A quality pair of speakers with an unfussy nature
View online review whf.cm/Oberon1
About the size of a shoebox, the Oberon 1 keep strictly to convention as far as design is concerned. This is a two-way, rear-ported design, like all the established competition. But look closely and you will find areas where Dali’s engineers have tried to eke out an advantage.
The tweeter uses a 29mm soft dome, claimed to be considerably lighter than that used on most rivals. The larger than normal size (most tend to be 25mm wide) means it can delve lower in frequency than alternative designs, aiding integration with the mid/bass and generating higher outputs with less excursion.
Much care has been taken with the motor system and managing the sound that comes off the back of the dome so that it doesn’t distort the forward output.
Moving down in frequency, the 13cm mid/bass unit uses one of the company’s trademark wood/fibre cones. Dali has long preferred this material for its low weight, rigidity and fine self-damping properties. The mid/bass and tweeter are integrated with a single-wire crossover. The lack of biwiring isn’t an issue for us. It keeps things simpler, and lets the user concentrate their budget on a single high-quality speaker cable, rather than spreading the cost between two runs.
The Oberon’s MDF cabinet is solid and nicely made, and at 27cm tall, these speakers are compact enough to fit unobtrusively into most rooms.
While these speakers sound noticeably more balanced than most rivals when used right up against a wall, if possible we suggest pulling them around 30cm into the room to make the most of their excellent stereo imaging and midrange clarity. As for partnering equipment, while we get good results with the Marantz CD6007 (£339) CD player and matching amplifier (£349), these standmounters have more than enough sonic stretch to justify the use of electronics as capable as Arcam's new CD5 (£699) and A5 amplifier (£749). That says a lot for the Oberon’s resolution and overall transparency.
Speakers this small are never going to produce loads of bass. Compare the Dalis with the likes of th
