DALI Spektor 2 Bookshelf Speaker Pair Walnut light

Delighted with these - got them under £200 in an "as new" amazon warehouse deal, but even at full price of £230 they'd be a bargain. They look sensational, either with grills on or off - old school plastic pegs rather than magnetic - so potentially a weak point in that I've had pegs snap off in speakers of old. I got the walnut pair in the deal, but I'd be tempted by the white for full price. They are partnered with electronics costing way way more than these did, and they don't sound out of place.Out of the box they sounded fantastic. Imaging and soundstage are incredible for the price. Please note that Dali recommends you don't angle/toe them in towards the listening position, and i would agree with that. I have them spaced 2m apart, about 30 cms from the rear wall on stands facing straight out into the room and they deliver a really 3 dimensional experience.. Everyone's listening is subjective, but these are "mellow" sounding to my ears, crystal clear of course, but not overly harsh on the top end treble - but that's also as much to do with the electronics your using them with.It's worth talking about Bass. I've read so many reviews with contradictory opinions about the bass response from these. I am going to say Bass is fantastic - its not thunderous and pumping, but it has deep and clear resonance - play something jazz related and you'll hear the fingers plucking the strings as if they were playing live in front of you. I was thinking i'd need to get a sub based on others reviews about low bass - to my ears a sub is now not necessary and might actually be counterproductive as these handle the bass response so well on their own. Again all of this is room/ear/placement/electronics dependent.A bit about the reason for choosing these. We recently moved house, and my listening room is smaller than previously and I had a pair of Floor standing that were just to big for the room - room is now 4m by 4 m approx - (medium/small double bedroom type size) with fairly low ceiling as (2.3 meters) The floor standers just sounded muddy and confused and boomby when cranked up and thin and flat at lower listening volume. They sounded fantastic in a room twice the size with a 3m plus ceiling - but not in the smaller room. Do yourself a favour, if you're in a room of about 20 sq m or less, get a pair of decent bookshelf speakers like these, it's counter intuitive, but you'll get better bass and a fuller sound in the room from a pair of Dali bookshelves (or other manufacturer) than from bigger speakers. Bigger is not better here.There is a reason why these are What Hi-fi product of the year for their price bracket. I've been using Q Acoustics for years for my speakers, and whilst i still think they are some of the best speakers you can buy at the price point - I have a pair of small 2010 series - their smallest and cheapest speaker the time (£100) i've had for years in another room which I will take with me to my grave (they are that good for the price i paid), these Dali Spektors are something special - i include the looks as well as the sound - they are magnificent.

I have just bought a new house so thought it was time to invest in some new speakers. I am a bit old school (NAD 3020a amplifier which my tv is connected to) so didn't want to get bluetooth speakers or anything like that. I also didn't want to spend loads of money on speakers. As they will use mainly in conjunction with the tv, but also for listening to music (I connect my iPad to the amplifier sometimes or listen to my vinyl collection) I needed something that was versatile, with good sound quality, rich depth and clarity. These speakers tick all the boxes.I used to DJ so am used to hearing some of my music played through top quality sound system set up. Imagine my surprise listening to tracks and it sounding almost as great as when I was behind the decks. I tan through a brief selection of music genres (RnB, House, Soul, Reggae, Rock and Jazz) and everything sounded amazing.I am still running them in, so haven't had them loud yet, however, I can already tell they will be able to handle anything I throw at them.Build quality is solid and I love the walnut colour of the cabinets.If you are looking for a great pair of speakers to pair with a quality amplifier, that also won't cost you an arm and a leg you could do a lot worse than these.

Since my KEF Coda 7's have given up any hope of resurrection, I decided to treat myself to a new pair of speakers. I'm not in the market to spend a lot of money lately and after reading many reviews I decided to give these a go. I went for the walnut finish for a change. Although nice from a distance, the walnut print on the left hand speaker is misprinted and looks unfocussed. It really isn't a major problem and I'll probably be the only person to notice. Connections on the back feel good quality. I paired them with a set of Atacama stands and they look quite nice. I was very fond of the Coda's (They were special in their own way and lots of memories) anything coming after was going up against a classic.---These are lighter than my previous set. More airy and tight. Probably a touch more neutral than my other speakers, which had a dark resonance to them. These feel brighter and dare I say it, more immediate. I would imagine they will mellow out over time, but I have to give credit where it is due, these sound great. Sparkling upper trebles and crisp Bass. The bass is a little lighter than I usually go for, but a little EQ can sort that out....I am however also still trying out different positions with the stands too and to see how that affects the sound quality. All in all, I'm very happy and would recommend anyone looking for a budget set, to give them an audition.