In the course of upgrading my living room speakers from bookshelf speakers to tower speakers I recently compared my Dali Zensor 3s to a pair of B&W 683 S2s in my living room. As a result, I returned the B&W speakers and got a used pair of Zensor 7s (which I listened to before purchasing). In case anyone finds this helpful, here’s why I picked the Zensor 7s.
Background: My living room would be 15 x 20 (feet) except that the homeowner (I rent two rooms) put a bathroom in the corner. So it’s 15 x 20 minus a walled off 6 x 6 section. And it has a slate floor (mostly covered in rugs) and a mostly glass wall and a partly brick wall, so it’s on the reflective/bright side of things.
My amp is a PM 6005.
I compared the speakers by going back and forth between the A speakers and B speakers on the amp, with the Zensors set up on stands inside the B&Ws (not literally inside them, because that would have really hurt the sound of the Dalis).
Both sets of speakers were about two feet from the back wall and at least that much from the side walls.
Unfortunately, I did the whole comparison using Spotify (toslink into the PM 6005) since I hadn’t gotten Tidal yet and don’t have another source.
Pros for the 683 S2s:
I loved the bass on them; it had just the right weight and was really nicely controlled. The Zensor 3s had less weight and really struggled when the double bass playing Bach’s cello suites went low. Granted, that’s very low and it’s not fair to the Zensor 3s to put them so far from any walls. The Zensor 7s handled this fine, and I have no problem with their bass. It’s just not quite as impressive as the B&Ws.
The B&Ws were also able to stretch the soundstage a bit more than either pair of the Dalis without losing the middle. They also gave orchestral music a bit more (needed) weight than the Zensor 3s. Going by memory, the B&Ws were also a little better than the Zensor 7s in this regard. I also find the 7s a touch light in the midrange.
Also, vocals (not counting sopranos) were a little better on the B&Ws; Leonard Cohen (early albums) sounded fantastic, as did Etta James. But vocals also sound very good on both pairs of Dalis.
Why I returned the 683 S2s for a pair of Zensor 7s:
I got some listener fatigue from the 683 S2s. Granted, this was not helped by Spotify (Tidal seems better in this respect, but I didn’t have it at the time) or my room. That noted, I’ve never gotten listener fatigue from either pair of Dalis, even when I used Spotify, and I work at home and listen for both work and pleasure, i.e., many hours a day.
Solo violins and whole string sections sounded more natural on the Dalis. When a solo violin cranks up the pace, the Dalis do a better job of keeping up. And solo violins sounded more (appropriately) delicate on the Dalis.
I’m less sure about this, but I think I remember the B&Ws sometimes sounding a bit clangy with solo piano music, whereas solo piano always sounds pleasant (tonally speaking) on both pairs of Zensors.
In terms of impressions: When I was listening to classical music on the Dalis while working I often found myself stopping because the music sounded so damn pleasant that I wanted to just listen. And that was missing from the B&Ws. Then again, every time I put on a Leonard Cohen song at night with the B&Ws I ended up listening to the whole album even though I didn’t really have time to. (A cliché, but true in this case.)
I often find myself wanting to turn up the music on the Dalis, because I’m enjoying it and want more. (I mean that as a good thing.) Didn’t have that with the 683 S2s.
Anyway, I listen mainly to classical, so the Dalis’ better reproduction of violins tipped things in their favor for me. Probably for other kinds of music the B&Ws would be better overall. (They do a great job on the bass in jazz trios.) And maybe the listener fatigue would have been taken care of by a better source. Perhaps that would even make the B&Ws more natural and/or quicker on the solo violin, though this latter seems unlikely.
I’m very happy with the Zensor 7s. If I have a complaint it’s that I wish they had a bit more weight with orchestral music.
Wow. That’s a long post. Okay, I’m done.
Background: My living room would be 15 x 20 (feet) except that the homeowner (I rent two rooms) put a bathroom in the corner. So it’s 15 x 20 minus a walled off 6 x 6 section. And it has a slate floor (mostly covered in rugs) and a mostly glass wall and a partly brick wall, so it’s on the reflective/bright side of things.
My amp is a PM 6005.
I compared the speakers by going back and forth between the A speakers and B speakers on the amp, with the Zensors set up on stands inside the B&Ws (not literally inside them, because that would have really hurt the sound of the Dalis).
Both sets of speakers were about two feet from the back wall and at least that much from the side walls.
Unfortunately, I did the whole comparison using Spotify (toslink into the PM 6005) since I hadn’t gotten Tidal yet and don’t have another source.
Pros for the 683 S2s:
I loved the bass on them; it had just the right weight and was really nicely controlled. The Zensor 3s had less weight and really struggled when the double bass playing Bach’s cello suites went low. Granted, that’s very low and it’s not fair to the Zensor 3s to put them so far from any walls. The Zensor 7s handled this fine, and I have no problem with their bass. It’s just not quite as impressive as the B&Ws.
The B&Ws were also able to stretch the soundstage a bit more than either pair of the Dalis without losing the middle. They also gave orchestral music a bit more (needed) weight than the Zensor 3s. Going by memory, the B&Ws were also a little better than the Zensor 7s in this regard. I also find the 7s a touch light in the midrange.
Also, vocals (not counting sopranos) were a little better on the B&Ws; Leonard Cohen (early albums) sounded fantastic, as did Etta James. But vocals also sound very good on both pairs of Dalis.
Why I returned the 683 S2s for a pair of Zensor 7s:
I got some listener fatigue from the 683 S2s. Granted, this was not helped by Spotify (Tidal seems better in this respect, but I didn’t have it at the time) or my room. That noted, I’ve never gotten listener fatigue from either pair of Dalis, even when I used Spotify, and I work at home and listen for both work and pleasure, i.e., many hours a day.
Solo violins and whole string sections sounded more natural on the Dalis. When a solo violin cranks up the pace, the Dalis do a better job of keeping up. And solo violins sounded more (appropriately) delicate on the Dalis.
I’m less sure about this, but I think I remember the B&Ws sometimes sounding a bit clangy with solo piano music, whereas solo piano always sounds pleasant (tonally speaking) on both pairs of Zensors.
In terms of impressions: When I was listening to classical music on the Dalis while working I often found myself stopping because the music sounded so damn pleasant that I wanted to just listen. And that was missing from the B&Ws. Then again, every time I put on a Leonard Cohen song at night with the B&Ws I ended up listening to the whole album even though I didn’t really have time to. (A cliché, but true in this case.)
I often find myself wanting to turn up the music on the Dalis, because I’m enjoying it and want more. (I mean that as a good thing.) Didn’t have that with the 683 S2s.
Anyway, I listen mainly to classical, so the Dalis’ better reproduction of violins tipped things in their favor for me. Probably for other kinds of music the B&Ws would be better overall. (They do a great job on the bass in jazz trios.) And maybe the listener fatigue would have been taken care of by a better source. Perhaps that would even make the B&Ws more natural and/or quicker on the solo violin, though this latter seems unlikely.
I’m very happy with the Zensor 7s. If I have a complaint it’s that I wish they had a bit more weight with orchestral music.
Wow. That’s a long post. Okay, I’m done.
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