Dali Kore loudspeakers

[QuadDiffuser]

Dali's flagship Kore loudspeakers have emerged as a potential choice for my upcoming dedicated listening room after I first saw them (static display versions) at Munich 2024, followed by a recent brief audition (click red link below).

My dedicated audio room build - QuadDiffusor's Big Dig

The Linkwitz LX521.4 system was outstanding - no - astonishing! The digital source was in plain-old CD resolution, streamed via an integrated streamer/DAC with no fancy ancillary cables or other equipment. I can expect that with a statement streamer like the Aurender N30 or Taiko Extreme with...

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Although Dali is less internationally renowned compared to brands like B&W, Focal, Magico, Sonus Faber, Von Schweikert and Wilson, I believe the Kore deserves recognition as a Top Ten flagship loudspeaker, highlighting them in this dedicated thread on WBF.

 

[QuadDiffuser]

Here's the URL to the Kore's webpage (click grey box below):

''

The DALI KORE is the ultimate expression of our admiration of music. It's a visual and sonic masterpiece with ground-breaking technologies.

www.dali-speakers.com

And the link to the White Paper:

https://cdn.brandfolder.io/T355Y1FY/at/c4nphnn2sszcnckhwsg58j/DALI_KORE_-_White_Paper.pdf

 

[steve59]

The Epikore 11 on the left and Kore on the right.

 

[QuadDiffuser]

Waterfall time-decay curves are important because they reveal how cleanly/quickly acoustic energy disappears when the drivers are asked to stop.

In January 2023, HiFi News published a review of the Dali Kore including measurements.

DALI KORE Loudspeaker Lab Report

Lab Report DALI's specification for the KORE was largely met on test. Its complex crossover maintains a sub-9ohm impedance from 46Hz-12.4kHz, hitting a 3.2ohm minimum at 67Hz (a nominal 4ohm) which, with max/min phase angles of +36°/–65° (+44°/10Hz), results in a minimum EPDR of 1.2ohm/58Hz...

www.hifinews.com

Presumably the measurement methodology used by HiFi News is consistent across reviews of other speakers to establish a baseline constant, making side-by-side comparisons very useful.

 

[QuadDiffuser]

The latest upgraded version of Magico S3 (the mkII, or 2023) benchmark for advanced drivers (trickled-down from their M-series) employing the latest in exotic materials, such as a 5-inch midrange driver featuring a honeycomb aluminum core sandwiched with outer and inner layers of graphene and carbon fiber, and a 28mm diamond-coated beryllium diaphragm. Detailed descriptions from the Magico website ooze mouth-watering superlatives.

MAGICO 2023 S3 — Magico Loudspeakers

3-Way Floorstanding Loudspeaker System

www.magicoaudio.com

Indeed, its on-axis frequency response is superbly flat, L/R channel matching is near-perfect, and the waterfall chart confirms ultra-fast decay times (less than 1.1m sec) across the frequencies covered by the tweeter. Perhaps the only flaw is the shockingly large 12dB+ resonance peak in the ultrasonic frequencies, arguably inaudible (especially off-axis) but potentially injecting IM harmonics lower down in the audible range.

In comparison the Dali Kore appears broken, with huge turbulences in both the upper end of the midrange driver (covering 390 Hz to 2.1kHz), and the full range of frequencies (2.1kHz to 12.0kHz) covered by the 35mm soft-dome tweeter. The peaks/valleys from 2kHz and above take more than 3.0m sec to quieten down. OK, it's understandable that the large-ish 7.0 inch paper-pulp and wood-fiber midrange cone will increasingly struggle as it reaches into the higher frequencies. But it's difficult to understand why Dali deployed this particular 35mm textile soft-dome tweeter in its flagship product, as it appears to be colored, flexy, and sluggish, seemingly incapable of handling the task of cleanly reproducing the all-important 2kHz-4kHz upper midrange where the ear is most sensitive. Honestly, it's very painful for me to see this, negatively impacting my enthusiasm for the otherwise impressively engineered and beautifully executed design.

In contrast, the Dali Kore’s planar magneto-static diaphragm super-tweeter's response looks superb.

 

[QuadDiffuser]

For comparison, here's another example of a well engineered floor standing loudspeaker, the Perlisten S7t, which uses a 28mm beryllium tweeter, vertically flanked by two doped fabric auxiliary tweeters for directivity control. Despite the unorthodox triple tweeter array, its waterfall graph looks very clean, almost on par with the Magico S3. The tweeter's resonance peak centered at 25kHz is worryingly close to the audible range but at just 6-8dB its amplitude is more benign than the Magico M3's towering peaks which I'm sure will drive away pets and pests alike.

