Dali Zensor 1 or Wharfedale Diamond 10.1?

[rakeshchn]

I am looking for a pair of budget HI-FI bookshelfs to use with Yamaha HTR-4064 AV Receiver (U.S.A. Model). The AVR is rated around 100W/channel with adjustable 6 ohm/8 ohm impedance. I am mostly into watching HD movies in bluray and DTH and also listening to MP3s (mostly Indian film songs) through the USB port in AV receiver. Don't have the budget & space for good 5.1 now, so started looking for affordable bookshelfs and all online research led me to DALI Zensor 1 & 3 as the best affordable speakers in their price range. The confusion started when I contacted the dealers for price/availability. I am in Trivandrum, so I don't have access to that many dealers I think.

First I called 'Acoustic Reference' in Nagercoil, got a quote of 18.5K after discount for Zensor 1, and he hasn't heard of Zensor 3!
Then I called 'HIFIDemoRoom' here in Trivandrum and he gave quote of 25K for Zensor1 and 34K for Zensor3. I told him about the other quote and he says it should be old stock and the max he can give is 10% discount on his price. But both dealers say that they wont get any stock till mid April, as the all India distributor (Kripa) is undergoing some reorganization. I asked 'HIFIDemoRoom' what other option I have in the price range of Zensor 1 and he said he has Diamond 10.1 in stock which he can give for 20K.

Given my budget which can stretch to max 30K for speakers can you guys please guide me with the below questions.

1) Am I looking for the correct speakers for my AVR and usage pattern?
2) How do the prices look - what is the current price for Zensor 1/3 and the Diamond 10.1?
3) How does the Diamond stack up against the Zensors?
4) Is it true DALI speakers are in short supply elsewhere also?
5) Any other HIFI dealers that I should checkout in and around Trivandrum?

 

[elangoas]

I am looking for a pair of budget HI-FI bookshelfs to use with Yamaha HTR-4064 AV Receiver (U.S.A. Model). The AVR is rated around 100W/channel with adjustable 6 ohm/8 ohm impedance. I am mostly into watching HD movies in bluray and DTH and also listening to MP3s (mostly Indian film songs) through the USB port in AV receiver. Don't have the budget & space for good 5.1 now, so started looking for affordable bookshelfs and all online research led me to DALI Zensor 1 & 3 as the best affordable speakers in their price range. The confusion started when I contacted the dealers for price/availability. I am in Trivandrum, so I don't have access to that many dealers I think.

First I called 'Acoustic Reference' in Nagercoil, got a quote of 18.5K after discount for Zensor 1, and he hasn't heard of Zensor 3!
Then I called 'HIFIDemoRoom' here in Trivandrum and he gave quote of 25K for Zensor1 and 34K for Zensor3. I told him about the other quote and he says it should be old stock and the max he can give is 10% discount on his price. But both dealers say that they wont get any stock till mid April, as the all India distributor (Kripa) is undergoing some reorganization. I asked 'HIFIDemoRoom' what other option I have in the price range of Zensor 1 and he said he has Diamond 10.1 in stock which he can give for 20K.

Given my budget which can stretch to max 30K for speakers can you guys please guide me with the below questions.

1) Am I looking for the correct speakers for my AVR and usage pattern?
2) How do the prices look - what is the current price for Zensor 1/3 and the Diamond 10.1?
3) How does the Diamond stack up against the Zensors?
4) Is it true DALI speakers are in short supply elsewhere also?
5) Any other HIFI dealers that I should checkout in and around Trivandrum?

I have used Diamonds 9.2 and heard DALI too... Both are very fine speakers & either of them will not disappoint you....

18.5K looks reasonable.... There was one FM in chennai who recently bought it for the same price you have quoted.....

 

[snkadh]

@rakeshchn : Dali Zensor 1/Wharfedale Diamond 10.1 speakers are very good. But they are little bit expensive. Instead you can look into the Cambridge Audio S30/ Wharfedale Diamond 9.1. Last year October S30 costs me 10K INR. It is a good speaker in this budget.

