DALI - Zensor 1 (Black Ash)

I don't usually take the time to review a product but I just have to leave a review for these DALI - ZENSOR 1 speakers: they just put a smile on your face when you listen to them. They are just amazing to listen to - their motto is "In Admiration of Music" and they are dead on! I really doubt you will find anything better for all around listening in the under $500 a pair market and probably you will have to go up to $700 a pair to really notice a difference in sound quality. I am using the NAD D 3020 with these speakers and it works perfect - we don't listen to music very loud, but it will go as loud as we want to go or need. Currently just using Bluetooth to stream to NAD but will be trying AirPlay for higher quality in the near future. Also will try USB DAC input on NAD at some point and compare different audio quality. I bought these based on wirecutter review and other reviews showing all the rewards they have won - yes wirecutter does currently recommend ELAC UB6 but they are to big and not as nice looking and wirecutter does say the DALI sounds just as good, is smaller, and nicer looking. I have read reviews online of comparisons between the DALI and the ELAC and almost all said the same they prefer the DALI's they put a smile on your face when you hear them.Update: Nov 7, 2016 - I am now using iPhone 30 pin digital audio out using an Apple to camera adapter to USB DAC on the NAD D 3020 and it is a lot better sound quality than iPhone Bluetooth to NAD. So iPhone is sending out digital ---> NAD USB DAC. It's gorgeous, significant audio improvement over Bluetooth! Will be testing Apple Airplay in near future.

The soundstage and clarity is quite breathtaking -- instrument and voice separation is perfect and expansive, and yet the total sum is a cohesive unit of musical sound; the best I've heard at this price. I enjoy the sound signature of these speakers more than any B&W speakers I've heard, even the $10,000+ speakers. Of course that's extremely subjective, but these speakers definitely suit me very well. Your tastes may certainly vary, but the DALI's are worth a listen. Comparable in sound signature to the Sennheiser HD650 headphones with a good DAC and tube amp, but with perhaps a bit more emphasis on the treble and wider sound stage. The treble is beautifully defined and is never fatiguing, even in near-field listening. The mids are fluid and crunch when needed for rock, liquid smooth when needed for other music. The bass is tight, accurate, and punchy down to the rated 53 Hz. I have these speakers paired with an SVS SB-1000 subwoofer for extra bottom end to the 20+ Hz range. They blend very well with that sub at a crossover of about 90 Hz. I had the speakers for a few weeks before the sub, however, and the sound was just so impressive. For information's sake: PC --> Little Dot DAC_1 (USB) --> Yamaha A-S301 --> DALI ZENSOR 1/SVS SB-1000.

Best small bookshelf speaker in class. Easily rivals $1,000 speakers. Although sensitivity is only rated at 86.5db, it still plays with lots of preciseness and separation of instruments at low volume levels. Mids are well defined. I notice a big difference in mids between Dali and Wharfedale speakers in this class. Also the bass. Oh my the bass. You can hear the vibrato when bass is bowing. When bass picks you can hear lower frequencies on the Dali than the others. High trumpet sounds like a trumpet. I love how Miles Davis horn and both Cannonball and Coltrane sax sounds on Columbia CD version of "Kind of Blue". They're in my room playing, man.I use this speaker in my 10x10 room with 7' ceilings. Carpeted basement cement floors with sheetrock over cement walls. Sheetrock ceiling. Speakers were 5' apart and 36" high, and my listening spot was 4'-5' away from them. Listened to at approx. 20% volume via Peachtree Nova 65SE amp and NAD C516BEE CD player.

I love these little gems. After moving to a smaller place, I really didn't have room for my big Polk Audio floor speakers, so I purchased a pair of the Sensor 1s, and I couldn't be happier. In my apartment, the Zensors are almost invisible, but they put out impressive sound, with good bass and treble response. They sound great when cranked, although to be fair, not as good as my Polks, but that's absolutely ok.They are pricier than some other speakers -- I liked the ELACs over at a friend's place -- but, in addition to the sound, I was willing to pay for the compact size. I'd buy these again in a heartbeat, and, when I move to a bigger place, i'll have a nice second pair of speakers to use in the place.

