Dali Ikon 8 - my thoughts

SniperREX
SniperREX Posts: 930
I bought these huge (73lbs each lol) floor standing speakers from Marvin (aka marvda1) a couple of weeks ago.

I have to say that listening to music is not my main hobby (gaming is, followed by movies and TV). So I have been actually downsizing my gear in the last few years.
I used to have a pair of LSi9, but when I moved to my new house I thought that for watching TV and some occasional movie in the living room, a pair of Velodyne small bookshelves speakers would have been enough.

Lately I decided that those puny speakers were too lacking for even casual music listening.
Initially I thought about buying a pair of B&W 685 s2 from Craiglist. I almost pulled the trigger on a used pair for $450, but in the end the seller seemed to be a jerk and the stands that I already have probably wouldn't have passed the WAC test lol.

I saw Marvin post in the classified for these beautiful floor standing, which I briefly saw when I visited him last year.

Given the very good deal that he gave me on them and after convincing the wife, I decided to buy them after a quick listening session.

I'm not an expert, but given the weight, the way that they are built and the MSRP, these speakers seem to be using solid wood, not just a veneer.
They are huge! (for reference the TV in the first pic is a 60" Pioneer Kuro)

I was surprised by how good they sound even when powered by a lowly Yamaha RX-V475 receiver. I was initially a little hesitant to pair such high level speakers to a receiver that is barely higher than entry level.

Luckily the Ikon 8 were surprisingly easy to drive and I guess they would sound even better with a good amp (maybe in 1-2 years I'll buy a high level Marantz receiver or some decent multichannel amp and processor).


These Ikon 8 go very low, but the bass is always extremely tight. I tried running them as small speakers, but they sound much better in full range (thus the Polk 505 is barely used).
The mid range is really sweet and vocals are really clear. I discovered some details in for example R.E.M. - Automatic for the People DVD-Audio that I didn't remember ever hearing.

The only thing that is not satisfying me completely is some harshness on some songs. I believe that my living room needs some acoustic treatment. I will probably install some curtains on the windows soon and that should eliminate some of the bad reflections.

I found myself listening to music much more now and at high sound pressure that I haven't really used before.

I'm really happy with my purchase :smiley: !!!


P.S.

I don't know why most of the pics are sideways.

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TVs: Samsung S95B 65" QD-OLED (den) and LG C2 42" OLED (office)
Receiver: Denon AVR-X3700H (den) and Denon AVR-X2300W (den)
SACD and DVD-A player: Oppo BDP-83
Mains: Polk RTi8 (den) and Dali Ikon 8 (office)
Center: Polk CSi5 (den) and Polk CSi3 (office)
Surrounds: Polk FXi5 (den) and Velodyne surrounds (office)
Sub: SVS PB-2000 (den) and PCi 16-46 (office)

Comments

  • marvda1
    marvda1 Posts: 4,862
    edited March 2015
    these remind me of electrostatic speakers, their sound is clear and clean, the bass is tight and not overpowering. you begin to think that they are bass shy until the music calls for it. i wanted to keep them but they were just sitting in the closet taking up room.
    i'll have to come by sometime, i can bring the unison research integrated so you can hear them with top electronics.

    most times i'm not that crazy about ribbon tweeters but the high frequency module of the dali consisting of a dome tweeter and ribbon super tweeter give the ikon some of the best high end i have heard.
    Amplifiers: Norma IPA 140, MasterSound Compact 845, Ayre v6xe, Consonance Cyber 800
    Preamp: deHavilland Ultraverve 3
    Dac: Sonnet Morpheus 2, Musical Paradise mp-d2 mkIII
    Transport: Jay's Audio CDT2 mk2, Lumin U1 mini
    Speakers: Rosso Fiorentino Volterra II
    Speaker Cables: Organic Audio Organic Reference 2
    Interconnects: Argento Organic Reference 2, Argento Organic 2
    Power Cables: Argento Organic Reference, Synergistic Research Foundation 10 and 12 ga.
    Puritan PSM156
  • Conradicles
    Conradicles Posts: 6,010
    Very nice speakers!
  • deronb1
    deronb1 Posts: 5,021
    Dali makes a good product. I think they are a tad over priced New, but good deal can be had on the used market as you have found out. Believe it or not, the Ikon is pretty much their entry level speaker. J7s5 above 5he Sensor I think
  • SniperREX
    SniperREX Posts: 930
    marvda1 wrote: »
    these remind me of electrostatic speakers, their sound is clear and clean, the bass is tight and not overpowering. you begin to think that they are bass shy until the music calls for it. i wanted to keep them but they were just sitting in the closet taking up room.
    i'll have to come by sometime, i can bring the unison research integrated so you can hear them with top electronics.

    most times i'm not that crazy about ribbon tweeters but the high frequency module of the dali consisting of a dome tweeter and ribbon super tweeter give the ikon some of the best high end i have heard.

    I didn't think these speakers were bass shy at all!

    Sure, I hope that integrated is not also top dollars lol.


