Phantom Delivers A Wall Of Sound

Mark Craven discovers DALI's sonic know-how doesn't suffer when provided by an in-wall cabinet.

- Mark Craven

In-wall speakers have obvious appeal. They allow you to claw back carpet space taken up by floorstanders/standmounts, and can fit in easily with a room's chosen décor. For a system that you can hear but can't see, they're manna from heaven. DALI's Phantom S series, however, are a cut above the norm.

The Danish audio brand sells traditionally-sized in-wall (Phantom H) and in-ceiling speakers (the Phantom E range), but the S are a much larger proposition. Read through DALI's literature and the word 'flagship' crops up regularly – the S series is targeted at high-end systems.

The setup reviewed here uses two S-280s for the front left/right channels (£2,500 each); an S-180 (£1,500) as the centre channel; and a pair of S-80s (£1,000 each) on surround duty. LFE comes via DALI's SUB K-14 F subwoofer (£900, not an in-wall option).

The speakers share design traits and driver tech. All are sealed MDF cabinets, with a slim 4.3in profile. DALI says various constructions were analysed to insure materials were thin enough to create the desired internal cabinet volume, but thick enough to eliminate resonance and ensure a solid build. The rear MDF chamber houses the bottom-mounted speaker terminals and 'dogleg' mounting system, while the front baffle is framed by an extruded aluminium lip. Magnetically attached white lacquer grilles are supplied as a likely match for most environments.

For this audition, DALI delivered the five in-wall speakers on portable (but still large) replica wall platforms.

Listening took place at Ideal AV, an authorised DALI dealer based in Normanton, West Yorkshire. Run by cinema obsessive Allan Briscoe, Ideal has two permanent show-rooms, one a traditional home cinema, the other a more multipurpose media space. A Marantz SR7011 AVR drove the array.