DALI SHOWS OBERON SERIES, NEW CALLISTO STAND-MOUNTS AND KATCH COLOURS AT IFA

Although it was the incredibly stylish Oberon series of speakers that caught my eye, it was the Callisto 2C (€2800/pair) that got my geek glands going.

DALI Callisto

The 2.5-way active speakers are loaded with a pair of amplifiers each (one for the tweeters and one for the woofer) using a DSP crossover to split the signal between the Class D amplifiers. The familiar wood fibre mid-bass driver is partnered by the classic DALI 1-2 of a soft-dome and ribbon tweeter. Naturally, you can hook the Callistos up to your system using the rear-facing analogue inputs. However, for those looking for a less cable-bound solution, there's DALI’s modular Sound Hub (€600).

The Sound Hub connects to your components via 2 x TOSLINK, 1 x coaxial, or aptX Bluetooth and then squirts the audio to the speakers using a proprietary wireless codec over the 5GHz band.

DALI’s Lars Jørgensen told me that the system operates at 24bit/96kHz and keeps the digital signal as I2S between Sound Hub and loudspeaker.

If you want to use BluOS, you can add a BluOS board which will use one of the two ‘upgrade’ slots. That gives listeners Bluesound-like streaming from both smartphone and desktop apps: Tidal, Qobuz, Spotify, vTuner Radio as well as Roon readiness.

Finally, as a neat party trick, you can control the volume of all the speakers (you can add up to 6 to the Sound Hub) by dragging your finger across the top of one of the loudspeakers.

The 2C is available in black or white finishes. There is also a floor-standing version, the Callisto 6C (€3600/pair).

DALI Oberon

The Oberon is constructed from a solid MDF cabinet and is available in four finishes: Black Ash, White, Dark Walnut and Light Oak. The matte black or white front baffle frames the oversized 29mm ultra-lightweight soft dome tweeter and the SMC based woofers. The Oberon also gets a new and optimised wood fibre structured cone.

The rear-mounted bass port ensures optimum integration within the room, and the elegantly shaped aluminium base gives the two floor-standing models a lighter look.

Additionally, the Oberon On-wall speakers utilise DALI’s unique on-wall bass port system. These are wonderfully slim yet deliver an impressive sound.

The contemporary look is finished off by the rounded grilles that are available in marshmallow white or classic black.

For more information visit Dali.