DALI RUBIKORE 8 Floorstanding Loudspeaker Review

 DALI RUBIKORE 8 Introduction

I have always enjoyed DALI’s speakers on the occasions that I have heard them, whether it be their very affordable offerings or their ultra high-end KORE speakers. DALI has been around for about 40 years, so they have learned a thing or two about designing a loudspeaker, and it’s no wonder that they are so enjoyable. However, I haven’t ever had the chance to review a traditional loudspeaker by them. I did review their OBERON 7 C, but that was merely a part of an active system that centered more around their Sound Hub than the speaker itself. Today, this changes with the RUBIKORE 8 loudspeakers that I have in for review. While the RUBIKORE 8 is more like a ‘typical’ loudspeaker from DALI, compared to most tower speakers, there are some major departures from ordinary design. At $12k/pair, these are high-end loudspeakers, although DALI has both much cheaper and far more expensive towers to choose from. So then, what does DALI bring to the table for this not insignificant sum of money? Let’s dig in to find out…

DALI RUBIKORE 8 Appearance

The RUBIKORE 8 speakers play it safe as far as styling goes. They don’t look bad at all, but they don’t take any big styling risks, so other household members aren’t likely to object to their appearance (unless they just don’t like the sight of loudspeakers at all). They can be had in a high-gloss maroon wood veneer, high-gloss black, high-gloss-white, or natural walnut with a satin sheen. I received the walnut finish, and the surface was so smooth that at first I thought it was a vinyl finish (you can imagine my surprise: a vinyl finish on a $12k/pair speaker!) However, touching the surface and more closely examining the wood grain did confirm it was a real walnut finish. It’s simply a finer walnut than anything I have seen up to now. If I were to consider buying some RUBIKORE speakers, I would opt for the maroon finish since it nicely compliments the color of the driver’s cone.

 

The front baffle has some curvature on it to help make the speakers look less boxy, and it works. The drivers are installed on some mounts that slightly project  them out from the front baffle. The tweeters are installed on an black aluminum plate. The outriggers and feet are small and don’t contribute much to the appearance. An included grille does hide the drivers, and it uses an interesting multi-colored fabric that has a furniture aesthetic. Overall, the RUBIKORE 8s look nice, but I don’t think the walnut finish looks $12k/pair nice. They look a bit too plain for that cost, at least for myself but that is entirely a matter of personal taste. Some people will prefer the walnut finish, but I think the other finishes hit those luxury notes better.

DALI RUBIKORE 8 Design Analysis

The RUBIKORE 8 speakers might look fairly traditional at a glance, but a closer look at the design shows that these speakers have some very unusual qualities. That can be gleaned from their specification sheet where they are stated to be a “2 ½ + ½ + ½ -way loudspeaker.” What the heck is a “2 ½ + ½ + ½ -way” speaker? The RUBIKORE 8 speakers have three mid woofers and two tweeters. A typical 2.5 way speaker would have identical woofers with overlapping bandwidth with only one of the woofers meeting the tweeter at the crossover frequency whereas the other woofers may only be allowed to play bass frequencies and not midrange frequencies. Unlike a traditional 2.5 way speaker, there are three different filters for the woofers instead of two. The lower woofer is filtered at 500Hz, the middle woofer is filtered at 800Hz, and the top woofer is filtered at 2.4kHz. Normal 2.5-way speakers have an advantage over 3-way speakers in that they have more headroom in bass thanks to the low-frequency contribution from the extra woofer. Another advantage of a 2.5-way speaker is the gain in efficiency in low frequencies that can help compensate for baffle step loss. DALI’s solution has all of those advantages with possibly a bit more focused imaging thanks to the middle woofer’s added bandwidth.

  

The tweeters use a two-way system with the crossover between them occurring at 14kHz with the upper tweeter functioning as a super tweeter. It’s a complicated crossover network, and what it does is more closely emulate a point source sound emanation by placing more focus on the drivers that have the greatest bandwidth. That would be the lower tweeter and upper midrange driver, and the speaker’s reference axis, or its intended point source location, would be somewhere between those two components.

