Vienna Mozart or Dali Helicon 400 with YBA

I just auditioned Dali Helicon 400 today. The whole setup was for home theatre (all Krell equipment), so it was rather a vague experience to say the least... It appears though, that the treble and mid-range are very smooth(though maybe a bit bright), and, as many people say, the bass was boomy. It was 'high-fidelity' alright, but not my liking. I will probably go either Vienna or Triangle.

Bruce -

Yeah, your remarks on Dali Helicons are quite consistent with my images of them. I guess I just have to audition them and see what I actually 'feel' those outstanding qualities.

At any rate, thanks for your comments.
Best,

Aball -

That's EXACTLY the way I felt about Dali, they don't quite have revealing mid and high, period. When I demoed Helicon 400, I was actually unimpressed by them except the looks... And guess what, I am looking for Antel or Celious, they appear to be my liking. For now though, I think I will purchase Vienna Mozart Grand. I might as well purchase Vienna Mozart and Triangle Antal/Celious then!

Gregm -

"The Vienna is like a Bosendorfer piano; the Dali is like a baby concert Steinway..."

Yeah, I think I know what you mean, I think the reason why Glenn Gould preferred Chickering Piano over Steinway is like preferring Vienna over Dali.

I myself play and own a conservatry size Steinway. She sounds nice indeed but not too 'intimate' if you know what I meant (The Steinway is gorgeous and perfect for sure but... You see, a 'but' is still there... I don't know how to describe it but I wish, having a Steinway, I had a Yamaha, Chickering or Bechstein grand...)

At any rate, btw, if I were to choose between a baby Steinway and a concert size Yamaha, I would choose the latter without a second thought. A concert Yamaha is actually sounds very nice! So I guess I will give up Dali then.

Thank you all for your insightful comments. I now have to audition Triangle then. Do you guys(or women) know where I can find Triangle speakers in New York City area?
Best,

Hi Buda,

Thank you for your useful comments above. I am, however, erasing Dali from the shortlist of my next speaker selections. The kind of Image I get from Dalis is that they are brilliant but no more no less. I felt kinda similar feeling comapring betwen YBA Integre DT and Primare I20. While I20 is certainly a good int amp, YBA puts 'emotion' to it. So when I was listening some female vocals on YBA, it felt like 'music' and 'orgnic' rather than 'cd'. It's difficult to expalin YBA (hence people use the terms like 'YBA Magic'), but it's really a FANTASTIC player. So my speakers should not kill the magical quality which is inherent in YBA equipment. My choices are, as noted previously, Vienna and Triagle.
Best,

Rotarius;

Thanks for your input. Yeah, that's the first thing I was concerned about Triangle speakers. The reason why I am upgrading my Kef speakers is that, though they are very efficient, they are a little too 'dry' and 'light' to my taste. That's why a little dark (but super detailed) Vienna Mozart (or Bach) might be a good pair with YBA Integre DT. I like Wagner and I listen to his opera very frequently but I don't like to hear too 'dry', 'thin' and 'light' Wagner... I am almost certain now that my next pay check will go towards Vienna Mozart Grand or Bach Grand (if I find Beethoven Grand with a reasonable price, that's cool, too).

Kats;

Thank you also for your input. Yeah, I checked one of our members by the name of Defstathiou's system under 'virtual system', and he (I am assuming he is male) uses Vienna Bach with YBA Passion, and he thinks they are a fantastic pair (I admire his good taste in equipment selection except, mind you, the ugly boob box inbetween his beautiful hi-fi system...but that's another story, heh).

I hardly listen to music loud but once in a while I listen to Opera and Symphonie louder than my other piano repatoir(but since I live in an apartment in NYC, I just cannot be that 'loud':(

But mostly I like low volume and YBA is quite good at it! Seems like many amps, I mean too many amps, are not able to live up to their full potentials when the volume is very low, but it seems that YBA is able to create very charming and intimate environment even if the volume is low. I was listening to some female voice very low last night and she sounded very 'lifelike' - as if she were there! I suspect not many amps are able to do this.

About three years ago, I had audio refinement complete and was very satisfied with their, shall I say, 'psudo-YBA' sound. In fact, I still think I won't find better int amp for that price (I got it for $500 used). The musicality of the Complete is top of the line except it lacks in detail/speed and succinct bass sound you find in YBA (hence 'psudo-YBA'). But given a chance, I will set up my 2nd system with complete.

But Katz, what equipment do you use besides Bach?
Best,

Rotarius;

I couldn't agree more, that's the impression I get from Triangles - very light, forward, airy, punchy, but not full-bodied. Even in piano music - since I prefer polyphonic music - the speakers must be able to delineate each voice but still harmonise all the voices in one cohesive line. More and more I think about Triangles, I don't think they convey it in a heavy-profound German manner. I'd prefer French/German(well Austria to be precise) pair to French/French pair when it comes to hifi audio.

Buda;

Yeah, I did extensive research on various speaker brands which can be paired with YBA. I even asked Audio plus people seeking their recommendations. One of the gentlemen there (He sounded he had french accent and very knowledgeable) told me that Vienna and YBA goes well. I did think about Vandersteen and accordingly, I did some extensive research but it appears that Vandersteen requires power. Considering my YBA Integre DT is 50W (though it sounds more than that), I don't think it would extract all the juice out of YBA. Well, I never know until I actually listen to them but that's my guess.

Thanks both for your insightful input.
Best,