Dali Epikore 7 loudspeakers
I first encountered the Dali’s Epikore range during a pre-release showing in September 2024, where head of product management Krestian Pedersen explained how they had taken techniques from their award-winning Kore flagship loudspeaker and applied them to create a brand new five-model range above Epicon. They decided where improvements could be made and designed new drive units, crossover components and cabinets to lift performance. The Epikores therefore sit between the Epicons and Kore in price.
Dali are well known for their hybrid ribbon/dome tweeters. For Epikore they employed the Kore’s Evo-k hybrid tweeter module, which is an improved version of the one used in the Epicon models. It comprises an in-house-developed soft-dome tweeter and a planar ribbon, featuring a powerful neodymium magnet motor, designed for low distortion, wide frequency response and wide sound dispersion. The benefit of a ribbon is that its very low moving mass enables it to follow more closely the signal’s complex waveform, so should in theory provide better treble definition than a soft dome.
However, small, narrow ribbons don’t handle low frequencies a well as typical domes. Combining a soft dome with a narrow ribbon should provide the best of both worlds – the power handling and low-frequency extension of the dome, with the delicacy, wide horizontal dispersion and extended high-frequency response of the ribbon. Also, being a planar ribbon, with the strength of a thin backing membrane, the Epikore ribbon’s diaphragm is more robust than traditional corrugated aluminium-foil. According to Dali, it crosses over at 12.5kHz which makes it more like a super tweeter.
The new 7-inch woofer in the Epikore 7 features their patented SMC (Soft Magnetic Composite) Gen-2 magnet technology. Krestian explained that this uses a granular type of non-electrically-conductive soft iron. The benefit is the virtual elimination of eddy currents and hysteresis effects in the woofer magnet’s poles, benefiting the driver by dramatically reducing harmonic distortion, which should deliver a cleaner, purer sound. In addition, Dali added three rings of aluminium and copper in the magnet assembly to reduce variations of inductance with frequency for even better linearity.
Gen-2 is, apparently, a further enhancement of the original SMC, which has its electrical conductivity reduced by a further 2½ times. As a result, they claim it has approximately 0.004% of the electrical conductivity of iron. The same material is now used in the SMC-Kore crossover inductors, bringing similar benefits to the crossovers, which also feature high-performance Mundorf capacitors.
The Epikore 7’s woofers are designed and built by Dali, who have not embraced more exotic cone materials, such as aluminium, ceramic or aromatic fibres, etc., preferring pulp. Their own mixture of paper and wood-fibre is used to form the cones, which are embossed in a five leaf pattern. Dali found that this odd-numbered design breaks up symmetry to reduce and damp the build-up of unwanted cone resonances, which can colour and spoil the sound. They call it Clarity Cone. In addition, the voice-coil former is made from titanium, which is highly rigid and non-conductive electrically. This material provides very strong mechanical coupling to the diaphragm, while eliminating eddy currents in the voice coil former, and its braking effects on the voice coil.
The curvaceous, internally-braced and very solid Epikore cabinets are real-wood veneered and finished with a highly polished piano lacquer, while the rear-mounted reflex ports are curved and flared internally, to reduce air-flow noises and distortions. The two woofers operate in tandem at low frequencies, while the lower one is rolled off by the crossover before the upper one’s hand-over to the dome tweeter. This means that only the top woofer handles most of the midrange, while both are fully involved in producing bass, with their total area forming the equivalent of a much larger diameter woofer. This crossover arrangement is why this is not called a 4-way, but is instead described as a 3½ way loudspeaker. Incidentally, all the Epikores are designed and built by Dali in Denmark.
Forward-wind to December 2024, and a pair of Epikore 7 in high-gloss maroon arrived in large fight cases. At 112 cm high (42 cm deep, 38cm wide) and, and being quite dark, I was a bit concerned they might look a little too large for my listening room, but their curved cabinets and sloping tops seemed to minimise their apparent bulk. All parts are beautifully made and finished, projecting a strong impression of quality. I screwed the sturdy cast feet into the threaded steel base plates with ease and so it didn’t take long to get them in position. A really neat feature is the magnetised spikes and mounting pads, making it dead easy to keep the pads under the spikes when positioning or moving the speakers. Also, I was pleased to see that Dali provided quality wire links to connect the bi-wire terminals in preference to the commonly used slotted plates.