Let’s now talk about the drivers themselves, and we will start by taking it from the top with the tweeters. The vast majority of loudspeakers only have one tweeter to reproduce treble, but the RUBIKORE 8s have two, a 1 1/8” dome tweeter and a planar tweeter. The dome tweeter is given the majority of the bandwidth, and plays from 2.4kHz to 14kHz. DALI touts this dome’s lack of ferrofluid in the magnetic gap of the motor. Many tweeters use ferrofluid to help cool the coil as well as center the former. However, ferrofluid can damp the motion of the moving assembly since it is immersed in a liquid instead of free air. Removing ferrofluid allows freer motion of the dome, and it can also prolong the life of the speaker since ferrofluid can dry out as the years go by thereby altering the tweeter’s intended performance.

That dome tweeter’s bandwidth sort of leaves the planar tweeter to act as a super tweeter I say “sort of” as  its function is more than just to supplement the highest frequencies. The planar tweeter is also there to compensate for the dome tweeter’s narrowing of dispersion at higher frequencies. Most dome tweeters begin to ‘beam’ or restrict the angle of projected sound at higher frequencies, so at the low end of their bandwidth they project sound at a wide angle, but as frequencies rise, that angle narrows, so that at the very top of their bandwidth, the sound is really only coming out directly in front of the tweeter and nowhere else. Other tweeter designs such as ribbons, planars, and AMTs, can avoid this behavior, largely by virtue of the dimensions of their diaphragms. DALI is aiming for a broad dispersion from the bottom to the top of the loudspeaker’s bandwidth, but that can’t be done with a dome tweeter alone, so DALI uses a planar to radiate widely where the dome starts to contract its acoustic radiation.

Readers might ask, why not just use a planar tweeter for the entirety of the treble bandwidth? It would surely simplify the design. The problem is that many light and wide radiating tweeters like planars and ribbons don’t have a lot of dynamic range at the lower end of their bandwidth. Domes can be much more powerful and robust and are able to displace a lot more air. Air displacement demands increase dramatically to maintain the same SPL as frequencies fall; Given the same SPL, the transducer’s demand for air displacement quadruples for every octave it's trying to play lower. So DALI is trying to get the best of both worlds here: wide dynamic range and wide dispersion in high frequencies. Readers can learn more about this ‘Hybrid Tweeter’ system from DALI’s tech page: Hybrid Tweeter - A DALI Trademark.

  

Moving on to the woofers, the RUBIKORE 8s use three 6.5” woofers using a cone that DALI calls the ‘Clarity Cone.’ The ‘Clarity Cone’ is a composite of paper and wood fiber that has been formed into a very particular shape and then treated with a unique lacquer. The paper/wood fiber material offers a good stiffness while still being light-weight. The embossed shape helps to stave off ‘break-up’ effects- cone deformation at high frequencies which can cause major response problems- by adding structural reinforcement in areas prone to bending modes where the cone would naturally begin to bend at high frequencies. This allows the driver to play at a higher bandwidth which reduces the need for steeper crossover filter slopes and thus less phase distortion.

The cones are mounted to a cast-aluminum basket by way of a very light rubber surround and a progressive spider. The suspension system is designed to maintain a linear throw without inhibiting motion until the moving assembly hits very high excursion levels. DALI prides themselves on a ‘low loss’ design philosophy, so the surround should offer very little resistance at nominal operational ranges.

The motor uses two big magnetic discs, but one disc functions as a bucking magnet which has reversed polarity of the primary magnet and refocuses the magnetic field toward the gap instead of becoming lost by straying out behind the motor. This helps to elevate sensitivity and thus increases the dynamic range of the drivers.

The motor structure uses DALI’s SMC magnet system. In areas around the voice coil within the motor, namely the pole piece and top plate near the magnetic gap, DALI uses a material called SMC or ‘Soft Magnetic Compound.’ What SMC does is transmit the magnetic field without being electrically conductive. Typically, iron would be used in these areas, but while iron is good at carrying a magnetic field, it also has some electrical conductivity which can degrade the linearity of the driver. The advantage of using SMC in these areas is a major reduction in eddy currents and hysteresis and thus reduction in odd-order harmonic distortion and an increase in upper-frequency sensitivity. For those who want the gory details about SMC use in drivers, DALI's tech page describes it: PATENTED SOFT MAGNETIC COMPOSITE (SMC), but the reader can also refer to the patent for a more precise description: Patent US9036859B2 Electromagnetic Drive Unit.

