Dali Zensor 7 Tower Speakers
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Dali Zensor 7 Review


The Danish seems to hide the gene for speaker design. The moving coil structure was invented by the Danish Jensen a hundred years ago, and the silk soft hemispheric tweeter is also the best in Denmark. Dali incorporates these technologies. With a simple and generous design, design the most powerful possible sound within a limited cost range and try every means to achieve a good sound at a fair price. What is the result of all the hard work? The answer is Zensor 7.

Design

When I first got the Zensor 7, this floor-standing speaker doesn’t feel heavy. How does the Zensor 7 feel lighter than expected? I checked the official website and found out that the Zensor series is an entry-level Dali speaker product line, so the focus is to complete it within a limited cost.

Of course, we can see some cost-saving aspects, such as the squareness of the box and the traditional appearance. But to look good, Zensor 7 adds a bright surface paint. The appearance adds a little extravagance. After all, Zensor 7 is the flagship in the affordable series.

Take a look at Zensor 7. Although Dali wants to save costs as much as possible to keep the price of the speakers at a reasonable level, the design still maintains at a high level. For example, the base of the Zensor 7 is not a simple foot nail but a rectangular hollow base frame. The floor area is much larger than the foot nail, and it feels more stable.

Although Zensor 7 does not have a complicated cabinet design, Dali puts most of the cost on the single unit! Two-way three-unit floor-standing speakers have precise sound pointing and can also use two large-sized woofers to work parallel to improve efficiency.

DALI ZENSOR 7 Powerful Floor-Standing Speaker

To make Zensor 7 affordable and sound, Dali uses the most critical technology in this speaker. The tweeter uses a 25mm silk soft dome tweeter. Dali likes to call it Soft Textile Dome. This Textile has the meaning of weaving, but it only talks about the nylon woven frame that supports the diaphragm. The actual diaphragm is the thin film coated on the woven frame. The high-frequency extension is beautiful because of its ultra-lightweight, and the high-frequency can reach up to 26.5kHz.

To get a good sound at a reasonable price, the critical unit is not the treble but the bass. I often tell my friends that the most expensive sound system is the low frequency. It is not difficult if you only want the low-frequency volume, but the pursuit of fast response speed and low extension is also required. The low frequency with a balanced sense of volume will cost a lot of money.

The low-frequency extension of Zensor 7 is marked as 40Hz. In terms of speaker size, this low-frequency extension is reasonable. Zensor 7 has enough cabinet volume and is equipped with two 7-inch wood fiber diaphragm woofers, plus a bass reflex port design. 40Hz extension is a very reasonable specification.

DALI Zensor woofer

Dali’s mid-bass unit has an exclusive technology. Many people like the sound of the cone diaphragm and think that the sound of the cone is neutral and warm. But the rigidity of the cone diaphragm is not as strong as that of the metal diaphragm. It is easy to have distortion at high volume because the basin is split.

Dali prefers paper cone diaphragms, and they have their unique skills, using fiber pulp to enhance the paper structure, so the mid-bass monomer of Zensor 7 is called Wood Fiber Cone. Dali uses general pulp and mixes it with thicker wood fibers to increase the rigidity of the paper cone.

Because of the mixed wood fibers, the paper cone of the Zensor 7 is darker brown. If you look closely, you can also observe the long fibers of the wood. That is also the difference between Dali mid-bass woofers.

Sound Performance

This speaker is not heavy. It is easy to carry 14.3 kg by one person. When I had the listening test, the speaker is placed in the usual listening position. Because the space is large enough, it is far away from the back wall. The amplifiers I used were Linear Acoustic LAV60, Oriole 1BV, and Mark Levinson No.585. All of them are integrated amplifiers. Among them, the 1BV vacuum tube machine has the smallest power, about 40 watts. But it is very easy to drive the Zensor 7. The thickness is also the best, showing the sweet side of the Zensor 7.

The LAV60 MKII’s 100-watt power control Zensor 7 is easy, and the sound speed is bright and relaxed. I planned to use the LAV60 MKII for the first test, but since I’ve got the Mark Levinson No. 585 integrated amplifier, and the effect is even better. Although the price is much higher than the Zensor 7, it can drive the Zensor 7 better, so I used No. 585 for the listening.

