What amplifier for Dali Zensor 1?

[admin_exported]

Hi Everyone!

I would like to buy a new budget system and move no further for a while (say in the next ten years ).
I have read excellent reviews (posts etc.) on the new Dali Zensor 1.
Do you think they would match the cambridge audio 350a amp? Or are they better with nad 316bee? (I am considering these)
I also have the possibility to buy the harman/kardon mas-100 speakers (only the speakers!) for a very low price. Do you think they are better then these dalis? (I think the dalis may go deeper and they are louder as well...) Would they suit the above mentioned amps?

What about the following combinations?

CA 350a + mordaunt short aviano 1xr?
NAD 316bee + mordaunt short aviano 1xr?

Does it worth it to buy the NAD 326bee, cos it has 2 sub outputs? Would it make it possible to use smaller speakers in a larger room (like 5*5 meters).
Actually I do not get the idea, why small speakers are not suited for larger rooms, when they are so loud even at moderate volumens.

Thanks for all your help!

Levente from Hungary

 

[Cypher]

The Dali Zensor 1 are easy to drive so the Nad c316 or Nad c326 will both work fine. The marantz pm6003 is a great choice also.

Never heard the Cambridge A350 so can't comment on that.

I use the Zensor 1 with a C326 amp...........sounds great.......speakers are really good

 

[Simon Lucas]

The Zensor 1s are the subject of the October issue's System Builder - so if you can wait until August 24th (sooner if you're a subscriber) we have plenty of tips and suggestions for you.

 

[Anonymous]

I will see the guide then! Probably the NAD 316/326 will be one of the good choices with the zensor... What about the 1xr?

 

[Anonymous]

I will see the guide then! Probably the NAD 316/326 will be one of the good choices with the zensor... What about the 1xr?

 

[Anonymous]

Hi Cypher!

I have read in a magazine, that pairing the NAD bee 326 can be tricky, cos' vocals and soprans are bit overemphasized by this amp. Have you already tried this kind of music on your system? Noticed anything problematic?

Can the bass be heard sufficiently, when playing acoustic music on your system?

Thanks!

 

[Cypher]

No such problems with the C326. I think you can pair this amp with every speaker there is because the sound is so balanced. The Dali Zensor 1 are great speakers but the weak point is the bass.......there is not enough of it. The speakers are small so it was expected but it's starting to bother me a bit.

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks! Have you tried to place it close to the wall? It is said to enhance the bass. In a not really purist way, you can use the bass knob to add some bass. Does any of that help?
If nothing works, you can still buy a sub. (Even two...)

 

[Lo Fi]

If you can afford get the new Rega Brio R it is a great amp and will give you scope to upgrade later

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the suggestion, but I am a lazy guy and need a remote. It's also over the budget. (twice as much for the amp...)

I have already listened a cambridge audio 350a + monitor audio m2 combo.

Maybe it is better not to experiment, if I do not have the chance to try them. I liked the sound, even if the review for a very similar speaker was not very positive. (Monitor Audio BR2, the speakers are told to be the same)

I have already seen a review for a beyerdynamic dt660, which gave only 4 stars, the treble and the bass not being sufficient, but I like it very much, even compared to its rivals.

Still, I am very tempted, would be nice to try dali zensor 1... ))

 

[Anonymous]

I would get the Monitor audio BX2's for best overall performance AND bass. The speaker box on these is bigger than the Dali zensors and they go down to 42hz compared to the dali,s 53hz. Also front ported speakers are far easier to place and we know this can make a big difference to the bass performance. I picked up some 1xr's recently and am driving them with a denon 2310. Great speakers and good punchy bass but the really low deep bass is missing as they only go down to 55hz. If you are on a budget I would pick up some decent speakers for around 100 quid and get a seperate sub and then you will never have a bass problem. Or get the MA BX2's which I think will probably will the what hifi award again this year.

 

[paradiziac]

Conventional wisdom says to spend more on the speakers than the other components. Yet in the system builder article mentioned above, it says that these speakers won't be out of their depth with a £1000 amp and matching CDP. Interesting.

But if the Zensor 1's are anything like the Lektor 1's, I'll vouch for this.

I've had my Lektor 1's with a Creek 4330 for a while, thinking they were "pretty" good for the £150 I'd picked them up for. Nothing really mindblowing. Then I recently played them on the end of a Sugden Mystro (RRP £1250) and Sugden A21a (RRP £1650), and...they blew me away! (sources were MF V-LINK/DAC/PSU + and modded CD63 KI sig Mk whatever...the dog's!). To be sure it wasn't just the better amp, I swapped the Lektors 1's for a pair of Harbeth Compact 7ES3s (RRP £2000). And compared both speakers. The Harbeths were superb (obviously)--more revealing and tonally accurate. But they didn't grab me. The Dalis were more engaging, especially with the Mystro--it really made them swing. At the low-moderate volumes I listen to most of the time, the Lektor 1's are ideal.

For people who question the bass, it's a matter of appreciating the difference between these small speakers and other larger, boomier budget speakers. The Lektor 1's do lack the ability to give that feeling of being immersed in the music that you get when a large speaker is moving large volumes of air. So if you're in a large room far from the speakers, the sound doesn't fill the room. You don't get that "thump" in your chest like you would at a gig. But instead of that, you do get a very clear, controlled, tight, tuneful and well-integrated bass that is in no way lacking. The bass goes as deep as any instrument. I logged on to one of those audio test sites, and could hear down to the "30Hz" file--same as the Harbeths.

