Floorstanding loudspeakers — DALI RUBICON 5

The RUBICON 5 is the smallest tower of the RUBICON series from DALI, the loudspeaker maker based in Denmark, sitting below the RUBICON 6 and RUBICON 8 floorstanders. It was on sale in the UK at GBP 2,399 per pair in 2015, and DALI now lists the whole RUBICON line among its discontinued products. Known finishes include walnut veneer and high gloss white, and the range was built around DALI's hybrid tweeter concept.

Key specs that matter

DALI calls the layout 2 + 0.5-way. A single 6.5 inch woofer with a wood fibre cone covers bass and midrange, while the treble is shared between a 29 mm soft dome and a 17 x 45 mm planar element. The crossover hands over at 2,900 Hz and again at 14,000 Hz. The maker quotes 45 Hz to 34,000 Hz within 3 dB, 86 dB sensitivity for 2.83 V at 1 m and a nominal load of 4 ohm. Output can reach 107 dB at 1 m, and the suggested amplifier power is 60 to 150 W. The cabinet is 890 mm tall, 195 mm wide and 339 mm deep, and each speaker weighs 15.7 kg.

Engineering and use context

Behind the woofer cone is a patented magnet assembly whose pole piece is formed from DALI's SMC compound and covered by a slitted copper cap, both aimed at lowering distortion. The cone surface is deliberately uneven so that resonances spread out instead of building at one frequency, and it is held by a soft low-loss rubber surround on a cast aluminium chassis. The dome tweeter uses a light copper-clad aluminium voice coil, and the planar strip adds output above 14 kHz, with the hybrid module widening dispersion down to about 2.5 kHz. The MDF cabinet has a 25 mm front baffle with a slight curve, and internal bracing splits the enclosure into separate chambers for the treble section and the bass section so each can be tuned on its own. A single reflex port sits on the rear panel, placed directly behind the woofer.

Pairing

Bi-wire binding posts take 4 mm banana plugs, spade lugs or bare wire, and metal jumpers with plastic insulators link them for single-wire use. The low impedance and moderate efficiency suit a solid-state integrated amplifier that holds its output into low impedances, with power in the upper half of the suggested range. Outrigger feet are included and take either spikes or rubber feet with 8 mm threads, and their spread gives the narrow cabinet a wider footprint. A grille with a plastic frame and fabric cover is supplied.

Alternatives

The next step within the same DALI floorstanding line is the RUBICON 6, which adds a second woofer.