Dali ZENSOR 7 Floorstanding speakers

Zensor 7 has a very rich and warm performance as soon as it is turned on. The low-frequency volume exceeds my expectations of the speaker size, and it is not fat and soft low frequency, but a thick and strong low frequency. Dali seems to want to shape the soft sound texture of the Zensor 7, so the mid and high frequencies appear soft and warm. This warm color makes the 1BV vacuum tube machine achieve the best taste, while the No. 585 has a more outstanding performance.

I like to use 1BV to listen to the violin. Listen to the “Brahms Violin Sonata” played by Mutra. The end rhyme of the violin’s weak tone is ascending. The 1BV sounds rich and fragrant. Change to No. 585 to listen. The line of the violin is better, and the piano is more powerful. If you like a rich sound, 1BV may be more attractive, but if you want to hear a more substantial musical tension, then-No. 585 may be more suitable.

The sound performance of Zensor 7 has a super value. It is rich in low-frequency volume and is well driven. Even if I use a 1BV vacuum tube machine with 40 watts, I don’t think there is any problem. I use the 200 watts per channel amplifier, No.585, which is more relaxed and comfortable. Although the Zensor 7 is not expensive, the low frequency of the dual 7-inch mid-bass unit is thick and rich. The listening experience is also very relaxed, even if you listen to a large-scale symphony.

Listening to “Mahler Symphony No. 5”, conducted by the Berlin Philharmonie, the first chapter is kicked off by a brass pipe. The sound field of the Zensor 7 is deep and far enough. I turned up quite a lot of the volume to push the limit of the Zensor 7. No. 585 has no problem with this track, and Zensor 7 can withstand it, which means that it is not afraid of hard-driving.

The more power you push, the stronger the low frequency. The high-frequency range of Zensor 7 has a moderately soft feeling and is a darker tone. So the high-pitched and sharp copper pipes in the Mahler Symphony are relatively soft and not so fierce.

The mid-to-high frequency of Zensor 7 has a feminine charm, and the string group is dense and thick. This fifth chapter sounds comfortable and pleasant. Unconsciously, the fifth chapter of almost eighteen minutes is over.

Why must I finish the listening of the whole track? Because the final music is as bright as salvation. The brass group rushes upwards, and the string group is struggling to play. The piccolo and triangle are the bright instruments desperately urging the symphony orchestra luster. Zensor 7 did not collapse at high volume. The high frequency maintains a slightly darker brightness, and the final timpani hits as the ending and the low-frequency end steadily.

Dali Zensor 7 Tower Speakers finishes

Conclusion

I thought to myself that this Zensor 7 is indeed of great value. Although its appearance is not as exquisite as Dali’s other more expensive speakers, the necessary cost is spent on the sound. By buying speakers at this price, you can listen to Mahler’s Symphony effortlessly.

Zensor 7 is not simple, although I know that using No. 585 to match is a bit too much, the amplifier is much more expensive than the speakers, but this shows that the Zensor 7 is a powerful speaker. The Zensor 7 will repay you with its super-value sound performance.


Dali Zensor 7 Specs

  • Frequency Range (+/-3 dB) [Hz]: 40 – 26,500
  • Sensitivity (2,83 V/1 m) [dB]: 90.0
  • Nominal Impedance [ohms]: 6
  • Maximum SPL [dB]: 110
  • Recommended Amplifier Power [W]: 40 – 150
  • Crossover Frequency [Hz]: 2,400 Hz
  • High frequency driver, Quantity: 1 x 25 mm
  • High frequency driver, Diaphragm type: Soft Textile Dome
  • Low frequency driver, Quantity: 2 x 7″
  • Low frequency driver, Diaphragm type: Wood Fibre Cone
  • Enclosure type: Bass Reflex
  • Bass Reflex Tuning Frequency [Hz]: 40.0
  • Connection Input: Single Wire
  • Magnetic Shielding: No
  • Recommended Placement: Floor
  • Recommended Distance From Wall [cm]: 20 – 80
  • Dimensions With Base (HxWxD) [mm]: 994 x 257 x 320
  • Weight [kg]: 14.9