TechAudioHeadphonesDali IO-8 review: exquisite soundThe high-end headphones market isn’t short on options, but Dali’s latest offer superb sound and build quality that appealsWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.(Image credit: Dali)T3 VerdictProof that a brilliant pair of headphones doesn’t rely on an exhaustive feature-set, the Dali IO-8 get on with the important business in a deeply satisfying manner. If you’re in the happy position of having this sort of money available for wireless headphones, you need to hear these.Reasons to buy+Superb standard of build and finish+Articulate, revealing and entertaining sound+Can be used as passive, hard-wired headphones with no power requirementReasons to avoid-Not short of competition-Lack of a control app is a bold decision-The use of real leather seems a bit retrogradeWhy you can trust T3Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you.Find out more about how we test.
TechAudioHeadphonesDali IO-8 review: exquisite soundThe high-end headphones market isn’t short on options, but Dali’s latest offer superb sound and build quality that appealsWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.(Image credit: Dali)T3 VerdictProof that a brilliant pair of headphones doesn’t rely on an exhaustive feature-set, the Dali IO-8 get on with the important business in a deeply satisfying manner. If you’re in the happy position of having this sort of money available for wireless headphones, you need to hear these.Reasons to buy+Superb standard of build and finish+Articulate, revealing and entertaining sound+Can be used as passive, hard-wired headphones with no power requirementReasons to avoid-Not short of competition-Lack of a control app is a bold decision-The use of real leather seems a bit retrogradeWhy you can trust T3Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you.Find out more about how we test.
The high-end headphones market isn’t short on options, but Dali’s latest offer superb sound and build quality that appeals
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
(Image credit: Dali)T3 VerdictProof that a brilliant pair of headphones doesn’t rely on an exhaustive feature-set, the Dali IO-8 get on with the important business in a deeply satisfying manner. If you’re in the happy position of having this sort of money available for wireless headphones, you need to hear these.Reasons to buy+Superb standard of build and finish+Articulate, revealing and entertaining sound+Can be used as passive, hard-wired headphones with no power requirementReasons to avoid-Not short of competition-Lack of a control app is a bold decision-The use of real leather seems a bit retrograde
(Image credit: Dali)
(Image credit: Dali)
T3 VerdictProof that a brilliant pair of headphones doesn’t rely on an exhaustive feature-set, the Dali IO-8 get on with the important business in a deeply satisfying manner. If you’re in the happy position of having this sort of money available for wireless headphones, you need to hear these.Reasons to buy+Superb standard of build and finish+Articulate, revealing and entertaining sound+Can be used as passive, hard-wired headphones with no power requirementReasons to avoid-Not short of competition-Lack of a control app is a bold decision-The use of real leather seems a bit retrograde
T3 VerdictProof that a brilliant pair of headphones doesn’t rely on an exhaustive feature-set, the Dali IO-8 get on with the important business in a deeply satisfying manner. If you’re in the happy position of having this sort of money available for wireless headphones, you need to hear these.
T3 Verdict
Proof that a brilliant pair of headphones doesn’t rely on an exhaustive feature-set, the Dali IO-8 get on with the important business in a deeply satisfying manner. If you’re in the happy position of having this sort of money available for wireless headphones, you need to hear these.
Reasons to buy+Superb standard of build and finish+Articulate, revealing and entertaining sound+Can be used as passive, hard-wired headphones with no power requirementReasons to avoid-Not short of competition-Lack of a control app is a bold decision-The use of real leather seems a bit retrograde
Reasons to buy+Superb standard of build and finish+Articulate, revealing and entertaining sound+Can be used as passive, hard-wired headphones with no power requirement
Superb standard of build and finish
Articulate, revealing and entertaining sound
Can be used as passive, hard-wired headphones with no power requirement
Reasons to avoid-Not short of competition-Lack of a control app is a bold decision-The use of real leather seems a bit retrograde
Not short of competition
Lack of a control app is a bold decision
The use of real leather seems a bit retrograde
Why you can trust T3Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you.Find out more about how we test.