Saw these were on sale and decided to give them a try. Had them a couple months now and have been pleased so far. They are tiny and well built speakers, good size for a bedroom. I have always like the sound of paper woofers and a silk dome tweeter, they just seem more musical to my ears. For the current price I doubt you could find a better bookshelf for music.

I have had these speakers for 3 weeks and they have improved dramatically after running them in for approximately 50 hours. The sound stage is 180 degrees with great center staging. They are lacking in deep, punchy bass but are still able to reproduce realistic bass and drums. I have them sitting on speaker stands that are 26 inches high and about 6 feet apart. I usually sit about six feet away and am really blown away by the quality and response of these speakers. I highly recommend these speakers. FYI - I am powering them with an NAD D3020 integrated amp. The NAD has plenty of power to run these speakers.

They look good. They sound pretty good. But they're all about clarity, which would be fine, if they had enough bass to complement the treble. Unfortunately, they don't. These might sound great with a subwoofer though. Regardless of tonality, they don't have the holographic 3D imaging that something like a KEF Q300 does. The Q300 also have a warmer, bassier tonality with plenty of detail. So these really only have clarity going for them. I preferred the Q Acoustics 3020i to these as well - more balanced tonality, more bass.

So after my set of PC speakers stopped working, and I was left using an old incomplete system where one speaker was dead, I decided it was time to replace my speakers. I initially looked at all-in-one PC speaker systems, and at a much lower budget, but after some research and recommendation from others I decided to look at getting bookshelf speakers and an amplifier.After looking through my options, everything seemed to draw me back to the Zensor 1s. The only fault anyone seemed to find with them is a few people complained the bass response was a little weak (although in my experience so far that's not quite so - more on that in a moment!) and that didn't bother me since I intended to buy a subwoofer later to go with them anyway.I decided to focus my budget on the speakers, so that I could get the Zensor 1s, and got myself a cheap SMSL SA-50 amp to go with them. These speakers seem easy to power as the amp does just fine at pushing them to deafening volumes without clipping.So they arrived a little over two weeks ago, and I decided to give them a couple of weeks of use before I left a review, since first impressions can sometimes be misleading.When I first set them up I was using a rather cramped set up, a very small desk, with me only sitting a couple of foot away from the speakers, and all sorts of surfaces causing reflections around the speakers. Surprisingly even in such a set up, they sounded great, and I was immediately very happy with my decision to purchase them.It was more recently though, when I replaced my old furniture and got myself a nice wide open desk (as well as a couple of isolation pads to put the speakers on to prevent them from coupling with the desk) that I really got to see what these speakers could do. I was blown away by the quality. My only regret is not switching from an all-in-one PC system to some of these sooner! The difference is unreal. Music was previously just something to have going while I did other things. Now it's something I take time out of my day to appreciate on its own, leaning back in my chair, closing my eyes, and taking in the wonderful soundstage that these speakers produce.So I mentioned earlier that some people found that the bass response on these was their only complaint - and that I didn't quite find this to be the case. Well, when I set my speakers up on my first previous desk, I noticed the same thing: The bass wasn't quite as full. When I set them up on my second desk, I listened to the instructions in the manual that came with these speakers: Namely I didn't toe the speakers in, and I also placed them right up at the back of my desk against the wall. This significantly improved the bass response, and completely resolved the earlier issue I had. So if you do go for these in a 2.0 set up without a sub, and want to get more out of the bass, consider placing them against a wall or wall-mounting them as Dali recommends. They definitely sound great like this.I'm using these for my computer, so near-field listening, with the speakers about ~85cm away from each other, and me ~85cm away from the speakers, and it seems to work well, although I imagine if you're listening a bit further back and can happily space the speakers apart more then you'd get an even wider soundstage.This review is just for the speakers on their own in a 2.0 setup. I have ordered myself a Jamo J12 sub to go with them though just so I can get some of those lower frequencies when listening to electronic music etc.A couple of last things worth mentioning:- These speakers gave me my first ever experience of soundstage, so I can't really compare them to others in that regard - but they do a fantastic job. I can pick out the location of every instrument. With certain artists like Yosi Horikawa this effect is just astounding.- These speakers look a lot better in person than they do in the Amazon pictures. If you want a better idea of how they look, check out some videos of them on YouTube or pictures elsewhere.- If you need to get monitor isolation pads to go under these, the standard Mopads/Adam Halls are either too narrow or too wide, but these ones by Nordell are exactly the right width for the Zensor 1: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B01193YLR4/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1So when I originally set out to replace my speakers, I set myself a budget of around 60 pounds. Between this, the amp, all the cables, and now the sub, I've spent closer to 600, but I can happily say: Money well spent!So for anyone who has found themselves in a similar predicament: Way over budget, wondering if the upgrade from an all-in-one system is really worth spending so much more, my only response, is, emphatically, yes. Hands down one of the best purchases I've ever made.

