A passive BD Nap 160 did struggle with DBL’s,when I tried.
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I sense that too. As brilliant as the bolt down 160 is. One doesn’t do the trick with DBLs.
it’s a different type of speaker but the 160 with the SW1X M963 FC (96db) is audio bliss. The energy, the attack. Obviously DBLs were designed to be used actively and I do notice they have plenty of drive. The music is propelled, even with just one 160 running them.
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Oh dear … they look like manufactured yesterday… what a gem!
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Thanks buddy. Yes I’m very grateful to the previous owner.
I love vintage gear in pristine condition. It’s like a time warp. I would love to find 3 immaculate bolt down 250s
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That may be true - but DBLs driven via their original pxos by a NAP 500DR are a wonderful thing ime.
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I once had both my old standby 135’s and 500 at the factory at the same time. I ran my DBL’s on an old Nait for nearly a month. Okay, so scale was a bit of an issue and it may have got a tad on the warm side but the Nait coped surprisingly well.
I’m not sure how good DBL’s will sound if the bass units are not sealed with silicone. I don’t think it’ll pressurise the bass box correctly, so I wouldn’t judge the sound just yet?
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The wife’s with her sister for a few days and all my kids took me out for a curry last night. When they dropped me home it was a little late, so poured myself a nice Macallans night-cap and lit-up the system.
It was two this morning when I finally went to bed but I could cook bacon on the top of the 500 when I shut everything down. There’s nothing like a 500 at full throttle on a pair of DBL’s. It’s like a time machine and will take you to any concert you want!
I went and saw these three last night. Play this album and you’ll see why I was frying the 500. Start with “I put a spell on you”…
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500DR has great drama. It’s a thrill of a listen. I won’t be back to 500DR anytime soon with active DBLs. I have 3 160s for now. If I can source bolt down 250s that’s my next step.
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Today I replaced the Heed Obelisk DA with my reference Abbas DDC and SW1X DAC 3 Balanced SP. I’ve never experienced such a huge leap in music reproduction with a single component change. (Technically 2 but still just source component) It’s evident these speakers are spooky detailed.
Another anecdotal instance was my borrowed NAC A5 cable has one cable terminated incorrectly (phase inverse). When I first fired up the DBLs the sound was very very strange. The imaging was completely off as many of you may have experienced if you connect the positive and negative incorrectly. However with the DBLs this effect was considerably more pronounced than I had ever experienced it before.
I’m very much looking forward to sealing the drivers as I do feel the bass could be tighter.
I really do like the fleet footed nature of the NAP 160. It’s very liquid. Is there a way I could use the 160s in a biamping way or pseudo monoblock way. So I install 6 instead of 3 active?
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envious to say the least, I would love to own DBLs but room constraints and of course availability of an old speaker make it impossible for me….
Anyway, a 500DR on full throttle with the ATC SCM20PSLT is something to behold.
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The gut wrenching punch and power is exceptional. I am very excited to see how going active compares.
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As i understand it the man driver is not sealed into the box, but you run a thing bead of silicone around its edge to the box. I have chosen not to do this.
You need blue hylomar for the mids if its gone off. But be warned you start into those boxes and you’ll likley find all the foam has deteriorated and then you are into the game I played for the last year!
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Thats correct, on mine there is a thin bead of silicone that runs round the edge of the bass drive units once it’s in place but none on the mating surfaces, that’s completely free of silicone.
I think what Khan84 is referring to is sealing the gasket between the two boxes.
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Ah rightyo. Well its well worth checking out the state of the foam in the bass box. You’ll be surprised. There is an excellent thread around here where someone else replaced it.
When I got mine and plugged them in they sounded very fast and perfect amount of bass in my room. Once I had redid the foam (and veneer to be fair) the bass was overwhelming (wrong bass drivers)
So if anyone feels their DBLs are bass light, I highly recommend checking the state of the foam in the L-Box and the bass box. Its likely dust by now.
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So do you mean that you were more happy with the sound ,before changing to new foam ?
Yes but thats because my DBLs did not have the proper ATC drivers in, you need to check out my frankendibbles thread.
Now i have the proper drivers, they are bloody amazing. My point was I believe that because the foam had deteriorated to dust it effected the bass.
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Okay,then it feels safe for me to change the foams
as I have ATC woofers,thanks 
My DBL’s sound absolutely fantastic,so I might wait awhile to change the foams.
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I’m very lucky to have bought the perfect set of DBLs. I’ve come to love cherry veneer. I have no idea why it’s taken me so long to appreciate this colour rather than the ebony and rosewood finishes I’ve bought many times. The speakers are in fantastic condition everything from the inserts to the gaskets, drivers of which I have spare brand new ones too -in pristine condition
Yes I was referring to the bass driver cabinet which I haven’t sealed as of yet. I’m awaiting my SNAXO 362 which is currently being changed from Ovator BMR setup to DBL.
I’m confident when I have the speakers running active with the bass driver cabinet sealed I will get the gut wrenching punch from the DBLs. The scale so far is very impressive. If I had to make a criticism (which I really shouldn’t as the speakers are not setup correctly yet) it would be that the midrange could be more solid or prominent. Perhaps palpable is a better word. I get this with the Linn Kans and even more so with the SW1X speakers.
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Yes wait until you have them set up correctly
Did you buy yours from Tomtom,if I may ask ?
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