needed. I personally recommend power not less than 150W. It may be expensive, but it's all worth it.