Now is exactly one year since I bought Dali Zensor 1. And I said to my self that now I really should write a review.First visual impressionsI must say, once you unpacked them, they are looking even more impressive then on photos. So even looking at them it gives you already the satisfaction of good choice.What system I useMy intention was to build up the "desktop system" instead of just computer speakers, because I have really great passion to listening music even while a work on computer.I connect Dali Zensor 1 to:- Denon PMA-720AE integrated stereo amplifier (paired with AudioQuest FLX-SLiP 14/4 speaker cables)- Epiphany Acoustics Atratus II analogue interconnect cables (my first cables upgrade) are connected to Epiphany Acoustics E-DAC- with AudioQuest Tower, 3.5mm to 3.5mm Jack USB cable I'm connecting the DAC to the computerAs software audio player I always use JRiver Media Center in WASAPI mode.Everything is set on 24bit and 96kHz.Audio impressionsAlready with basic analogue interconnect cables such a QED Performance J2P (Graphite) 3.5mm mini-jack to 2 RCA analogue cable you can get impressive stable (balanced) sound which is total authoritative (in controlling) in reproducing any kind of music.But potential of DALI Zensor 1 speakers is really revealed once you get good cables as for example Epiphany Acoustics Atratus II analogue interconnect cables (anything in area between £50 and around £80).Right away I did get something like 3D presentation of sound (impression of holophonic sound https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holophonics rather then just stereophonic sound https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stereophonic_sound).But not just obviously more depth, deeper sound-stage, also more tight, as well smoother bass (that's was really totally exciting for me). On top of everything also more airy presentation. All together, obviously more present, full bodied stereo image.As well I did get more lively and dynamic sound. What is coming from my amplifier, as I know how my Denon PMA-720AE "should sound".All together I achieved perfect combination (according to my taste) of my desktop system, as I'm getting the stability (balanced sound and control), depth and "holophonic" spaciousness from Dali Zensor 1, the liveliness and dynamic from Denon PMA-720AE and just enough touch of natural (analogue) subtlety from Epiphany Acoustics E-DAC and from latest version of JRiver Media Center audio player (because the Denon PMA-720AE as such doesn't have enough touch of subtlety - he has more dynamic instead).Here I'm copying a lot of links from people who did make really nice audio-video presentations of Dali Zensor 1 in different genres of music, so that you can hear it at least on internet, if you don't have the opportunity to listen to them "in live" situation. So you can decide it for your self:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UxJLfnfEJHIhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gGt6I1b5Kpohttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V4IYdPWVFx0https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M45Mzs8Aawghttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dlw-ONaefGUhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O4S-q-j3CgEhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CJhrBaPQELghttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XQVsmJMoVhEhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=okU5Grvf1K8ConclusionsDali Zensor 1 are excellent speakers in full sense of this word. They are perfect for small rooms. Although I think they can be appropriate even for a bit bigger rooms, as they can go very loud, if you have enough strong amplifiers of course.Just please don't replace this speakers with subwoofer (!). These are speaker, capable of excellent balanced reproduction of music. They are not emphasizing the lower ("bass impact") neither the higher frequencies ("open bright impact"), as well they are not getting stuck in midrange. You are getting enough of everything, but not too much of something. They are very universal speakers, covering different styles of music. But they are not made especially just for one genre of music, like just for Hip-hop or just for classical music.If you like to have a lot of "bum bum" then get a subwoofer, because if you want a lot of bass of speakers that small, than for sure this would be on expenses of upper frequencies what will result in not balanced sound. So, if you are mainly listening to music with a lot of "bum bum", you should look elsewhere.As well here are differences in our personal taste. For example I love a bit "smoked" sound (like in smaller clubs or in rooms with a lot of wood), that's why I like Dali speakers in general. But those from you who prefer open bright sound (like in amphitheatre or in rooms with a lot of stone or concrete) you should look for something like Q Acoustics 2020i:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SGnwOrmQlA4They are obviously more open and bright than Dali Zensor 1, if you prefer this.But that's just matter of personal taste, as they are both excellent. It's just good to know what exactly you prefer. Avoiding blaming speakers for something what they aren't made for.Regards,Alex.

