DALI OBERON 5

The DALI OBERON 5 is the ultimate performer - combining DALI ideas, traditions and inventions. It's a compact and elegant floor-standing speaker, housing 2 x 5¼” wood fibre based woofers with SMC and the series’ wide bandwidth 29 mm ultra-lightweight soft dome tweeter. This slim floor-stander will surprise with its ability to deliver a deep firm bass together with a clear and well defined mid-range and airy high frequencies. The OBERON 5 will impress with its natural and lifelike reproduction of any music or movie sound track.

CONTEMPORARY DESIGN

The rounded edges and rustic fabric of these new DALI front grilles add a lighter and more contemporary visual look to the OBERON series. This look is enhanced by the elegantly shaped aluminium base mounted on the two floor-standing models.

PATENTED SMC

The iron pole piece of the OBERON woofer magnet is crowned by a patented SMC disk - minimizing the negative effects of the iron. The use of the SMC disk greatly reduces mechanical distortion, which lowers third order distortion. This allows for a longer listening pleasure, a relaxed midrange and a surprising amount of detail for its price class.

WOOD FIBRE CONE

The OBERON woofer features a wood fibre cone with a blend of fine grain paper pulp, reinforced with wood fibres, which creates a stiff, light-weight and well-behaving structure. In combination with a low-loss surround and spider suspension, this cone reproduces the micro details in the signal - unfiltered and with high accuracy.

EASY TO POSITION

The driver materials, crossover design and geometry applied in the OBERON series has been selected to achieve a wide dispersion pattern. This ensures a well-integrated sound, even when listening at a significant off-axis angle. An added benefit is seriously reduced harmonic distortion and diffractions causing frequency distortion. This is why all DALI speakers are not designed to be toed-in.

PRODUCT DETAILS

The OBERON 5 is the ultimate performer. A compact and elegant floor-standing speaker, housing 2 x 5¼” wood fibre SMC based woofers and the series’ wide bandwidth 29 mm ultra-lightweight soft dome tweeter. This slim floor-stander will surprise with its ability to deliver a deep firm bass. Together with the clear and well defined mid-range and the airy high frequencies, this speaker is at home with any music or movie sound track.

With the launch of the DALI OBERON loudspeaker series, we have picked the best elements from our current speakers and brought them together in a series that delivers on audio quality, looks and versatility.

We have made it easy to integrate the OBERON 5 into any room, as both the driver materials and geometry applied have been selected to achieve a wide dispersion pattern in the listening area. The same principles have been applied in the design of the crossover.

As result, you will experience a well-integrated sound, even when listening at a significant off-axis angle. This is important as you are rarely seated directly in front of your loudspeakers when listening to music. An added benefit is seriously reduced harmonic distortion and diffractions causing frequency distortion, as these will always be stronger in an on-axis response. This is also the reason why all DALI speakers are not designed to be toed-in. 

DALI OBERON 1

The DALI OBERON 1 is a ultra compact bookshelf speaker. The cabinet size enables an optimal balance between inner volume for bass performance and a compact appearance for easy integration - suited for smaller rooms, discreet audio setups or wall mounting. It features the same oversized 29 mm ultra-lightweight soft dome tweeter as its floor-standing siblings, and a SMC based 5.25" wood fibre woofer to handle lower midrange and bass. The OBERON 1 is based on the most innovative DALI ideas, traditions and inventions - united in a sleek compact design.

EASY TO POSITION

The driver materials, crossover design and geometry applied in the OBERON series has been selected to achieve a wide dispersion pattern. This ensures a well-integrated sound, even when listening at a significant off-axis angle. An added benefit is seriously reduced harmonic distortion and diffractions causing frequency distortion. This is why all DALI speakers are not designed to be toed-in.

CONTEMPORARY DESIGN

The rounded edges and rustic fabric of these new DALI front grilles add a lighter and more contemporary visual look to the OBERON series. This look is enhanced by the elegantly shaped aluminium base mounted on the two floor-standing models.

WOOD FIBRE CONE

The OBERON woofer features a wood fibre cone with a blend of fine grain paper pulp, reinforced with wood fibres, which creates a stiff, light-weight and well-behaving structure. In combination with a low-loss surround and spider suspension, this cone reproduces the micro details in the signal - unfiltered and with high accuracy.

