Dali is an organization finest recognized for the hi-fi speaker techniques that may flip any area into an audiophile haven. Nevertheless, they do have just a few merchandise that help you take your hifi sound on the go. The Dali IO-8 is one among their few fashions that has gotten fairly a little bit of consideration, and at present I used to be fortunate sufficient to check it out for myself. At $900, the Dali IO-8 is a high-end mannequin within the Bluetooth world that’s positive to show numerous heads.
What Comes In The Field
- IO-8 Wi-fi Noise Canceling Headphones
- 1.2m USB-C cable (for charging and USB audio)
- 1.2m 3.5 mm mini jack stereo cable
- Journey case
Aesthetics and Performance
These headphones look pretty just like different fashions produced by Dali. The IO-8 has an all black look that’s modern and makes a worthy trend accent in addition to a bit of audio gear. The ear cups are barely smaller than most, and they’re comfortable on the pinnacle. There’s some weight on them that’s noticeable, however it is not overbearing and weighs you down throughout use. For lengthy listening periods or touring on lengthy public transit journeys, these are a wonderful selection.
Dali does one thing attention-grabbing and completely different from different corporations that make Bluetooth headphones. More often than not, you will notice headphones or true wi-fi earbuds that even have an app that goes together with it, permitting customers to customise and alter their listening expertise from the cellphone. Dali doesn’t do that; as a substitute, they put all of the controls you may want when adjusting your sound on the precise ear cup and made it a one-stop-shop for all of your controls. It is a intelligent method of creating it easy for customers, with tactile buttons as a substitute of sensor pads for contact controls.
Total, the performance and startup of the Dali IO-8 was very simple. Holding down the facility button instantly turned it on and enabled Bluetooth pairing; I related to each my cellphone and my pc. Listening started shortly after and I used to be analyzing the sound from the headphones.
Tech Specs
- Frequency Vary [± 3 dB]: 10Hz – 43,000Hz
- Headphone Precept: Closed again circumaural (over ear)
- Impedance (Passive mode): 25 Ω
- Full Vary Driver: 50 mm
- Connection Enter: Bluetooth® 5.2, 3.5 mm mini jack, USB-C
- Wi-fi Enter Audio Codecs: AAC, aptX, aptX HD, aptX Adaptive
- Battery Playback Time: As much as 35 hours
- Weight: 325g
Listening Assessment
Soundstage & ANC
Within the Dali IO-8, customers are given a large soundstage. I like getting immersed into my tracks and my listening, and the Dali IO-8 does an awesome job in doing that. The sound wraps round me and the accuracy of the imaging is sort of good. The signature leans in direction of the bass finish, no matter being in bass mode or hifi mode. The dynamic responses from the frequencies give tracks numerous character and coloration, which makes listening entertaining. I wouldn’t be utilizing these as a reference headphone anytime quickly, however definitely as an off-the-cuff listening one.
The energetic noise canceling is extremely efficient, and you may hear the variations between the assorted modes when it’s activated. It is positively noticeable once you get into the completely different modes. The ANC activated cancels out any noise round you, and the cross by means of makes your music and ambient noise mix collectively seamlessly. Even when the ANC mode is totally off, the design makes the ambient noise very muffled and there’s a good quantity of noise cancellation from bodily design alone.
Low Frequencies
As I discussed earlier than, the low finish is probably the most dominant a part of the frequency response. I opted to pay attention in hifi mode, because the bass mode was a bit overwhelming with the low finish. The low frequencies are very driving and take over a observe, letting all the opposite frequencies observe shut behind it. For the person who loves bass like myself, this is a perfect headphone to get that highly effective 808 kick. The bass sounded prefer it was proper at residence in upbeat genres like pop and rock, the place the low finish held a gradual beat to maintain your head transferring.
Mid-Vary Frequencies
The mid-range is excellently detailed and has clear distinction between all of its layers. The depth of this soundstage is most noticeable on this vary, the place vocal layers and manufacturing results increase outwards slightly than simply staying flat. Massive instrumental teams get numerous element and coloration as nicely, which makes a ton of genres a pleasure to hearken to. I used to be listening to “Corazón partío” by Alejandro Sanz, and I fell in love with the observe over again when listening to the colour of the guitars and percussion devices within the mid vary. Every little thing was excellently detailed and positioned within the area, it was like your complete band was in entrance of me.
Excessive Frequencies
The excessive finish will get numerous consideration and a pleasant energy increase, which may be very useful because it’s going up in opposition to a distinguished low finish. The brightness and airiness evens out the thick and driving low finish, and it even has numerous coloration that doesn’t get piercing or shrill. It doesn’t sound probably the most pure when it dissipates on the high, and the lower off tends to really feel a little bit fast and sudden which may be annoying to the educated ear. Listening to “TITLE TRACK (we will’t change this later)” by Damaging 25, the computerized results and manufacturing actually popped out with numerous nice element and readability that made the entire observe come alive.
Abstract
For $900, the Dali IO-8 is definitely one thing you need to be sure to’re going to like before you purchase it. When you like good noise cancelation and a driving low finish, these headphones could also be definitely worth the funding. The design is modern and is snug for lengthy use. Blocking out the noise out of your morning commute or locking in to do some work on the workplace can be straightforward with these, all whereas providing you with prime quality sound for over 30 hours. To know if they’re the precise ones for you, I extremely counsel giving them a pay attention and testing them together with your favourite tracks.
The Dali IO-8 is out there at Audio46 at present.
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