Ich bewerte dieses Produkt auf Basis des Preis/Leistungsverhältnisses.Betrieben werden die Zensor 1 bei mir an einem Denon AVR 1612, als Frontlautsprecher in einem 5.1 System. Getestet habe ich bis jetzt nur die Stereofunktionalität mit Music, hierzu wurde Cosmic Gate - Be your Sound und Stone Sour - Dying verwendet. Die Übergangsfrequenz vom Sub zu den Zensor 1 wurde auf nur 40Hz eingestellt.- Erfahrung bei Cosmic Gate - Be your Sound (Kick, Bass, Vocals, Stereomodulation)Der Song startet mit einer knackigen Kick und ein paar Percussions die präzise und sauber wiedergegeben werden. Nach kurzer Zeit gibts einen Break und die Baseline spielt mit, der Bass wird aufgrund der 40Hz Übergangsfrequenz zum großen Teil bereits von den Zensor 1 getragen, so das dieser knackig aber nicht übertrieben rüberkommt. Die unteren Frequenzen übernimmt eine Mivoc Hype 10. Ich habe hier mal mit 60Hz Übergang probiert, fand dies dann jedoch zu Basslastig weil mir dann Details verloren gehen - ist aber Geschmackssache!Nach kurzer Zeit kommt es nun zum interessanten Break im Song: die erste Stimmwiedergabe kommt rein samt Stereomodulationen und Effektsounds. Und genau hier spielt der Zensor 1 sein volles können aus! Weibliche Vocals gepaart mit Pianosounds und Stereomodulation fliegen förmlich durch den Raum, teilweise denkt man wirklich die Surroundspeaker wären aktiv gewesen, weil der Sound so flächig in den Raum transportiert werden. Man kann hier wirklich behaupten die Zensor 1 zaubern eine Bühne vor einem und man fühlt "im Song" - also keine Spur davon, dass der Sound an den Boxen kleben bleibt!- Erfahrung mit Stone Sour - Dying (klare Vocals, trockener Gitarrensound)Stone Sour - Dying geht los mit männlichen Vocals von C. Taylor, dessen Stimme bekannt sein sollte. Sie wird klar wiedergegeben, ein wenig Druck aber nicht zu viel. Die Gitarre im Hintergrund spielt in gleichartiger Range und wird ebenfalls sauber wiedergegeben. Manche 0 8 15 Surround Speaker hätten hier bereits deutlich versagt und alles blechern klingen lassen. Die Zensor 1 juckt das Ganze nicht. Interessant wird es sobald die Gitarren auf verzerrten Sound umstellen, der Bass einsetzt und der Drummer ordentlich reinhaut. Der Sound klingt voll, ein wenig mehr Druck hätte ich mir gewünscht - ABER: dies liegt eher an der Abmischung des Songs, denn auf meinen Monitorboxen ESI 04 Classic, ist das Erlebnis ähnlich. Alles in allem kann man jedoch festhalten das auch für Rock/Metal die Boxen ihr Können unter Beweis stellen und alles sauber wiedergeben!Fazit:Die Boxen liefern für einen umgerechneten Stückpreis von knapp 129,- ein sehr sehr gutes Preis/Leistungsverhältnis. Wer wirkliches Interesse hat von Satellitenboxen oder "billigen" Boxen auf eine fortgeschrittene Einsteigerklasse umzusteigen, dem kann ich die DALI ZENSOR 1 vollkommen empfehlen! Ein komplettes 5.1 System ist natürlich am Ende auch nicht ganz günstig und wird auch bei DALI ohne Subwoofer knapp 750€ kosten, aber dafür erhält mein ein System welches mit Boxen die von anderen Herstellern über 1000€ und mehr kosten ohne Probleme konkurrieren kann!Ein weitere Empfehlung spreche ich für Positionierungsmöglichkeiten aus. Die DALI klingen auch an schweren Positionen wie z.B. Wandnahe Montage extrem gut. Ich hatte diese u.a. in einem 12m² Raum getestet wobei die rechte Box nur knapp 20CM Hinten & seitlch von der Wand entfernt war, trotzdem klang der Sound extrem gut. Bei anderen Boxen hätte man hier bereits an Präzision und Volumen verloren.Klare Empfehlung für die Dali Zensor 1!

