Denon RCD-M41DAB Dali Spektor 1 System £498
As we are concerning ourselves with the best-bang-for-your-buck music systems over the next few pages, it makes sense to kick things off with a micro system that has, in various iterations, won the What Hi-Fi? Best Buy in its class for a decade and more.
The Denon D-M41DAB introduced Bluetooth to the winning combination; but it did more than that. It improved the unit’s performance across the board over an already-impressive class leader.
A quick note on the model name. The Denon D-M41DAB is the micro system with Denon SC-M41 speakers included. This system is available at £399 – and if your budget is set in stone at £400, we would urge you to go down that route. We are impressed with the results the in-house speakers bring to the party. Invest a bit more however, and the results are, inevitably, greater still. The little Dali Spektor 1 speakers are a delight at less than £200, and worth the upgrade over the Denon pairing if you can afford it.
You get a good amount for your £319 with the micro system. A decent CD player sits alongside analogue and digital inputs (although the USB input from the previous model has now gone). And then, of course, there is the vital inclusion of Bluetooth; the feature that makes this a thoroughly modern micro. Now, then, you can stream from your smartphone, laptop or other Bluetoothenabled source, opening up the whole world of music beyond your compact-disc collection.
A leap forward…
The sonic improvements over the M40DAB predecessor are a clear leap forward. The whole character of the system is better, with a more forward presentation (in a good way) that is confident and nimble-footed.
There is an inevitable drop in sound quality from playing a CD to streaming from Spotify – but the quality of the output is still impressive and has no effect on the D-M41DAB’s sonic chops.
It’s not all about enthusiastic get up and go, either. Play something more delicate and the micro responds with grace.
…and a step up
As you might expect given that they are twice the price of the Denon SC-M41, the Spektor 1 speakers bring a signific