 

[rakeshchn]

@rakeshchn : Dali Zensor 1/Wharfedale Diamond 10.1 speakers are very good. But they are little bit expensive. Instead you can look into the Cambridge Audio S30/ Wharfedale Diamond 9.1. Last year October S30 costs me 10K INR. It is a good speaker in this budget.

That is a great suggestion @snkadh. But honestly I am a little afraid if I go for smaller speakers I may feel like upgrading in the short future. Do you have suggestion for a center and Sub within the total budget of 30K for speakers?

 

[snkadh]

It depends on your usage. If you are more on watching movies with 5.1 sound, then smaller speakers with good sub & center is more than enough. For sub that you can go with Polk Audio PSW110/PSW125, which costs 18.5K/24K.
Profx - Advanced Audio Solutions
And for rear and center you can go with the Yamaha NS-P60. Personally I haven't auditioned the Yamaha one, but according to spec they should be OK.

But if you want a good stereo setup, may be you won't be satisfied with "smaller speakers". Also keep in mind, the bigger speaker needs good components, which are in turn used to be a bit expensive.

And at the end of the day you are the big boss to take the decision.

 

[bangdeshae]

Instead you can look into the Cambridge Audio S30/ Wharfedale Diamond 9.1. Last year October S30 costs me 10K INR. It is a good speaker in this budget.

 

[rakeshchn]

Guys I am seriously considering this pair of Pioneers. Looks like the price is firm, but it is a local seller. Please provide your thoughts

Pioneer highend audiophile 3 way speaker system 180 watts rms each 8 ohms, made in japan - Thiruvananthapuram - TV - Video - Audio

 

[shibashis]

I have heard both the Zensor 1 and Wharfedale, although not side by side in the same audition but in my opinion the Zensors are superior to Wharfedales. Better sound stage and Dalis bring out more detail for the right material.
Purely my opinion and others may disagree. I went for the Zensor 1s and I am very happy with them. I use them for music only though, have not tried them for movies, but I do not think they will be able bad, there are quite a few forum members who have opted for the Zensor line with their AVRs and are quite happy.

 

[rakeshchn]

@shibashis how much did you pay for the Dalis and when did you buy them?
Looks like you have Sonodyne 1501 for HT, do they offer reasonable performance fortge money? And how do the Sonodynes compare with Dali?

 

[shibashis]

@shibashis how much did you pay for the Dalis and when did you buy them?
Looks like you have Sonodyne 1501 for HT, do they offer reasonable performance fortge money? And how do the Sonodynes compare with Dali?

I bought Dali about 3 months or so back and then I paid 22K for them. I do not think I paid over the odds for them as others also seem to have paid a similar price. You mentioned an offer of 18.5K, if that is so then that is a great price, probably prices have come down recently.

The Sonodyne 1501s are good speakers in their own right. I paid only 9.5K and bought them during the 26% discount on January 13. For the price paid these are quite amazing. However Dalis are better, once you listen for quite sometime to both you will realize Dali actually is considerably better if you listen closely.
Sonodynes are perhaps slightly better in terms of bass reproduction, they are punchier, but in the other aspects Dali will win. Dali is more detailed, and I was surprised to hear the soundstage they create compared to the Sonodynes. Sonodyne is slightly on the brighter side, while the top end is detailed in Sonodyne it can cause ear fatigue after a while, compared to that Dali's top end is a little 'dull', better to say 'rolled off' and is more pleasing.
In my opinion Sonodyne is pretty great for HT performance, their Roar 210 subwoofer is really good for the price for movies, love it. If one has budgetary considerations, for HT Sonodyne will serve them well.

For my modest setup they keep me happy.

 

[elangoas]

I think tonal quality of a speaker has something to do with the speaker material used...

I have used Mission M35 FS (Paper cone), Wharfedale Diamond 9.2 (Kevlar cone), Sonodyne Sonus (Polypropylene Cone) with almost same amplification (Marantz AVR).....

The best pair was Marantz + Mission FS... Missions had a very big soundstage.... Hence the thinking.....Am i wrong ? Does it apply to other speaker material also ?