PATENTED SMC

The iron pole piece of the OBERON woofer magnet is crowned by a patented SMC disk - minimizing the negative effects of the iron. The use of the SMC disk greatly reduces mechanical distortion, which lowers third order distortion. This allows for a longer listening pleasure, a relaxed midrange and a surprising amount of detail for its price class.

PRODUCT DETAILS

Given its ultra-compact size, the OBERON 1 is the smallest addition to the OBERON line-up. The cabinet size enables an optimal balance between inner volume optimised for bass performance, and a compact cabinet design suited for smaller rooms, discreet audio setups or wall mounting. 

Like its larger siblings, the OBERON 1 makes use of the oversized 29 mm ultra light-weight soft dome tweeter to handle the highs and detailed mids, while the SMC based 5.25" wood fibre woofer renders the lower midrange and well-timed bass. With the launch of the DALI OBERON loudspeaker series, we have picked the best elements from our current speakers and brought them together in a series that delivers on audio quality, looks and versatility. 

The compactness of the OBERON 1 makes it easy to integrate into any room. To achieve a wide dispersion pattern in the listening area, the driver materials and geometry applied in the OBERON 1 have been carefully selected. The same principles have been applied in the design of the crossover.

As result, you will experience a well-integrated sound, even when listening at a significant off-axis angle. This is important as you are rarely seated directly in front of your loudspeakers when listening to music. An added benefit is seriously reduced harmonic distortion and diffractions causing frequency distortion, as these will always be stronger in an on-axis response. This is also the reason why all DALI speakers are not designed to be toed-in. 

DALI OBERON VOKAL

The DALI OBERON VOKAL delivers a precise, clear and detailed sound performance for both your movie as well concert sound track. It is designed to be the perfect match with any of the speakers in the OBERON series for a complete surround system. It houses an 29 mm ultra-lightweight soft dome tweeter and 2 x 5.25" SMC based wood fibre woofers - combining technologies which make it possible to create a speaker that will render audio like a much larger model.

EASY TO POSITION

The driver materials, crossover design and geometry applied in the OBERON series has been selected to achieve a wide dispersion pattern. This ensures a well-integrated sound, even when listening at a significant off-axis angle. An added benefit is seriously reduced harmonic distortion and diffractions causing frequency distortion. This is why all DALI speakers are not designed to be toed-in.

CONTEMPORARY DESIGN

The rounded edges and rustic fabric of these new DALI front grilles add a lighter and more contemporary visual look to the OBERON series. This look is enhanced by the elegantly shaped aluminium base mounted on the two floor-standing models.

WOOD FIBRE CONE

The OBERON woofer features a wood fibre cone with a blend of fine grain paper pulp, reinforced with wood fibres, which creates a stiff, light-weight and well-behaving structure. In combination with a low-loss surround and spider suspension, this cone reproduces the micro details in the signal - unfiltered and with high accuracy.

PATENTED SMC

The iron pole piece of the OBERON woofer magnet is crowned by a patented SMC disk - minimizing the negative effects of the iron. The use of the SMC disk greatly reduces mechanical distortion, which lowers third order distortion. This allows for a longer listening pleasure, a relaxed midrange and a surprising amount of detail for its price class.

PRODUCT DETAILS

The DALI OBERON VOKAL is designed to be the perfect match with any of the speakers in the OBERON series to form a complete surround system. Delivering a precise, clear and detailed sound performance for both your movie as well concert sound track. The placement of the front-facing bass port on the front baffle supports different placement options in your TV furniture. 

We have united the best elements from our current speakers and brought them together in the OBERON VOKAL to deliver on audio quality, looks and versatility. The OBERON VOKAL houses an oversized 29 mm soft dome tweeter together with 2 x 5.25" SMC based wood fibre woofers - supported by the front-facing bass port, which makes the center speaker easy to place. For these reasons, it's the perfect choice for surround setups. 

