DALI Epikore 3 Bookshelf Speaker Review

DALI’s Epikore 3 Bookshelf Speaker is a luxury stand-mount speaker with three distinct driver types, a unique crossover, and a premium cabinet. The three-way design includes a large bass port in back along with four heavy-duty binding posts for bi-wiring or bi-amping. Along with its dedicated stand, it makes both a strong auditory and visual statement. It offers a level of power and clarity that is nearly unmatched by anything short of a full-range tower.

There’s a reason DALI spells its name in all caps. It’s an acronym that stands for Danish Audiophile Loudspeaker Industries. Based in Denmark’s North Jutland region and founded in 1983, it has grown to over one million units sold in 70 countries. With 11 different lines, there is something from DALI to please any audiophile from casual to discriminate.

Today, I’ll be focusing on a premium bookshelf model, the Epikore 3. Its name comes from a melding of the Epicon and Kore lines and their distinct driver technologies. These drivers are unique to DALI and feature some very interesting approaches to traditional transducers. The woofer is rigid and light enough to cover a huge frequency range, from 42 to 2,800Hz. The tweeter employs two drivers, a 35mm soft dome, and a planar element that plays from 12,500 to 34,000Hz. It delivers wide dispersion and extreme clarity. A large port in the back keeps bass tight and controlled. The premium cabinet comes in three high-gloss wood veneer finishes, and you can pair the Epikore 3 with a dedicated stand. The full setup comes in at $18,000. Let’s take a look.

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DALI uses the term “luxury bookshelf speaker” to describe the Epikore 3 and while the words luxury and speaker definitely apply, the bookshelf part requires a caveat. If you actually put these on a bookshelf, it’ll need to be substantial because each cabinet weighs a bit less than 50 pounds. They’re nearly 17 inches deep as well and you should, by DALI’s recommendation, have at least 14 inches of clearance in back to let the tapered bass port do its thing.

The better option is a dedicated stand which was included with my review units. It mates to the speakers with three bolts and is quite hefty, and that’s before you fill it with sand which is an option. It has a large cable hole for tidy wiring and four threaded spikes which can be adjusted for perfect leveling. For hardwood floors, DALI provides magnetic pucks with felt bottoms.

The cabinet is a curved taper design with nary a straight line in sight. It comes in three different wood veneers with a high gloss lacquered finish. My samples were maroon and, in every way, fine pieces of furniture. The finish is a magnet for fingerprints, but DALI has thoughtfully included a microfiber cloth to keep them clean.

A grill attaches with magnets, but I suspect many users will leave it off to ogle the three drivers featured on the front baffle. The woofer is a seven-inch paper and wood fiber dome with molded in ridges that give it extra rigidity while maintaining light weight. The tweeter array is a 35mm soft dome coupled with a planar element for wide dispersion and clarity. A large, tapered port in the back takes the bass down to 42Hz while the top of the range is at 32kHz.

The crossover is unique in my experience with points at 2,800 and 12,500Hz. That means the woofer is playing a huge range of fundamentals leaving the transparent overtones to the tweeters. Since the soft dome is larger than typical, it can cover more of the upper midrange than a 25mm unit. The planar element on top is extremely clear and precise with coverage up to 34,000Hz. While this is well beyond the range of human hearing, super tweeters like this have a feel component, not dissimilar to sub-tones below 20Hz that cannot be heard but felt. A super tweeter creates an air and transparency that you won’t find in speakers that top out at 20,000Hz.

Around back are four of the largest binding posts I’ve ever seen. They dwarf even the mighty McIntosh amplifier posts with their large crown shape. They have holes for banana plugs, or you can put spades or bare wire into the terminals. You can bi-wire or bi-amp the Epikore 3s if you wish, or install the included jumper wires as I did. The posts are a little further apart than standard, but I did not have to modify my existing cables to make the stretch.

My Epikore 3s arrived in four enormous boxes which was a little unexpected. The speakers were packed in large blocks of flexible foam with their finish protected by cloth bags. The delicate soft dome tweeter is further protected by a foam block affixed with magnets. Included in the box are stick-on rubber feet for those who insist on shelving the speakers. Please don’t do this. It will limit their sonic potential significantly. You also get a nice set of jumper wires for the binding posts if you have just two speaker wires as I do. I use Bluejeans 10AWG terminated with locking banana plugs.

The stands were impressive, to say the least. Usually, I get these flat-packed with “some assembly required.” The Epikore stands are already assembled and are easily the heaviest stands I’ve yet encountered. The bases have outrigger feet with threaded spikes already in place. I was fine with these on my carpet. If you have hard floors, DALI includes magnetic pucks with felt bottoms. The feet can be individually adjusted for leveling. The speakers bolt to the plinths with three Allen screws, tool included. The assembled pieces were easily as beefy as a full tower speaker.

For placement, I chose a toed-in configuration with the Epikore 3s six feet apart and eight feet from my seat. I played with various angles until I found the best imaging with the axis convergence about a foot behind me. They have a tremendous sound stage which makes them forgiving and flexible in placement. I left three feet of distance behind to let the port do its thing.

The electronics were an Emotiva XPA-5 power amplifier and an Anthem AVM 70 processor. I listened to the Epikore 3s with and without my Axiom EP800 subwoofer. Music was streamed via Airplay directly to the processor from an iPhone. Tracks were either lossless CD rips or lossless & Dolby Atmos streams from Apple Music.