I love listening to all types of music and have quite a collection of old and new hi fi, some fairly cheap and some more mid range hi fi separates. I linked these via a pc audio card to Spotify through a Yamaha A-S500 amp. I find that streamed music seems more detailed than CDs.These are very good speakers, no doubt. They are crystal clear and give that sort of breathing feeling almost bringing the true musical rendering to life in your room. They do well with all music types from Paganini to ZZ Top. Instrumental music is detailed and accurate and very acoustic. High fidelity is for once an accurate label.Since writing this review I have purchased some q acoustic 2020i in white for the kitchen. In my opinion the q acoustics have a better finish but I think the Dali's have the edge on sonic performance. More dynamic contrast, is how I would describe the difference but both are very good speakers.They can handle bass and I think for most average people who like to crank it up a little, but not deafen themselves, these are probably bassy and loud enough, quite punchy.If you want to have proper bass which causes your ears to bleed, your organs to vibrate and the neighbours to complain then these small units simply cannot move the same air as larger more powerful speakers. However if you want excellent high fidelity and are happy with medium volumes and enough tight punchy base to get the idea then I do not think anyone could be disappointed. For their size they are very surprisingly powerful.They are well made, solid and have a quality feel with quite pointy corners. The covers are easily removable but so light and filmy I doubt you can tell the difference off or on.You cannot bi-wire these but can use either banana plugs or wire to connect them as you wish.At the price these are possibly the best small speakers on the market.

Hallo Leute,jetzt habe ich die Dali Zensor 1 seit ca. 1 Woche und bin ganz zufrieden. Der Aha-Effekt im Bereich des Hochtones und der Auflösung sowie Details trat nach einigem Einspielen tatsächlich ein. Allerdings Ernüchterung im Bassbereich. Hier sind die Boxen eben doch einfach zu klein, um mittelgroße Räume ausfüllend beschallen zu können.Ausserdem muss ich sagen, dass ich den Hype um diese LS nicht ganz nachvollziehen kann. Ja, sie sind gut (in den Höhen sehr gut) und ich werde sie behalten, einfach, weil ich auch keine Lust mehr habe, meine Zeit mit der Suche nach LS zu verbringen. Aber es sind keine Wunderkisten. Sie spielen (gemessen an ihrem Preis) sehr schön lebendig und bringen Stimmen hervorragend zur Geltung. Allerdings sind sie auch sehr analytisch, so dass schlechte oder sogar mittelschlechte Aufnahmen auch schlecht oder mittelschlecht klingen. Das hat Vor- und Nachteile. Ggfs. muss man bei schlechten Aufnahmen die Höhen- und Bassregeler bemühen. Dadurch, dass sie im Bassbereich auch eher Schwach auf der Brust sind, fehlt ihnen oft eine gewisse Souveränität. Daher kann das Hören manchmal etwas anstrengend sein.Also Fazit:Positiv- tolle Höhen. Stimmen kommen wunderschön rüber. Sehr natürlich. Viele Details, die man vorher nicht gehört hat.- Analytisch spielend. Hier wird nichts geschönt. Ich mag es so. Ist aber nichts für Jedermann.- Bass ist zwar zu schwach, aber schön knackig, präzise.Negativ- zu geringes Bassfundament. Daher oft nicht souverän genug.- Hören manchmal anstrengend, weil man sich etwas mehr Körper wünscht.Zur Unterstützung des Bassfundamentes habe ich mir noch einen Canton Subwoofer bestellt und werde damit etwas rumprobieren. Das sollte die nötige Souveränität und Mühelosigkeit bringen.Lieferung war schnell und Fehlerfrei.Viele Grüsse