DALI 2 (1985)
DALI (Danish Audiophile Loudspeaker Industries) grew from a chain of hi-fi stores known as Danmarks Hi-Fi Klub (today just ‘HiFi Klubben’) which had been founded by Peter Lyngdorf, whose name now straddles multiple companies in hi-fi history, most recently Purifi. The hi-fi stores were growing their business on NAD and Denon amps but needed a suitable speaker brand with which to pair these — Cerwin-Vega was a key brand at the time, but were large and expensive and not a neutral-sounding design.
After experimenting with local production of a NAD-branded speaker unique to Denmark, the brand DALI (Danish Audiophile Loudspeaker Industries) was founded in 1985, starting out with the Dali 2 (we’re not entirely sure what happened to the Dali 1), a two-way configuration with a 16.5cm laminate pulp/polyvinyl cone woofer, 25mm tweeter with a soft polypropylene dome, and walnut veneered wooden cabinets. They were a perfect pairing for NAD’s ragingly successful 3020 amplifier, and the Dali 2 was followed soon afterwards by larger models in the range, the 3, 4, 6 and 8, which shared the same design philosophy and signature sound.