Let’s face it. Who doesn’t like the idea of owning a set of kick-ass loudspeakers that can fit inside a standard size suitcase? If you are one of those people, and I’m guessing that you probably are, then allow me to hip you to one of the latest ultra compact monitors to hit the scene- Dali’s Mentor Menuet.

Getting to know the Menuet’s

Entering the lineup as one of the most petit set of dedicated stereo loudspeakers to wear the Dali badge, the Mentor Menuet’s were created to fulfill one simple, yet ambitious goal – to deliver the kind of performance that exceeds the expectations that audiophiles normally associate with compact monitors. Instead of merely spicing up the decade-old Menuet recipe and dubbing it a new and improved loudspeaker, Dali went back to the drawing board and designed the Mentor Menuet from the ground up. It is an all out effort to create a compact high performance piece at a relatively affordable price.

What Dali ended up with is a two-way bass reflex design that contains new drivers, new features, and fresh cosmetics. In terms of drivers, the Mentor Menuet’s now employ a new 4.5” wood-fiber woofer along with a new 1.1” soft dome tweeter. Both drivers are designed to be dynamic, fast, and precise. Dali decouples each of these drivers from the cabinet using rubber gaskets. Not only do these rubber gaskets help reduce the transfer of unwanted vibrations between the drivers and the cabinet, they also create and air-tight seal around the drivers. Another cool new feature on the Menuet is its downward firing air-flow optimized port, which is cleverly woven into the binding post mold. This port was designed to do three things. 1. Eliminate port noise. 2. Allow for a lower tuning frequency. 3. Make it possible to place the Menuet’s near wall boundaries without adversely affecting bass precision. The latter is particularly important, as the Menuet’s were created with boundary reinforcement in mind.

Another cool feature is the new grills, which attach themselves to the each Menuet via holes in the driver baskets. Now you won’t have four ugly plastic holes starring back at when your speakers are making music au naturale.

Finally, we have the fresh new look. The sweet and subtle curves along the Menuet’s cabinet practically drip with Scandinavian aesthetic flare. My review samples (en white) are particularly pleasing to the eye.

Half pint size, Grande ambitions

Before I dive straight into the review, I feel that it is important to once again touch upon the design goals that Dali set out to achieve with the Mentor Menuet. In a nutshell, they were built to fulfill the needs of the audiophile who is looking to get big, musically compelling sound from a very elegant and low profile box. Functionally speaking, Dali engineered the Menuet’s to work well in many different types of rooms, on a great variety of electronics, and with virtually every form of music. Now it’s time to see just how well the Menuet’s stack up to their makers ambitious goals. 

DETAILED PERFORMANCE SUMMARY

The Good:  Very handsome aesthetics; Incredibly easy to work with in regards to equipment matching; Much more balanced and linear than many other competing compact monitors; Can handle complex musical passages with ease; Open and detailed midrange ; Smooth and detailed top end ; Incredibly tight and tuneful bass; Exceptional imaging; Wonderful dynamic range for their size ; Delivers a very satisfying sound regardless of the music played through them.

The Bad: They can sound overly aggressive in the treble when paired with forward sounding electronics ; Although the bass is good for their size, do not expect them to energize a room below 70Hz ;  May sound a bit dry to those who are used to more colorful sounding speakers ; They are rather pricey for a set of small loudspeakers.

The Bottom Line: All in all, I’d say that Dali has a very well rounded product in the Menuet. While they may not usher in a new threshold of performance as far as compact monitors go, they are nonetheless fantastic little speakers that easily draw you into the music. Moreover, the little Menuet’s possess the type of sonic goods that could easily land them first-chair position into many serious audiophile systems. 

Specifications: $1,500 USD (shipped)

Cabinet: MDF composite with real wood veneer.
Tweeter: 1.1 inch textile dome.
Mid-bass driver: 4.5 inch Wood Fiber cone.
Frequency response: 59 - 25.000Hz +/- 3db
Sensitivity: 86dB @ 2.83V/m
Impedance: 4 ohms nominal

Cabinet dimensions (HxWxD): 250 x 150 x 230mm (9.8 x 5.9 x 9.1")
Weight (per speaker): 4.1 kg (9lbs)

General Character:  The entire driving force behind the Menuet’s is their ability to deliver the music without obvious aural fireworks. These are linear speakers, at least as far as mini monitors go. The Menuet’s also possess a level of balance and refinement that is rare at this price point. The same can also be said for their lack of odd phasing, which is quite common among other speakers in this class. Unlike many compact monitors, the Menuet’s do not hand you the music with a tremendous helping of coloring agents. Instead, they prefer to let the recording speak for itself.

