The Dali is a tremendous speaker in its price range that will probably work well with your equipment, IMO. I owned the 400 (not mk2) for many years with different front ends and it is tolerant of mediocre equipment, but responds nicely to a better front end.
Magico, Aerial, Dali
I have my next speaker upgrade narrowed down to the Magico V2's, Aerial 7t's, and Dali Helicon 400 MK2's. The only problem is I haven't heard any of them in my own system consisting of ARC LS17SE pre, and Bryston 4Bsst2 amp. I can get the Magico's for a decent price but they're still more expensive than the other options and the dealer will not let me demo at home unless I pay him. I thought this was odd and kind of turned me off to this dealer in general. Seems like for that kind of money in this economy the dealer should be willing to let a serious buyer demo at home.
I heard the 7t's on ARC reference and Levinson amps and was very impressed. Hard not to be with those kind of components. The Dali's are less expensive and I heard them on much cheaper gear but they still sounded fabulous. The dealer has arranged a demo later this week. If I went that route I'd have some money left over to buy a phono pre. I currently have the Aerial 6's and like their sound but they're not enough speaker for my room and if I sell now I can get the same amount that I bought them for.
Does anyone have experience with these three speaker's and/or companies? I am looking for detail, transparency, and realism. Any suggestions? Are the Magico's worth the extra money? I know it comes down to subjective taste, but is there a consensus on what the strengths are of each of these speakers?
I heard the 7t's on ARC reference and Levinson amps and was very impressed. Hard not to be with those kind of components. The Dali's are less expensive and I heard them on much cheaper gear but they still sounded fabulous. The dealer has arranged a demo later this week. If I went that route I'd have some money left over to buy a phono pre. I currently have the Aerial 6's and like their sound but they're not enough speaker for my room and if I sell now I can get the same amount that I bought them for.
Does anyone have experience with these three speaker's and/or companies? I am looking for detail, transparency, and realism. Any suggestions? Are the Magico's worth the extra money? I know it comes down to subjective taste, but is there a consensus on what the strengths are of each of these speakers?
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- 26 posts total
Minibox, As I'm sure you can imagine, the 3.7's are a much better speaker than the 1.7's. As it turns out, I auditioned the 3.7's and the 7Ts on the same day in the same room using the same superb front end. On the music I listen to, mostly orchestral stuff, I did not really miss the lower octaves that the Aerials bring to the party. I may add a couple of subs at some point, but its not a high priority for me. I found the bass on the Aerials somewhat tubby, but that could have been room placement issues. For me, there was something not quite right with the Aerials. The timber seemed off just a bit. The Wilson's hit instrumental timber dead on. I am sensitive to pitch and timber, to the point where something being just a tad off is a show stopper. The Dali's also got that right, as do the maggies. With respect to WAF, my wife thinks the maggies look cool, and they are in our living room, 5 feet out from the back wall. She hated the appearance of the Wilsons, and fortunately, I had the good sense not to show her the Dalis and Aerials, both of which are just drop dead gorgeous visually. Any chance you could audition the Dali 800Mk II's? I really worried about the 400's with orchestral stuff. In the end, you are probably not going to go terribly wrong with any of the 3 you are thinking about. |
Have you considered going with any of the higher sensitivity speakers? Your Bryston is a stout amp and I suspect would work well with any of the speakers you're considering, but conceptually there are limits to pairing low/mid sensitivity speakers with high powered amps. At least that's the thinking in some audiophile circles. I'm not sure I completely buy into this line of thought, but is interesting. Have you heard the Coincident loudspeaker? |
I had some experience with Dali Helicon 300 mk1 paired with a Bryston combo, i.e. the 4BSST power amp and the BP25 pre. The combination was not bad. Also, to me the Helicon 300 complemented with a sub were much much better than the Helicons 400s and more satisfying than the Euphonia 400. The Helicons are extremely beautiful (see my old system page). My wife still remembers them. However, while good speakers, you can find better speakers. The Focal Micro Be that I own now easily outclass the Helicons 300 (IMO). Have a look at Focal Alto Be for example. Also, you might want to check the new flagship series from Dali, Epicon. They are quite nice and sound very very clean. Regarding the Magico dealer, I agree with you 100%. I would definitively not give him my business. I do not have any experience with the other two speakers ... Best wishes, Paul |
If you like the Aerial 6, the 7b and 8b have a very similar sound and are a lot more speaker for your room. I have owned all three and still have the 7b. I believe the Dali MS4 is way better than the Helicon 400. I owned the MS4, actually replaced Aerial 8's with them, and a close friend had the Helicon 400 and replaced them with the MS4. |
- 26 posts total