The enclosure is a stout affair but not overbuilt. Panels are all ¾” MDF. The enclosure is divided by a solid brace between the upper woofer and the two lower woofers, and there are three cross braces stiffening the sidewalls. There is a gob of acoustic stuffing for internal damping. I have certainly seen more brawny cabinets at this price point, but I have to question how much good all of that extra mass does after a certain point. I think that DALI gets the job done for a non-resonant enclosure but doesn’t go overboard just to have mass for the sake of feeling heavy. Some people might be disappointed by this, but it doesn’t bother me.

There are three ports that are mounted right behind each woofer. DALI positions them there because they say that there will be the lowest latency and most efficient transfer of energy from being at close proximity, but I have to question this claim as ports interact with the air pressure from the entire internal compartment and not just directly with the backwave pressure from the driver itself. The ports use DALI’s ‘Continuous Flare Port’ design. Instead of just a straight port with flared ends, the RUBIKORE speakers use continuously flared ports for their entire length. Research from JBL and Bose has shown that shaping the entire port instead of just flaring the ends can help to minimize port turbulence, so this design should allow higher output levels from the port than typical port designs.

The RUBIKORE 8 speakers use a pair of five-way binding posts mounted in a plastic terminal cup. The posts are gold-plated at contact points, and are covered with plastic to protect against corrosion elsewhere. These binding posts can accept spades and banana plugs easily, but it was a little tricky to connect them with bare wires. The crossover circuit is mounted to the back of the terminal cup and uses a whole throng of components over two boards. The physical complexity of the circuit is not surprising given the design. DALI actually uses their SMC technology in inductors that would normally use iron cores. Their SMC technology fills in for iron, and it has advantages over air-core inductors as well. Compared to air core, SMC core inductors have lower DC resistance, shorter signal paths, and less vulnerability to cross-talk. Compared to iron core, SMC core inductors have significantly lowered current distortion. DALI also uses high-grade Mundorf film capacitors for tighter tolerances.

The RUBIKORE 8 can be bi-wired or bi-amped. I don’t think these speakers could handle so much power or have such a stringent impedance load where either bi-amping or bi-wiring would make sense. The people who are buying a $12k/pair speaker set will also be able to afford an amplifier that can sufficiently power them with no problems. I know it’s ticking off a standard feature checkmark for high-end speakers, but it’s a feature that often creates more problems than can lead to useful solutions. Just keep the jumpers in place and amplify these speakers with a single competent amplifier.

The RUBIKORE 8s rest on the floor on some spiked feet that are mounted on outriggers. It gives the speakers a good footing on the floor, but the outriggers and feet are pretty rudimentary for a set that DALI touts as ‘premium.’ These aren’t bad outriggers, but I feel that in this instance DALI should have included a nicer feet set at this price

The design as a whole is rather intricate, much more so than one would catch at a glance. It promises wide dispersion and wide dynamic range and its emphasis on point source emission should lead to good imaging. Let’s now see how much of that plays out in some actual listening…

DALI RUBIKORE 8 Listening Sessions

In my 24’ by 13’ (approximately) listening room, I set up the speakers a few feet off the back and side walls and with an equal distance between the speakers and the listening position. Per DALI’s recommendations, I angled the speakers outward with no toe-in angling so that they faced straight ahead instead of facing the listening position. The listening distance from the speakers was about 9 feet. No room correction equalization was used. Processing was done by a Marantz 7705 and the amplification was a Monoprice Monolith 5x200 amplifier. No subwoofers were used unless noted otherwise.

Music Listening

To get a taste of what the RUBIKORE 8s could do for orchestral music, I found a terrific new recording that had me very excited: “Nosferatu - A Symphony of Horror.” No, it’s not a score to the new “Nosferatu” movie by Robert Eggers, although I am very much looking forward to that one. Instead, it is a new score to the original 1922 by horror film music maestro Christopher Young who composed the iconic score to 1987’s “Hellraiser” and many other horror films. Young’s modern gothic sensibilities are a perfect fit for this project, and he was commissioned to create this score  for F.W. Murnau's silent 1922 classic by European FilmPhilharmonic in 2022. Interestingly, Young gave a prominent role to the pipe organ for this composition, here performed by Saya Hashino on a new pipe organ in the famous Tonhalle concert hall in Zurich. The performing orchestra is the Tonhalle-Orchester Zurich under the direction of Frank Strobel. I streamed this release from Qobuz.

