DALI EPIKORE 11 Celebrates 40 Years of Loudspeaker Innovation

September 4 2023, 10:10
Following the launch of the flagship DALI KORE speakers in 2022, DALI continues to expand the company's 40-year legacy of loudspeaker research and development, hardly recognized outside of a few European countries and devoted high end enthusiasts. Now that DALI is expanding globally, and being promoted in North America, it is appropriate that the company is scheduling another major unveil for CEDIA 2023 in Denver. Not necessarily an installation product (it's just big and heavy), the new EPIKORE 11 speaker is a 4.5-way tower of sound with ultra-low distortion SMC Gen-2 technology.

The DALI EPIKORE 11 follows the natural evolution of the brand's existing EPICON series (yes, DALI has lots of speaker models that no one has ever heard of, and they are really good) while also inheriting several new technologies from the DALI KORE flagship speaker - the company's most recent effort. The EPIKORE 11 combines the usual luxurious craftmanship that the Danish company is known for, creating a truly exceptional musical experience. It is available in High Gloss Black, High Gloss Maroon and High Gloss Walnut finishes and resells for $60,000 USD per pair and $75,000 CAD per pair. ​So, just "a bit less" expensive than the KORE but equally impressive.

"The EPIKORE 11 is the natural progression of our award winning EPICON speaker, applying the learnings from our DALI KORE flagship," says Lenbrook’s DALI Product Manager, Jason Zidle.  
Designed and built completely in-house, as DALI is actually able to do, the DALI EPIKORE 11 speakers exude the minimalism, elegance, and style of classic Danish furniture design (and they don't take that as an insult as other audio brands would). With adjustable spike feet (great for IsoAcoustics to sell more expensive decoupling isolators) the new DALI EPIKORE 11 loudspeakers are a refined design that truly highlights the custom-made drivers.
 
The newly developed 6.5-inch EPIKORE Midrange Driver delivers an outstanding performance, featuring the complex embossed geometric structure of the paper and wood fiber diaphragm used in the DALI KORE, which lowers distortion without adding additional weight as well as helping to control the diaphragm modes. The titanium voice-coil, and DALI’s patented SMC Gen-2 magnet system lowers mechanical loss and distortion even further, allowing for an outstanding sonic performance.
 

First introduced in the DALI KORE, the SMC KORE Crossover Inductors are also used for the EPIKORE 11, which feature the world's first SMC Gen-2 inductor cores. When compared with standard air-core inductors, this technology allows lower DC resistance, a shorter signal path and less vulnerability to crosstalk between the inductors, especially at high inductances. These SMC KORE crossover inductors, together with hand-picked, high-end capacitors and resistors, ensure the EPIKORE 11’s world-class crossovers are optimized exclusively for the speaker. The properties of SMC Gen-2 material also results in around 12dB less current distortion than equivalent iron-powder core inductors.
 
Featuring exceptionally large and powerful magnet systems based on DALI’s SMC Gen-2 material, the four 8-inch woofers used in the EPIKORE 11 fill any room with a huge, extensive, and precise low frequency reproduction. From the lowest, deepest bass frequencies through to the seamless overlap to the midrange driver, the EPIKORE 11 woofers reproduce the finest musical details and dynamics, with very low loss of information.
 
The rear of the EPIKORE 11 speakers show the high-end binding posts below the two dual-flare bass reflex ports.
 
The EPIKORE 11 features DALI’s signature paper and wood fiber cone technology, which serves to reduce weight and adds stiffness, helping promote non-resonant break-up characteristics. With wood fiber cone technology, the EPIKORE 11 produces the finest musical detail and dynamics.

Developed originally for the DALI KORE, the EVO-K Hybrid Tweeter combines a large, in-house developed 35mm soft dome tweeter and an improved version of DALI’s ultra-thin, high performance ribbon tweeter element. Together with the extremely powerful neodymium magnet motor systems, they deliver an astonishingly smooth and effortless high-frequency reproduction at any volume.

DALI, (Danish Audiophile Loudspeaker Industries), was established in 1983 and is one of the leading high end speaker manufacturers in Europe, inheriting the best traditions of the Danish loudspeaker industry, now benefiting from the significant  resources and company synergies with other brands owned by Peter Lyngdorf, its founder.

Available in North America through the Lenbrook Group of Companies, a privately held Canadian corporation and the owners of NAD Electronics, PSB Speakers, Bluesound and Bluesound Professional, DALI also benefits from Lenbrook's vast experience as a distributor. Lenbrook Americas, a wholly owned subsidiary of Lenbrook International, is responsible for the sales and marketing of NAD Electronics, PSB Speakers, Bluesound and DALI in both the US and Canada. Additionally, it also distributes Tivoli Audio in Canada.
www.lenbrookamericas.com
www.dali-speakers.com
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About Joao Martins
Since 2013, Joao Martins leads audioXpress as editor-in-chief of the US-based magazine and website, the leading audio electronics, audio product development and design publication, working also as international editor for Voice Coil, the leading periodical for... Read more

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