A simply superb, lusciously balanced stock sound straight out of the box meets sublime, premium comfort, making this one of the most instantly likeable pairs of headphones I’ve ever tried. But one of the key reasons I liked it so much was that I didn’t have to pay for it – and $1,699 is a lot to ask when there are so many exceptional pairs of headphones available for a third of that. And at this price, can we really not get more than two EQ modes?!
For - Superbly balanced stock sound
- Comfortable oversized earpads
- Simple operation with straightforward controls
Against - Big and bulky
- Too expensive
- Only two EQ modes
Hi-fi speakers for your head? A lofty claim, but DALI has reasonable cause to make it with the iO-12 headphones. The manufacturer has stuffed some of the tech from its superb speakers into these closed-back over-ear cans, promising to deliver a truly premium, high-resolution, distortion-free listening experience – at a price to match.
Because, yeah, there’s no getting around the price. If we call the $499 Sennheiser HDB 630 'premium' - and we do - what name do we give the $1,699 DALI iO-12? Can it really be considered one of the best pairs of Bluetooth headphones if most people realistically won’t even consider buying it?
