Greetings!
Before I could share a piece of my aural experience last Saturday, let me extend my sincerest gratitude to the host AKYATBUNDOK aka Roger for accommodating us in his condo. Moreover, to the other audiophiles I’ve met for the first time and accepted me in their circles as if I’ve been with them since day one. Jetok ( 9.6 cool dude ), Hans ( PR man for the Dali’s ), S2Kov, Rony ( LP guru ), Atty, Punk Kid, Wanderlust, Kimpao, Iceman, Jojo ( DIY amp master ), Matzer (for providing the Missions)
( Sorry if im a little bit rusty but there were others but my memory fails me..you know who you are, though ). And to Supes, who broke the ice to make this shootout push-through. ( we left the windows open despite the downpour, just in case you’d swoop down a while )
The following are personal views and not in anyway a consensus of the majority. It is my purpose to hunt down a speaker to replace my present HT setup. This would serve a dual purpose for Audio and Video in the future if I integrate both for practical space saving reasons. Let me run you through the music rather than the hardware for comparative purposes:
Jacintha’s Moon River (Autumn Leaves – Groove Note LP)Wharf 9.6: Commanding presence in height (not the speaker). Its disappearing act is really amazing considering its size. Jacintha’s vocals - palpable and sound staging – wide. Being an owner of a metal dome speaker I kinda miss a bit of the highs not to the point of sibilance though. But the mids were really engaging in this track.
Dali C-6: Being the midget here, I couldn’t believe the depth & sound staging prowess of this floorstander. Highs were very sweet and extended but not sibilant compared to my present monitor. It would not be surprising to note that this would sound a bit sibilant if compared next to the 9.6. Purity in the midrange was evident.
Missions were still on its way.
Dave Brubeck’s Take Five ( Time Out - Columbia 6eye reissue )Wharf 9.6: Biggest soundstage. Lowest bass notes were heard and felt! Thumps of the drums were very realistic giving the listener a feeling to stomp along as you listened. My only reservation was the perception of a midrange honk while the sax was being played. This might be due to the midrange driver which I was not used to or it being more sensitive than the other speaker.
Dali C-6: This track was quite revealing when played here. The bass was not as deep as the 9.6, but it was tight and musical. The timbre and focus of the piano was accurate and spot on. But the true gem in this track was the drum solo. As one might put it…”Variations in hits of the drums were very clearly appreciated, almost seen!” I really enjoyed this track!
Missions: This speaker came a little late so I wasn’t able to clearly note its difference from the others.
Laurindo Almeida’s Feels So Good ( New Directions – Crystal Clear Records )Wharf 9.6: Guitars were warm and transparent. Again, The bass was went deep but defined, never muddy nor boomy. Drum solo was similar to the previous track.
Dali C-6: Guitar’s plucks and fretwork slides were heard clearly. Among the three this excelled much on detail retrieval! Like the former track, the drum solo here was breathtaking! Visceral Impact, Rhythm and Pace of the thumps wanted me to get up and do a drum-act myself.
Mission M34: Hooked up and warmed up, it performed in a very balanced manner but had a certain muddiness which was remedied by the placement of the foam bung. It was never tiring but very engaging.
Linda Ronstadt’s What’s New – ( What’s New – Asylum Records )Wharf 9.6: Here is the track that fits this speaker to a T! Owning personally 3 formats of this album ( no mo-fi pressing though ), I can conclude that this track is a test for sibilance. Almost all speakers that I’ve heard this one exhibited the characteristic shrill of Linda’s voice. But the 9.6 tamed this track giving it a very relaxing live performance. If you’re a Ronstadt fan, this speaker is for you!
Dali C-6 & Mission M34: Both speakers performed on an equal scale of vocal presence. Soundstage remained wide but a noticeable accurate focus of Linda was appreciated some would term as Air around the singer. After hearing the relaxing 9.6, as I said before, one might find these two on the brighter side. But this is purely subjective.
Aesthetics, Built and Make:Wharf 9.6: Looming Giant. Fabulous Kevlar drivers. Elegant cherry vinyl laminate finish. Biwirable gold plated terminals. Spikes included. A unique blend of a soft dome tweeter, midrange driver, mid bass & woofer drivers and a rear firing port for the price. Better placed at least 2 feet away from corners.
Dali C-6: Best looking speaker with or without the grills. Two Tone: Grey and Cherry vinyl laminate finish but would be mistaken for a wood veneer one! Combination of a soft dome tweeter, and two woofers made up of a paper wood pulp mixture. The only front ported one among the three. One set of gold plated speaker terminals. Spikes included.
Mission M34: Black ash laminate finish with a touch of silver linings along the drivers which is composed of a soft dome tweeter and two woofers. Rear firing port with spikes & foam bung included? ( Matt, can you confirm this? )Biwirable!