    @xcapri79, yeah I didn't want to spend much on the receiver because I thought anything would have been enough to watch TV. I'll wait until the whole 4K standard settles down and I might buy a good receiver (I have a Marantz SR 8002 in my gaming HT)

    @deronb1, yeah, I'd never paid MSRP. Marvin made me an offer I couldn't refuse :wink: . It's hard to believe these are their entry level. I thought the Ikon 7 were among the floor standing.


    TVs: Samsung S95B 65" QD-OLED (den) and LG C2 42" OLED (office)
    Receiver: Denon AVR-X3700H (den) and Denon AVR-X2300W (den)
    SACD and DVD-A player: Oppo BDP-83
    Mains: Polk RTi8 (den) and Dali Ikon 8 (office)
    Center: Polk CSi5 (den) and Polk CSi3 (office)
    Surrounds: Polk FXi5 (den) and Velodyne surrounds (office)
    Sub: SVS PB-2000 (den) and PCi 16-46 (office)
  • marvda1
    marvda1 Posts: 4,862
    the 7 is now the top of the ikon line. they discontinued the 8.
    Amplifiers: Norma IPA 140, MasterSound Compact 845, Ayre v6xe, Consonance Cyber 800
    Preamp: deHavilland Ultraverve 3
    Dac: Sonnet Morpheus 2, Musical Paradise mp-d2 mkIII
    Transport: Jay's Audio CDT2 mk2, Lumin U1 mini
    Speakers: Rosso Fiorentino Volterra II
    Speaker Cables: Organic Audio Organic Reference 2
    Interconnects: Argento Organic Reference 2, Argento Organic 2
    Power Cables: Argento Organic Reference, Synergistic Research Foundation 10 and 12 ga.
    Puritan PSM156
  • Joey_V
    Joey_V Posts: 8,506
    I was there for the exchange of funds and heard a few songs I was familiar with on the Dali Ikon 8. I would say, they definitely do detail pretty good. Imaging is decently good as well. A little light on the bass though.

    I would not say they sound like electrostats, they sound like dynamic speakers w/ a ribbon augmented tweeter module.

    They have a very wide dispersion.... you set these up straight ahead and no toe in.
    Magico, JL, Emm, ARC Ref 10 line, ARC Ref 10 phono, VPI, Lyra, Boulder, AQ Wel, SRA Scuttle Rack, Bluesound
  • Joey_V
    Joey_V Posts: 8,506
    edited March 2015
    By the way Sniper - your system looks good and that 65"-er is well proportioned to the nice Dalis you got.

    Just to be clear - I thought the bass was "light" in terms of overall feel meaning that I didn't feel there was bloat. It was quick and on the spot as Marvin mentioned earlier. I think the speaker is a good one and I bet for the price (I don't know what it was) that Sniper got it for, it's performance is a steal.
    Magico, JL, Emm, ARC Ref 10 line, ARC Ref 10 phono, VPI, Lyra, Boulder, AQ Wel, SRA Scuttle Rack, Bluesound
  • marvda1
    marvda1 Posts: 4,862
    when i mentioned electrostatic i meant to say it reminds me of an electrostatic in many ways, light bass until called for, clear airy mids and highs.
    while the dalis were the opposite of the usher 6381's i still enjoyed them for what they did.
    Amplifiers: Norma IPA 140, MasterSound Compact 845, Ayre v6xe, Consonance Cyber 800
    Preamp: deHavilland Ultraverve 3
    Dac: Sonnet Morpheus 2, Musical Paradise mp-d2 mkIII
    Transport: Jay's Audio CDT2 mk2, Lumin U1 mini
    Speakers: Rosso Fiorentino Volterra II
    Speaker Cables: Organic Audio Organic Reference 2
    Interconnects: Argento Organic Reference 2, Argento Organic 2
    Power Cables: Argento Organic Reference, Synergistic Research Foundation 10 and 12 ga.
    Puritan PSM156
  • tonyb
    tonyb Posts: 32,902
    Very nice man, great pick up and great speakers. Throw some tubes into the mix and hear what those ribbons can really do. Rock on....
    HT SYSTEM-
    Sony 850c 4k
    Pioneer elite vhx 21
    Sony 4k BRP
    SVS SB-2000
    Polk Sig. 20's
    Polk FX500 surrounds

    Cables-
    Acoustic zen Satori speaker cables
    Acoustic zen Matrix 2 IC's
    Wireworld eclipse 7 ic's
    Audio metallurgy ga-o digital cable

    Kitchen

    Sonos zp90
    Grant Fidelity tube dac
    B&k 1420
    lsi 9's
  • Joey_V
    Joey_V Posts: 8,506
    marvda1 wrote: »
    when i mentioned electrostatic i meant to say it reminds me of an electrostatic in many ways, light bass until called for, clear airy mids and highs.
    while the dalis were the opposite of the usher 6381's i still enjoyed them for what they did.

    Gotcha. I thought you meant overall presentation. No dynamic speaker sounds like a stat. Atleast no non open baffle dynamic speaker.
    Magico, JL, Emm, ARC Ref 10 line, ARC Ref 10 phono, VPI, Lyra, Boulder, AQ Wel, SRA Scuttle Rack, Bluesound