Dali Oberon 3 Compact Loudspeaker

Description

You cannot set up a floor-standing speaker in your living room or would prefer to listen to music via a powerful shelf speaker placed on a sideboard or speaker stand? Then the DALI OBERON 3 with its baffle about the size of DIN A4 could be the right choice. With its 180 mm (7'') bass-midrange driver with wood fiber membrane and SMC magnet system and the 29 mm OBERON dome tweeter, this model delivers a sound quality that is in no way inferior to that of a slim floor-standing speaker.

This is made possible by the comparatively large membrane surface of the two chassis installed in the OBERON 3 and their particularly wide-angle radiation characteristics. While similarly sized bookshelf speakers are usually equipped with 165 mm woofers and a 19 or 20 mm tweeter dome, the OBERON 3 uses a 180 mm woofer and midrange driver and a 29 mm dome. Thanks to the approximately 15% larger membrane surface, the chassis can generate a certain sound pressure with a significantly smaller deflection. This means that the OBERON 3 sounds extremely dynamic on the one hand, and on the other hand it presents any type of music or film soundtrack in a comparatively effortless and more pleasant way for the ear.

Midrange woofer

Like all DALI chassis designed for the reproduction of medium and low frequencies, the 180 mm (7'') woofer in the OBERON 3 also has a wood fiber membrane. The mixture of a fine-grained paper pulp reinforced by the addition of wood fibers results in a stiff, lightweight structure with excellent acoustic properties. In combination with particularly low-loss surrounds and centering spiders, the cone membrane reproduces even the finest sound details with extreme clarity and precision.

The woofers in the OBERON 3 are 180 millimeters (7'') in diameter and are significantly larger than the 165 mm chassis that are usually used in loudspeakers in this price range. Thanks to the membrane surface area being around 15% larger, the chassis can generate a certain sound pressure with a significantly smaller deflection. But larger membranes not only mean higher sound pressure, but - and this is far more important - also an effortless reproduction of the music in its full dynamic range.

The membrane is surrounded by a rubber surround, which, due to its soft and very flexible material, allows the cone to vibrate absolutely freely, has very low damping and allows the magnet system to control the membrane movement very precisely.

SMC

The use of SMC in the magnet system significantly reduces mechanical distortion caused by hysteresis and eddy currents. Combined, these improvements to the magnet drive significantly reduce third-order distortion, which is why the OBERON series speakers enable a longer, relaxed listening experience with unobtrusive mids and a level of detail that is astonishing in this class.

The drive consists of a large ferrite magnet enclosing a pole piece made from a unique combination of iron and SMC. SMC is a magnetic powder that makes it possible to form strong magnets that do not conduct electricity. As the ferrite iron only forms the base of the pole piece, the negative effects of the iron are minimized, while the 10mm thick SMC disc on top of the pole piece is placed exactly in the center of the main working area of the four-layer voice coil. This guarantees the maximum effect of the SMC on the voice coil environment, resulting in a greatly improved constant flux field.

Tweeter

The tweeter with its ultra-light, 29 mm diameter fabric dome was specially developed for the OBERON series. The membrane is made of an extremely light fabric that weighs less than half as much as most other dome tweeters on the market at just 0.060 mg per mm2.

Thanks to the large membrane, the tweeter achieves a higher sound pressure with a smaller deflection, which means that the voice coil can always move with great precision and control. In the interests of greater load capacity, perfect damping and to support an absolutely centered voice coil deflection, the tweeter's magnet system is cooled with ferrofluid.

The extremely lightweight dome tweeter manufactured by DALI is also optimized for a wider bandwidth in its lower frequency range. This ensures a seamless transition from the woofer to the tweeter with a balanced, airy and very harmonious reproduction of the upper midrange range.

The front panel of the tweeter is designed similarly to the OPTICON and RUBICON series in order to create optimal working conditions for the fabric dome in terms of a wide frequency response, a very wide-angle radiation and the lowest possible coloration.

Housing

The OBERON 3's housing is made of CNC-milled MDF panels coated with carefully selected, high-quality vinyl films, providing a solid base for mounting the speaker chassis.

In the interest of optimal timing, all the insides of the cabinet - with the exception of the back of the baffle - are lined with an acoustic insulation material. This ensures a more direct contact between the woofer and the bass reflex port, which is noticeable in a more precise bass and an open, particularly transparent midrange.

The bass reflex openings are located in the rear of the housing to ensure the most powerful bass reproduction possible with the help of the sound waves reflected from the wall behind the speakers.

The front covers of the OBERON series have also been redesigned. The elegant, rounded covers, covered with a specially structured fabric, give the speakers an extremely pleasing and modern look. The lighter housing versions, white and light oak, are supplied with mottled grey front covers, while the speakers with the darker housing colours black and walnut are supplied with black covers. A white version is also available as an optional accessory.

DALI Oberon 3 Technical Data

OBERON series
Frequency range (+/- 3 dB) [Hz] 47 - 26,000
Sensitivity (2.83V/1m) [dB] 87
Nominal impedance [O] 6
Maximum sound pressure level [dB] 108
Recommended amplifier power [W] 25 - 150
Crossover frequencies [Hz] 2,400
2-way crossover principle
Tweeter / Number 1 x 29 mm ø
Tweeter, type of membrane fabric dome
Bass/midrange driver / number 1 x 180 mm (7') ø
Midrange woofer, type of membrane wood fibre membrane
Housing type bass reflex
Bass reflex tuning frequency [Hz] 49
Inputs two screw terminals
Recommended placement shelf / stand
Recommended wall distance [cm] 5 - 50
Maximum dimensions with base and cover (HxWxD) [mm] 350 x 200 x 315
Weight [kg] 6.3