Dali Epikore: discover the new range with Patrick Cousin

In early November 2025, the Son-Vidéo.com store in Antibes welcomed Dali for an exceptional event in the presence of the brand’s experts. Many enthusiasts made the trip to discover the prestigious Dali Epikore speaker range in optimal listening conditions. On this occasion, we spoke with Patrick Cousin, Dali sales agent, to better understand the spirit of the brand and the ambitions of this top-of-the-range series.

Patrick, thank you for joining us in Antibes. First of all, could you introduce yourself and tell us about your role at Dali France?

I have been working for DALI as a sales agent since 2012. My area of activity is the south of France. I share this job with a colleague who covers the whole of the north.

What does this event celebrating the Epikore range, and in particular the Epikore 11, mean to you?

It’s the ideal opportunity for a major player in audio-video distribution to showcase an exceptional range of Dali’s latest innovations. Putting Epikore in the hands of enthusiasts is a concrete demonstration of the brand’s acoustic expertise and the culmination of several years’ research.

How did the idea for the Epikore series come about, and how does it fit in with Dali’s history?

Dali is a manufacturer that was founded over 40 years ago. They have never ceased to innovate and improve their production tools to obtain these amazing series, including the Dali Kore. The Dali Epikore range is simply a variation on this flagship model. The Dali Epikore 11 is the one that most closely resembles it.

The Epikore range is the successor to Epicon, which was Dali’s top-of-the-range model for many years. What did you want to change with this new generation?

Each Dali speaker series has its own range of drivers. The iconic Dali Kore is the culmination of years of research. The Dali Epicon series, which as you say were long Dali’s flagship, has made a huge leap forward in the evolution towards the Epikore thanks to the technologies of its big sister.

What sound philosophy guided the development of Epikore?

At DALI, a large proportion of employees are amateur musicians themselves, and the brand even supports young artists, singers and instrumentalists. In short: music comes first. It’s this philosophy that guides us, and means that from the smallest entry-level speaker to our most ambitious models, emotion must always be at the forefront.

SMC Gen-2 technology is at the heart of the Epikore range. Can you tell us what it brings to the listening experience?

This technology is part of DALI’s core expertise, as is our hybrid tweeter. To put it simply: when a current flows through the voice coil placed in the air gap, the driver’s “motor”, this coil starts to move. This is the very principle of a driver. But the reverse is also true: if the coil moves in the air gap, it generates a current of its own. This induced current is undesirable, as it generates distortion. As soon as the driver oscillates to reproduce the frequencies sent by the amp, a parasitic current appears mechanically: it moves because it receives a current… but as it moves, it creates a current!

This is where SMC comes in. It’s a composite powder used to manufacture the driver’s motor, whose special feature is to drastically reduce this induced current. It’s an expensive material, so it’s used extensively in our top-of-the-range speakers. The Dali Option series was the first to benefit from it. Another advantage: SMC is highly insensitive to heat. By virtually eliminating this distortion, the result is a much clearer, cleaner and much more legible sound.

The Epikore 11 cabinetry impresses with its design and density. What challenges did this present during the design phase?

With the advent of Covid, DALI, which previously relied on subcontractors for the most complex cabinets, has completely overhauled its strategy. The brand chose to stop relying on external service providers and to repatriate all Epikore and Kore manufacturing to Denmark. Today, construction, shaping and painting are carried out in-house, using highly advanced production machinery capable of ensuring exemplary precision and consistency.

How would you describe the sound signature of the Epikore 11, and what really sets it apart from the Epikore 7 already on show here in Antibes?

At the top end of the spectrum, the sound signature remains identical: the same hybrid tweeter is found in the Epikore 3, 7 and 9, derived directly from the Kore. However, it’s at the lower end of the spectrum that the differences are felt. The higher-end models offer a much more solid base, with much greater acoustic pressure and the ability to fill space with greater amplitude and depth.

Which amplification or electronics do you think help reveal their full potential?

Personally, I’m a fan of big amps. You need power! If I may use a car analogy, I’m going to have a hard time making a comfortable Paris-Nice trip with a huge caravan if it’s hitched to a small city car!

If you had to choose an iconic song to introduce them to the world, which would naturally come to mind?

Rather than listing just one track, I’d say we’ve put together an entire playlist of very demonstrative tracks, specially designed to showcase the qualities of Epikore. It’s available on Qobuz. Each track has been selected to reveal a particular aspect of their reproduction: dynamics, soundstage, texture, depth… In my opinion, it’s the best way to discover them.

Dali has always sought to combine technological innovation and musicality. How is this approach reflected today in the Epikore series?

The Epikore range is certainly the most representative of the brand’s expertise. You’ll find everything: cabinetry, hybrid tweeter, new cones, SMC Gen 2 technology, crossovers. I’m not talking about the Kore, which unfortunately remains completely inaccessible to the rest of us. On the other hand, even the first models, derived from their big sisters, are a real treat, with the latest little Dali Kupids priced at €340 per pair.

What role does the Epikore range play in Dali’s strategy for the coming years?

A position that’s set to remain unchanged for a good dozen years (the Epicon series has remained in the brand’s catalog for 12 years!). It takes a great deal of research to reach such a high level of technology and manufacturing, where every element of the range has been entirely reviewed, improved and modified. There’s even a glue department!

To conclude, what message would you like to send to the fans present in Antibes this evening after listening to Epikore 11?

It’s more a wish than a message, but I hope that everyone who came to the event was able to enjoy listening to these fabulous speakers and feel all the emotions that music brings. Like Obelix, I fell into this domain when I was very small, and I’ve been lucky enough to make it my profession. If some of our visitors come with their families and young children, I hope that my listening experience will inspire others to take up the profession.

For those who were unable to attend this exceptional event, nothing beats listening to the speakers in real-life conditions. We invite you to visit one of our 16 Son-Vidéo.com stores throughout France: our teams will be happy to introduce you to Dali speakers and guide you towards the models best suited to your project. This is a great opportunity to prolong the experience and feel for yourself all the emotion that the brand is capable of conveying.