B&W, Dynaudio, Dali or what else?

It was a year and a half ago, so I don't know how well my memory can be trusted with the details (as I was on vacation in AZ when I heard both and did not take notes)...

But with that said... I remember listening first to a pair of McIntosh XT-28s that I just was truly impressed by. Then right afterwards in the same room, the dealer setup the MS5s and played the same tracks from "Allison Krauss Live" and I remember commenting that the MS5s sounded flat compared to the McIntoshes by a long stretch. Pretty much I felt the female vocals did not sound right to my ears on the MS5s... I also was not particularly impressed with the bass extension (although it could have been the music played on them).

Next up was the Helicon 800s, and a saxiphone track played that was absolutely phenominal... I thought the Helicons were the next step up in the Dali line until the dealer informed me of the various price tags of the speakers I had heard so far. When I heard the price of the 800s, I thought that they were a great value for the money, whereas the MS5s just had me shaking my head. I finally rounded out the session hearing the Megalines that were superb, but way out of my price range. Still it was worth a listen, as they were remarkable speakers, IMO. All electronics were solid state top-of-the-line McIntosh solid state, BTW.

Bottom line is the Helicon 800s drew me into the music, and really had me tapping my feet, enjoying what I was hearing... the MS5s left me cold, just not interesting me. *Maybe* they were more accurate... If so, I'll take "less accurate" in this instance any day, as it sounded more like I would expect at a live performance. Oh, and they also did the Allison Krauss album better too...

---Dave

I would welcome you to my showroom in Jersey City, yes it will be a nice trip but in terms of the highest performing loudspeakers in the world I have alot of them.

I currently have the Dali MS 4 which are marevlous
I also have the Helicon 400 which are great but the MS 4 sound much better.
I have the Usher line.
I have the Von Schweikerts.
I have Escalante.
I have Acoustic Zen.

If it is out there and it sounds great and is reasonably priced it is likly I will have it.

I am open by appointment and I can accomodate any time that works for you including Sat or Sunday. So come on down I know we will be able to assist you in finding some really terrific speakers.

Thanks, Audiodoctor.com

Dave,
Thanks for the detailed description. One thing I want to add is that my 800's sounded kind of edgy and analytical for the first 100-200 hours of playing. Maybe the MS 5's you've listened to were brand new out of the box (my guess). This is sometimes the issue with demoes. The speakers have not been broken in (sometimes on purpose)and that gives listeners the totally wrong impression of how they really sound.

I would recommend that you find a Verity Audio dealer near you and schedule a demo. I auditioned them and Dali side by side last month and it was no contest. The Dali's reminded me of B&W, very forward and edgy on the high frequencies. The Verity's were more neutral, larger soundstage..basically to my ears more musical. The dealer assured me that they were broken in too.

Verity has some of the best speakers I've heard at their respective price points. Other speakers to consider would be Cabasse, Avantgard & McIntosh (the XRT-18 or above). All of those companies have speakers that have impressed me the first time I heard them.

to Matt Zak, I am a Dali dealer as well as many othe fine lines and I also used to sel the Verity Audio speakers.

There is no hardness of forwardness in the Dali's however, you can make them or anyother speaker sound shrill if you mismatch it. The setup you heard may have favored the Verity but I can tell you without reservation after having done this for 20 years professionaly that Dali builds some of the world's greatest speakers bar none! My friend Clement Perry of Sterotimes has the Dali Megalines which are unbelievable, but he has them meticulously well set up and he uses a sub.

I have the MS 4 with a subwoofer and they sound absolutly ammazing. The combination is around $16k but I would compare my setup with $25,000 speakers anyday of the week.

It all comes down to setup. I am using superb equipment, I have vibration control, I have room tuning gear, I have power cables and conditioners etc. High end is an art and you can not just switch speakers and claim one blows the other away without anylizing if your combination favored one or the other speakes intrinsic qualities.

I would invite you to hear my MS 4 and see for your self how good the speakers really are!