Vienna Mozart or Dali Helicon 400 with YBA

I love the looks of the Helicon 400s but I am not as big a fan of their sound. I thought they lacked resolution in the mids and upper mids for their price.

I heard Mozarts at a Tweeter one time using a couple different amps (B&K and Marantz I think) and they did sound warm and comfortable. The treble didn't sparkle but they weren't setup quite right IMO.

Triangles (I am going out on limb) are rather different. They aren't quite as warm since they favor tight bass but the latest versions aren't bright anymore which makes them a little warmer than usual. I highly recommend the ESw series. I had a pair of Antal ESw in my system and thought they were killer for the money - smooth and clean with superb imaging. The Mozart will be better at soundstaging size but won't have the image precision of the Triangles. Depends on personal taste and system components as to which is better. Both are great deals.

Arthur

For piano, either the Mozart or even, a medium-level model fm Verity could fit the bill.

In any event, how do you describe Dali speakers vis-a-vis Vienna

Not Dali in general, but their small speakers vs the bigger Vienna and since you listen to piano:
The Vienna is like a Bosendorfer piano; the Dali is like a baby concert Steinway that's euphonically out of tune:)
Cheers

Aball -

That's EXACTLY the way I felt about Dali, they don't quite have revealing mid and high, period. When I demoed Helicon 400, I was actually unimpressed by them except the looks... And guess what, I am looking for Antel or Celious, they appear to be my liking. For now though, I think I will purchase Vienna Mozart Grand. I might as well purchase Vienna Mozart and Triangle Antal/Celious then!

Gregm -

"The Vienna is like a Bosendorfer piano; the Dali is like a baby concert Steinway..."

Yeah, I think I know what you mean, I think the reason why Glenn Gould preferred Chickering Piano over Steinway is like preferring Vienna over Dali.

I myself play and own a conservatry size Steinway. She sounds nice indeed but not too 'intimate' if you know what I meant (The Steinway is gorgeous and perfect for sure but... You see, a 'but' is still there... I don't know how to describe it but I wish, having a Steinway, I had a Yamaha, Chickering or Bechstein grand...)

At any rate, btw, if I were to choose between a baby Steinway and a concert size Yamaha, I would choose the latter without a second thought. A concert Yamaha is actually sounds very nice! So I guess I will give up Dali then.

Thank you all for your insightful comments. I now have to audition Triangle then. Do you guys(or women) know where I can find Triangle speakers in New York City area?
Best,

A Bechstein grand -- that's a wow:)

BTW, you might want to give Verity speakers a thought. They're quite good at voice and (to a lesser extent) piano. But you do get the feel of what you;re listening to -- i.e. a Steinway, a Yamaha, etc...

Hello,

I own the Helicon 400s and just went through a number of cable swaps. The end result is I felt the Dali's are VERY cable sensetive. I loved the mids and highs with Audioquest Gibraltars but the bass was "boomey". I tried a double run of DH labs T-14 for fun and low and behold the bass was tight, accurate, and abundant. Not boomey at all. However the mids backed off a bit. To me the Dali's mids are recessed a bit anyway so, the DH labs would not work. I wound up bi-wiring DH labs on bottom and Gibraltar on top. I works very well for me. I have not heard the Viennas. I'm sure you will be happy either way you go.