DALI Mentor Menuet Bookshelf speakers
Here is the most intriguing novelty among mini-monitors - two-way Dali Mentor Menuet. All technical innovations of Mentor line are embodied in them, and this is immediately obvious. The woofer's diffuser is made of expensive long-fibred cellulose - the material with the best resonance characteristics. The tweeter with 28mm silk dome is the same as in the older Dali models. The mass of movable system is about by one third less than in other soft-dome emitters. The bodies are made of solid wood and equipped with bass-reflex, and the port, located at the rear, is mounted at an angle to the horizontal axis (it is less sensitive to internal box resonances). Also I will note high-quality gilt terminals.
Everything in Menuet is at the highest level. This also refers to finish (three variants, among which there is a very beautiful black matte coating) and filling, and characteristics. According to data, little DALI have an unusually wide range and play bass from such frequencies that not every floor system can do it. At first, we didn't believe in it too.
From the first minutes of listening it became clear, why these monitors cost so much. They are able to play a big orchestral drum clearly, accurately and with sufficient power! Bass-guitar and double-bass are not a problem for them - they transfer their sound dynamically, bitingly, with a pleasant drive. But the ability to give "adult" bass is not the most valuable quality of Mentor Menuet. Linearity in the middle range and extraordinary tonal neutrality conquered. If you put the systems at the distance of not less than one meter (strictly), a full illusion of very expensive studio monitors will appear. All harmonious, microdynamic and spatial nuances spread before eyes.
The only comment is a bit crossed at the edges sound stage. But this problem should be associated not with speaker systems, but with floor installation. As soon as you raise Mentor Menuet on 10-15 cm, the whole space receives a necessary volume and images become palpably clear. Rhythm picture also improves and the sound becomes faster and cleaner - quantity of bass turns into quality.
