Back in May we reported that the Danish speaker brand was teaming up with Lenbrook International aka Bluesound to make a new wireless speaker that uses Lenbrook's BluOS hi-res multi-room platform. But, alas, details were scarce.
All we knew then was that this “multi-room system of some kind” (as we referred to it then) would finally see Dali entering the multi-room arena, and that the BluOS would be "an extension of its upcoming wireless speaker solution".
Now, however, we have a name - Callisto (yes, sadly this seems to break the company’s trend of product names starting with ‘K’) - and a bit more info besides, thanks to the IFA website and some images that have appeared on Twitter.
While Callisto is the name of the second-largest moon of Jupiter, it clearly hasn’t been chosen to indicate the size or shape of the system, which comprises a pair of typically Dali-looking standmounts, a pair of floorstanders, and a desktop-sized Sound Hub, to which you connect your sources.
Much like the Wharfedale Diamond Active A1s’ arrangement, the speakers wirelessly connect to the Sound Hub – in this case over a 24-bit/96kHz connection.
Sources can also be connected wirelessly via Bluetooth or directly through the Sound Hub’s twin optical, analogue, USB and coaxial inputs.
The Sound Hub also appears to have a couple of neat tricks up its sleeve: an auto-detect input feature, and the supplied (Bluetooth) remote’s ability to communicate with the Hub even if it’s hidden away in a cabinet.
As BluOS is brand-agnostic, the Callisto speakers will be able to connect to any BluOS-compatible device – Bluesound’s range of Award-winning products, for example – on the same wi-fi network, in order to share music libraries and playlists.
The speaker architecture is more familiar fare for the brand, featuring a 16.5cm wood fibre woofer with a SMC magnet motor system, and a hybrid tweeter consisting of a 29mm soft dome tweeter and ribbon tweeter. Feeding the drivers is a dual channel 300W Class-D amplifier.
Dali will be showing off the Callisto speakers for the first time at IFA in Berlin next month, so naturally we’ll be getting a closer look, and hopefully a listen, very soon. We may even get a price. Until then…
Read more:
Multi-room music - everything you need to know
11 of the best things we saw at IFA 2016
How to improve your TV's sound