I found this score to have a great balance of string, woodwinds, brass, and percussion. I nearly expected it to be largely strings and percussion, as many other scores for old gothic horror movies tend to be, but every part of the orchestra was beautifully represented, and it all sounded great on the RUBIKORE 8s. Despite being a score for an old horror film, this score had many more flavors than just gloomy spookiness, not that it wasn’t a dark enterprise on the whole. Instruments were rendered with a striking verisimilitude by the RUBIKORE 8s. The Tonhalle concert hall is not some enormous cathedral, so the recording wasn’t awash in reverb, but there was still a sense of spaciousness, although I don’t know how much of it was lent by the speakers or how much of it is in the mix. This performance was recorded at the world premiere, and we do hear some slight audience sounds, but it is subtle, albeit a subtlety that did not escape the speakers. The sound mix, or perhaps the speakers, seemed to place the listener at a closer central position relative to the orchestra since the soundstage was so wide and individual instruments resolved at fairly specific locations. The low end felt fully represented, and the bass drums and lower organ notes were powerfully reproduced by the RUBIKORE 8 speakers. Murnau’s “Nosferatu” remains a monumental artistic achievement, even a century after its release, so creating a score for such an iconic work had to be daunting, but I think that Christopher Young and his collaborators have done a terrific job, and I am interested in listening to this score alongside the movie itself at some point. When I do, I hope to have loudspeakers as capable as the RUBIKORE 8s on hand.

 

Another new release I found on Qobuz is “Relations” by Thomas Stronen. This is a very unusual, almost experimental, jazz album. The Norwegian drummer Stronen created some rhythm tracks during a COVID lockdown and then sent them to musicians around the world that he had never worked with for collaboration. He is joined by the American pianist Craig Taborn, Spanish pianist Jorge Rossy, American saxophonist Chris Potter, and Finnish vocalist and kantele player Sinikka Langeland. They don’t all play together as a band but rather perform in duets with Stronen in performances recorded in Oslo, New York, and Basel over the course of a few years. As duets, these performances are a bit on the minimal side of jazz, but the artistry and recording quality make for a commanding listen on a high-fidelity sound system.

One aspect of this recording that became clear right away is that it uses quietness to its advantage, especially in the first track. Passages of low level bells are punctuated by sharp, brief bits of percussion, and it was startling when those bursts occurred. It turns out this album is great for exhibiting dynamic range, and I would wager it is one of the few to truly take advantage of the 24-bit depth of the digital audio file. The contrast between loud and quiet is very stark, and this was the perfect opportunity for the RUBIKORE 8s to show off its ability to render low-level detail and also fully recreate the transient peaks of music. The speakers were able to produce an uncommon realism thanks to this album’s dynamics. The music had the ability to become very loud without seeming loud, or, to put it another way, I could turn up the volume higher than normal, and while the album used the full extent of the dynamic range, it wasn’t fatiguing to listen to in the least. A wide dynamic range has to be a quality of the recording and also a capability of the sound system in order to pull off this effect. I don’t think a small speaker or a low-power amp could really do this album justice. The RUBIKORE 8s certainly could, and the music sounded fantastic with these speakers. While “Relations” is on the experimental side of jazz, I enjoyed it more than I thought I would, and I would urge jazz enthusiasts to give it a try but do so with a top-notch sound system like what can be had with DALI’s RUBIKORE 8 speakers.

Regina Spector’s newly remastered “Songs” is a great opportunity to see what a sound system can do with a human voice. Spector’s stripped-down folk music has always been nearly ideal for a close look at a premiere vocalist because the sound engineers of her albums are smart enough not to get in the way of her voice by using processing or effects. The tracks in “Songs” simply feature Regina and her piano with no clutter or noticeable processing, and thankfully this remaster of her 2001 self-published album doesn’t go down the usual road of compressing everything for more loudness. This album serves as a pristine look at her talent in an early stage in her career, and it certainly portends artistic success and fame to come. I streamed this new remaster from Qobuz in a high-res format.

