So, to impressions of the Dutch & Dutch 8C active speakers.
The first impression is that they are so flexible that it is complicated to explain all the combinations that are possible. Set up also takes a while, much longer than for passive speakers, so an instant swap style demo is not really viable for the 8C. Home audition is a must, as indicated below.
I tried them in the following 3 ways:
- In analogue mode, fed by the RME ADI-2 Pro FS (henceforth to be known as RME)
- In digital mode, fed by the RME
- In analogue mode, fed by the NAC52/Supercap
As we want to stream music from the Prestige 3 server (using Roon) and play records on the turntable, the system has to cope with both digital and analogue inputs. This is a critical consideration and one which would result in a different conclusion if we were only streaming music.
Starting with the speakers in analogue mode, the first step was to set up the speakers in the desired location (30cm from a solid back wall) and then run REW room analyser software to identify any room modes. Our listening room is fairly benign, except for a 12dB mode at 31.5Hz. That one needed dialling out.
This was remarkably easy to do using the www.lanspeaker.com website that you can run from a phone, tablet or laptop, once you have connected the speakers to your home network using standard CAT5e or CAT6 ethernet cables. The ethernet patch cables only need to be in place when setting up or changing the speakers. Once set up, the patch cables can be removed. 12dB is a lot of correction, so we started with -5dB on the left speaker and -3dB on the right.
Then we started to stream music from the Prestige 3 server, with the server acting as both Roon Core and End point, out via a Curious Cables USB cable to the RME and then via Mogami balanced XLR cables to the speakers. In this mode, the RME is acting as source selector and analogue volume control. The 8C converts the analogue to digital, applies room correction and phasing in the digital domain, then internal DACs convert back to analogue for the power amps.
It sounded okay but not great. Bass lines were a little diffuse, woolly, too prominent and slow. High pitch notes were a bit relentless/tiring. Time to re-calibrate.
Another 2dB of correction for each speaker, so -7dB on the left and -5dB on the right. Try again. A considerable improvement but not quite there. Still a bit slow, woolly and diffuse but not as dominant.
Move the speakers closer to the wall, so the rear face of the speakers were 20cm from the back wall. Recalibrate using www.lanspeaker.com to 20cm, as this adapts the time delay between the front drive units and the rear-firing bass drivers - the time delay varies with distance from the back wall. Try again. Better. Bass lines much more solid and better timed. No longer too prominent but clearly deeper and with stronger transient attack than the ARTs can manage with the NAP135s driving them.
We really, really wanted this set up to work, not least because we were effectively streaming without the need to buy an expensive streamer. Just server to RME to speakers. However, basslines were still a bit woolly and the top end too relentless/tiring. All the notes and power but none of the music.
So we switched the 8C from analogue mode to digital mode, despite being assured that both the RME’s and 8C’s converters measured impeccably and that it could not possibly make a difference. Well, it did to us. First, the bass. Holy Mackerel that sounded better. Not just better but awesomely good. True, pistonic, powerful, deep, tuneful bass like we haven’t heard before, even in other active high end systems. Music simply timed better, the speakers started to sound like one coherent system rather than having a separate bass line. Top end still a bit fierce though.
Next, we inserted one of the new Sonore OpticalRendu units in to act as the Roon end point. The Prestige 3 server was then acting only as Roon Core, feeding output via ethernet to the Cisco 2960 switch, out via optical SFP module and OM1 cable to the OpticalRendu, with USB to the RME unit. In this configuration, the RME unit acts as digital volume control and feeds a digital music signal to the speakers, so the whole streaming music chain is digital. The ADCs in both the RME unit and the speakers are bypassed.
And the difference? There should be no difference at all. But there was. Cheshire Cat like grins appeared on listeners’ faces within the first 5 notes of the first song. Oohh, that’s better. Can we leave it like this please? Can we play more and more music? Everything snapped into place and sounded addictively musical. The depth, speed, power and tunefulness of bass lines that underpin all music was phenomenal. So much better than we have ever heard at home. Singers’ voices at last were naturally clear and the top end was now sweet and detailed without being strident or harsh. Spacial imaging was okay but not special, certainly not comparable to that achieved by the ARTs, yet this was outweighed by other aspects of excellence for us. YMMV.
So, on the basis of streamed music, we would replace all the Naim amplifiers (and we are talking serviced NAC52 & NAP135s) and ART speakers, buy the 8Cs, avoid the need to buy a streamer and save a small fortune. That has to give pause for thought for Naim.
More to follow…