Dali Phantom K-80 Ceiling Speaker (Single)

Dali Phantom K-80 is a quality ceiling speaker featuring an 8” woofer as well as a soft dome tweeter. The tweeter can be adjusted for the best high frequency dispersion. Additionally, the woofer has a wood cone and is off-axis, to lower any possible colouration. The 28mm tweeter can also be tilted on it’s wishbone bracket. Custom back cans are also available. These can be fitted into the same-sized hole as the speaker.

Wood fibre coned woofer

The K-80’s off-axis woofer is made from wood fibre, which should offer more durability in potentially damp environments. It also has a low-loss rubber surround and a long excursion-optimised magnet system. The long excursion delivers more bass and the midrange is slightly less prominent. This is designed for a larger, rounder sound. There are also a couple of switches that let you fine-tune the sound. The woofer is mounted slightly off-axis to lower colouration and distortion. Additionally, the off-axis woofer allows for the tweeter to be placed closer to the cone, which should result in better timing and phase.

Tiltable tweeter

The K-80 has a 28mm soft dome tweeter. This has been chosen for it’s excellent transient response, along with low colouration and high sensitivity. Additionally, relative to the woofer, it is oversized, which should provide a seamless crossover, avoiding any frequency dips in the critical midrange. The midrange usually covers vocals so a good quality midrange should help with intelligibility. Next, the tweeter is mounted in a tiltable wishbone bracket. As a result, it can be tilted towards the listener for better high frequency dispersion. There are also tuned mass dampers to dampen any distortion.

Custom back cans

For simple fitting, the K-80’s can be mounted by using a back can. These can be used where a backbox is not possible, they simply push in from the front. The back can is also tuned to give better bass in rooms that have high reverberation, such as bathrooms. The speaker cone is also coated to make it moisture resistant. Finally, the back can is no wider than the speaker so it can fit into the same hole.

Speaker construction

Ceiling speakers, such as the Dali K-80, use the same parts as convectional speakers, although the arrangement may be different. The first part in any speaker is the basket. The basket holds the cone and magnet system. The cone is also known as the diaphragm, and is the part that moves air, to create sound. Next comes the voice coil. This is wrapped around a circular former and fits into a slot in the magnet. When an audio signal is passed through the coil it causes the cone to move.

Another important part is the spider, this holds the cone in place, and ensures that the cone returns to its start position. Finally, there is a dust cap. This prevents debris from getting into the gap. Finally, the magnet is usually a permanent type and made of iron. However, more modern materials are being used. Dali uses SMC or Soft Magnetic Compound. This has superior magnetic properties. Interestingly, in the past, speaker magnets were electromagnetic, energized by the mains supply. They also doubled up as filter chokes.

What is impedance?

Most speaker have a quoted impedance. The K-80’s are 8 Ohms. Too low an impedance for the amplifier may result in overload. Impedance is actually a combination of resistance and inductance, with a speaker. Moreover, Impedance is frequency dependent. For example, speaker crossovers act like a filter, using inductors and capacitors to cut off the audio, at a certain frequency.