DALI has a huge range of full-size passive loudspeakers, of course, with representation at every price point from ‘very affordable’ to ‘cripplingly expensive’. But it’s a different story where wireless over-ear headphones are concerned - until now, the company had precisely one model in its range. And at £999, the IO-12 comes much closer to the second price category than the first.
So, there’s a significant gap in the DALI line-up into which these new IO-8 can slot. At £599 they’re still not approaching ‘very affordable’, but I think we can all agree that they are merely ‘expensive’ rather than cripplingly so.
DALI has not altered its ‘true hi-fi sound’ principles in the slightest just because it’s designed a pair of headphones here rather than a full-size pair of loudspeakers - the same sonic philosophy applies. About the only concession it’s made where sound reproduction is concerned is the provision for a couple of EQ settings: ‘hi-fi’ (which, obviously, is the way the company thinks the IO-8 should be heard) and ‘bass’ (which I get the strong impression is the result of the DALI marketing department issuing dire threats to its engineers).
The sound in question is delivered by a pair of 50mm free edge full-range dynamic drivers - and while it’s not the be-all and end-all, it’s worth noting that these are very large drivers indeed by prevailing standards. The drivers are built, as is standard DALI practice, from paper fibre material with randomly aligned fibres of varying lengths creating a light, rigid diaphragm with optimal damping. DALI reckons a frequency response of 10Hz - 43kHz is available.
The USB-C socket on the edge of the right earcup can be used for data transfer as well as for charging the battery. Make a connection this way and 24bit/96kHz PCM content can be handled natively, while anything bigger will be downscaled before the conversion to analogue takes place. Wireless stuff is taken care of by Bluetooth 5.2, with SBC, AAC, aptX HD and aptX Adaptive codec compatibility.
Battery life is a competitive 30 hours with active noise-cancellation switched on and 35 hours if you turn it off. And as with the overall voicing of the headphones, DALI isn’t about to compromise sound quality simply to offer class-leading ANC. The system it’s employed here, called without any apparent sense of hyperbole ‘Audiophile Active Noise Cancellation’, intends to do a decent job on external sounds without (and this is the crucial part as far as DALI is concerned) impacting in the slightest on sound quality. A three-part ANC cycle of ‘on’, ‘off’ and ‘transparency’ is what’s available.
Sound quality
Before I get to the properly important stuff, it’s worth noting that DALI has achieved exactly what it set out to achieve with the active noise-cancellation that’s on offer here. The IO-8 can deal with the majority of external sounds fairly confidently, and subsequently fall into that oversubscribed category titled ‘not quite as good as the equivalent pair of Bose headphones’ - but just as importantly, they do so without impacting in the slightest on their sonic performance.
And it’s a sonic performance that gets, if anything, even more impressive the longer you listen. It doesn’t matter what sort of music you like to listen to, nor how you get it on board the DALI in the first place: the IO-8 provides an energetic, poised, articulate and thoroughly engaging listen with a list of audio talents as long as your arm.
The tonal balance is naturalistic and convincing, and the frequency response from the top end to the bottom is smooth and consistent. Low-frequency information hits with genuine determination, but the absolute stack of detail regarding timbre and texture that’s made apparent means they’re no mindless thumpers. Control of low-end information is straight-edged and true, so rhythmic expression is confident - and if you switch the EQ setting from ‘hi-fi’ to ‘bass’, things don’t fall apart. Bass presence is more pronounced, sure, but it’s never unruly.
The rest of the frequency range is similarly detailed, similarly revealing and similarly convincing as a result. The midrange, in particular, reveals plenty of what gives a voice character and attitude, and the IO-8s are alert to minor and/or transient occurrences in a recording at every stage. At the top end they’re brisk, loaded with variation and carry enough substance to balance out the shine.
Dynamic headroom is considerable, and the distance the DALIs can put between ‘quiet’ and ‘loud’ is more considerable still. And the soundstage the headphones create is large in every direction, confidently organised and allows even the most complex recordings the space for every element to express itself without being impacted on by any other element.
