DALI Ikon 5 Mk2 review

Capable floorstanders that can be squeezed into a tight spot Tested at £900

What Hi-Fi? Verdict

A capable floorstander, which you can squeeze into the tightest of spots

Pros

  • +

    Compact design

  • +

    impressive bass weight

  • +

    detailed highs

  • +

    excellent integration between midrange and treble frequencies

Cons

  • -

    Bass sounds detached

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.

If you’re looking for a pair of seriously compact floorstanding speakers, then the Dali Ikon 5 Mk2s are obvious contenders.

At just 15cm wide and only just over 80cm tall, the Dalis look dainty in situ, but this doesn’t prevent them from displaying impressive depth and bass weight.

Integration is between midrange and treble is spot on, too. This is impressive when you consider that Dali has squeezed four driver units into the cabinets: at the top, you’ll see a 45mm ribbon tweeter and a 28mm lightweight dome tweeter.

Beneath these sit dual, 13cm wood fibre cones.

Sparkly highs but disconnected bass
Detail is excellent, with special praise reserved for the treble. The highs during Aloe Blacc’s I Need A Dollar shine and sparkle, displaying a lovely crispness.

Low frequencies sound a little detached from the rest of the track, though; they can’t quite connect with the listener in the same way as the Ikons’ closest rivals.

These speakers are reasonably fussy about positioning. They’re front-ported, but don’t think this means they’re at their happiest hugging a rear wall.

Put them too close and although vocals get richer, the bass becomes overblown and boomy. We’d place them at least 20cm from a rear wall for the best balance.

Biwiring is best
They’ve been designed with wide dispersion in mind, though, so you don’t need to toe them in. We’d also bi-wire them; with the links in place the speakers sound coarse. Take them out, and they show much greater finesse.

They’re not the perfect compact floorstanders, but if size is an issue, then the Dalis will do the job very well indeed.

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What Hi-Fi?

What Hi-Fi?, founded in 1976, is the world's leading independent guide to buying and owning hi-fi and home entertainment products. Our comprehensive tests help you buy the very best for your money, with our advice sections giving you step-by-step information on how to get even more from your music and movies. Everything is tested by our dedicated team of in-house reviewers in our custom-built test rooms in London, Reading and Bath. Our coveted five-star rating and Awards are recognised all over the world as the ultimate seal of approval, so you can buy with absolute confidence.

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