What Hi-Fi? Verdict
Dali’s Ikon 2s might be budget, but you’d never know it from their excellent sound quality
Pros
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An energetic performer that delivers great scale and insight for the money
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competitive price
Cons
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Not exactly pretty
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bass performance a touch too subtle
Why you can trust What Hi-Fi? Our expert team reviews products in dedicated test rooms, to help you make the best choice for your budget. Find out more about how we test.
Question: when is one tweeter not enough? Answer: when you're called Dali, and want to produce a mid-priced speaker to blitz the competition.
These are fun speakers of a high order. They play back everything from Schubert's Symphony No.9: The Great to George Clinton's funk-fuelled How Late do U have 2BB4UR Absent? with equal skill. Dynamics are given free rein, so crescendos are delivered with plenty of verve. Timing is crisp enough to satisfy, and detail levels are pleasing.
That twinned-tweeter arrangement works well, too. The pairing of conventional soft-dome and ribbon keeps dispersion wide – so toe-in isn't so critical – and ensures truly extended highs.
True, there's a touch of excess brilliance at higher frequencies, but this isn't enough to spoil the fun, and only becomes evident with aggressive partnering kit or overly bright recordings.
Impressive scale
The Ikon 2s are fairly big. The extra inches result in a sound of impressive scale, though not the most powerful. Dali deals with agility as opposed to sheer air-moving muscle, so if you like to both hear and feel your bass, others will serve you better. Having said that, if bass quantity really is crucial, you should consider floorstanders instead.
The Ikon 2s aren't particularly fussy about positioning, though a free-space siting helps to make the most of the Dali's expansive stereo imaging, and keeps the tonal balance even.
They will benefit from a good, solid pair of speaker stands – Partington Super Dreadnoughts or the similarly priced Kudos S50s will work well.
Take a little care, and the Ikon's can't fail to please.
