stereophile.com n August2019 103
DUTCH & DUTCH 8Creduced the toe-in angle, to keep the speakers’ driver axes
aimed at me, the soundstage widened satisfactorily. If my
room were a bit wider, I could sit farther back and keep all
the magic.Comparisons and conclusions
Like the Kii Audio Three and the B&O Beolab 90, the
Dutch & Dutch 8c offers freedom from major room effects
to a degree beyond that offered by any consumer automatic
room-correction software. All three speakers sound like
transparent windows into the original performance space,
though they don’t sound identical. The 8c’s sound is warmer
and less obviously detailed than the Kii Three’s, but I don’t
think that’s anything more than a slight shift in perceived
balance due to the 8c’s fuller, more powerful bass. The Beo-
lab 90 produced in my room a bass balance less generous
than the 8c’s but more generous than the Kii Three’s—this
without its recently released BXT bass module.
At the other end of the audioband, the B&O and Kii had
more expressive top ends and more easily communicated
the air and space of recordings than the D&D did.
Comparing a speaker like the 8c with conventional
speakers is difficult: such a system internally integrates so
many functions—eg, controlled dispersion, active amplifica-
tion, DSP (for crossover, room correction, equalization), and
direct digital input—that for a passive speaker are performed
by other, separate components. The D&D 8c demonstrates
that active, DSP-empowered speakers are the future.
As things stand now, I think that the Dutch & Dutch
8c might be the sweet spot in the new category of active
speakers. It’s a truly full-range system with enough dynamic
range and power for almost any domestic situation. I found
it a pure delight to sit with my iPad on my lap and enjoy the
high-resolution music from my Roon library through Dutch
& Dutch’s wonderful 8c speakers. ntonal character—nothing stuck out—but I repeatedly noted
the remarkable detail and imaging in the lower midrange
and upper bass more than in the ranges above. It was a
pleasure to hear lower male voices, and lower instruments
such as cello, contrabassoon, and tuba, with full, clear
resonance. For example, in John Atkinson’s recording of
Ēriks Ešenvalds’ The First Tears, from Ethan Sperry and the
Portland State Chamber Choir’s The Doors of Heaven (CD,
Naxos 8.579008), I’d always reveled in the open, spacious
sound of the treble voices. Through the D&Ds, I discov-
ered delicious details in the tenors and baritones/basses,
which were warmly and clearly reproduced. I didn’t get the
impression that there was any undue emphasis in this range;
rather, it caught my attention because I’ve rarely heard it
reproduced so well.
Low bass, too, was excellent. The D&Ds’ power output
was surprisingly large for their size and seemed to have no
practical limitations for domestic music playback. I tried
the 8c’s with “The Garage Door or The Dynamic Range of
Real Life,” from Hi-Fi News & Record Review’s Test Disc (CD,
HFN/Denon 003). No doubt it frightened my neighbors,
but I thought the crashing door sounded slightly damped
at the very bottom compared to what I hear and feel from
my JL Audio Fathom f113 subwoofer—hardly a fair fight.
But for music, including organ pedals and massed double
basses, the 8c’s created tremors while maintaining tonal and
textural clarity.
The treble was smooth and open but somewhat under-
stated, if only because the D&Ds’ extraordinary perfor-
mance in the lower ranges drew my attention away. When I
focused on the HF, with good recordings it seemed transpar-
ent from violins to cymbals but ruthless with poorly miked
or older, grainier recordings. For decades, I’ve loved the
sound of soprano Emma Kirkby’s voice, but I’m especially
thrilled by her older recordings, made when her voice was
lighter and seemed spun from pure silver. It’s all that in
her classic recording of Mozart’s “Exsultate, Jubilate,” with
Christopher Hogwood conducting the Academy of Ancient
Music (CD, L’Oiseau-Lyre 411832), but this 35-year-old re-
cording shows its age with notable glare in the top end. The
8c’s, though, let all of Dame Emma’s characteristic bell-like
sound leap across the decades into my room. The D&Ds’
treble was clear and extended, and its integration with the
midrange, at the low crossover frequency of 1250Hz, pre-
sented high voices with purity.
The 8c’s subjective tonal balance—likely related to its
controlled cardioid dispersion, which minimized colorations
created by room reflections—made it easy for me to “hear
into” ensembles and ambiences and projected aural images
of individual voices and instruments as well as any speak-
ers I’ve heard, including planar models. Unlike planars, the
D&Ds didn’t throw the soundstage forward—instead, it be-
gan at the plane described by the speakers’ front baffles and
extended deep behind them. The result was less obviously
impressive but seemed more honest.
D&D recommends that the 8c’s and the listening posi-
tion form an equilateral triangle, with the speakers toed in
45°. When I tried this, the soundstage extended beyond
the outer side panels of the speakers, which “disappeared”
as discrete sources of sound. However, this required that I
sit closer to the speakers than I usually do, and moving the
sofa has serious consequences in domestic politics. Besides, I
strongly prefer that the music be “there” in front of me, not
“here” in my lap. When I moved back to my usual spot and
Digital Sources Oppo Digital UDP-105 universal BD player,
Baetis Prodigy-X music server running JRiver Media Center
24, exaSound e38 D/A processor, miniDSP U-DIO8, QNAP
TVS-873 NAS.
Preamplifier Audio Research MP1.
Power Amplifiers Benchmark AHB2, Classé Sigma Mono,
Hegel Music Systems B53, Parasound Halo A 31.
Loudspeakers {Bang & Olufsen Beolab 90, Kii Audio
Three?}.
Cables Digital: AudioQuest Coffee (USB). Interconnect:
AudioQuest Earth/DBS balanced, Kubala-Sosna Anticipa-
tion (RCA). Speaker: AudioQuest Oak/DBS biwire. AC:
Kubala-Sosna Emotion, SignalCable MagicPower 20A.
Accessories AudioQuest Niagara 5000, Brick Wall
8RAUD power conditioners; HDPlex 400W ATX linear
power supply, CyberPower 850PFCLCD AC filter (supplied
with Baetis server).
Listening Room 24' by 14' by 8' (L by W by H), with two
MSR Acoustics Dimension4 SpringTraps in front corners,
two Ready Acoustics Chameleon Super Sub Bass Traps at
sides, moderately sound-absorbing furniture. Front wall
has large windows partly covered by drapes and 4' by 2' by
3" OC 705 panels. Rear of room opens into 10' by 7' foyer
and 12' by 8' dining area.—Kalman RubinsonASSOCIATED EQUIPMENT