OBERON C and SOUND HUB COMPACT - The active option

Our world is becoming one where wireless technology is the norm. We are familiar with the idea and we like the convenience of being able to do without cables in printers, headphones, desktop speakers, phones and even thermostats. Now, the time has come for Hi-Fi speakers to join the wireless revolution and DALI has played a pioneering role in this with the launch of the Rubicon C and Callisto C ranges. A family that is expanded with the new OBERON C Series and the SOUND HUB COMPACT wireless electronics, with which DALI puts active wireless HiFi, with the same quality as passive systems, within the reach of many more music lovers and audiophiles.

As a better value integrated Hi-Fi option, the OBERON C series and SOUND HUB COMPACT are perfectly configured for today's home installations, where Bluetooth devices and smart TVs are the main audio sources.

OBERON C and SOUND HUB COMPACT share simplicity of installation and operation, as well as genuine audiophile sound quality. Music lovers and audiophiles no longer have to choose between incredible sound quality and equipment that is easy to install and use with their Bluetooth devices and smart TVs. The OBERON C series and SOUND HUB COMPACT offer both.

The OBERON 7 C columns have a stylized rear reflex design and are equipped with two twin 7” SMC mid/bass drivers with a wood fiber cone and the same 29 mm ultra-light soft dome tweeter as the Oberon 1 C. Despite their size, the Oberon 7 C are powerful speakers whose ability to reproduce any musical style with liveliness and naturalness, even at low volume levels, is surprising. OBERON 7 C features an integral cast plinth with anchor points for compatible spikes or feet.

The three DALI OBERON C speakers have a WiFi interface, digital signal processing (DSP) and Class D amplification in a module located on their rear panels. The two-channel amplification of each OBERON C offers 50W for each mid/bass driver and high-frequency drivers. The Crossover functions of the OBERON C electronics are implemented through the 24bit/96kHz resolution DSP.

The OBERON 7 C columns are created for large homes where the music has room to breathe and a good volume level is required. They fit the most ambitious music lovers and audiophiles, who seek to make a statement with their music equipment.  With more space and options for positioning the speakers available in larger rooms, the OBERON 7 C fit on each side of a screen to play TV audio, but also to play music from CDs or streaming services, which is where they really shine for their power, as it is a more demanding sound.

Technology at the service of music

DALI is guided by the philosophy that better music at home is a great improvement, and the technologies that allow the OBERON C Series and SOUND HUB COMPACT to reproduce at such an exceptional level obey that philosophy.

The temptation of many Hi-Fi manufacturers when developing active loudspeakers is to believe that active amplification and digital signal processing can be offset by the use of less sophisticated - and therefore cheaper - technology. At DALI they know that this is simply not true and, in fact, in some technical aspects such as the distortion effects that the magnetic driver and the voice coil system can cause, active amplification can be more demanding than passive amplification.

And even with the drivers connected directly, as long as there is minimal loss of the passive components of the crossover, the amplification needs to handle more dynamic loads, so care must be taken to ensure that drivers and amplifiers are correctly paired.

Therefore, with the OBERON C Series, instead of facing active amplification and the DSP beast as an opportunity to simplify or reduce driver specifications, DALI has used the same advanced technological units that reproduce spectacularly in the passive OBERON series. By tuning these exceptional drivers with active amplification and DSP filter technology it has been possible to create a significantly higher level of reproduction in the OBERON C than their passive brothers.

DRIVER BASS/MID DRIVER

The OBERON C bass/mid drivers feature DALI's proprietary wood fiber and paper pulp diaphragm materials, copper-clad aluminum voice coil wiring, and, in particular, DALI's unique SMC (Soft Magnetic Compund) technology. By including non-conductive electrical elements in the magnetic structure, SMC significantly reduces the effect of a variety of distortion-causing mechanisms inherent to the voice coil architecture. For example, SMC minimizes the effects of eddy currents, increases linear flux, reduces magnetic hysteresis, and minimizes voice coil inductance variation with respect to position. All together makes SMC drivers particularly good with active amplification.

TWEETER

The OBERON C high-frequency driver is a damped textile dome tweeter that features an unusually light and wider than average diaphragm, 29mm diaphragm and voice coil. A lightweight diaphragm means that the drivers' higher frequency response is extended, while the larger diameter increases sensitivity and power support, reducing distortion and allowing the driver to operate at better frequencies, which is not the case with smaller tweeters. This allows more room for crossover. In addition to improving the supported power and significantly reducing signal compression as the voice coil increases in temperature due to increased volume, it has ferro-fluid in the voice coil.

CASING

The OBERON C cases are built with high-strength CNC machined MDF plates that have a wide variety of finishes, matte or wood effect. The shells are designed for optimal rigidity to minimize paper resonance, with corner fillets and, in the case of the large OBERON 7 C, strategic internal arms. Corner fillets have become very rare in contemporary housings, but DALI knows that they ensure the solidity of the housing. The internal damping materials of the OBERON C enclosure have been selected and strategically placed to maximize midrange energy attenuation without degrading the bass bandwidth, so common in other reflex loaded speakers.

OBERON 7 C features dual-flare rear panel reflex ports of unusually large diameter, designed to minimize distortion, turbulence and port compression while being enhanced by proximity to the rear wall. The port inlet delays air turbulence as the volume increases, and helps bass reproduction remain consistent at any volume. The rear reflex ports have the great advantage of directing any midrange energy coming from inside the case out of the listening position.