To achieve a wide dispersion pattern in the listening area, the driver materials and geometry applied have been carefully selected. The same principles have been applied in the design of the crossover. As result, you will experience a well-integrated sound, even when listening at a significant off-axis angle. This is important as you are rarely seated directly in front of your loudspeakers when listening to music. An added benefit is seriously reduced harmonic distortion and diffractions causing frequency distortion, as these will always be stronger in an on-axis response. This is also the reason why all DALI loudspeakers are not designed to be toed-in.

DALI SUB E-9 F

The launch of the DALI SUB E-9 F marks a new stage of what is possible at this level of subwoofers! The SUB E-9 features a 9” woofer, capable of moving lots of air with power and precision. The cone is made from pure aluminium for maximum stiffness and a becoming exterior.

HIGH-YIELD AMPLIFIER

All amplifiers in DALI subwoofers have the stamina to keep a high-yield performance and the headroom to draw out that little extra when needed.

FLEXIBLE CONNECTIVITY

All DALI subwoofers are compatible with almost any amplifier, receiver or processor due to the choice of LFE or LINE inputs.

ELIMINATE TURBULENCE

Appearing to hover above the floor, the cabinet is effectively decoupled from the floor by means of four polymer-based oversized spikes. The distance of 30 mm eliminates any potential turbulence from the space between the cabinet and the floor itself.

ELEGANT AND SIMPLE DESIGN

The cabinet is designed to fit perfectly to the size of the woofer, but without forgoing the inner volume that is needed to produce a powerful bass performance.

PRODUCT DETAILS

The launch of the DALI SUB E-9 F marks a new stage of what is possible at this level of subwoofers!

The SUB E-9 features a 9” woofer, capable of moving lots of air with power and precision. The cone is made from pure aluminium for maximum stiffness and a becoming exterior. Furthermore, the heavy magnet system wields a massive 4-layer, long-stroke voice coil.

All in all, the heavy-duty abilities of this “motor system” ensure that the woofer always follows the signal from the amplifier!

The heart of this subwoofer is the 170W RMS Class D amplifier with a highly linear response. Embracing a classic DALI trademark, it simply acts as a total low frequency extension of your AV system. The result is a powerful, wellbalanced bass reproduction and flawless integration with your speakers. In addition, the integrated limiter helps protecting your subwoofer against overloading.

The back plate of SUB E-9 F features controls for volume adjustment, phase, and upper cut-off frequency, while the power on/off function works automatically via signal detection. And with the options for LFE or LINE inputs, this subwoofer easily accompanies any AV set up.

SUB E-9 F is elevated from the floor by cone shaped rubber feet, while a down-firing bass port allows positioning directly against the wall.

The DALI SUB E-9 F is recommended as compliment to the compact models of the OBERON, SPEKTOR, ZENSOR and FAZON series. On top of this it is compatible with all DALI loudspeakers as the perfect completion of a DALI stereo or surround set up.

DALI OBERON 5 SPECS
Product series    OBERON
Frequency Range (+/-3 dB) [Hz]    39 - 26,000
Sensitivity (2,83 V/1 m) [dB]    88
Nominal Impedance [ohms]    6
Maximum SPL [dB]    108
Recommended Amplifier Power [W]    30 - 150
Crossover Frequency [Hz]    2,400
Crossover Principle    2-way
High frequency driver, Quantity    1 x 29 mm
High frequency driver, Diaphragm type    Soft Textile Dome
Low frequency driver, Quantity    2 X 5.25"
Low frequency driver, Diaphragm type    Wood Fibre Cone
Enclosure type    Bass Reflex
Bass Reflex Tuning Frequency [Hz]    43
Connection Input    Single Wire
Recommended Placement    Floor
Recommended Distance From Wall [cm]    15 - 80
Dimensions With Base (HxWxD) [mm]    830 x 162 x 283
Accessories Included    Manual
Rubber Feet
Spikes
Front Grille
Weight [kg]    10.8

