DALI may not be as well-known as the likes of Bose or Sony, but the Danish company has been building high-quality speakers for years. Recently, the company turned its attention to headphones too — showing them off at CES earlier this year.
The DALI iO-6 headphones aren’t cheap at all. At $500, not only do these headphones surpass the price of competitors like the Sony WH-1000XM3 headphones, but they’re a cool $150 more expensive. Are they worth the cash, or should you save your cash? We put the DALI iO-6 headphones to the test to find out.
Design
When you first take the DALI iO-6 headphones out of the box, you’ll notice how high-quality they look and feel. They remind be a little of Bang & Olufsen’s headphones, with their circular ear cups, matte colors, and so on.
The headphones are available in a few different colors, including Iron Black, and Caramel White. We’re reviewing the Iron Black model, and it’s a good look. The headphones are sleek and stylish, and should look great in any situation.
On the left ear cup, you’ll get an aux port, while on the right ear cup is where you’ll get the rest of the controls. There’s a USB-C port, a power switch that doubles as a Bluetooth pairing control, and a button to activate noise cancellation. On the face of the ear cup, you’ll get a play and pause button under the DALI logo, and volume controls around that main button. The controls are super easy to use, and while some headphone manufacturers include visual cues as to what the buttons are for, we much prefer the approach DALI has taken.
The headphones are clearly well-built too. With a combination of premium leather and and metal frame, the headphones are built to impress — and to withstand most of the abuse that you can throw at them.
In the box, apart from the headphones themselves, you’ll get a beautifully designed carry case, an airplane adapter, an aux cable, and a USB-C charging cable. It’s a good selection of accessories, and the carry case in particular is a nice addition.
Comfort
The DALI iO-6 headphones are built with premium materials — and that includes plush padding and soft leather on the ear cups. The end result is that the headphones are very comfortable — and easily wearable for hours-long listening sessions.
The headphones are relatively lightweight too, and that helps ensure that the headphones remain comfortable over longer periods of time.
Sound
Ultimately, the best thing about the DALI iO-6 headphones is their sound-quality. These are great-sounding headphones that offer a relatively flat frequency response and plenty of detail.
For starters, the bass response is relatively laid-back. That’s not a bad thing — kick drums are still heavy enough for most music, and while some will prefer a slightly elevated bass response, that’s not really the focus of these headphones.
The mid range is well-tuned, with a warm low mid response and enough high mids to ensure that things like vocals and guitars can easily cut through a mix. Again, the frequency response is relatively flat, but the headphones sound rich and balanced here.
If you’re buying expensive headphones, perhaps the thing you’ll most appreciate is their detail and clarity — and these perform excellently in that regard. Highs are well-extended, allowing cymbals to shimmer and vocal sibilance to shine. This is really what separates good from great — and these headphones are great.
Ultimately, these are some of the better-sounding wireless headphones out there. Stereo separation is good, and instruments are well-defined.
The noise cancellation tech on the headphones is good, but not incredible. If you’re truly focused on noise cancellation, it’s probably worth considering headphones from Sony or Bose instead, but these are fine at cutting out some noise.
Performance
The DALI iOS-6 headphones connect to your listening device through Bluetooth 5.0, and after we initially connected the headphones, they retained a pretty good connection. That said, we did have some issues getting the headphones to connect to a Mac Mini computer. Again, after the initial connection, they performed fine, and they connected very easily to an iPhone 11 Pro, so it’s possible the issues had more to do with the Mac.
The battery life on the headphones is excellent. The headphones offer 30 hours of battery life on a single charge. This should be more than enough for even the longes of long-haul travel, and for weeks of use under normal use.
Conclusions
The DALI iO-6 headphones have a lot to offer, but whether or not you should buy them depends on exactly what you’re looking for. If you’re looking for an ultra premium option, and don’t mind not having the best noise cancellation out there, then these are well worth the cost.
That said, if you’re ultimately looking for a pair of well-rounded headphones with the best noise cancellation you can get, then it’s worth considering the likes of the Sony WH-1000XM3 headphones instead. They don’t sound quite as good as these, and aren’t necessarily an audiophile option, but they’re still worth considering.
Ultimately, if you’re an audiophile looking for a pair of wireless headphones with noise cancellation, the DALI iO-6 headphones are the way to go. And because of that, we’re awarding them the Headphone Review Gold Medal.
| Store | Price |
|---|---|
 |
$499 |
| DALI | $499 |
| Frequency response | 10Hz – 20kHz | Active noise cancellation | Yes |
| Driver Size | 50mm | Noise attenuation | Unknown |
| Driver type | Dynamic | On-ear controls | Yes |
| Design | Closed | Microphone | Yes |
| Sensitivity | Unknown | Earpad material | Memory foam |
| Rated impedance | 25Ω | Magnet material | Unknown |
| Total harmonic distortion | Unknown | Water resistance | IP53 |
| Rated input power | Unknown | Battery life | 30 Hours |
| Maximum input power | Unknown | Wireless distance | 10m (33ft) |
| Wireless connection | Bluetooth 5.0 | Cable length | 1.2m (4ft) |
| Wired connection | 3.5mm | Case type | Hard Case |
| Detachable cable | Yes | In-the-box |
|
| Weight | 325g | Colors | Iron Black, Caramel White |