Dali oberon 5 vs Q acoustics 3050i

[ianb]

Hey guys back again after research and soul-searching,
After deciding to keep my beloved sony ta fb740r amp and upgrade my speakers i was planning on running 2 pairs of wharfedales,I'd got caught up in the 4 speakers will sound awesome mindset! BUT I've seen the light! A pair it is. With a modest £800 budget I've come up with 2 different cost options, the Q acoustics 3050i's and the more expensive dali Oberon 5's. I'm looking for some advice if anyone has views/experience of either? I have a midsized lounge/ĺistening room. Obviously this is a massive decision and I'm the one who has to live with them but some views would be appreciated.

 

[robdmarsh]

I know the Oberon 5 and think they are great speakers. Much better than those Wharfedales you were considering Only galling thing about the Dalis is that they have gone up by £300 over the last two years! That's not inflation, that's rip off Britain! Look out for some 2nd hand would be my advice.

 

[plastic penguin]

As I own the Rubis my natural instincts are veering towards the Oberons but as I mentioned in the OPs previous thread, I don't have any memories of his amp. Only heard one in a Sony store about 20 years ago.

As always a demo is advisable.

 

[Gray]

With a modest £800 budget I've come up with 2 different cost options, the Q acoustics 3050i's and the more expensive dali Oberon 5's.

If you could find another £100, you could add these to your list - and maybe get Richer Sounds to let you hear all 3 of your choices.
BR08 is currently on offer for £100 below the original price (so may well go back to £999):

https://www.whathifi.com/reviews/triangle-borea-br08

 

[ianb]

Some great advice as usual,I've also looked into the monitor Audio Bronze 500's in the £800 range which is what I'm planning on spending any thoughts? I know the £800-£900 speaker range has some awesome units so if there's any other speakers I should be considering please I would appreciate any help and advice you have.

 

[plastic penguin]

Some great advice as usual,I've also looked into the monitor Audio Bronze 500's in the £800 range which is what I'm planning on spending any thoughts? I know the £800-£900 speaker range has some awesome units so if there's any other speakers I should be considering please I would appreciate any help and advice you have.

If your amp has the same tonal qualities to the bro-in-laws Sony multichannel receiver, I'm thinking Tannoy.

He has Tannoy satellite fronts and rears, so maybe something from the Precision ranges should be a good match for your amp.

 

[nopiano]

You can’t go wrong with either imo. I remember hearing the Oberon 5 on launch at a Bristol Show and it was terrific. I loved the looks too, especially the pale wood and grilles.

The QA are superb too, but quite a different size. Get your tape measure out! I own the QA3020i with the same tweeter and it’s as sweet as…

 

[plastic penguin]

You can’t go wrong with either imo. I remember hearing the Oberon 5 on launch at a Bristol Show and it was terrific. I loved the looks too, especially the pale wood and grilles.

The QA are superb too, but quite a different size. Get your tape measure out! I own the QA3020i with the same tweeter and it’s as sweet as…

Agreed. Both should sound the dogs. It'll come down to which presentation @ianb prefers.

 

[plastic penguin]

Perhaps Tannoys like these

Tannoy revolution XT 6F Speakers - Dark Walnut - With boxes. | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Tannoy revolution XT 6F Speakers - Dark Walnut - With boxes. at the best online prices at eBay! Free delivery for many products.

www.ebay.co.uk

 

[matthewpianist]

Some great advice as usual,I've also looked into the monitor Audio Bronze 500's in the £800 range which is what I'm planning on spending any thoughts? I know the £800-£900 speaker range has some awesome units so if there's any other speakers I should be considering please I would appreciate any help and advice you have.

If the Bronze 500s truly give the same as the 200s on a larger scale (and you have a larger room than I), they would be very worthy of your consideration.

 

[RoA]

Generally, the more drivers, the bigger the cabinet ... the more compromised the speakers at lower prices.

Jack of some trades vs good at a select few others.

 

[gasolin]

Oberon 5 has much smaller bass drivers than the 3050i, you should compare them to the Oberon 7 not Oberon 5

Why don't you get q acoustics concept 40 ?

 

[matthewpianist]

Based on my fresh experiences with them, I'd warmly recommend hearing the Acoustic Energy AE109 Mk2. They're a bargain.

 

[Al ears]

Based on my fresh experiences with them, I'd warmly recommend hearing the Acoustic Energy AE109 Mk2. They're a bargain.

Hear, hear!

 

[robdmarsh]

Based on my fresh experiences with them, I'd warmly recommend hearing the Acoustic Energy AE109 Mk2. They're a bargain.

Do you prefer the AE 109 mkii to the Oberon 5?

 

[matthewpianist]

Do you prefer the AE 109 mkii to the Oberon 5?

I like the Oberon 5s very much, and when I had them I was living in a different house so they were used in a different room. Overall I'd still choose the AEs because they're just so balanced and so engaging that I feel completely immersed in the music.

 

[robdmarsh]

How was the balance different to the Oberons? I know this may be a difficult question to answer when you don't have the old speakers there to compare but from memory how were they different?

I remember hearing the original AE 109 a few years ago in a shop and I thought they had a real charm. Great size too.

 

[matthewpianist]

How was the balance different to the Oberons? I know this may be a difficult question to answer when you don't have the old speakers there to compare but from memory how were they different?

I remember hearing the original AE 109 a few years ago in a shop and I thought they had a real charm. Great size too.

I'd say the Oberons are less neutral and add more flesh to the bones, whereas the AEs are tighter and more natural sounding overall. 'Real charm' is a great way to describe them and, unusually for budget floor standers, they pretty much do a disappearing act.

