Dali Helicon 800. What components match with it?


An audiophile I met invited me over to hear his system. He recently bought Helicon 800 speakers. He had considered the Helicon 400 that Absolute Sound raved about, but in comparing the two, he said the 800 won, hands down.

I thought they sounded great in every way. Great bass, clarity, imaging, with a natural sound. The combination of a soft dome tweeter crossed high to a ribbon gives an open, airy quality. Plus the woodworking and finish are stunning. If you get a chance to see one in person, do so, as photos don't do them total justice.

He did find though that the Dali's made him hear that his amp was too bright, so he changed amps from an older Parasound to an Audio Research transistor. He also made cabling changes that he said made a tremendous difference.

Anyone had experience with this speaker? Does it require careful matching of associated equipment? How does it compare to the Helicon 400?
audiosoul
I own the Helicon 800 as a recent purchase. Mine are not burned in more than 20 hours. I have been told they take at least 100 or 200 hours, during which time there are continual changes, driver to driver.

Thus far, the Helicon 800 does many things well. They have a big sound but are not pumped up sounding or forward. They have a big soundstage that is not exaggerated, but well spread out, airy, and sort out detail superbly and in a natural manner. They are capable of playing quite loudly without stress or overload. The bass so far is very good, but I have heard even better. Voices and piano are very believeable and reproduced very well, without being pushed in your face. So, I would not call the Dali midrange forward.

I do believe that cables have a big effect on sonics in general, especially as you go up to higher end components. Thus far, the Helicon has sounded different with different cables. Some cables will provide a much better bass, a more present or more recessed midrange, and a brighter or less bright treble. Perhaps the ribbons will continue to change as they burn in, but I have a feeling that they give a transparent windowpane to the upper end. If the cables are bright, you'll get brightness. If the recording is bright, you'll hear it. Speakers with tweeters that have less extension and detail will probably be easier on the ear with bright and poor recordings, but they will have less detail and air. It's a matter of how you hear and what musical material you listen to.

Similarly, an amp with a hot high end is not a good match. I am using tube preamps with a Pass amplifier. The reason people really like tube amps with Dali speakers is that tube amps will give a less extended high end that is smoother, and this will be more complimentary to the tweeters. That said, I like my Pass amp on these speakers 90% of the time. Obviously, an overetched or bright digital player will probably not bring good results. There are many good sounding CD players and DACs out there, so I think anyone buying equipment at the level of the Dali will have digital units that have good treble response, not bright, grainy or unnatural. However, there will still be players that have a better synergistic match than others.

Again, keep in mind that I am basing these comments on a speaker that is still in the burn-in process.
Zear,

I use a Cal Audio Alpha as a source (nice DAC for the money) and a tube amp. I had the same results with cables. For fun I went from Audioquest Bedrock to Gibraltar (both dull top end with boomey bass), a double run of DH Lbs T-14 (clean articulate bass airy highs but a little thin)to DH Labs Q-10 (better at what the T-14 does best but still a tad thin), and stayed with Acoustic Zen Satori (balanced top to bottom, very clear top end). The Satori's brought out another layer in the recordings. I could hear the piano foot pedals being pushed by Diana Krall and the valves moving on saxaphones. Not bright or offensive at all.

Thanks,

Bud
Hi,
I have used several amplifiers with my 800's and would conclude with the folks that state that they are not extremely power hungry. I currently drive them wit a MAC402SS power amp but a tube pre-amp. This combination has given me so far the best overall results but you certainly get a sweeter midrange with an all tube set up. One thing that I have also noticed is that I know need to listen to them slightly louder and a bit farther away then before when I was using all tube amps (ARC). I am currently working on upgrading these to MS5's but get mixed messages about the need to do so. Some people say it is only worth if you also invest in top tier amplification Any opinions on this?
I've had the Halicon 800's for two years. I am running Cardas speaker cables and a Carver Sunfire Signiture amp, 400 watts/channel and bi-amping them. The sunfire has two output modes; with one closer to 'tube' sound' which I have going to the tweeters, and the ss amp output going to the woofers. I have found this combination to be very engaging; detailed; great sound stage, and very enjoyable. I like the balance of the rigid wood pulp drivers and ribbon/dome tweeters, other hi end speakers also use similiar material...don't get worked up in the hpye of berylium, or diamond, or ceramic speaker components. I think for the money; this Dali line is superb. You don't need to run 400 watts pc/ bi-amped like I am; they are very sensitive. Happy listening..
Since the Helicon 800 is 90 db efficient, I would agree that high power is not needed. However, if you want to listen in a big room at concert levels, wattage demands go up, especially if you want bass control.

I certainly don't use anywhere near the 250 w. into 8 ohms my Pass amp produces, but I believe that running amps at an easy riding level produces the best sound. What I mean, is that running a 250 w. amp at a constant 40 w. on loud music, with peaks to 150 w. is probably best accomplished with a 200 w. amplifier, as it is not stressed and the outputs will remain in their most linear area of operation.

There is presently a beautiful pair for $3800 on Audiogon, and since they retailed for $7150, I think that is a steal. I'm rather surprised they didn't sell in a few days. I think Dali is relatively new in the US market, so there are many people who are not familiar with their products.

I am still breaking mine in, and they continue to sound better. I do this slow, as I'm not one to waste preamp tube life and CD player life at burning units in.