DALI Headphones IO-6, Iron Black

Product Information

The iO models (there’s also an iO-4 option, which doesn’t have noise cancellation tech) support Bluetooth aptX HD to maximise the wireless music quality and also have a 3. The DALI IO-6 is designed and engineered by the same team and to the same basic principles as any other DALI loudspeaker. The company’s been a leading light of passive loudspeaker design for over 35 years now, so it must have thought the time was finally right to get a piece of the headphone action – that’s if there’s any left to grab, of course. With this approach, the target market for these headphones is clear: the music lover who wants a high-quality set of headphones for travelling. Listen in high definition over Bluetooth or USB and thanks to active noise cancelling built into the IO-6 you can silence the distractions and experience your favourite music as you’ve never heard it before.

Early ANC (active noise-canceling) models created weird pressure in your ear, had boomy bass, and killed detail in the highs. The DALI IO-6 with Active Noise Cancellation are intended to be the perfect travel companion for those on the go situations. Looks, comfort, battery, noise-canceling, usability, and sound quality are all among the best in their class.Personally, I would have preferred to be able to switch between transparency mode and noise-cancelling separately. The result is a design with the right amount of adjustability required to provide a natural fit to anyone. Perhaps the best compliment I can give the IO-6’s looks and comfort is that after four years together, these are the first large headphones my girlfriend seemed to actually want to hold onto. With the IO-6, Dali combines a well-balanced design and high-quality workmanship with high sound quality and effective noise cancelling.

This, together with the well controlled breakups of the paper fibre cone diaphragm means that even the most minute music details stand out crystal clear.

Then I saw an advert for these IO6 and the reviews seemed quite favourable so I thought why not give them a try. So, what magic have the Dali IO6 done for me out of the box: it definitely has made me rediscover my music collection again and somehow appreciate some of them more. When making big, potentially risky decisions, phrases such as “stick to what you know best” often ring in one’s ear. Noise cancellation isn't as isolating and that's due to the negative effects it has on the sound when tuning the headphones. He is not the kind of 'detail' that walks in the room and suddenly starts boasting about what he can do and wants to be the centre of attention.

this is a truly great/unique feature of these cansBuild QualityCase/bundles accessoriesDesign / buttons are greatCons -No multi-point bluetooth (the biggest/ only real con but I can live with it as they are THAT good. While this isn’t an industry-standard tool and I wouldn’t make comparisons to measurements from other sources, the EARs can be useful for comparative purposes against headphones measured on the same rig. The sound tuning is neutral so that you needn’t fear heavy bass adventures or highly embellished loudness curves. This should be more than enough for even the longes of long-haul travel, and for weeks of use under normal use. Even if your pair works and you like the sound profile, they are not comfortable and can become painful to wear over a long time.

On another track, let's take "Angel - Sarah McLachlan" - the detail and nuances in the piano that really start to become noticable. They don’t sound quite as good as these, and aren’t necessarily an audiophile option, but they’re still worth considering. I had read that noise cancellation isn't their strong suit, but actually I can't hear anything in the house when they're on and it seems fine to me. Dali seems to focus their headphones on music instead of noise cancelling (NC), and that's fine by me. Along with reducing the annoyance of external noise, noise cancelling improves the audibility of music detail, meaning you can listen at lower volume – reducing the potential of long term hearing damage.

The iO-6 are a couple of headband headphones that were first purchasable in 2019 and produced by DALI. There is, though, a ‘transparency’ setting which pauses music and slightly amplifies the sound of the outside world.Nothing creaks, everything that should move does so smoothly, and the IO-6 feel solid despite their comfort-assisting 325g weight.