 

[QuadDiffuser]

Next, a comparison between a planar-magnetic driver speaker, the PS Audio Aspen FR10, and the Dali Kore.

The FR10 exhibits rather severe and volatile "wobbles" in the on-axis frequency response curve between 500Hz to 20kHz of +/- 4.5dB which will likely be heard as distinctive colorations, and its waterfall graph reveals that decay between 2.0kHz and 10kHz is slower than the Magico S3, but nevertheless still faster than the Kore. Perhaps tensioned membrane drivers accelerated between magnets still generate significant surface "waves" which take more time to dissipate (than generally assumed) even though their moving mass/weight is very low, resulting in a slightly "plasticky" sound?

 

[QuadDiffuser]

A comparison between the Wilson Alexx V, an expensive (US$150k+) and complex multi-cabinet/multi-driver loudspeaker employing a 1" silk dome tweeter - smaller but similar to the Dali Kore's tweeter.

The Wilson's near-10dB dip between 1.5kHz and 3kHz is rather shocking, and so is the 8db jump from 3kHz to 4kHz, as well as the subsequent 5dB dip to 7kHz. Call it a rollercoaster, or a yo-yo, both analogies are apt. It's evident here that multiple sharp edges on multiple sub-assemblies, with drivers stacked at distances greater than half a wavelength of the low-order crossover frequencies invites severe cancellation and diffraction artifacts.

On a more positive note, the Wilson manages to deliver faster energy decay between 2.0kHz to 5.0kHz, the Achilles Heel of the Kore. Above 6.0kHz, the Kore's planar magnetic tweeter decays much faster and cleaner than the Wilson's cloth dome tweeter which has an ugly resonance at the very audible16kHz range.

 

[steve59]

I feel like I landed on asr? This is the forum that has a thread on rolex watches and now we're comparing measurements between a $20k and $120k speakers without listening impressions?

 

[QuadDiffuser]

Yeah, I'm not crazy about ASR's assumptions and confirmational biases either. There are plenty of electromagnetic and psychoacoustical parameters which can't be quantified through mere "measurements". For example, in my Feb 2021 shoot-out between the "measures perfectly" Topping D90 DAC + A90 preamplifier combo (which at the time was the top components measured by ASR), and the MSB Technologies Select II DAC (with dual powerBases), which do you think won? Did they even sound remotely alike? Nope, not even close!

What is the benefit of very expensive DACs?

judging cause and effect, and understanding the why is important......even though you can't always understand the real reasons for things. the idea of getting beyond that 'tipping point' is a concept that has been my experience. which is why to judge most tweaks you need to reach a level of...

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Regarding auditions of the speakers mentioned above, I've heard them all - in very diverse setups, mostly sub-optimally, at dealers' showrooms, and Hi-End shows (see below):
2019: Hong Kong and Taipei
2022: AXPONA, Hong Kong, Singapore, Taipei, and Vietnam.
2023: AXPONA, Hong Kong, and Singapore
2024: Munich, Taipei, and Kuala Lumpur (soon)

My comments in the four (4) postings above are merely on the objective measurements published on HiFi News, so of course they are not final verdicts. However please do recognize that under standardized and uniform test conditions, side-by-side comparisons are actually very useful and valid. Take them for what they are.

Not surprisingly, however, there's actually a high correlation between these measurements and what I've heard in real-life situations. My loudspeaker preferences are those designs with minimal baffle diffraction, and maximally broad/uniform dispersion (both on-axis and off-axis, horizontally, and ideally, vertically too). Performance is not necessarily correlated linearly with MSRP, although the phenomena of ever-rising prices in goods/services which purport to deliver experiential pleasure whether imaginary or real, is very prominent nowadays, supported by strong consumption power among the well-resourced Baby Boomer demographic.

Indeed, it's tricky to navigate among the over-priced noise to find the sweet spot which delivers exceptional price/performance.

Those interested in my speaker-selection journey for my dedicated listening room, here are some of my postings to peruse:

UPDATED (2024-Sep): https://www.whatsbestforum.com/thre...uaddiffusors-big-dig.36359/page-7#post-993245
OLD (2024-Jun): https://www.whatsbestforum.com/thre...uaddiffusors-big-dig.36359/page-6#post-976565
OLD (2024-Apr): https://www.whatsbestforum.com/thre...uaddiffusors-big-dig.36359/page-6#post-962391
OLD (2023-May): https://www.whatsbestforum.com/thre...uaddiffusors-big-dig.36359/page-2#post-879524

 

[steve59]

As cool as the statement speakers are, from all the contenders I really appreciate the brands that try to get it right while being cost competitive.
Dali’s Epicon line might be more realistic for some of us.