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Dali Helicon 800. What components match with it?

An audiophile I met invited me over to hear his system. He recently bought Helicon 800 speakers. He had considered the Helicon 400 that Absolute Sound raved about, but in comparing the two, he said the 800 won, hands down.

I thought they sounded great in every way. Great bass, clarity, imaging, with a natural sound. The combination of a soft dome tweeter crossed high to a ribbon gives an open, airy quality. Plus the woodworking and finish are stunning. If you get a chance to see one in person, do so, as photos don't do them total justice.

He did find though that the Dali's made him hear that his amp was too bright, so he changed amps from an older Parasound to an Audio Research transistor. He also made cabling changes that he said made a tremendous difference.

Anyone had experience with this speaker? Does it require careful matching of associated equipment? How does it compare to the Helicon 400?
audiosoul
dgordonl
128 posts
 
Audiosoul,
On audiogons front page on the bottom you will see their link to the Rocky Mountain AudioFest.When I was looking thru the rooms I noticed that the Dali speaker room was using The New Cary 120s amp and 05 preamp along with their CDP.I do know the 800's need power..and are way above the 400.
audiosoul OP
16 posts
 
It's interesting that they are 90 db efficient, yet seem to thrive on high power. Cary 120 sounds like 120 w. per channel which is not exactly high power, and I heard they were demonstrating the Helicon 400. Or, were they demonstrating several models?
diamonds
14 posts
 
The Dali Helicon 800 are only way better than the 400 in a large room. Otherwise in smaller room the 400s will out perform them.
saxo
98 posts
 
No way. I've listened to both Helicon 400s and 800s in an average room, and the 800s are superior. The 400s are only two ways, with the two woofers handling both midrange and bass. To my ears the 400s did not provide as much midrange detail and the bass got a bit thick in its upper range. They are both great speakers, though.
buda
46 posts
 
Hello,

I have owned the 400s for over a year and just bought a used pair of 800s on Audiogon this weekend. A couple of things I have noticed in 3 days listening to both. 1) the 800s are clearly better (IMHO) than the 400s. The mids on the 800s are more vivid and pronounced. I also have listened to both in a medium sized room and the 800s do sound more "full" than the 400s. The timber of music (upright bass, snare drums, etc) seems more realistic and hits you in the chest with more feeling (even at low volume). I did notice you have to be at least 10 feet away to let the drivers integrate on the 800s where the 400s come together at about 8 feet. However, the 400s are no slouch and are not miles behind the 800s. They have enough deep bass and such a airy open top end that they are very enjoyable to listen to. Given the opportunity, I would buy the 400s again in a heart beat. 2) I have seen a few comments that the 800s are power hungy speakers. I thought I would have fun and try a couple of low powered tube integrateds with them (Cayin TA30 & Dared VP-845). On both amps the 800s were surprisingly open & VERY dynamic without showing any congestion or signs of stress from the amps. Both the 400s and 800s seem VERY amplifier friendly. Dali's specs even show a relatively high efficiency with flat impedance curves. The 800s actually required noticably less turning of the volume knob to play as dynamic as the 400s. My question is, do the people using beefy amps with these speakers ever have to turn it up past 9:00 on the volume knob? I know more high quality power is usually best but is it over kill with these speakers? Thoughts?

Thanks,

Bud
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