To get the Epikore 3s settled in, I played a variety of classical, pop, hard rock, and heavy bass tracks. The question of “to sub or not to sub” had an unexpected answer. With most small speakers, I reach for the sub to play pop and rock tracks to fill out the lowest tones from electric bass, bass drum, and digital bass tones that you commonly find in today’s music. Classical benefits less from a sub unless you play something with an organ. The DALIs worked opposite this. With pop and rock, I only missed the sub when the music included tones below 40Hz. Bass guitar and bass drum were not enhanced by the subwoofer and that is a testament to the clean extension provided by the Epikore 3’s capable woofer and its large port. Where I preferred the sub was in orchestral tracks recorded in a concert hall. There, the sub-tones went a little too low for the speakers alone. The subwoofer filled in that ambience below 40Hz. Now, onto specific selections and impressions.

There’s a reason that artists like Billie Eilish are popular demo material at audio shows. Her breathy in- your-face vocals are in their ideal place when played on something like the Epikore 3s. The speakers sound beautifully transparent. The hybrid tweeter array really shined on tracks like Birds of a Feather, Bad Guy and What Was I Made For. When you see video of a singer recording in the studio, the mic is literally millimeters from their mouth separated only by a small gauze disc. The DALIs created this picture in my mind as I listened. Their overtones are incredibly crisp and precise. There was plenty of midrange and bass too as the backing instruments played with equal presence.

I always hold out hope that there will be a speaker that makes Metallica sound good. I love their songs, and they are great musicians, but their recording quality is awful. I went through the remaster of Master of Puppets and though the Epikores managed to deliver plenty of clean volume, the compressed quality was still there. The guitar and vocal layers were borderline harsh, and it was thanks to the incredibly capable tweeter array. These speakers are far too good for Metallica’s poor choices in the studio.

Lest you think they won’t rock on heavy metal tracks; I reached for Five Finger Death Punch’s Afterlife and felt much better for it. Ivan Moody and his associates know how to reach their full potential in a recording. The bass drum had serious impact while the bass guitar expanded the soundscape as it was meant to. Moody’s vocals, which range from screech to basso profundo, were perfectly represented. And though there were a ton of overtones, it was never harsh. Edgy yes, but never over the line into fatigue.

For a visit to the classic rock archives, I selected Credence Clearwater Revival’s Cosmo’s Factory. With timeless tracks like Rumble Tumble, Travelin Band, and Ooby Dooby, I was taken back to 1970 without the small scratchy sound that most people listening to this album would have experienced. The Epikores cleaned the dust off this recording and transported me to a live show, in a club space, with a modern sound system. If John Fogerty listened to himself through these speakers, he’d be happy.

Moving to the Classical side, I started with Maria Duenas’ stellar performance of Paganini’s 24 Caprices for Solo Violin. These virtuosic etudes are fire in every sense and one can see how Paganini became the rock star of his day. Even those who aren’t classical music fans would be impressed. The Epikores delivered every pizzicato and bow stroke with precision and ease. The concert hall’s dynamics were there too as a perfect backdrop. Adding in the subwoofer here broadened the soundstage a bit.

To hear the DALIs play with a full orchestra, I selected Beethoven’s Symphony No. 2 with the Vienna Philharmonic conducted by Andris Nelsons. Massed strings were clearly rendered with woodwinds placed correctly in the center, just back of the podium. The subwoofer again enhanced the soundstage with hall resonances that the Epikores couldn’t quite reach down to. I experimented with crossovers and found little difference between 40 and 80Hz. The DALI’s bass driver is extremely capable.

For the largest sound I could think of, I turned to Saint Saëns Symphony No. 3, Organ. The opening of the final movement is a grand test for any speaker, large or small. Without the subwoofer, the Epikores produced the organ pedal tones admirably. But the subwoofer added the feel factor. It’s hard to say that they do or don’t need a sub. But if you are a fan of deep bass, you’ll want a subwoofer with any speaker, no matter how large.

For my dose of bassoon, I played Sophie Dervaux’s first volume of Vivaldi Bassoon Concerti. Her characteristic dark sound had just the right overtones to remain present and forward of the string and harpsichord accompaniment without blooming in the lower registers. The slow movements included guitar on continuo, and it was rendered with extreme precision. I also listened to my well-worn recording of Judith Leclair playing John Williams’ The Five Sacred Trees with the London Symphony. Her tone is very bright and laced with a rapid vibrato that is characteristic of the American bassoon sound. Again, the first adjective that came to mind was precision. Accompanying solos from bass clarinet, violin, flute, and harp all played a role in this epic work. Ms. Leclair sailed above it all with her reference-level performance.

The DALI Epikore 3 is a premium stand-mount loudspeaker but price-wise, it competes strongly with tower models in both value and sound quality.

Among bookshelf, or stand mount speakers, the DALI Epikore 3 has no equal in my experience. They play with as much or more bass than many towers I’ve heard and render music with a precision you won’t find outside a high-end electrostat. They’re gorgeous to look at too with a finish on a level with the finest furniture.

My biggest takeaway is how easy they are to listen to. Many speakers impress for an hour or two until fatigue sets in. The Epikore 3s have none of that. I listened for many hours at a stretch, at high volume levels, to tracks both bad and good, and never tired. The best music moved me, and I always felt as though a live performance was taking place. It really doesn’t get much better than that.

The DALI Epikore 3 Bookshelf Speaker receives my highest recommendation.