Description

DALI OPTICON Vowel MK2

The OPTICON VOKAL MK2 was consistently developed as a center loudspeaker for home cinema systems. The chassis assembly with a 165 mm (6 1⁄2”) bass-midrange speaker and the DALI hybrid tweeter not only guarantees easily understandable voice reproduction, but also a harmonious integration of the center channel into the sound of the entire system. The housing dimensions and proportions of the OPTICON VOKAL MK2 are designed for a possible integration of the landscape-format loudspeaker in A/V furniture - thanks to the bass reflex openings facing the front, installation in closed shelves or lowboards is even possible.

The OPTICON VOKAL MK2 is available in the housing versions matt white, black ash and tobacco oak. They are made on our own production lines.

SMC MAGNETIC SYSTEM

DALI SMC (Soft Magnetic Compound) is a coated magnetic granulate that can be molded into almost any desired shape and offers numerous advantages when used in loudspeaker magnet systems. SMC is characterized by a very unusual combination of very high magnetic permeability and very low electrical conductivity. These are exactly the desired properties for the magnets in our loudspeakers. They reduce electroacoustic distortions to a considerable degree.

The use of SMC reduces eddy currents in the pole piece of the magnet system caused by the movement of the voice coil around the pole piece. They create a secondary magnetic field that modulates the input signal and leads to increased harmonic distortion. In addition, SMC also improves flux linearity within the magnet system, reduces magnetic hysteresis, and minimizes voice coil inductance variations as a function of its position. All in all, the advantages of SMC mentioned lead to a significant reduction in discolouration and superimposition, especially at low listening levels.

FABRIC CAP

The 29 mm fabric dome is a new development based on the CALLISTO series tweeter. The slightly larger diameter leads to a significant increase in the sound-emitting membrane area, which is associated with lower distortion, higher power handling and a frequency range that is extended downwards. The use of an identical tweeter dome in all six OPTICON MK2 models not only leads to a consistent sound character - it also enables a crossover topology that is similar in all models, which results in a uniform radiation behavior.

The new OPTICON MK2 fabric dome allows the crossover frequency to be reduced to 2 kHz without fear of distortion or limitations in the power handling. An extremely low-viscosity magnetic fluid ensures high resonance damping and higher power handling without impairing the impulse response speed of the particularly light, coated membrane.

HYBRID TWEETER
The newly designed hybrid tweeter of the OPTICON MK2 series combines a 29 mm fabric dome adapted from the CALLISTO loudspeaker series with a newly developed 17 × 45 mm ribbon. Both tweeters are mounted on a cast aluminum plate, which also ensures optimal horizontal radiation.

The hybrid tweeter is tuned in such a way that the ribbon emits all frequencies above 14 kHz - below that, the fabric dome intervenes in the musical events. The ribbon extends the frequency response of the overall system up to 30 kHz and at the same time improves the horizontal dispersion at the highest frequencies in a way that would otherwise not be possible. The new hybrid tweeter combines the best of both worlds: the clarity, speed and dynamics of a dome and the attention to detail and finesse of a ribbon tweeter.

MIDDLE WOOFER

The OPTICON VOKAL MK2 works with a 165 mm (6 1/2″) mid-bass driver, which has DALI's patented SMC magnet system and the reddish shimmering wood fiber cone. This consists of a mixture of paper and wood fibres, which ensures minimal fracturing resonances and gives the membranes their unmistakable DALI trademark colour. A particularly flexible rubber surround allows free cone movement with minimal low-frequency damping.

The driver's extremely rigid and low-resonance basket is made of die-cast aluminum. It is designed in such a way that on the one hand it does not impede the air flow within the housing in any way and at the same time an extremely strong mechanical connection with the loudspeaker housing is ensured.

The magnet system of the OPTICON VOKAL MK2 consists of a large ferrite ring magnet surrounding a pole piece made entirely of the unique DALI SMC material. The pole piece and ferrite magnet are mounted between the soft iron front and back plates to create the appropriate magnetic field for the voice coil.

CASING

Each OPTICON MK2 cabinet has been optimized for maximum rigidity and minimum surface resonance. The 25 mm thick baffle of the OPTICON VOKAL MK2 offers the drivers installed in it optimal, unshakable working conditions.

The loudspeakers of the OPTICON MK2 series are manufactured by DALI in Denmark. Our in-house wood processing facility covers all aspects of manufacturing; from cutting and milling the MDF case parts to surface finishing and assembling the case. The installation of the drivers and crossovers as well as the final quality check and approval for each individual loudspeaker are also carried out on our own production lines.

The center speaker's reflex ports aren't designed with dual-flare tubes, but they're no less carefully thought out. The OPTICON VOKAL MK2 has two front-facing slot-shaped reflex openings so that the center speaker can also be placed on a shelf directly on the wall or in a closed shelf without any problems.

Additional information