Thread: THE LETEST Dali Ikon 6 SURROUND SPEAKER

THE LETEST Dali Ikon 6 SURROUND SPEAKER, does breed contempt, we haven't had much of a listen to our double-Award-winning Dali Ikon 6 package since it scooped top honours in our 2007 Awards issue. There's a certain reassurance to its performance every time we set it up, though - it emerges from our stockroom, it stuffs its competitors out of sight, and then it goes back in its boxes. And it's that time of year again. This time, though, we have at least had a slight change of perception. Before the B&W 683Theatre package arrived in our listening rooms, we considered the Dali system to be large - but compared to its British rival, the Ikon 6 looks almost compact. All except the sub, of course ¬it's still a 44 x41 x 45cm bloater. The slim, wall- hanging rear speakers manage to counterbalance its bulk a little. There's certainly nothing contemptible about the familiarity of the Dali's sound. Serving up the DolbyTrueHD soundtrack to Barman Begins (the best high-def sOlUldtrack we've heard so fa.r), the Ikon 6 set-up delivers fearsome cohesion and balance. From the barely-there atmospheric deta.ils to the crash-bang set¬pieces, the Dalis grip and distribute information fluently - effects are steered confidently, low-frequency stuffis clished out with controlled authority, and dialogue is granted space even as it's smoothly integrated into the soundtrack as a whole.Poise and deftness



The Ikon creates an expansive soundstage with insights on offer in every area. It's so poised and even-handed that it comfortably matches the B&W when it comes to detail and balance, but is more engaging and exciting when push comes to action-movie shove. They're equally skillful with music, too, which books their place at the class leaders' table. The drawbacks to Ikon 6 ownership are few: we've never been huge fans of the way the long¬faced double tweeter restrained. The same is true with music, where the B&Ws lack the sparkle of the best in this Group Test. Those traits are essential at times, of course, butevelY now and then (about every five minutes in the case of Barman Begins), it's necessary to sacrifice some refinement in the name of excitement. And that turns out to be a step too far for the 683Theatre. It might have the looks of an intimidating heavyweight boxer, but in reality it longs to be a forensic scientist.