DALI OBERON 1 SPECS
Product series    OBERON
Frequency Range (+/-3 dB) [Hz]    51 - 26,000
Sensitivity (2,83 V/1 m) [dB]    86
Nominal Impedance [ohms]    6
Maximum SPL [dB]    106
Recommended Amplifier Power [W]    25 - 100
Crossover Frequency [Hz]    2,800
Crossover Principle    2-way
High frequency driver, Quantity    1 x 29 mm
High frequency driver, Diaphragm type    Soft Textile Dome
Low frequency driver, Quantity    1 X 5.25"
Low frequency driver, Diaphragm type    Wood Fibre Cone
Enclosure type    Bass Reflex
Bass Reflex Tuning Frequency [Hz]    50
Connection Input    Single Wire
Recommended Placement    Shelf or stand
Recommended Distance From Wall [cm]    1 - 50
Dimensions With Base (HxWxD) [mm]    274 x 162 x 234
Accessories Included    Manual
Rubber Feet
Front Grille
Weight [kg]    4.2

DALI OBERON VOKAL SPECS
Product series    OBERON
Frequency Range (+/-3 dB) [Hz]    47 - 26,000
Sensitivity (2,83 V/1 m) [dB]    89.5
Nominal Impedance [ohms]    4
Maximum SPL [dB]    109
Recommended Amplifier Power [W]    25 - 150
Crossover Frequency [Hz]    2,600
Crossover Principle    2-way
High frequency driver, Quantity    1 x 29 mm
High frequency driver, Diaphragm type    Soft Textile Dome
Low frequency driver, Quantity    2 X 5.25"
Low frequency driver, Diaphragm type    Wood Fibre Cone
Enclosure type    Bass Reflex
Bass Reflex Tuning Frequency [Hz]    46
Connection Input    Single Wire
Recommended Placement    Shelf or stand
Recommended Distance From Wall [cm]    0 - 50
Dimensions With Base (HxWxD) [mm]    161 x 441 x 295
Accessories Included    Manual
Rubber Feet
Front Grille
Weight [kg]    7.45

DALI SUB E-9 F SPECS
Product series    SUBWOOFERS
Frequency Range (+/-3 dB) [Hz]    37 - 200
Maximum SPL [dB]    111
Crossover Frequency [Hz]    40 - 120
Low frequency driver, Quantity    1 x 9" long stroke
Low frequency driver, Diaphragm type    Aluminium
Enclosure type    Bass Reflex
Bass Reflex Tuning Frequency [Hz]    39.0
Max. Amplifier Power Output [RMS watt]    220
Continous IEC Power Output [RMS watt]    170
Input Impedance [ohms]    25k
Connection Input    Mono (LFE)
RCA
Stereo (low-pass filtered)
Magnetic Shielding    No
Recommended Placement    Floor
Recommended Distance From Wall [cm]    10 - 30
Functions    Crossover Frequency
Phase Switch
Standby (Auto Power) On/Off Switch
Volume (Gain)
Max. Power Consumption [W]    250
Dimensions With Base (HxWxD) [mm]    307 x 288 x 311
Accessories Included    Manual
Weight [kg]    11.0

Dali Oberon 5 5.1 Speaker Package review

What Hi-Fi? Awards 2021 winner. A stylish, pleasant-sounding home cinema speaker package Tested at £1699

By What Hi-Fi? published October 04, 2021

Home cinema speakers are about lifting your home entertainment onto a higher plane of existence. It’s all there on your video content just waiting to be unlocked: a beautiful soundtrack, clean dialogue, big-hitting bass and surround sound effects all projected onto a soundstage with you at the centre. 

All you need is a great package to unlock it. Could that be the Dali Oberon 5 5.1 Speaker Package?

Build and compatibility

Upfront are the Award-winning Dali Oberon 5 floorstanders. The surrounds are either the five-star Dali Oberon 1 standmounters (£1699), which is the package we're testing, or the compact Dali On-Wall speakers (£1799). Either way, they have tidy MDF cabinets, with a choice of Black Ash, White, Dark Walnut and Light Oak finishes.

We feel rather blessed to be sat in the middle of the beautiful two-tone light oak options which are attractive, subtle, modern and the kind of speakers that would suit most rooms. 

At just 83cm tall, the two-way front pair is as unobtrusive a set of floorstanders as you’ll find. They’re significantly smaller in every dimension than its main speaker package rivals, the Elac Debut 2.0 Home Theatre System and Q Acoustics 3050i Cinema Pack – and that’s well worth considering if you have limited space in which to house your 5.1 system.