Once placed firing directly forwards, as recommended, (not toed in), the Epikore 7s were wired up to my Creek Destiny, connected as a fixed-gain power amplifier, coupled with either an Auralic Vega G2.2, or a Moon 390 streaming DAC/preamp, both used with Qobuz streaming. Later, by way of variety, I pressed into service a Musical Fidelity A3cr for power amplification (which, despite its age, sounds very well).
Sound quality
My impressions were of a bold, full-bodied and confident sounding pair of loudspeakers, with powerful bass, but rather too richly so. This was with the speakers about 30cm from the rear wall of my 5.6 x 4.25 x 2.45m listening room. Dali recommend placing them between 35cm and 1.2 metres from the rear wall, so I pulled them towards me bit by bit and ended up with them a good 60-70cm from the wall, where the balance improved, although bass was still powerful and the balance full and robust. Here they set up an impressively voluminous sound stage in which instruments were precisely positioned in width and depth. I was pleased to note that mid to high-frequency fundamentals integrated nicely with harmonics, so that percussive instruments sounded particularly good.
For instance in Ko-Ko and A day in Dubrovnik from The Modern Jazz Quintet’s 1989 live album The Montreux Years, the cymbals and rim shots were full bodied and detailed. Milt Jackson’s vibraphone rang out with a rare sensation of power and vivacity. During Yuja Wang’s Rachmaninov Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor Op 18 (DGG, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Dudamel), her piano had a powerful and assured authority. This 96k 24bit recording had much detail and clarity and via the Epikore 7, the double basses had real strength and depth, providing clear bass lines, while the strings had a smooth and silky character.
Likewise, when playing the Dvorak Symphony No 8, (Reference Recordings: Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Honeck), despite this being only a 44.1kHz/16 bit file, it showed off the Epikore 7’s capabilities very well. I could hear all the instruments, even down to the quietest and most delicate, right to the back of the orchestra, and they did not become congested during louder passages. The speakers did a great job of capturing the full scale of the orchestra and portraying timbres of instruments. As with the other tracks played, the bass was substantial but their excellent stereo imagery pinpointed instruments clearly. Strings were lush and well textured, while the brass section was gorgeously ‘brassy’, without being harsh or aggressive. The Epikore 7s set up a full-bodied impression of the orchestra with a grand sense of scale, they love classical music – or maybe it’s the other way around.
Changing musical genres completely to George Benson’s Give me the Night, and Off Broadway showed off the excellent delivery of bass lines, which were solid, and powerfully driven. It was not subterranean, but presented without flab or boom – just clean powerful and well-timed – plus crystal clear guitar. George’s vocals were warmly delivered. It was only a 44.1kHz/16 bit file, but superb production by Quincy Jones, and innovative engineering by Bruce Swedien provided a great sonic experience even after all these years.
While playing Hey Laura It’s Me from Gregory Porter’s Liquid Spirit album (96kHz/ 24 bit), Gregory’s honeyed vocals were richer than typically heard, hinting at a touch of additional upper bass colour, however, the accompanying piano had a satisfying solidity, while the Hammond organ was clearly audible quietly contributing in the background. Likewise, Michael Buble’s Cry Me a River and Georgia on my Mind from his Crazy Love album also revealed a touch of warmth added to his voice, which was may have been a touch further back in the mix than anticipated.
Daft Punk’s Random Access Memories has deep, powerful bass lines which are a great test for speakers. Needless to say, Qobuz’ 88.2kHz/24 bit file of Give Life Back To Music really did come to life, with its throbbing bass, vocoder vocals and richly harmonic synths, even when played loudly. These speakers are clearly very much at home with orchestral music, due to their bold delivery, deep, wide, sound stage, fulsome tonality and detailed character. They also gave a really convincing account of various TV recordings of live events, once again creating a panoramic, sonic image of these occasions. The Epikore 7s clearly work very well with live and large scale performances, providing a good sense of weight.
