I've spent 20 years testing hi-fi and these bookshelf speakers are the
gateway drug to passive perfection

Date:
Sat, 06 Dec 2025 10:30:00 +0000

Description:
After chasing the pricier loudspeaker dollar, Dali has returned to its roots with the super-affordable Kupid. Is the companys entry-level mojo still working?

FULL STORY ======================================================================Dali Kupid: Two-minute review

Dali may have been concentrating on the loftier parts of the audio market lately with its various loudspeaker and headphone product launches, but with the Kupid it wants you to know it hasnt abandoned the entry level. The
company has had plenty of success with its affordable speaker ranges before now, and it wants to bring those days back.

The Kupid is a small, neatly finished standmounting design thats available in a couple of quite vibrant finishes (blue and yellow) along with the more
usual black, white and walnut. Its compact nature means it should be easy to position, though its rear-facing bass reflex port means you cant just plonk
it anywhere. Rather unpromising impedance and sensitivity figures turn out to be no major real-world issue when it comes to pairing these speakers with appropriately affordable amplification, though.

And, in practice, the Kupid turns out to be a very successful proposition where performance, as well as appearance, are concerned. One of the best stereo speakers on the market? You bet... (Image credit: Future / Simon
Lucas) Dali Kupid review: Price & release date Released October, 2025 Priced $599 / 299 / AU$599

The DALI Kupid standmount loudspeakers launched in October 2025, and in the United Kingdom they cost 299 per pair. In Australia theyre a predictable AU$599, while in the United States they cost a slightly less predictable
$599.

The American market is a law unto itself at the moment, I suppose, and DALI
is almost certainly being pragmatic enough to factor in any whim-based fluctuations in tariffs and the like. (Image credit: Future / Simon Lucas) Dali Kupid review: Features 26mm soft dome tweeter 114mm wood-fiber/paper mid/bass driver Rear-facing bass reflex port

These are affordable passive loudspeakers, so it wont come as all that much
of a surprise to learn theyre not exactly overburdened with features. Those features the Kupid do have, though, seem entirely fit for purpose.

At the front they have a 26mm soft dome tweeter sitting behind a mildly
dished waveguide. Beneath this theres a 114mm mid/bass driver made from the same mixture of paper and wood-fiber pulp the company has been refining for quite some time now. This duo is supported by a rear-firing bass reflex port that; a) contributes to an overall frequency response of 63Hz - 25kHz; and b) makes the Kupid slightly less appealing as a shelf-mounting proposition than they otherwise would be.

Crossover between the drivers is sensibly positioned at around 2.1kHz.
Nominal impedance (4 ohms) and sensitivity (83dB) mean that the Kupid will be just a little trickier to drive than the majority of the size- and/or price-comparable rivals.

In theory, at least Features score: 5/5 (Image credit: Future / Simon Lucas) Dali Kupid review: Sound quality Rapid, energetic sound Impressive grasp of rhythm Unlikely levels of dynamism and punch

Youre entitled to expect certain things from a loudspeaker, no matter how small and/or affordable it is. But there are some things that are not quite
so easy to come by when youre talking about compact, (relatively) inexpensive loudspeaker designs. Whats remarkable about the Dali Kupid is how they manage to deliver everything you expect and a fair bit of what you might only be hoping for.

A listen to a 24bit/96kHz FLAC file of ScubaZ The Vanishing American Family gives a strong flavor of both of these things. The tonal neutrality and even frequency response you are expecting is present and correct, but the
dynamism, and low-frequency extension and solidity the Kupid are capable of falls squarely into the unexpected category.

Detail levels are decently high, and if theyre sympathetically positioned the Dali are capable of creating a fairly large and quite carefully controlled soundstage. Control of low-frequency activity is good, so rhythmic expression is convincing, and despite the unpromising nature of most of the numbers
here, theres more than enough low-end energy available to ensure theres
weight and punch to the Kupid sound.

The midrange communicates quite freely. Theres plenty of space for the voice during King Hannahs Big Swimmer to project ahead of the similarly close-micd guitar these speakers can do intimate just as readily as they can do animated. The top of the frequency range, while rounded off just slightly in the name of good taste, can nevertheless bite and crunch with the best any price-comparable rival can summon.

Momentum levels never dip (provided the recording doesnt dictate it, of course), but the Dali never sound forced theyre just pleasantly on the front foot. Yet despite the sort of attitude that begins at exciting, the Kupid retain the headroom to make big dynamic shifts in volume or intensity perfectly apparent.

