dpl35

Overall Rating
 4 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
Less than 1 month

Visitors rate this review
5.00 of 5, 1.00 votes

Price Paid:  $1500.00 from Spearot Sound

Summary:
I purchased a pair of the Evidence 870's about 2 weeks ago, and have listened to hours of music in that time. I had read that some people felt the 870's were boomey, w/ lots of bass. When I first hooked them up, I felt the bass was very good, but the highs were abit limited. So I then biamped them. I run a Sunfire 7 channel amp and Sunfire TG III processor. Once I had the speakers biamped, the highs really improved. I began to hear the nuances of the music. These speakers sound great, but I would like to point out that I have them set up in a large family room (22 x 22), and my amp has plenty of power. From what I learned about the 870's this is the optimum environment for these speakers. If you like speakers with a forward sound, these may not be for you. But if you like a balanced sound, where you can hear the details of your music, and if you have a large room, then the 870's will be very satisfying

Strengths:
great bass, full sound, good detail

Weaknesses:
need a large room to fully appreciate these speakers, biamping improves sound

Similar Products Used:
Paradigm Reference studio 60 B&W

TomHuffman

Overall Rating
 4 of 5

Value Rating
 4 of 5

Used product for
1 to 3 months

Visitors rate this review
4.50 of 5, 2.00 votes

Price Paid:  $2520.00 from United Home Audio

Summary:
I have had this speaker for a couple of months now. It provides a wonderfully neutral and transparent midrange. The highs are sweet and non-fatiguing (I have really began to believe that most soft dome tweeters are superior to their metal counterparts). The bass is very good at resolving pitch and detail. Finally, the beautiful finish is world class. Is this a perfect speaker? No. In particular the 2 octaves of upper bass/lower midrange from 100-400 hz are elevated about 3 db in my room. The effect of this is that on some material, especially material containing kick drum, the bass line can seem a little overbearing. On most material this is not noticable. It is most obvious on rock music. Overall, this is a small criticism for a speaker that is otherwise very musical and natural sounding. By way of comparison, the 870's bass is not as tight as the NHT ST4, nor is it as linear. However, it is much more able to resolve details in bass pitch and definition than is the NHT. In general the sound of the 870 is considerably more refined and natural than the ST4. The difference is worth the fact that it is 2 1/2 times as expensive. I also listened to the more-expensive Helicon 400 and liked it even more. It seemed to improve on this speaker's already-great midrange and did not seem to exhibit the 870's sometimes overbearing upper bass. The bottom line is that Dali seems to make some of the best speakers that I have heard.

Strengths:
Overall musicality, non-fatiging high end, transparent neutral midrange

Weaknesses:
bass can be boomy on some rock material

Similar Products Used:
NHT ST4 Paradigm Reference B&W 700 series

Price Paid:  $0.00

Summary:
The one word can describe this product : Perfect. Big soundstage, detailed, clear, mids and highs like real world, not soft, not hard just as it must be. And this speaker is also very loud. Bass is deep, shaking the world.

Strengths:
Everything

Weaknesses:
Nothing

Price Paid:  $4000.00

Summary:
Beautiful clear, detailed midrange and tweeter. Bass is deep. Overall balance is a little bass heavy but well-controlled at all volumes I've tried. Good dynamics, big soundstage and wide 'sweet spot'. These are 'coloured' speakers - some may not like minor cabinet resonances and lack of pinpoint imagery in lower midrange and base. Imagery is very stable though. Instruments can sound suspended in a soundstage rather than suspended in space - a matter of preference. Efficient speakers. Overall fairly 'laid back' speakers. Two main problems. 1. Unless the room is large and volume is way loud, the bass (anything from the big woofers) is SLOW. A 'driving' rhythm section sounds like it's following in the next street. They can make exciting music sound slow. 2. Woofers lack detail, have diffuse imagery and are not quite loud enough at the midrange crossover. This can be offputting when a voice or instrument near the crossover drops in volume and spreads with dropping pitch. These problems drag down an otherwise impressive speaker, and can make music sound squashed or muffled and lacking in life. (A couple of people I know agree about the ordinary bass - not just my ears).

Strengths:
midrange and high end are clear and detailed. deep bass. Color. Big soundstage.

Weaknesses:
Slow bass below loud volumes. A bit bass-heavy. Color. Need a big room - (maybe lots) more than 4m * 6 m, and lots of space.

Similar Products Used:
Onkyo TX-DS797 AV receiver (100W/ch at 8 ohm). Dali Boa cable Evidence C70 centre

Price Paid:  $2270.00 from Libbers Audio

Summary:
A superb loudspeaker with an immaculate finish ( especially the maple finish) Special feature is the glass top with the Dali logo. I have yet to encounter the profound bass in combination with a clearness is the upper regions. The stage (sweet spot with a full stereo sound) is very wide It performs very well in stereo as well in a 5.1 setting, in combination with a C-70 centre en two 470 rear speakers, giving a clear and well defined midrange sound without colouration and a crystal clear sound in the upper ranges. You need a powerful amplifier and a a large room to fully appreciate its qualities. (NAD-Bryston-Marantz match perfectly)

Strengths:
Uncommom value for money. In its price range 2000 - 3000 euro per pair unsurpassed

Weaknesses:
Why oh why does it still have plastic connection brackets instead of metal ones? Note: Please Dali why don't you manufacture a subwoofer in this Evidence series?

Similar Products Used:
Canton Karat and Ergo series ASW floorstanding speakers B&W floorstanding speakers