From the first track forward, Spector’s voice imaged dead center in the soundstage. Typically, wide dispersion loudspeakers tend to spread out the center imaging somewhat, but the RUBIKORE 8s retained pinpoint precision while having a wide dispersion design. Spector’s voice was articulated with utmost detail and it sounded natural and realistic. It was as if she was singing in my living room, between the speakers. Some recordings transport the listener to a different place, but other recordings transport the performers to the listener’s place, and “Songs” was certainly the latter, although a good sound system is needed to accomplish either. The RUBIKORE 8s was able to accomplish this with aplomb. Spector’s piano is largely anchored in the soundstage center, so this recording doesn’t do anything fancy with left or right imaging, not that it should given its nature. I am not sure this album would be drastically different if it were monaural, but a monaural recording would always image dead center and nowhere else even in a stereo system, providing the stereo system didn’t have problems. This album is an intimate one, but for those who want a close brush with Regina Spector’s self-expression, I couldn’t imagine anything better, although it does benefit from a high-fidelity sound system like the RUBIKORE 8s. The stereo illusion of having Spector perform in your own home isn’t going to happen with a subpar loudspeaker set.

 

To see what the RUBIKORE 8s could do when pressed hard, I loaded up “Edge Mecha” by Former. This 2017 release on the Division Recordings label is an EP of electronic bass music, but it isn’t repetitive club music. It has seven tracks with wildly inventive sounds and unique compositional structures. These aren’t really danceable tracks but they are killer tunes nonetheless. The bass is heavy, and the lead synths blaze hard. At high volumes, this music will tax any sound system. Anyone looking for hard electronic music with an idiosyncratic edge ought to give this album a listen.

The first track starts with some bizarrely distorted vocals that sounds like it was sung by frictioning metals, and on the RUBIKORE 8s it scorched across the soundstage. The second track, “Pleasure Model” by Noisia, has to be considered a modern dubstep classic. The speakers didn’t seem phased by the heavy bass or searing vocals. Kick drums thumped with a subwoofer-like punch, and the basslines sustained a palpable muscle even at high volumes. The track “No Display” seemingly turned a chainsaw into a lead instrument, and it could shred on the RUBIKOREs. The speakers lit up these tracks and could play them at louder volumes than I could tolerate. I did get a sense of some compression at the lowest end, as though they didn’t quite have the low-frequency displacement to keep up with higher ranges, but I was asking an unfair amount of them at that point. The bass was impressive although not infinite in headroom. Nonetheless, these speakers could play loud. Those who want to extend their dynamic range could just add a subwoofer or two since that would take a big load off of the bass drivers thereby enabling them to play even louder. But even without a sub, they could still jam the low frequencies, as evidenced by the title track, “Edge Mecha.” The bassline wobbled with real tactility at a high drive level. Could the RUBIKORE 8s be used to rock a house party? Yes, but I might still add a sub for the hardcore bassheads.

Movie Watching

One movie I had been looking forward to seeing was 2024’s “Monkey Man,”  a surprise hit from Dev Patel who not only acts in a lead role but also co-writes, directs, and produces this Indian actioner. In it, Patel plays a fighter in a gorilla mask who is paid to get beaten up and throw fights in an underground fight club. When he learns of a way to take revenge on elites who murdered his mother, he decides to use his ability to take tremendous physical punishment to get payback. “Monkey Man” supposedly has terrific action scenes, so I thought it would make for a good exhibition of what the RUBIKORE 8 speakers could do with an action movie sound mix.

“Monkey Man” far surpassed my expectations for an action movie. The action was mostly martial arts and hand-to-hand combat, albeit of an exceptionally gritty and savage variety rather than more formal and stylized Asian action movies. The editing and sound mix was frenetic, especially in action scenes and scenes from the fast-paced city life in its version of Mumbai. Many of the fighting and training sequences were intercut with serene scenes from our protagonist's idyllic childhood, a nice contrast as well as respite from the harsh brutality of the on-screen violence. It all sounded terrific on the RUBIKORE 8s. The physical punishment endured in the fight scenes were relayed with a visceral force by the speakers. Punches, kicks, stabbings, and bone-breaking were all articulated with dynamics and detail. The occasional gunshots and car crashes also crackled with a tactile sensation. The sound mix was filled with a variety of music which the speakers gave a lively report. Club music, hip hop, traditional Indian tabla music, and even a scene of well-placed metal: the speakers’ expansive soundstage, punchy bass, and meticulous detailing helped to submerge the viewer in a hectic city’s nightlife with the many musical elements that were packed in the movie. I had no problems understanding dialogue, even with some heavy Indian accents, at least for the parts of the movie which were in English. “Monkey Man” turned out to be a surprise, one of the best action movies of the year. It really deserves to be seen with a high-performance sound system like the RUBIKORE 8s.