Music is meant to be fun, isnt it? Well, most of the time anyway I guess we all like to pop on a bit of Elliott Smith or Joy Division every now and then. But if its fun youre predominantly after, along with the sort of authenticity that can only come from a well-sorted loudspeaker, the sound of the Dali
Kupid is the perfect place for most of us to start. Sound quality score: 5/5 (Image credit: Future / Simon Lucas) Dali Kupid review: Design Extensive
range of finishes Very acceptable build quality 245 x 150 x 198mm (HxWxD)

There are a couple of immediately striking things about the Dali Kupid's design. The first is the size of the cabinets at just 245 x 150 x 198mm (HxWxD) the speakers are almost small enough to perch on a windowsill, let alone a shelf or speaker stand.

The other, if you encounter one of the livelier finishes is, well, the
finish. Sure, you can have your Kupid in black, white or the species of fake walnut that my review sample rather disappointingly showed up in, but why would you, when chilly blue and golden yellow are also available?

As the asking price strongly suggests, theres nothing special about the materials used here, and at just 2.9kg per speaker theyre not what you might describe as weighty. But the standard of construction is perfectly sound, and the gently curved cabinet edges offer a slightly more upmarket appearance
than the straight-edged alternative thats more common at this sort of price.

The fact that the grilles attach magnetically, meaning there are no lug-holes in the front baffle of the speaker, only adds to the impression of thoughtful design. Design score: 5/5 (Image credit: Future / Simon Lucas) Dali Kupid review: Setup and usability Wall-brackets and rubber feet are provided Single-wire speaker terminalsS Some running-in required

Where do you want to position your Dali Kupid?

If theyre going on speaker stands, you have plenty of choice from plenty of specialist brands. If you want to put them on a shelf, Dali provides eight little rubber feet in the box to help with decoupling. If you fancy hanging them on the wall, there are rudimentary wall-brackets supplied, too.

As regards setup, theres really not a lot to it. You have a stereo amplifier, presumably if not, youll need one. Each Kupid has a single pair of speaker cable terminals on the rear of the cabinet try to keep the lengths of cable you use to connect each one roughly the same length.

And, like all loudspeakers, a period of running-in is required before you
hear them at their best. Dali reckons you should expect to put 100 hours on the Kupid before they sound how theyre supposed to sound Setup and usability score: 5/5 (Image credit: Future / Simon Lucas) Dali Kupid review: Value

The Dali Kupid are by no means your only choice when youre looking for
compact and affordable passive loudspeakers. But theyre more compact than most, which many will find appealing, and the combination of some vibrant finishes and relatively good-looking cabinet-work doesnt do any harm where perceived value is concerned either.

Best of all, though, and the real deal-sealer, is the energetic and engaging sound these speakers make. Pair them with an affordable streaming amplifier (like the similarly titchy WiiM Amp, for instance), and you can create a compact, high-achieving audio system for a relatively small amount of money. And that means value for money all day long in my book. Value score: 5/5 (Image credit: Future / Simon Lucas) Should you buy the Dali Kupid? Buy them if...

Youre after a taste of authentic hi-fi sound but dont want to break the bank For the performance thats on offer, $599 / 299 / AU$599 seems like a bit of a bargain

You want big sound, not big cabinets
The Kupid wont fill an authentically large room with sound, but they nevertheless sound a lot bigger than they look.

You prefer your loudspeakers to be interestingly coloured
Ignore the pics of my review sample and check out the blue and yellow alternatives instead. Don't buy them if...

Your amplifier is on the tentative side
Theyre not as burdensome as the numbers suggest, but the Kupid still require
a reasonably pokey amp if theyre going to work efficiently.

Youre expecting thumping bass presence
You know how this works, right? A speaker this size will never shift enough air to rattle your windows

You think $599 / 299 / AU$599 should buy a luxurious standard of build and finish
It doesnt. Dali Kupid review: Also consider

Q Acoustics 3020c
The 3020c by Q Acoustics are down to Dali Kupid money these days, and theyre
a great-sounding pair of speakers for the money. The cabinet is relatively deep, though, which means theyre very much a standmounting proposition rather than being suitable for a shelf or a windowsill.
Read our full Q Acoustics 3020c review here

Wharfedale Diamond 12.1
For even less money than the Kupid, Wharfedale will sell you a pair of its Diamond 12.1 loudspeakers. Theyre not as decorative as the Dali, but in their own way theyre just as satisfying to listen to. How I tested the Dali Kupid Connected to a Naim Uniti Star and an A&R Cambridge Audio A60 Vinyl listening via Technics SL-1300G turntable Playing a wide variety of music from a number of different sources

I connected the Dali Kupid to a Naim Uniti Star and also to a vintage A&R Cambridge A60 for amplification purposes, and then used the Naim as a network streamer, a Rega Apollo for CD playback and a Technics SL-1300G (via a Leema Elements pre-amp) as a vinyl source.

This allowed me to listen to lots of different types of music from a variety of formats. And, let me tell you, doing so for well over a week, on and off, proved no kind of hardship whatsoever.

First reviewed: December 2025

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