Why you can trust T3Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you.Find out more about how we test.
Dali has full-sized passive loudspeakers that compete at every price-point, from ‘entry-level’ to ‘brand-new German sports car’ money. But until now, it had only one pair of wireless over-ear headphones, and at nearly four-figures theDali IO-12are about as far from ‘entry-level’ as it’s possible to get.
Dali IO-8: Price & Availability
Today’s best Dali IO-8 deals$900ViewWe check over 250 million products every day for the best prices
Today’s best Dali IO-8 deals$900ViewWe check over 250 million products every day for the best prices
Today’s best Dali IO-8 deals
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The Dali IO-8 have been on sale since 8th October 2024. In the United Kingdom they currently go seel for £599 a pair. In the United States they cost $899. While in Australia we’re yet to get the official pricing.
This makes the IO-8 Dali’s most affordable pair of wireless over-ear headphones so far – but obviously that’s not the same as ‘cheap’, and it’s a price that brings some extremely well-regarded alternatives into play too.
Dali IO-8 review: Features & What’s New?
(Image credit: Future)
(Image credit: Future)
Obviously I’ll get to the nitty-gritty of the IO-8’s fairly focused feature-set, but there’s one feature that’s immediately worth flagging: these headphones can be used wirelessly, of course, but they can also function as hard-wired headphones even if they’re switched off or if their battery is flat.
So if the worst happens, make an analogue connection to the 3.5mm socket on the left earcup and you’re in business. Dali provides a 3.5mm-to-3.5mm cable for this purpose, along with a USB alternative, in a reasonably compact travel case.
Mind you, it will be negligent of you to let the IO-8 go flat. Battery life is a very decent 30 hours with ANC switched on, and an even better 35 hours if you turn it off – and from flat to full takes a shade under two hours. Better yet, you can charge the headphones via USB-C at the same time as listening via a hard analogue connection. So there are no realistic circumstances in which you can’t enjoy the Dali sound.
(Image credit: Future)
(Image credit: Future)
Dali is making a fairly big deal of its ‘true hi-fi sound’ principles where the IO-8 are concerned – basically, it’s the same audio philosophy it applies when designing full-sized speakers. Customers being what they are, though, it’s decided to incorporate a couple of EQ settings (‘hi-fi’ and ‘bass’) that are accessible via a button on the right earcup. I get the strong impression Dali has done so very grudgingly indeed.
The company has prioritised sound quality when it comes to active noise-cancellation (ANC), too. The usual ‘on/off/transparency’ settings are available, but Dali is adamant it’s not looking for class-leading noise-reduction, with what it rather self-consciously calls its ‘Audiophile ANC’. The system is designed to offer some noise-cancellation, of course, but not at the expense of audio performance.
Dali IO-8 review: Performance
(Image credit: Future)
(Image credit: Future)
Connect the Dali IO-8 to a high-resolution source of music using its USB-C socket and they’re capable of dealing with 24bit/96kHz PCM content – anything bigger than that is downscaled before it’s converted to analogue information and delivered to your ears. And it’s fair to say that when heard this way, the IO-8 are an unarguable match for the best of their price-comparable rivals.
They enjoy persuasively naturalistic tonality, and their frequency response from the bottom-end to the top is smooth and even. At the top-end they attack with real purpose, offering ample bite and crunch – but never threatening to get unruly or in any way out of hand. There’s shine to treble sounds, but not even a hint of hardness – instead, there’s substance to balance out the brilliance.
Leave the EQ setting at ‘hi-fi’ (which I am quite sure is what Dali would prefer) and the low-frequency response is deep, properly shaped, nicely varied and confidently controlled. There’s ample punch to bass sounds, but those sky-high detailed levels means textural and tonal variation is obvious – and the straight edges the IO-8 create at the onset of low-frequency information makes rhythmic expression convincing too.
