Dali Fazon Mikro – Drivers

Both the Dali Fazon Mikro and Mikro Vokal use a 4in wood fibre cone mid/bass driver and a 20mm soft textile dome tweeter. Dali quotes a frequency range of 95Hz-25kHz.

The SUB E-9 F is a smaller, lower-specced version of Dali’s SUB E-12 F and features a 9-inch driver, powered by a 170W Class-D amplifier.

Dali Fazon Mikro – Performance

Teamed up with a Pioneer SC-LX87 receiver, the Fazon Mikro delivers a hugely enjoyable performance. Its sound is lively, expressive and packed with detail, communicating the action-packed Blu-ray soundtrack of Captain America: The First Avenger with great confidence and composure.

What really stands out is the Dali’s beautiful high-frequency reproduction, enhancing every scene with layers of sweetly-rendered detail. After Rogers busts the prisoners from their cells, the soundstage is peppered with tiny nuances and textures as they rampage through the Hydra compound.

Every effect has a crisp leading edge that makes the soundstage feel more open and life-like. You can hear the clicking mechanism of machine guns as they dispatch bullets, or the hiss and crackle as building walls are reduced to rubble – elements that can sound harsh, spitty or even absent through inferior speakers.

Gentler effects like applause and pouring rain emerge beautifully from every speaker, wrapping you up in a cocoon of airy detail. This is one of the most insightful speaker systems we’ve tested.

Its sound may be smooth and easy but it is not overly clinical. The Dali Fazon Mikro’s clean, snappy midrange and the sats’ tight integration with the potent sub make it full and satisfying. There’s excellent cohesion across the system too, showing no jarring shifts in tone as effects are steered from one channel to another, and dialogue emerges clearly.

Given careful calibration, the subwoofer does a terrific job when the action hots up. When Richard Armitage’s Nazi spy blows up the lab’s observation deck, the explosion has impressive depth and slam. Likewise the short gun blasts as Schmidt evaporates the visiting Nazis. Don’t be tempted to crank up the volume dial on the back much over half way though, as low-frequencies can sound overly bloated.

Our only criticism is that the Fazon Mikro’s sound might be a little too polite and small-scale for some tastes. It lacks the out-and-out heft, authority and dynamics of similarly priced packages like the Quad L-ite Plus or the Monitor Audio Radius R90HT1. If want a big, brutal listening experience, this isn’t the system you’re looking for.

It is, however, a delightfully musical customer, playing Zara McFarlane’s gorgeous jazz number Police & Thieves with great fluidity and detail. During the solo bass intro, you can hear the leading edge as each string is plucked, and the piano chords are rich and velvety when they slide in. The sats’ exceptional detail retrieval gives McFarlane’s voice a level of intimacy that most systems can’t match, backed up by crisp, rhythmic brushed drum beats. It is stunning.

Should I buy the Dali Fazon Mikro?

Dali’s Fazon Mikro is an impressive speaker system, blessed with a beautiful design and a sparkling performance with films and music.

It digs out detail like few systems we’ve tested at this price, creating a wonderfully layered, involving soundstage that pulls you right into the movie or song. If you crave a system that’s easy on the ear and the eye, the DALI is definitely money well spent.

The subwoofer also does a terrific job, slamming non-directional bass into the room with gusto and fusing seamlessly with the tonally-matched satellites. The result is a cohesive, well-balanced soundstage.

That said, it doesn’t quite deliver the scale or dynamics offered by similarly-priced rival systems from Monitor Audio and Quad, lacking that extra punch and drive to satisfy thrill seekers.

DALI Fazon Mikro – Verdict

It may not be the biggest or most authoritative system at this price, but DALI’s elegant looks and detail-drenched sound quality still make it a fabulous 5.1 system.

Trusted Score