But most significantly of all, the DALI IO-8s are fun to listen to. Yes, they do the ‘analysis’ thing as well as any price-comparable rival - but they are absolutely aware that music is entertainment, and that listening to music is meant to be enjoyable rather than academic. And in this respect in particular, they’re a notable success.
Living with
There are a couple of choices of finish available: ‘caramel’ white or ‘iron’ black. No matter which you select, you’ll be investing in a pair of headphones that are impeccably built and finished, from materials that feel as good as they look.
The outside of the headband, and a small section of the (easily replaceable) earpads, are covered in a hard-wearing and quite tactile textile. The inside of the headband (at the contact point, at least) and the business part of the earpads, are of leather-covered memory foam - quite why DALI feels the need to alienate vegan customers in this manner is anyone’s guess. There’s a fair amount of adjustment available for the headband - the mechanism itself is nicely damped and mostly concealed inside the headband arrangement - and the clamping force is nicely judged. Even the more petite-headed user should have no problem getting a comfortable fit.
The rear of the earcups features a circular slice of brushed and anodised metal - each one has some branding and a couple of mic openings to deal with telephony and voice-assistant interaction. The IO-8s are fitted with updated cVc (clear voice communication) technology for these purposes.
The left earcup also has a 3.5mm analogue input, which is how to access one of the IO-8’s real party-pieces: the ability to function as passive headphones that don’t require any battery power. DALI provides a 1.2m 3.5mm/3.5mm cable in the nicely finished travel case - connect it to the analogue output of a music player and you don’t even need to turn your headphones on. There’s also a USB-C /USB-A cable of the same length in the case.
The right earcup, meanwhile, features touch controls on its surface - ‘volume up/down’, ‘play/pause’, ‘skip forwards/backwards’ and ‘answer/end call’ are available. Around the edge of the earcup are the physical buttons that handle ‘EQ’ switching, ‘power on/off/Bluetooth pairing’ and ‘ANC on/off/transparency’. There’s the USB-C socket for charging the battery or for data transfer here too, and a couple of little LEDs to let you know what’s going on as regards battery life, charging and Bluetooth pairing.
There’s no control app, though. DALI is adamant that physical controls, along with access to voice assistants, is more than adequate - and obviously it’s of the opinion that user-generated EQ settings are the last thing it should be involving itself with.
Conclusion
It’s hardly competing at the budget end of the market with the IO-8, but nevertheless DALI has taken a big chunk of what makes the IO-12 such an uncomplicatedly delightful pair of headphones and finessed it to the point that it ‘only’ costs £599. Some prospective customers will be put off by the lack of a control app, and some will find the lack of a vegan option rather wilful - but the rest of us will be free to revel in engrossing, confident and utterly convincing sound from a pair of headphones that look and feel almost as expensive as they sound.
Listening notes
Fontella Bass Rescue Me
Warmly analogue tonality, wide and primitive stereo separation, and a vocal in the midrange that’s as direct and communicative as can be all play to the strengths of the IO-8. The sense of ‘performance’ here is profound.
Big Special Black Dog/White Horse
Coming on like a superior demo that’s somehow been asked to support the bleak weight of a depressed nation, Black Dog/White Horse is an across-the-board test of soundstaging, dynamic response, rhythmic positivity and, most of all, what DALI likes to call ‘time-coherence’.
My Little Airport How Can You Fall in Love with a Guy Who Doesn’t Know Gainsbourg?
It’s a perfectly valid question, and one that only seems more pertinent when delivered by a Hong Kong’s indie collective in the most sincere manner imaginable. Close-mic’d acoustic guitar and strident melodica allow the DALIs to demonstrate their mastery of tone and texture.
You buy the DALI IO-8 because you’re a sucker for high-quality sound, you like the idea of being able to use them without power, because you like nice things, and because you’re drawn to the road less travelled. But mostly because you’re a sucker for high-quality sound.