Switch to ‘bass’ and the differences aren’t night and day – the low-end makes its way towards the front of the stage, for sure, but it doesn’t lose the run of itself. It simply hits a little harder and demands a little more prominence.
(Image credit: Future)
(Image credit: Future)
Dali IO-8 review: Design & Usability
(Image credit: Future)
(Image credit: Future)
A brand has to be pretty gung-ho (for which read ‘reckless’) to seriously question the established design of wireless over-ear headphones – and Dali is emphatically not that brand. So the IO-8 are designed to look like what they are: a pair of premium wireless over-ear headphones.
They’re available in a ‘caramel’ white finish, as well as the ‘iron’ black of my review sample – but no matter which finish you choose, you’re buying a pair of understatedly good-looking headphones that are built from tactile materials and finished to the sort of standard the asking price demands.
The outside of the headband and a non-contact section of the earpads are finished in hard-wearing, beautifully applied textile. The contact section of the headband and the (replaceable) earpads are of leather-covered memory foam – again, it’s flawlessly applied (though hardly inclusive where vegetarian customers are concerned).
The headband also conceals the adjustment mechanism – there’s plenty of adjustment available, and nicely judged resistance, so getting comfortable inside the IO-8 should be no problem even for the smaller-headed among us.
(Image credit: Future)
(Image credit: Future)
Both the earpads and the earcups backing them are circular, which is quite unusual in the world of premium wireless over-ear headphones. The back of the earcups are brushed and anodised metal, and carry some branding – in addition, the left earcup has a couple of mic openings and that 3.5mm analogue input (which, as said, allows the IO-8 to work as passive, wired headphones).
The right earcup has a pair of mic openings too, and also features touch controls on the surface of the earcup – volume up/down, play/pause, skip forwards/backwards and answer/end call. Around the edge of the earcup are the physical buttons that handle the EQ duo of choices, power on/off/Bluetooth pairing, and ANC on/off/transparency. There’s a couple of little LEDs that let you know what’s what as regards power, charging and pairing.
The IO-8 are compatible with your source player’s native voice assistant (should it have one), too. What there isn’t, though, is a control app. Dali makes a pretty strong case as to why the sonic tuning of the headphones (within its couple of EQ settings) is ideal, and why physical playback controls are perfectly adequate – obviously you’ll decide for yourself if part of the reason you’re spending all this money on headphones is to get access to a fancy-pants control app or not.
Dali IO-8 review: Verdict
(Image credit: Dali)
(Image credit: Dali)
Proof that a brilliant pair of headphones doesn’t rely on an exhaustive feature-set, the Dali IO-8 have an awful lot to recommend them – most importantly, the balanced, insightful and endlessly entertaining sound they make.
Also consider
Today’s best Dali IO-8 and Bowers Wilkins PX8 dealsDali IO-8$900ViewSee all pricesBowers & Wilkins PX8$699$524.08ViewSee all pricesWe check over 250 million products every day for the best prices
Today’s best Dali IO-8 and Bowers Wilkins PX8 dealsDali IO-8$900ViewSee all pricesBowers & Wilkins PX8$699$524.08ViewSee all pricesWe check over 250 million products every day for the best prices
Today’s best Dali IO-8 and Bowers Wilkins PX8 dealsDali IO-8$900ViewSee all pricesBowers & Wilkins PX8$699$524.08ViewSee all pricesWe check over 250 million products every day for the best prices
Today’s best Dali IO-8 and Bowers Wilkins PX8 deals
Dali IO-8$900ViewSee all pricesBowers & Wilkins PX8$699$524.08ViewSee all prices
Dali IO-8$900ViewSee all prices
Dali IO-8$900ViewSee all prices
Dali IO-8
Dali IO-8
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$900
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Bowers & Wilkins PX8$699$524.08ViewSee all prices
Bowers & Wilkins PX8$699$524.08ViewSee all prices
Bowers & Wilkins PX8
Bowers & Wilkins PX8
$699$524.08View
$699$524.08
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We check over 250 million products every day for the best prices
We check over 250 million products every day for the best prices
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