The Dali Kupid is a compact loudspeaker which has created quite the reputation with its eye-catching looks and colourways. Designed to embody Dali’s engineering prowess that has been mastered over the years, incorporating good looks, functionality and most importantly delivering good sound while being modestly priced.
As a two way stand mount, the Kupid is a small speaker housing a cute 4 ½ inch mid woofer paired to a comparatively large 26mm tweeter. The paper and wood fibre woofer is a Dali signature, though for the Kupid, the driver is colour matched to the cabinet for an exciting look.
The cabinet is beautifully designed, sporting softened fillet edges all around, ensuring no joints are visible for a solid, clean look. The front surface of the speaker has a mounting plate which holds both the drivers neatly. This plate is colour matched with the rear firing port and speaker terminal cup. Little design elements like the patterns that adorn the periphery of the tweeter are also present on the rear port, keeping the design language consistent all around.
The speaker terminals are nice chunky binding post but are a little stumpy, so longer banana plugs do stick out a little when connected. Interestingly, the speakers though light at under 3kg per piece, never felt cheap to the touch. If you don’t pick them up, there isn’t a clue to indicate that these are entry level products. No matter the angle, given its modest ask, the Kupid has a look that is flawless front to back.
I had the privilege of listening to the speakers connected to quite a few different amplifiers from entry level ones up to some pairings that are quite frankly illogical. Looking at a price standpoint the likes of Wiim and Cayin come to mind, which should work rather well. But I also did experiment with the likes of Rotel with its A8 and what I found was these speakers loved more cleaner stable power. I even moved up the chain and tried bigger amplifier like the Roksan Caspian 4G and even a behemoth Mark Levinson, and these speakers just seemed to get better with every step.
There is a shortcoming to these speakers however, which is its bass performance. The rated frequency response indicates a low of 63 Hz (+/- 3 Db) but in all honestly the deepest bass is rather anaemic. There is bass with sufficient nuance, but no matter what, Physics rules can’t be broken, and the small driver is unable to move enough air to hit the deepest notes with palpability. So, if you’re looking to have your chest thumped, this will not be the speakers for you, unless to pair them with a good subwoofer.
When it comes to mids and highs, these speakers deliver quality sound. Treble is crisp and clear, with boatloads of detail. The midrange, also detailed with nuance is great with most genres. It’s safe to say the sensation of excitement and high levels of detail are possible due to the omission of the lowest bass notes which would potentially muddy it. These speakers also do well with vocals, however it’s important to note that the Kupid is a pretty demanding speaker.
So, the performance characteristics mentioned, get better with improved amplification. However, if paired with entry level amps with lower stable output, there is a risk of sound quality losing its finesse as the volume is turned up. Something to remember if you like to listen loud. At low volumes, the speakers are more forgiving, however the lack of deep bass will be felt at any level, unless maybe a desktop setting.
These speakers are meant to be a gateway into hifi as mentioned by the Dali team. In my opinion, the price does warrant this claim, but the performance really says something else. These are speakers that inherits all the DNA of the Dali catalogue, along with much of its innovation. All distilled down into a compact, beautiful and affordable package.
Manufacturers often make tall claims regarding performance and how a component should feel when you experience it. Rare are instances when these claims are correct or even better, modest! Based on my experience, these cute little wonders fall into the latter. These speakers are a major leap forward in affordable entry level Hi-Fi. A while ago the Dali Zensor series provided this same opportunity, mating quality, performance and price. Now with these you get that and a very décor friendly piece, which look great even as a static display.
My initial hope when I was testing these speakers was for Dali to consider producing a complementary subwoofer to match it aesthetically and sonically. This hope was answered with the announcement of the BASIK. A cute colour matched, 8-inch subwoofer to complement the Kupid. Perhaps also adding in other speaker types, expanding it into an entry level, design friendly range. If they do, then these speakers will have an even larger audience, adding to its already loyal fan base.
The Dali Kupid compact loudspeaker retails for RM 1799.