 

Another unexpected recent hit was “The Substance,” a 2024 body horror film starring Demi Moore. It concerns a fading actress who goes to extreme lengths to stay beautiful. She is offered a pill that splits her life in two where she spends time as a younger, more beautiful version of herself but must also spend an equal amount of time as her older self. This causes major problems when her younger self wants to take over completely. I had not yet seen it, but the trailers made it look pretty twisted with a wild sound mix. I had been looking forward to this ever since seeing the trailer, so what better way to watch it with such capable loudspeakers in house.

“The Substance” was far more insane than I had anticipated. I knew it was going to have a ‘body horror’ like many of David Cronenberg’s movies which are usually pretty gross, but “The Substance” was a lot more disgusting than I expected. Maybe the reason it surprised me is I would never have guessed established stars like Moore and Denni Quaid would be in anything so gruesome. Needless to say, I loved it. The sound design did not disappoint either, so the RUBIKORE 8s were really given a chance to shine. The movie is heavily stylized, in both a visual and audio sense, so the sights and sounds are all very carefully constructed. Without trying  to spoil anything, the effects sounds of human biology going wrong was spectacularly nauseating, and the RUBIKORE 8s were able to communicate every sickening detail. Much like the visuals, the sounds of some of the gross-out events were boosted to get an extra close look at some really repulsive minutiae, and the sound system was certainly game for that exercise. Another interesting aspect of the sound mix was when the movie gave it a subjective perspective, as if the viewer were hearing what the main character was hearing. It was a nifty choice, and the RUBIKORE 8s were able to relay the protagonist’s experience vividly. The score by Raffertie was terrifically twisted electronic music that was the perfect companion for the on-screen insanity. It frequently used deep bass as well as many other strange sounds to up the creepiness, and it was given a striking level of definition thanks to the RUBIKORE 8s wide soundstage and precision. Dialogue intelligibility was never a problem for the speakers, except perhaps near the end of the movie where it was supposed to be unintelligible. “The Substance” is bound to be a divisive movie, but if you have a strong stomach, especially with a good A/V system, and like your movies on the wilder side, I can whole-heartedly recommend it. 

DALI RUBIKORE 8 Measurements & Analysis

The DALI RUBIKORE 8 Tower was measured in free-air at a height of 4 feet at a 2-meter distance from the microphone, with the microphone raised to an 8’ elevation that was level with and aimed at the tweeter center. The measurements were gated at 8 milliseconds. In this time window, some resolution is lost below 400 Hz, and accuracy is completely lost below 200 Hz. Measurements have been smoothed at a 1/24 octave resolution.

 

 

The above graphs depict the DALI RUBIKORE 8’s direct-axis and horizontal dispersion out to a 90-degree angle in five-degree increments. Information on how to interpret these graphs can be read in this article: Understanding Loudspeaker Review Measurements Part II. The reference axis used for measuring was on the dome tweeter. I would say the most noteworthy aspect of this measurement is how the tweeter’s bandwidth changes when moving to an off-axis position. On-axis, we can see that the tweeter’s level is somewhat elevated with respect to the rest of the bandwidth, but it falls fairly precipitously around 20 degrees off-axis or so. If you listened to these speakers on-axis -that is to say have them facing directly at you- you would be met with a more forward and treble-heavy presentation, but if you face these speakers straight ahead in parallel vectors while seated between them, you would be listening at a much more neutral presentation. DALI stresses not to toe-in the RUBIKORE speakers, and this must be why, but those who want a hotter and more detailed sound could toe these speakers inward to acquire that. Aside from the discrepancy in treble levels from on to off-axis angles, there isn’t a lot else to discuss except to say that the midrange is pretty neutral and well-controlled.

Some people might consider such changes in tonality based on angle to be a flaw and think that loudspeakers should retain the same character at all angles to be the ideal, but I think there is room for both approaches. Both can yield a great sound. The drawback to the approach taken by the RUBIKORE speakers is that users have to know and understand the nature of the speakers to use them optimally. Some audiophiles might blithely assume that the intended axis is the on-axis response and set them up accordingly and then feel that they have too aggressive of a sound. However, if they take the time to look at the user manual or read reviews like this one, they will know better.

