DALI IO-8 Headphone Review
Simon Lucas auditions this impressive pair of wireless noise-cancelling cans from a popular Danish speaker brand…
DALI
IO-8 Wireless Headphones
£599 RRP
DALI isn't the first well-regarded loudspeaker manufacturer to decide it wants a piece of the headphone market pie. But unlike some of its competitors, the company hasn't hurried to get products to punters. Until now, its range has consisted of the IO-6 over-ear design that launched five or so years ago alongside the entry-level IO-4, and the IO-12 that surfaced mid-last year. At pennies shy of £1,000, the latter is a statement product but hardly likely to generate enough sales to impact the bottom line of the company accounts. So meet the new IO-8, which at £599 is priced to challenge market leaders from Apple, Bose and Bowers & Wilkins. Rich pickings, then, if the product is good enough…
UP CLOSE
The DALI IO-8 can be had in either 'caramel' white or 'iron' black finishes, and in either colourway is an understatedly good looking pair of headphones. It is made from premium materials and finished to the sort of standard we all expect at this price. The earpads and the earcups backing them are circular, and the rear of the earcups are finished in brushed, anodised metal with discreet branding applied. In addition, the left earcup has a pair of mic openings and a 3.5mm analogue input that lets the IO-8 work as passive, wired headphones without the requirement for battery power.
The right earcup also has a couple of mic openings and features touch controls for 'volume up/down', 'play/pause', 'skip forwards/backwards' and 'answer/end call'. Around the edge are physical buttons that deal with 'EQ' ('hi-fi' and 'bass' are your only choices), 'power on/off/Bluetooth pairing' and 'ANC on/off/transparency'. There's a USB-C socket for charging the battery or for data transfer; if you connect the IO-8 this way, then 24-bit/96kHz resolution is available. A couple of little LEDs let you know what's going on where power, charging and pairing are concerned.
The outside of the headband and the non-contact section of the earpads are finished in tactile, rugged textile. The contact points of the headband and the (replaceable) earpads are memory foam under leather. The headband also conceals the adjustment mechanism, and there's plenty available, so getting a comfortable fit should be easy for everyone with a regular-sized head.
Control is available via your source player's native voice assistant as well as via the physical controls, but there's no control app. DALI says that the tuning of the headphones, with its two EQ settings, is pretty much ideal – so there's no need for users to play around with tonal balance, noise cancellation levels or any other such things. Whether or not you think £599 ought to buy you a nice app-based interface – as it does with Apple, Bose, Bowers & Wilkins, etc. – is a question that only you can answer.
The sound comes courtesy of one 50mm full-range paper cone driver per side, with a frequency response of 10Hz to 43kHz, says DALI. It's made from the same material seen in most of the company's passive loudspeaker models, which is stiff yet light with good damping. Active noise cancellation plays second fiddle to sound, as the company openly says it's not chasing class-leading noise reduction from its 'Audiophile ANC' system. Instead, it's designed to offer good ambient noise removal, but not at the expense of audio performance. Music can be enjoyed for up to 30 hours between charges with ANC switched on or 35 hours when off. Should the worst happen, you can charge from empty to full in just under two hours, and/or charge via USB-C while listening via a wired analogue connection, too.
THE LISTENING
Naturally, this pair of headphones does its best work when wired via USB-C to a hi-res music source, where its 24-bit/96kHz ability really comes to the fore. However, one of the fine things about the IO-8 is that its broad sonic character doesn't really change if you step down to a wireless connection. The DALI comes with Bluetooth 5.2 and is compatible with aptX HD and aptX Adaptive codecs as well as the common-or-garden SBC and AAC. If you use the bundled 3.5mm analogue cable, then you put yourself fully at the mercy of the music source you're connected to. In every circumstance, this pair of headphones makes the best of it.
With the EQ set to 'hi-fi' and a 24-bit/96kHz file of Frogs by Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds incoming via USB-C, the sound is persuasively musical and even-handed. The frequency response is impressively balanced, tonality is studiedly neutral, and soundstaging is capacious. There is plenty of shine and bite to treble sounds, yet the top end never gets splashy or hard. Midband is expressive and articulate, and Cave's distinctive singing is packed with character and commitment. The direct and positive way in which the IO-8 performs makes for an engaging listening experience. Low frequencies hit hard and carry credible weight but never sound ponderous. Bass guitar notes are crisp and supple, giving a highly propulsive feel to the playing.
Tonally, this headphone sounds smooth and even, with no nasty peaks or troughs. Yet don't confuse this for blandness, as there's a high degree of detail that adds to the sensation of confidence and control. Toggle from the 'hi-fi' EQ setting to 'bass', and things remain controlled and convincing but with a little extra low-end weight. The low frequencies don't seek to dominate but rather find their way a little closer to the front of the soundstage. The latter is expertly defined, properly laid out and simple to follow, by the way.
Switching to a FLAC file of Fishmans' Long Season via aptX HD Bluetooth, and the IO-8 continues to impress. It has sufficient dynamic headroom to make the gap between the moments of greatest attack and of gentlest contemplation significant and is attentive enough to minor dynamic variations to make the harmonic fluctuations apparent too. But this level of insight is never at the expense of unity – or what DALI calls 'time coherence' – as the recording is delivered as an engaging package. The sensation of togetherness and singularity is palpable.
The active noise cancellation is decent enough when dealing with external sounds, and more importantly, it doesn't intrusively impact the sonic signature when switched in and playing music. Yet this headphone's ANC system isn't the best around and cannot approach Bose in this respect – although, to be fair, no others currently can either.
THE VERDICT
There is much to like about DALI's new IO-8 wireless over-ear headphones. The manufacturer hasn't exactly rushed this product to market, and it shows. It's a highly competent, well conceived design which impresses in every respect. This convincing music-maker also offers decent active noise-cancellation too, should you need it. It is comfortable to wear, easy to live with, nicely made and not festooned with silly gimmicks, either. As such, it's well worth an audition if you're in the market for such a thing.
Visit DALI for more information
Simon Lucas
Simon was editor of What Hi-Fi? magazine and website and has since written for Wired, Metro, the Guardian and Stuff, among many others. Should he find himself with a spare moment, Simon likes publishing and then quickly deleting tweets about the state of the nation (in general), the state of Aston Villa (in particular) and the state of his partner’s cat.
Posted in:Headphones Applause Awards 2024 Headphones Over / On Ear Noise Cancelling Bluetooth / Wireless
Tags: dali
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