anyone have an opinion on the dali helicon 400

I actually heard these speakers today. For my taste, they were much better than the B&W 803's or the Paradigm Signature ($6000, forgot model no) speakers. The B&Ws and the Paradigm definitely had a better soundstage - but these speakers had more tonal accuracy and were much more involving. I thought they sounded a lot like my Aerial 6's. What I didn't like about them was the top end (15K+ frequencies) sounded a bit bright. Probably has something to do with either their ribbon tweeter - or the fact that they were hooked up to Krell KAV seperates and a Krell Reference SACD player.

P.S. I'm new to the high end audio world - so in reality, I may have no idea what I'm talking about :)

I heard them at CES 2004 last year and were very nice, but that is not a true test of the speaker, you've got to hear it in your owm system. They did get a Golden Ear from The Absolute Sound in the Dec/Jan 2005 issue. I own a pair of Dali Grands(since discontinued) and am a true believer in the Dali line. The MS4's are awesome, although quite a bit more expensive.

I own a pair of Helicon 800's and I am quite pleased with them. I had them originally paired with Sim Audio P3/W3 amps but have replaced the amps with some ARC gear lately. The Solid State amps just made some recordings sound to harsh on the top end. They also produced to "much" detail, if there is such a thing. Now everything sounds very natural and live like. Great extension on the top end, good bass and wonderful mids. All that combined with a realistic soundstage and good coherence. If you have the money for the 400's you might as well audition the 800's too. I guess it would also depend on the size of the room you are intending to use them in. My room is 36 by 18 and the 800's have no problem with that.