It's worth taking care not to lose the bass somewhere else in your system and then end up blaming the speakers. I found that optimizing the DAC (separate quality power supply, galvanic isolation of computer, async USB connection), a suitable amp, and thicker-than-average, high-quality all-copper cables all help preserve the bass. And I think it helps to follow Dali's recommendation of hanging them on the wall (I have blutac behind mine as well).

On the question of a sub, if you get the rest of the system right, maybe you won't need one for music. You'd need a very good sub to match the speed of the Dalis, and that would probably cost you quite a bit more than the speakers themselves. From my experience, I'd buy a better amp rather than a cheap amp + sub.

If you find you do need some extra "thump", then probably the Dalis are, ultimately, not to your taste and you should get larger speakers in the first place. But then you'd pay a lot more for larger speakers with the same level of bass control.

I think Dali have hit some kind of magic sweet spot with their smaller speaker designs. I demoed the larger Lektor 2's at the same time as the 1's. I don't know if they weren't properly run in, but to my ears they just weren't at all in the same league as the 1's. The Dali Mentor Menuet (RRP £900) is also raved about, and it's no surprise to me that it has the same 28mm tweeter/4.5in woofer as the Lektor 1 (and a posh wood veneer finish!). (Zenzor 1 has a larger woofer and smaller tweeter--hmmm...hope they didn't upset the (IMHO) perfect balance in pandering to the mass market!)

Sorry if I've gone a bit off-topic. I've no experience of the amp/speaker combos mentioned by the OP. But I think I made the point firstly, to trust your own ears, and also that, if the Zensors are as good as people say (or as good as my Lektor 1's), then you CAN keep them for 10 or 20 years. If you do get some extra ££, upgrade the amp/source--unless you get bored and want to try something else, ha!

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks both of you!

I think I will not be a audiophile maniac spending half of my salary on hifi stuff... However, I will always be a music maniac, so I will spend an amount of money, that people would not usually do. I am reading stuff all about this interesting hobby, but even before I was not a bass freak, just liked balanced tones, without knowing all about it.

Still, I would like to have an amp+speaker combo, which will serve me for long years. There is the possibility to upgrade the amp later, so it sounds good to buy a good, but entry level amp and make it better later. I have already build speaker stands for myself, I will be using them.

Now I am really leaning towards NAD 316 BEE+monitor audio BX2 or M2. The latter is sold only in 'not so mature markets', it has the woofer and tweeter of the older monitor audio BR2. These are sufficiently big, so no subwoofer issue. I have already heard the M2 with cambridge audio 350a and I liked the sound. I will find an opportunity to audit the NAD with these.

What you guys think about it?

 

[Anonymous]

After reading through Paradiziac's comment again, I will try to find a way to hear the zensors. If they are capable to display a grand orchestra, then they will be my choice. I have already listened to a compact system, by Harman-Kardon, the MAS 100, which was good, but for me, they are better for smaller scale things, like jazz. (For general boom-boom music, they are adequate as well in my opinion.)

 

[Cypher]

Levente ; the Zensor 1 has not much bass.......even when close to a wall. Hopefully there will be a Zensor 2 in the future.

 

[paradiziac]

I think I will not be a audiophile maniac spending half of my salary on hifi stuff... However, I will always be a music maniac, so I will spend an amount of money, that people would not usually do. I am reading stuff all about this interesting hobby, but even before I was not a bass freak, just liked balanced tones, without knowing all about it.

I've been a music maniac (everything except opera and easy-listening) for the last 30 years and never bought expensive hi-fi, it always seemed too much of a luxury. Then last year a friend asked me to put together a budget system. I bought some cheap Wharfedale 9.1s for the friend and at the same time saw the Dali Lektor 1's (ex-demo--cheap) and there my "problems" started--my "mistake" was to demo the speakers with a fairly expensive CD/amp--so unfortunately then I knew that I wasn't getting the best out of them with my £30 amp off eBay...so be careful about your new hobby!!

On your question about Monitor Audio, I did in fact first buy a pair of BR2. Grating metallic sound in the treble and the bass just merged into an indistinct rumble. I tried to bung the ports with the provided foam but it didn't help much. But...at that time, my amp and source (and cables!) were very poor quality, so don't draw any conclusion from that! That said, the Wharfedales were still MUCH nicer on the same bad system--basswise "rumble" was halfway between the small Dalis and the BR2--Whafedale 9.1s are not expensive and definitely worth a listen if you can find any).

At the end of the day, if you've found a combination you like the sound of compared to other stuff in the same price range, go for it! If you're going to keep amp and speakers for a while, you need to hear both together before you decide, so yes you're on the right track to find an opportunity to listen first.

Don't rush your decisions unless you've got money to spare and don't mind buying/selling! It takes time to discover what you value the most--all hi-fi equipment is a compromize.

Good luck!

 

[Cypher]

The Monitor Audio BX2 are so much better than the old BR2 speakers. Totally different sounding speakers......monitor audio did a really good job