In this review, we will be comparing Vintage Twelve and Epikore 7, two Passive Floor-standing speakers from Fyne Audio and DALI.
Let's have a brief look at the main features
of Fyne Audio Vintage Twelve and DALI Epikore 7 first before getting into our more
detailed comparison.
| Key Specs | Fyne Audio Vintage Twelve | DALI Epikore 7 |
|---|
| Brand | Fyne Audio
United Kingdom · founded 2017 | DALI
Denmark · founded 1983 |
|---|
| Design | 2-way | 3-way |
|---|
| Tweeter | — | 1.38" Hybrid dome + planar |
|---|
| Woofer | 12" | 2 x 7" Wood fibre |
|---|
| Frequency response | 24-26k Hz | 35-34k Hz |
|---|
| Sensitivity | 96 dB | 88 dB |
|---|
| Impedance | 8 ohms | 6 ohms |
|---|
| Power range | 20 - 350 W watts | 40-400 watts |
|---|
| Weight | 77.11kg / 169.6lbs | — |
|---|
| Dimensions (H x W x D) | 43.4" x 22.5" x 23.3"
1102.4 x 571.5 x 591.8mm | 44.13" x 15.00" x 16.50"
1121 x 381 x 419 mm |
|---|
The sections below take each area in turn: drivers, frequency response, physical size and what you get in the box.
Drivers
One of the fundamental differences between these two speakers is that Vintage Twelve is a 2-way design whereas the Epikore 7 is a 3-way speaker. 3-way designs utilize a midrange driver in addition to the tweeter and woofer on 2-way designs. Designing a crossover for a 3-way speaker is a complicated process and generally increases the overall cost of the speaker.
Fyne Audio Vintage TwelveDALI Epikore 7
TweeterWoofer
Front view, drawn to scale - cabinets and drivers share one scale, so sizes are directly comparable. Hover a driver for its size.
| Driver |
Fyne Audio Vintage Twelve |
DALI Epikore 7 |
|
Driver Setup
|
2-way
|
3-way
|
|
Tweeter
|
-inch
|
1.38-inch
|
|
Midrange
|
- |
- |
|
Woofer
|
x 12-inch
|
2 x 7-inch
|
Vintage Twelve features a " Tweeter and x 12" Woofer with a Crossover frequency at 750 Hz. On the other hand, the Epikore 7 features a 1.38" Hybrid dome + planar Tweeter and 2 x 7" Wood fibre Woofer with a Crossover frequency at 800 / 2500 / 12500Hz.
Frequency Response
Vintage Twelve has a frequency range of 24-26k Hz whereas Epikore 7 has a frequency range of 35-34k Hz. With a minimum frequency of 24Hz, the Vintage Twelve can go significantly deeper on the low side and provide stronger bass compared to the Epikore 7's min frequency of 35Hz.
The graph below depicts how these two speakers compare with the max, min and average Low Frequency values of other speakers in the Floor-standing class in our database.
Low Frequency
Floor-standing Speakers
Neither pair reaches down to 20Hz, the usual definition of full-range, which is normal for speakers of this size. If you want the bottom octave for movies or bass-heavy music, add a subwoofer to whichever you choose. Visit our Powered Subwoofers section to find out more about the available options.
Impedance and Sensitivity
Vintage Twelve is a 8 ohms speaker compared to the Epikore 7 which has a nominal impedance of 6 ohms.
These two speakers also have different sensitivity levels. Vintage Twelve sensitivity is rated at 96 dB and the Epikore 7's is rated at 88 dB. This 8 dB difference makes the Fyne Audio Vintage Twelve a more sensitive speaker compared to DALI Epikore 7, hence will play louder with the same amount of watts.
Sensitivity
Floor-standing Speakers
Power Range
Power
range is the range of input power in watts RMS that a loudspeaker is designed to handle. Staying
within that range gives nominal performance; driving the speaker beyond its maximum wattage can damage it.
Epikore 7 can handle a max power of 400 watts RMS, whereas Vintage Twelve has a max power handling value of 350 watts RMS, 50 watts less than the Epikore 7.
Note that higher power handling does not make a speaker louder: that depends mainly on
sensitivity and impedance. The calculator below shows how loud each of these actually plays
on a real amplifier.
Which plays louder on your amplifier?
Starting with a popular amplifier - change it to the one you own, or any you are
considering, and watch both numbers move.
Fyne Audio Vintage Twelve
Input Type and Bi-Amping / Bi-Wiring
Epikore 7 features Binding post posts which make bi-amping or bi-wiring possible. Vintage Twelve has a Binding post which doesn't feature bi-amping/bi-wiring.
Physical Specs
The size of a speaker can sometimes be an important decision factor due to space constraints or in some cases purely for esthetic reasons. In this section, we are going to compare Fyne Audio Vintage Twelve's and DALI Epikore 7's external dimensions. Fyne Audio Vintage Twelve has external dimensions of 1102.4 x 571.5 x 591.8mm (43.4 x 22.5 x 23.3inch) whereas DALI Epikore 7 has external dimensions of 1121 x 381 x 419 mm ().
DALI Epikore 7 is 190.5mm narrower and 172.8mm less deeper than Fyne Audio Vintage Twelve but it is also 18.6mm taller.
Size, drawn to scale
Both speakers and both views share one scale, so everything here is directly comparable. Hover a box for its dimensions.
One scale for both, standing on the same surface and pushed back to the same wall, so the deeper one visibly sticks out further.
Fyne Audio Vintage Twelve needs about 112% more floor or shelf area. Fyne Audio Vintage Twelve is 173mm deeper, so it stands that much further out from the wall. DALI Epikore 7 is 19mm taller.
Base Surface Area Comparison
Base surface area of a loudspeaker may become a determining factor when the space in your room or desk is limited.
The base surface area of the Fyne Audio Vintage Twelve is approximately 3382.1cm2 / 524.2inch2 and base area of the DALI Epikore 7 is approximately 1596.4cm2 / 247.4inch2. The Vintage Twelve requires 112% more surface area than the Epikore 7 which gives it a small disadvantage on placement in tight spaces.