AudibleFidelity

[iamthegruffalo]

Hi fellas,

Has anyone had experience of buying from these people as this package looks to good to be true......

http://www.audiblefidelity.co.uk/Denon_DRA_N5_CEOL_Piccolo_System_Dali_Zensor_1_p/dran5zensor1.htm

Looking at the denon and Dalis as a kitchen/diner sound solution.

Cheers in advance

 

[Al ears]

It does look a good deal and the Denon / Wharfdale 121 system looks even better but no I have had no dealings with this company personally.

 

[omnibeard]

I bought that exact setup, Piccolo and Zensor 1, from Audible Fidelity for a bedroom. Everything turned up on time and when a few days later I wanted to return the system, for various reasons, that was fine too, full refund and all. So in short they were great to deal with, but I don't like the Piccolo and Zensors together. Ho hum.

 

[iamthegruffalo]

Can I ask what you did not like about their combined output and had you auditioned them first and it was there siting that may have upset the balance?

Maybe one of the other choices of speakers they offer may have been better suited as a combo.

 

[Anonymous]

I've got the DRA-N5 with monitor audio BX1's in my daughters bedroom (10' X 9') and sounds really good.

Got the package from Music Matters for £359

 

[sogophonio11]

Purchased my audiolab kit from them. Brilliant service. Tough place to find, if you intend visiting! Its behind a car parts warehouse and is a secondary business for two enthusiasts.

Cheers

 

[omnibeard]

Can I ask what you did not like about their combined output and had you auditioned them first and it was there siting that may have upset the balance?

Maybe one of the other choices of speakers they offer may have been better suited as a combo.

For testing purposes I did a bit of box swapping. The Dali Zensors sounded great on the end of fairly hefty amplification (tried them with Pioneer A400, Onkyo TX8050, MF A1001) - none of the reported lightness of bass but a lovely detailed sound. However, on the end of the Piccolo they sounded thin and extremely bass light.

Strangely, or maybe not, the Piccolo sounded great powering a variety of speakers (tried them with Mission 751 and 752, and Acoustic Energy AE109 but not with my Monopulse). Easily powerful enough to make a big room filling sound in the space I was using (say 4m by 4m or thereabouts).

Somehow I felt that the Dalis and Piccolo just didn't work together.

I also had problems getting the Piccolo to maintain a network connection and Airplay was extremely sluggish. Both the Piccolo and the Dalis felt cheap to me, poor finishing particularly on the speakers, but maybe that is to be expected at this price point? They certainly do not stack up sound, looks or finish wise against a pair of s/h Mission 751 which can be had for half the price.

Audible Fidelity were a joy to deal with though, would definitely recommend.

 

[iamthegruffalo]

Thanks for all your replies. Looks like I should body swerve this combo. Still looking for a streaming option with an ipod docking facility, mabe I should look no further than another sonos unit.

Any reccomends guys?

 

[omnibeard]

Thanks for all your replies. Looks like I should body swerve this combo. Still looking for a streaming option with an ipod docking facility, mabe I should look no further than another sonos unit.

Any reccomends guys?

Not sure the Piccolo needs a body swerve. The guy at Audible Fidelity was surprised at the network connection problems I was having and from a quick google at the time I couldn't see much reporting of same from others. Having worked in various areas of IT for much of my life I'm pretty sure it was a genuine problem and maybe I just got a dodgy unit. Hmm.

What I found I also didn't like about it was its utter reliance on connectivity, not a problem for streaming locally, but living in the sticks means occasional internet loss which then means no DAB, no spotify etc. Of course that's my fault, it is essentially a network receiver after all, but I guess I just hadn't considered its limitations. However, when it was working as it should, it did power some speakers really nicely, much better than I was expecting from a unit of that size and price. The fact that it drove my Mission 751 so well makes me think you could chuck much better speakers at it than the Dali. If you're not after massive volume levels then it could do a job for you, but a bit of thought with speaker matching would prob give you decent volume too when needed.

If I was looking for something similar, and hellbent on box reduction, then the Marantz 603 would be the obvious choice, or the Onkyo 755 (?) although that has no airplay - easily fixable with an airport express though. Otherwise I would go s/h for separates.