Presentation wise, the Menuet’s project sound in a way that errs slightly towards the forward side of the neutral line. They are the kind of speaker that will grip you with their liveliness, and then draw you into the music with great ebb and flow. This leads me to one of the Menuet’s most salient attributes. Most speakers that edge close towards the ‘tell it like it is’ camp have a tendency of sounding dull or lifeless across a wide array of electronics and music/recordings. Not so with the Menuet’s. They manage to deliver the kind of precision and balance that critical ears love, while at the same time producing the type of rhythmic and engaging quality that makes listening to music fun and enjoyable. It’s a tough balancing act to strike, and Dali nailed it with the Menuet’s.

With that said, it is important to note that the type of sound that you get from the Menuet’s will largely hinge upon where you position them in your room. Remember, they were designed to be placed near boundaries. What this means is that they will usually sound fuller across the bass and lower midrange when placed within close proximity of a back wall. When positioned 3 or more ft away from a back wall, their bass becomes far less prominent and the midrange will quickly begin to lose weight and body.

Treble:  Years ago, I reviewed the more expensive Dali Mentor 5 towers. For all of the good things that these speakers brought to the table, their aggressive treble proved difficult to live with. The good news here is that the Menuet’s manage to capture a good portion of the detail that the hybrid ribbin/dome reveals, only without the aggressive sizzle on the top end. The treble is just forward enough to capture the raw grit and bite of acoustic instruments, all the while being smooth enough to allow you to enjoy your guilty pleasures from the 80’s.

Midrange:  As you’d come to expect from any loudspeaker that relies on a 4.5” woofer, the midrange on the Menuet’s is incredibly fast and precise. Notes start and stop on a dime. There is no overhang whatsoever. None. Not only does this speed and articulation go a long way towards giving the Dali’s an expressive and lively sound, but it also helps allow the listener to hear deeper into the recording.

It’s not all completely neutral and linear though. The speaker’s full and open midrange comes courtesy of warm tonal colorations that are intelligently woven into the sound by Dali’s engineers. This coloration, found mostly across the mid-to-lower midrange section, really goes a long way towards giving the speaker a very engaging quality.

Bass:  Tight and detailed, the Menuet’s exhibit the type of excellent bottom end control that anyone would come to expect from a pair of mini monitors. That said, there is only so much bass that a 4.5” woofer housed in small enclosure can be expected to produce. The simple rule here is that if you want to get full and tout bass from the Menuet’s, you should position them close to a wall. After doing so, you should experience bass that is both well textured, incredibly quick, and tout enough to cover most genres of music well. Whether or not someone will feel the need to add a sub will largely depend on application, set-up, and the thirst for low end grunt.

Imaging:  Uh, they are mini two-way monitors. Of course they image well! Nuff’ said.

Dynamics:  While the Menuet’s do not embody size-defying dynamic range, I am nonetheless impressed by how dynamic these speakers remain when tasked to deliver copious levels of raw output. Though it would be a stretch to classify them as dynamic monsters, I feel that they have enough cajones to showcase the type of acoustic energy that makes for a satisfying musical experience.

The Caveats

Beyond the normal limitations that go along with most mini-monitors (many of them having already been mentioned above), I could not find too many other weak links in the Menuet’s chain. In fact, the only negative observation I have to warrant against them is their price. Outside of their intended application, the Menuet’s may come across as a bit expensive for what they are. That said, when you consider the niche that they were designed to fulfill, there is no denying that they are excellent tools for the job.

The Conclusion

I enjoyed my time with the Dali Menuet’s. They sport a unique blend of honesty and musicality that is difficult not to appreciate and enjoy. If you are an audiophile that is searching for brilliant performance from an elegant lifestyle sized box, I can currently think of no better solution than Dali’s little Mentor Menuet. Very highly recommended!

Sean

Addendum:          I deleted the portion of the review where I compared the Mentor Menuet’s to the Mark and Daniel Maximus-Mini’s. I removed this sub section for two reasons. First, I don’t believe that too many people will be able to easily recreate such a comparison. Second, I wanted to cut down on space and help make this review shorter and easier to read. 

• Cjchen1682005
  please recommend the most comparable AV receiver/amplifier for pairing up with this Mentor Menuet speakers and can generate very well stereo music and surround sound effect.
• Colin
  after many test, i think Moon 220i ampli is the perfect pair for Dali's mentor minuet, just try out!
• Mjrmccartney
  Loved the review - any chance of your observations/opinions relative to Spendor SA/1 's ? Thx -Ross M (Aust.)