Dali Zensor 1s unnatural high end?

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Aug 10, 2019
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I read they were bright but hihats and snares can sound very fizzy and artificial. I measured my room with Arc room correction and it showed a big 4db peak around 10-20khz which mirrored the eq cut i've been using but in the . Just wondered if this is their typical response or possibly due to the equipment i'm using. I'm using a TC Konnekt 6@48khz connected via van damme cables to an Arcam Alpha One amp with direct on bypassing the tone controls.

Just surprised cause of all the praise they get. Not a big deal cause i can eq them but i've not read any mention of this anywhere, in fact the stereophile review describes them as 'astoundingly realistic' so am wondering if it's possibly something in my chain. Cheers!
 

matthewpiano

Well-known member
They may be revealing deficiencies in the amp to be honest. The Alpha One is an old design now and some way behind even today's better budget designs. I think the Dali tweeter is quite revealing and I think the speakers deserve better amplification. If you can get to hear them on the end of a NAD C326BEE you may be very surprised (but don't buy just on my recommendation, I'm just suggesting it might be worth a listen). I'm not familiar with your DAC so couldn't possibly comment on that.
 
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Anonymous

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Hi Matt. :wave:

Taking your advice as far as could right now i swapped out the dac for another and hey presto; overriding hihats gone! :grin:

I generally use the K6 cause it's converters are better but it has been described as harsh. The AK1 i'm using is darker with what i'd consider a recessed midrange but this does seem to match well with the Zensor 1s. Bass extends further as well. I knew there was some disparity between what i was hearing and what i'd read, i guess it shows the importance of matching. :)

The Alpha One was well reviewed in it's day and sounded good through my cans so i knew it was a decent sounding amp. Be good to hear them with something more recent so i'll have to get down to richer sounds at some point and check out a few others.

Cheers! :cheers:
 
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Anonymous

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I think some of the components in my chain could be upgraded but the biggest improvement has come from placing them on stands and a little bit of eq. I think they do err on the bright side but they are also revealing of the source. Placement and isolation is so important though, the Zensors sound so much better with a little bit of space between them. Really nice midrange. :)

And i think your right about the amp, i'm not taking it into account as much as i should be. ;)
 

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