 

The above polar map shows the same information as the preceding graphs but depicts it in a way that can offer new insight regarding these speakers’ behavior. Instead of using individual raised lines to illustrate amplitude, polar maps use color to portray amplitude, and this allows the use of a purely angle/frequency axis perspective. The advantage of these graphs is they can let us see broader trends of the speaker’s dispersion behavior more easily. More information about interpreting this graph can be read in this article: Understanding Loudspeaker Measurements Part II.

In this graph, We do get another look at the hotter treble on-axis in the dark red patches. Again, move off by about 20-degrees and it mellows out. Something else we see here is how the dome tweeter narrows dispersion as it moves up in bandwidth, hence DALI’s decision to add a planar tweeter to sustain a wider projection of sound in the upper treble. It kind of does, but I decided not to use the dome tweeter and not the planar tweeter as a reference axis for measuring for two reasons. Firstly, the planar is mounted a bit high, and I think it is slightly above where most people will be listening. Secondly, it doesn’t widen dispersion by a whole lot and mostly only brings up the treble level a bit more. Nonetheless, the RUBIKORE 8 maintains a wide dispersion out to a fairly high frequency, about 10kHz as seen here, before it narrows. The dispersion is pretty consistent out to 80-degrees, so I would characterize this as a very wide dispersion loudspeaker, and I think this is what helps it have such an expansive and enveloping soundstage.

 

The above graph shows the DALI RUBIKORE 8’s low-frequency response captured using ground plane measurements (where the speaker and microphone are on the ground at a 2-meter distance in a wide-open area). In this graph, we can see that the RUBIKORE 8s have a nicely flat response down to 60Hz after which there is a gradual roll-off. Many tower speakers have this kind of roll-off since a totally flat response down to port tuning tends to boost the bass in most normal home acoustic situations. This is very typical, and there isn’t anything to complain about here. In my room, which does not get much low-end gain, I still had a strong response until just below 30Hz from the RUBIKORE 8s.

 

The above graph shows the electrical behavior of the RUBIKORE 8s. DALI specs them as 4 ohm nominal loudspeakers, and that is what our measurements show. This is not a particularly hard load, and the impedance does not even dip below 4 ohms. One interesting thing to note is how stable the impedance and phase is in the tweeter’s bandwidth. One would expect a more wooly response given DALI’s hybrid tweeter system, but instead it stays within a pretty narrow range of impedance. User’s will not need a super-amp to run these speakers; any competently designed amplifier will be fine with them. Something else to note is the tuning point of the ports which can be seen as the bottom of the saddle dip in the low frequencies, and looks to be just above 30Hz. It’s a deep enough tuning frequency for the vast majority of music material, but for those who want powerful near-infrasonic bass, it would be worth adding a deeply-tuned subwoofer.

I measured the sensitivity to be 89.8dB at 2.83v for 1 meter. This is very close to DALI’s own specification of 90.5dB under the same circumstances. That is about what one would expect for a tower speaker of this size and design which usually range from 88dB to 90dB sensitive. That makes the RUBIKORE 8s a fairly sensitive loudspeaker, and they will not need a monster amp to get loud.

DALI RUBIKORE 8 Conclusion

Before bringing this review to an end, I will briefly go over the strengths and weaknesses of the product under evaluation, and, as always, I will start with the weaknesses. The RUBIKORE 8s are well-made and well-conceived loudspeakers, and I have few complaints about them in themselves. My main gripe is their pricing: $12k/pair is steep for these loudspeakers, and I am not so sure they are doing a lot that can’t be had in less expensive floor-standing alternatives. Being handmade in Denmark is invariably going to hike the price from similarly competing models that are manufactured in China. The quality control and manufacturing of the RUBIKORE 8s are surely top-notch, but I am not sure how much of that justifies such a high-cost. Users will have to determine the value proposition here for themselves. These are very good tower speakers with a high-level of European craftsmanship; what is that worth to you.