 

[robdmarsh]

I'd say the Oberons are less neutral and add more flesh to the bones, whereas the AEs are tighter and more natural sounding overall. 'Real charm' is a great way to describe them and, unusually for budget floor standers, they pretty much do a disappearing act.

Sound like my kind of speakers.

Are you into streaming? If you are, then you've got to hear an ifi One Zen signature. Wow!

 

[matthewpianist]

Sound like my kind of speakers.

Are you into streaming? If you are, then you've got to hear an ifi One Zen signature. Wow!

I tend to use streaming for trying out new music pre-purchase or when I'm too comfortable to get the CD. I'll give the One Zen Sig a look, thanks. I like my iFi phono stage very much.

 

[robdmarsh]

I grew up with vinyl of course (I'm 58) and I've got loads of CDs, but since I've discovered how good streaming can be I don't miss either. A good streaming service with a good amp and DAC (not sure if you need a dedicated streamer, in fact I would say no you don't) is good enough for me. I discover a lot of new music with streaming and even though I'm of "that generation" I don't feel compelled to have to own the physical media. Maybe it would be nice one day to buy a decent CD transport and hear things in my collection that I cannot find through streaming. But I'm not super bothered.

 

[Mark McC]

Hi ianb, can l ask which speakers you ended up going for? I'm looking for a set (my first) and at the moment....after lots of chopping and changing my mind.... think it's a choice between the Oberon 5s and the Q Aquostics 3050i.

Would be interested in any other opinions too. My main driver is playing vinyl although l am considering buying a Cyrus One Amp so l can stream Deezer through the system too. That feels like a neat option where l can play records and stream with just a turntable, the Cyrus amp and the speakers.

At the moment l have two Gen1 Sonos Play5s. They sound great but l want something to play vinyl. I go to lots of gigs and usually buy a record from the artist merch table so l've got a few....but at the moment nothing to play them on!

My other option is to go with a non-streaming amp such as the Marantz 6007 for vinyl and to keep the Play5s for digital. That means more kit in my lounge but there's probably no point me ditching the Sonos for the Cyrus if the sound quality for Deezer will be no better.

Have a great New Year, all

Mark

 

[ianb]

HI mark

Hi ianb, can l ask which speakers you ended up going for? I'm looking for a set (my first) and at the moment....after lots of chopping and changing my mind.... think it's a choice between the Oberon 5s and the Q Aquostics 3050i.

Would be interested in any other opinions too. My main driver is playing vinyl although l am considering buying a Cyrus One Amp so l can stream Deezer through the system too. That feels like a neat option where l can play records and stream with just a turntable, the Cyrus amp and the speakers.

At the moment l have two Gen1 Sonos Play5s. They sound great but l want something to play vinyl. I go to lots of gigs and usually buy a record from the artist merch table so l've got a few....but at the moment nothing to play them on!

My other option is to go with a non-streaming amp such as the Marantz 6007 for vinyl and to keep the Play5s for digital. That means more kit in my lounge but there's probably no point me ditching the Sonos for the Cyrus if the sound quality for Deezer will be no better.

Have a great New Year, all

Mark

Hi ianb, can l ask which speakers you ended up going for? I'm looking for a set (my first) and at the moment....after lots of chopping and changing my mind.... think it's a choice between the Oberon 5s and the Q Aquostics 3050i.

Would be interested in any other opinions too. My main driver is playing vinyl although l am considering buying a Cyrus One Amp so l can stream Deezer through the system too. That feels like a neat option where l can play records and stream with just a turntable, the Cyrus amp and the speakers.

At the moment l have two Gen1 Sonos Play5s. They sound great but l want something to play vinyl. I go to lots of gigs and usually buy a record from the artist merch table so l've got a few....but at the moment nothing to play them on!

My other option is to go with a non-streaming amp such as the Marantz 6007 for vinyl and to keep the Play5s for digital. That means more kit in my lounge but there's probably no point me ditching the Sonos for the Cyrus if the sound quality for Deezer will be no better.

Have a great New Year, all

Mark

 

[Al ears]

HI mark

if you meant to make a comment it didn't work.....

 

[ianb]

Ii099

My other option is to go with a non-streaming amp such as the Marantz 6007 for vinyl and to keep the Play5s for digital. That means more kit in my lounge but there's probably no point me ditching the Sonos for the Cyrus if the sound quality for Deezer will be n

Mark
[/QUOTE]

if you meant to make a comment it didn't work.....ò

Hi ianb, can l ask which speakers you ended up going for? I'm looking for a set (my first) and at the moment....after lots of chopping and changing my mind.... think it's a choice between the Oberon 5s and the Q Aquostics 3050i.

Would be interested in any other opinions too. My main driver is playing vinyl although l am considering buying a Cyrus One Amp so l can stream Deezer through the system too. That feels like a neat option where l can play records and stream with just a turntable, the Cyrus amp and the speakers.

At the moment l have two Gen1 Sonos Play5s. They sound great but l want something to play vinyl. I go to lots of gigs and usually buy a record from the artist merch table so l've got a few....but at the moment nothing to play them on!

My other option is to go with a non-streaming amp such as the Marantz 6007 for vinyl and to keep the Play5s for digital. That means more kit in my lounge but there's probably no point me ditching the Sonos for the Cyrus if the sound quality for Deezer will be no better.

Have a great New Year, all

Mark

Hi Mark
Happy New year,I ended up with the Q Aquostics 3050i's running through a old but well reviewed sony ta fb740r amplifier and as one of my two main formats I listen to is vinyl so I'm loving my rega planar 3. I can't complain about the sound from my setup it's a perfect well balanced sound that I've been searching for,