The Oberon 5s have a fairly large and lightweight 29mm soft dome tweeter, and that allows it to dip into lower frequencies to help integrate itself with the sound coming from the woofers.

Those two 13cm mid/bass drivers are made from Dali’s wood fibre/fine grain paper pulp choice of cone material, which the company believes is the best available balance between rigidity and low resonance. 

They’re positioned within a low-loss surround using spider suspension to focus on micro details with maximum transparency. All three units within each speaker are linked with a single-wired two-way crossover, giving a sensitivity of 88dB/W/m and a nominal impedance of 6 ohms.

It’s a similar story for the shoebox-sized Oberon 1 surround speakers. There’s just the one midrange driver here, and Dali has made these standmounters as versatile as possible by adding a wall-mounting attachment. 

While they sound better than most hung like this, we’d recommend setting them around 30cm into the room for maximum clarity. 

One of the key make-or-break battlegrounds of a speaker package is the centre and it’s the Oberon Vokal that is tasked with that job here. 

It has the same selection of drivers as the floorstanders arranged with the tweeter in the middle and the front-facing bass port just underneath. That arrangement has been chosen to help achieve a wider dispersion pattern and make positioning less fussy.

Last but not least, is the subwoofer. It’s a Dali Sub E9-F, which is a relatively small cube that comes in Black Ash, White or Light Walnut. An aluminium-coned, 23cm woofer sits inside the MDF enclosure which itself sits 3cm off the floor, thanks to some rubber legs, creating enough space for a downward-firing bass vent to work its magic.

It’s powered by a 170W RMS Class D amplifier and has a heavy magnet motor system with a four-layered, long-stroke voice coil designed to keep the cone up to speed with the amp’s signal. There are controls around the back for fine-tuning the speaker to your room with dials for gain and crossover.

Sound

We fire up the projector and head to Deadpool on 4K Blu-ray. The film opens up with the kind of scene that puts home cinema sound through its paces. It’s chaotic – with explosions, dialogue, cars zooming left and right, and plenty of thumps and amusing details as henchmen meet their grisly ends. The Dali Oberons perform the job admirably.

There’s a beautiful rasping quality to a motorcycle as it zips across the picture trying to avoid a tumbling vehicle pile-up. It shifts across the soundstage in a wonderfully integrated fashion and, like the rest of the moving action, we’re never aware of the sound passing from speaker to speaker but more through the space around us which is exactly how home cinema should be.

There’s surprising authority and power to this relatively diminutive package as well; not as much as the crowd-pleasing Q Acoustics 3050is, perhaps, but the Dalis hold their own.

The hits are huge as airborne vehicles slam into the road with terrifying weight and every bone-crunching punch sounds as though it has been delivered with super-human strength, but the details of twisting metal and the splattering blood aren’t steamrollered by the thuds.

Switching to dialogue scenes with Wade Wilson and we’re blown away by the way the Dalis convey the character in his voice. The dynamics and detail from the centre speaker give a fabulous sense of the roughness of his timbre.

There’s more credibility to the hard-boiled background of the character as the speakers express the cracks in his tone, which you imagine are caused by things Wilson has seen and done as a Special Forces soldier. The muffled quality of his speech through the Deadpool mask is good enough to hear the texture of the disguise itself.

There are incidental moments where the detail is not quite as fine and singular as with the more delicate Elac Debut 2.0s — a glass placed upon a table, the safety clicked off a gun, for instance — they’re all present, but not quite so beautifully three-dimensional. Instead, what we have with the Dalis is the best of both worlds, and a definite overall step-up in sonic terms.

While the sub can create quite the rumble with the gain turned up high, it’s best to dial it down for a more subtle response. At sensible levels, it still delivers enough atmosphere and tone. If serious weight is what you need, then you can always upgrade to the Dali E-12F with its 30cm driver.

Verdict

Lean, attractive, interesting and unfussy: these words are equally apt for both the aesthetics and acoustics of these clever performers.

The Dali Oberon 5 5.1 system presents every frequency in full, but with honesty and warmth that brings the best out of any soundtrack. They’re transparent but fun, powerful but subtle; we’d have them round to ours any day.

SCORES

• Sound 5
• Compatibility 5
• Build 5