With my complaint about their cost out of the way, let’s move on to their strengths, which are many. Firstly, their sound is the main attraction here. They pull off the rare feat of having a wide dispersion for a large soundstage without smearing the imaging over a broad area as well. The imaging remained sharp and precise yet the soundstage was expansive and enveloping. The tonality was mostly neutral although I did get a sense of a slight touch of treble forwardness, although not much. These are not blazing hot treble speakers, although they might be if you aim the speakers directly at the listening position. Users should take note to aim them forward in parallel directions per DALI’s instruction, because the smoothest and most neutral response occurs past a 20-degree angle off-axis. Within that angle near the on-axis direction, the treble becomes quite elevated. When used as prescribed, users will get a nicely detailed sound without overbearing treble. If one wanted to tame the treble without equalizing them, they could bi-amp the speakers and take the tweeter’s amp level down by a few decibels.

The bass was punchy and neutral, and a 30Hz low-frequency extension is enough for the majority of recorded material. They have a very wide dynamic range, more than I would ever need, so users who like it on the loud side have a great choice here. They have enough dynamics for a large room, although for a dedicated home theater, I would still probably add a subwoofer. They have a pretty benign electrical load, so while they are costly loudspeakers themselves, they do not at all demand a costly amplifier to achieve a great sound.

They look quite nice, especially in the maroon wood gloss veneer. I have seen that finish and can attest to its gorgeousness. The satin walnut units for this review are nice but would not be my choice offinish for the RUBIKORE 8s. The build quality is fine, and, as was said earlier, these are not overbuilt, so do not expect 150lbs. monsters. However, they are not underbuilt and do have enough bracing not to ring or resonate. The drivers had to be expensive. One nit I would pick is that the feet and outrigger system feel pretty cheap considering the cost of the speakers.

DALI vs the Competition

So what other similarly-priced speakers are the RUBIKORE 8s competing against? There is the PSB Synchrony T800 which, if my experience with the PSB Synchrony B600 is anything to go by, should be a stellar loudspeaker. It’s a larger 3-way speaker with three 8” bass drivers, a 5.25” midrange, and a Beryllium dome tweeter. Given its specs, it may have a wider dynamic range and deeper bass. There is the Perlisten R7t, another terrific speaker with a ruler-flat frequency response and almost certainly wider dynamic range. It has a more robust build than the RUBIKORE 8s, but it is made in China, so that gives it an advantage in this respect.  The Arendal Sound 1528 Tower 8 is the largest and most substantial tower speaker in this price class and offers unparalleled build quality and great sound quality, but its physical size may be off-putting for some buyers. There are the Revel PerformaBe F228Be speakers, a three-way tower with two 8” woofers, a 5.25” midrange, and a 1” beryllium dome tweeter. If our review of the F226Be speakers is anything to go by, those should be excellent as well. RBH Sounds’ 8300-SF/R is sure to be a solid offering in this price range among tower speakers. There are a lot of tower speakers in this price range from Focal, Bowers & Wilkins, Sonus Faber, and too many others to list here, many of which are surely quite good.

So what sets the DALI RUBIKORE 8s apart from its competitors? I would have to say its distinctive styling, European craftsmanship (many of its competitors are made in China, even in this price class), and unique design philosophy. At this level of performance and luxury, it's hard to say whether it's outright better or worse than competitors, and how it ranks will be more of a matter of personal taste in sound signature. Personally, I quite enjoyed the RUBIKORE 8’s sound, and I think anyone who gives them a chance will share that opinion. I would urge anyone shopping in this crowded segment to give them a listen - you may find that they are the right ones for you.

The Score Card

The scoring below is based on each piece of equipment doing the duty it is designed for. The numbers are weighed heavily with respect to the individual cost of each unit, thus giving a rating roughly equal to:

Performance × Price Factor/Value = Rating

Audioholics.com note: The ratings indicated below are based on subjective listening and objective testing of the product in question. The rating scale is based on performance/value ratio. If you notice better performing products in future reviews that have lower numbers in certain areas, be aware that the value factor is most likely the culprit. Other Audioholics reviewers may rate products solely based on performance, and each reviewer has his/her own system for ratings.

Audioholics Rating Scale

• — Excellent
• — Very Good
• — Good
• — Fair
• — Poor

Metric	Rating
Build Quality
Appearance
Treble Extension
Treble Smoothness
Midrange Accuracy
Bass Extension
Bass Accuracy
Imaging
Dynamic Range
Fit and Finish
Performance
Value