Loudspeakers

DALI’s new series continues its tradition of designing its more affordable ranges to meet the needs of both hi-fi and home cinema enthusiasts. Like the Rubikore line above it, and the legacy Opticon family, there are floorstander, standmount, centre channel and on-wall Sonik options, all related in both style and engineering.

Two different sizes of its Clarity Cone drive unit – the cones comprising a fine grain paper with reinforcing wood fibre pulp – are used across the series. The 135mm unit features on the Sonik 1 standmount (£449), Sonik Cinema centre (£449), Sonik On-Wall (£599) and Sonik 5 floorstander (£899) while a 180mm version is fitted to the Sonik 3 standmount (£599), Sonik 7 floorstander (£1299) and the Sonik 9 reviewed here. All models feature DALI’s new 29mm textile dome tweeter and are offered in the same four colourways.

The two bigger floorstanders also both feature DALI’s Hybrid Tweeter module, the £900 saving offered by the Sonik 7 explained by its sporting just two, rather than three, 180mm drivers. The latter’s rated sensitivity and bass extension are reduced (to 88.5dB and 36Hz, respectively), while nominal impedance improves to 6ohm. Additionally, the cabinet size has been trimmed in all three dimensions, suggesting it might be the ‘sweet spot’ for those tighter on both budget and space.