Along with the ability to create a grand sense of power and scale, the other great thing about the Epikore 7 is the way the sounds of the drive units seem to blend. It might be tempting to assume that, with so many drivers, they could sound disconnected, but the overall impression is that they combine seamlessly. Also, the speakers continued to sound very good at low volumes, where minor details and clues remained audible, as well as a high levels, when they maintain excellent control, in contrast to some speakers which only come to life when played loudly.
I must be said that these speakers are not about an overtly detailed, crystalline clarity through the midrange, but their subtle detailing brings its own rewards. The hybrid tweeter is particularly transparent, with a very satisfying clarity and tonality – given good recordings. So, as with any ribbon-based speaker, clean-sounding auxiliary equipment is vital because they will faithfully reproduce anything harsh or distorted. On the other hand, great recordings can and do sound fabulous.
Measurements
I ran a few measurements using Clio Pocket, which showed a gentle plateaux in output from the tweeter array at one metre distance on axis. This was above the mid band level by an average of approximately 3dB above 2.8kHz (where the hybrid tweeter comes into action) to above 20kHz (my microphone is not calibrated above 20kHz).
However, with the microphone further away, at near the listening position, and still on axis, this rise was not apparent, measuring flatter and with a very gentle tilt downwards above around 10kHz. So, these speakers have been balanced for a flatter high-frequency response at realistic listening positions.
Midrange sensitivity is, as claimed, 88dB for 2.83V at 1m. Horizontal dispersion is excellent, as claimed: the lift above the midband level at 30 degrees, off-axis (at one metre) was about 2dB, so only losing a dB in level here, which should help to maintain a similar tonal balance for listeners away from the central position and provide more off-axis high-frequency energy in the listening room.
The ports were both tuned to 30Hz, creating a broad output peak, which adds to the woofers’ outputs to augment the low bass, and rear-load the woofers for improved power handling. When we measure ports, we adjust their sound pressure level according to the relative sizes of the woofer and ports before summing them in software, which creates a pretty accurate near-field, or 2 pi frequency response, free of room effects.
Total bass output, measured near-field this way, and blended to the far field at 220Hz, indicates a rise in output below around 220 Hz, towards a 7dB peak above 1kHz at 90 Hz. In free space (anechoic). With the speaker well away from all surfaces, the sound pressure would wrap around the cabinet, to a greater extent with lowering frequencies, reducing its level. So this peak would not be anywhere so high in free space, more like 3dB.
However, in practice, with nearby room boundaries, bass would be boosted by reflections and tends to be closer to the 2pi, (near field) curve, modified up and down at various frequencies by room mode dips and peaks; and of course every room is different.
The impedance curve showed typical peaks either side of the port resonance. Elsewhere it was unusually even, varying between only 4.8 and 9 ohms from 80Hz to over 20kHz, with correspondingly low phase shifts, which maxed out at a relatively safe +55 to -61 degrees around the port tuning range, so the Epikore 7s should be relatively easy to drive, with no nasty low impedances associated with large phase shifts.
Summing up
These Epikore 7s are built to very high standards, deliver a wide and even frequency response, coupled with broad high-frequency dispersion and clean detailed treble. Their presentation is big and bold, with generous bass in my listening room, which is by no means small. Indeed, they would benefit from use in larger spaces, well away from walls. They produce a broad and deep sound stage with fine sonic detailing from high to low levels. If large-scale portrayal of music is your bag, then the Dali Epikore 7 should be on your listening list.
Editor’s note
While Dave has been enjoying the Epikore 7s I have had the larger Epikore 9s in the system and have been getting superb results as a forthcoming review will reveal. My room is slightly larger than Dave’s albeit with a lower ceiling and I have been enjoying fabulous bass that remains controlled and extended but never feels like there’s too much. This is probably due to room construction which is timber framed and does not reflect bass as much as brick or blocks do, the Epikore 9s are 40cm from the rear wall. As he points out ‘every room is different’.