Look ma, no cables: this all-in-one Wi-Fi streamer, speaker and soundbar from a five-star audio company is hefty, but it might be all the modern hi-fi you need | Daily Reports Online
- Dali unveils new Vega Wi-Fi speaker, on sale in September
- Works as a streamer, speaker and amp all in one
- Can be used wirelessly, and affixed to different surfaces
Does Dali even want you to buy its five-star classic-style speakers like the Dali Sonik 1 or Dali Kupid? Maybe not, because it’s just unveiled a new all-in-one hi-fi system that steers away from traditional hi-fi altogether.
This is the Dali Vega, which the brand has shown off ahead of its ‘proper’ unveiling at the High End Vienna show at the beginning of June. But we already know basically everything there is to know about the device.
In short, the Vega is an all-in-one music system: it works as a streamer, a speaker system and a soundbar. When I first saw the picture above, I thought it looked a bit like an AC unit, but you don’t have to affix it to a wall like that.
Dali’s various pictures show it horizontal or vertical on walls and cabinets, with the unit recognizing its orientation and adjusting its output accordingly. It’s also wireless, (other than the power cable), so you won’t need to cover your home in messy cables.
It weighs 8.7kg, with a body that’s 68.3cm long, 33cm wide and 20cm tall. Wall brackets come with the device, so you don’t need to start planning your home renovation to hold it.
The Dali Vega is set to begin selling in September in some countries, and October and November in others (though Dali hasn’t confirmed the order). It’s set go sell for $4,500 / £2,599 / AU$4,499, in two finishes: Dark Oak and Natural Oak. So its price is pretty similar to a high-end AC unit too.
What happens in Vega…
Let’s break down the Vega; firstly, its chops as a speaker. The unit houses ten drivers, all developed by Dali itself. There are four 25mm soft dome drivers, four 4.5-inch low-mid frequency drivers, and two passive radiators.
The 25mm soft-dome tweeters are designed to reduce resonant frequencies, and the low-mid drivers are arranged back-to-back, all of this with the aim of reducing resonance within the body.
These go hand-in-hand with Dali’s Adaptive Stereo Enhancement tech, which apparently is designed to let each single speaker creative a wider soundstage, changing depending on the signal it’s receiving. The Vega has 400W of amplification power across eight 50W channels.
Then, there’s the Dali Vega’s capabilities as a player. It has RCA and optical ports, as well as Bluetooth because yes, this is a wireless device too. You can use it alongside Spotify Connect, Tidal Connect, Apple AirPlay 2, or whichever piece of hi-fi gear you choose to plug it into.
It uses Bluesound’s BluOS streaming system to connect to other sources, and buttons on the body let you set presets for inputs. There’s also, as you can tell from the pictures, a nice big dial on the body, as well as an OLED display.
And it has an HDMI input, so you can use it as a soundbar with your TV too — something that’s becoming more and more common among the best wireless speakers (above a certain size, at least).
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