ELECTRONICS AND AMPLIFICATION

The rear panel of OBERON C incorporates a wireless receiver and user interface, DSP equalizer and crossover filter as well as a two-channel, high-efficiency amplifier with an integrated power supply.

OBERON C amplification features two 50W Class D Closed Loop amplification modules chosen specifically for their sound quality and dynamic capabilities. One amplifier powers the high frequency driver and another the bass/mid driver (or the twin drivers in the case of the OBERON 7 C). The amplifier's 100dB signal-to-noise ratio ensures that even the smallest detail of a quiet musical passage is reproduced with clarity and precision. Powering the amplifier is a custom designed 65W (rms) very low noise switched source, which is capable of distributing resources between the two amplification channels on demand. The OBERON C is, as a result, unusually frugal in terms of consumption, although it offers a total and complete experience in dynamics and punch when the music requires it.

WIRELESS FEATURES

The OBERON C wireless receiver receives the digital wireless streaming emitted by SOUND HUB COMPACT or SOUND HUB and, depending on the assigned role of each channel in the configuration (left or right), discards the information that is not its responsibility to reproduce. Once you have your channel-specific data, it is sent at 26bit/96kHz resolution to the DSP equalization and electronic filters.

EQUALIZATION AND CROSSOVER FILTER FUNCTIONS

The OBERON C equalization and Crossover filter elements play two roles. The first, by modifying the frequency response, equalization helps the speaker reproduce the appropriate and balanced response for the room. Not too bright, not too serious and with a perfect mid-range level. The specific and custom DSP profile has been created for each OBERON C model to create a tonal balance that fits the size of your case and allows easy installation in the environment. Only DSP technology can allow the degree of freedom that makes that level of equalization possible. For example, the border effect of the frequency response of an in-wall speaker like OBERON ON-WALL C is impossible with passive equalization, but its correction is possible and easy thanks to the possibilities of active equalization. By actively correcting the border effect, the OBERON ON-WALL C offers a completely different tonality than the sound associated with on-wall localization. It has a more open sound, with the unrestricted character of floor or bookshelf speakers.

Secondly, OBERON C equalization analyzes the incoming signal and, depending on its bass content and volume level, applies dynamic profiles to ensure that the speaker's mid/bass drivers do not need to work beyond their low-distortion comfort zone. It is in part thanks to that dynamic profile that OBERON C remains consistent at all volume levels.

Following equalization, the crossover filter module splits the signal appropriately for the bass/mid and high-frequency drivers, and a high-pass filter feeds the high-frequency driver. The filter has a profile that combines a relatively slow roll-off with benign phase change through the pass-band regions.

The possibility of applying both equalization and crossover filtering completely to the digital signal is a huge advance that active speakers have compared to their passive brothers. Such advantages can only result in better reproduction, as is undoubtedly the case with OBERON C, where the speaker's electroacoustics are ready for whatever they throw at it.

DALI Oberon C finishes

The OBERON C speakers are available in four high-quality finishes, applied as a laminate on the casing, and include a fabric grill that is fixed with pegs, although the use of the grill is completely optional.

The four finishes of OBERON C are matte white (Matt White), light oak (Light Oak), dark walnut (Dark Walnut) and black ash (Black Ash). They have been chosen seeking to cover the greatest tonal range to fit without difficulty into the most common domestic decorations. At the same time, these colors fit perfectly with the fabric grill and aesthetics of these speakers, reiterating traditional DALI principles that include the sensitivity and style of Danish aesthetics.

Compatible electronics

OBERON C is a range compatible with the new device, SOUND HUB COMPACT that combines all the functions and interface options necessary to be placed at the center of an active and wireless HiFi equipment. It can connect to a wide range of wired or wireless sources, digital and analogue, also including HDMI ARC and Bluetooth connectivity for devices such as smartphones, tablets, laptops and desktop computers, thus opening up all the possibilities of wireless audio. 

The OBERON C speakers are also compatible with the DALI SOUND HUB wireless preamplifier introduced with the CALLISTO C range. In addition to offering Bluetooth and a wide variety of audio inputs, SOUND HUB has the option of adding future improvements and expansions. For example, with its optional NPM.1 BluOS module the SOUND HUB can offer high-resolution MQA certified music streaming and multi-room functionality, as well as Spotify Connect.

DALI Oberon 7 C specifications

• Frequency response (±3 dB) (Hz) 31 – 26,000
• Maximum SPL (dB) 108
• Crossover Frequency (Hz) 2450
• Crossover principle Full active 24 Bit DSP
• High frequency driver 1 × 29 mm soft dome tweeter
• Low frequency driver 2 × 7"
• Enclosure type Bass reflex (Rear ported)
• Reflex tuning frequency (Hz) 40
• Amplification power (W) 2 × 50 W
• Class-D amplification type
• Full 24 Bit / 96 kHz wireless input (not compressed)
• Wireless audio RF band (MHz) 5150-5250 MHz and 5725-5875 MHz*
• Universal mains power supply 100-240 VAC
• Maximum power consumption (W) 62
• Standby consumption (W) 1
• Standby power consumption on network (W) 1.25
• Time to enter Standby < 20 minutes
• Recommended placement Floor
• Recommended distance from the wall (cm) 15 – 100
• Size (H × W × D) mm 1015 × 200 × 340
• Weight (kg/lb) 14.8 kg / 32 lb
• Accessories included: Quick start guide, mains cable, front grille, rubber feet, spikes
• Finishes: Black, White, Light Oak, Dark Walnut

* Except Japan

** The speaker will remain connected to the network in standby if the SOUND HUB/SOUND HUB COMPACT is turned off