As you may have read in my November editorial over at SoundStage! Ultra, it’s been a busy, nutty time in and out of my listening room over the past couple of weeks. In late October, just before penning that editorial, I had to figure out how to receive the brand-new, first-in-North America Epikore 9 speakers DALI had just shipped.
I’d been dreaming about these speakers, having fallen deeply for the larger Epikore 11s when I reviewed them earlier this year. The 11s were magnificent in every way, but their physical size, and the copious bass they generated from their eight combined 8″ woofers (four per speaker), all pointed to them requiring a very large room. A room larger than most people can dedicate to audio.
The monstrous Epikore 11
I had my suspicions that more speakers would be forthcoming from the Epikore lineup; otherwise why bother giving the 11 its own specific number?
Just lop one woofer off the top, another off the bottom, and throw the whole thing in the dryer to shrink it a bit. That was my thinking after I’d returned the 11s to Lenbrook International, DALI’s North American distributor.
The news of the Epikore 9 introduction came fast, with Lenbrook’s Jason Zidle (Jay Zed) arranging shipping of a review pair within days of my first hearing about it. Problem was, I was heading off to Warsaw, Poland, for Audio Video Show 2024 just three days after receiving the review pair of Epikore 9s. With the Bowers & Wilkins 801 D4 Signatures sitting, sumo-wrestler-like, in my listening room, there was totally, absolutely no space for the new DALIs. And there was no time to arrange for the return of the B&Ws before my flight.
So, as I laid out in my editorial, I decided to install the Epikore 9s in my neighbor Rob’s house. This accomplished several goals. First off, I could get photos of the DALIs in an exceptionally cool setting. Further, Rob would get a chance to listen to them and break them in. And I owe him big-time for helping me wrangle the 801s into my room—and for buying me a ticket to “BEAT,” the King Crimson side project we saw on October 18.
But most importantly, I could get this article out right quick, get the scoop, and give you guys advance notice about these speakers, how they sound, and what to expect from the review. So let’s get down to it.
The Epikore 11 is a large, heavy speaker. At 159 pounds and 63″ tall, moving that sucker was like manhandling a very stiff, very slippery corpse. With a gloss finish. Perhaps not my best comparison, but given my deadline, it’ll have to do. I expected the Epikore 9 to be noticeably lighter, since DALI trimmed off two fairly heavy woofers and their associated cabinet volume.
So imagine my surprise when two really large boxes arrived, feeling substantially heavier than I anticipated. A glance at the specifications showed that the Epikore 9 weighs in at 141 pounds and is 52″ tall. Rob and I dithered about how we were going to lug these big-ass speakers up the stairs and into his living room. We briefly considered unboxing them and carrying them, but no effing way was I willing to do this, what with my back recovering from a fall and me having to get on a plane the next day.
We decided to load each box onto my dolly (peace be upon it) and yank it up one step at a time, Rob up front, me in the back lifting from the bottom, and Ron, my other audiophile neighbor, off to the side doing supervisor duty. It was a righteous pull, but we got them both up. Unboxing was easy, though given that the speakers would only be in Rob’s place for a couple of weeks, and given that time was of the essence, we decided to dispense with the feet and place the Epikore 9s directly on the wood floor.
At this point, Rob had my Focus Audio FP60 BE speakers running with a pair of SVS SB-2000 Pro subwoofers. For the time being, we left the subs in place but switched them off. The amp here was my old Hegel H90 integrated amp/DAC fed by a Chromecast Audio dongle. We got the speakers settled, placing them on pieces of cut-up drop cloth to avoid damage to the floorboards and the bottoms of the speakers.
After we happy few, we band of brothers got everything plugged in, we fired the system up and sat back for a quick listen. Rob’s partner, Jing, was home, and we didn’t want to take up too much of her time with our old-man music, so we cycled through two tracks and then made ourselves scarce. Jing was keen to listen to some K-pop on this monstrous rig, and we left her to it.
That short listen got me to thinking. I knew that the Epikore 9s were brand-new and not broken in, but they sounded rather constipated, not open and airy like the 11s had been in my room. I suspected that the Hegel H90’s 60Wpc wasn’t enough motivation for the DALIs to get it up.
More gear shuffling. Ron had been using the Kinki Studio EX-M1+ integrated amplifier to drive his Stirling LS3/5a monitors, and this amp’s 215Wpc would be better suited to the Epikore 9s’ needs. So the Kinki Studio went over to Rob’s, and in its place, I brought over the Hegel P30A preamp and the still-in-the-box BAT REX 300 power amp. I could just as easily have brought the Hegel-and-BAT combo over to Rob’s house, but from each according to his abilities, to each according to his needs. Ron is a hardcore audiophile, and Rob is a bit more forgiving in this regard. Plus, this meant that each audiophile neighbor got a piece of new gear, and that’s more egalitarian, right?
The first system I listened to in the revised configuration was Ron’s Stirlings driven by the BAT REX 300 and the Hegel P30A. Even ice-cold, straight out of the box, it was easy to hear that this was a very special combination. Smooth and easeful, with an enveloping soundstage, the Stirlings just sang when fed from the REX 300. I’m very much looking forward to hearing this amplifier in my system.
As I was getting ready to leave, I put my hand on the BAT amp and noted that it was getting kinda warm. Again, given that this setup was temporary, we had plonked the Hegel preamp on top of the amp, with a couple of footers in between for breathing room. “Keep your eye on the amp’s temperature, Ron,” I said. “Maybe move them side by side if it gets too hot.”
And just ten minutes ago, I hopped over to Ron’s place for an expert-level cappuccino, another listen, and to grab a photo of the revised layout. Again, the resolution of the Stirlings driven by the REX 300 and P30A made me whistle through my teeth.
Ron and I then headed over to Rob’s to set up the Kinki. Rob is neither interested in nor predisposed to dealing with component hookup, so after he moved the Kinki amp over, he left it for me and Ron to assemble. He’d also removed the subs from the system, as, my god, did these speakers have ample bass. So in went the Kinki Studio, fed by Ron’s backup Meridian DAC.
Ron and I sat down for a quick audition. Rob was at work (I have a key), but despite us trusting each other implicitly, it felt strange to hang out at a neighbor’s house while he wasn’t home. Still, despite the shortness of time, it was clear that the Epikore 9s appreciated the extra power provided by the Kinki Studio EX-M1+. With the larger amplifier the highs opened way, way up, and the bass gained significant speed and attack.
It’s Tuesday, October 22, as I’m finishing this blog, and I’m typing as fast as I can, because at any moment Matt Bonaccio will arrive here from Syracuse, New York. He’s driving to Toronto so that we can both meet up with Doug Schneider at YYZ and hook our flight to Warsaw. It’s been an insane couple of days—heavy speakers, many interconnects, lots of boxes to open, and tons of music.
By the time you read this, we’ll be back from Poland. If you haven’t checked out our coverage of Audio Video Show 2024, this is as good a time as any.
Jason Thorpe
Senior Editor, SoundStage!
