stereophile.com n August2019 95
EQUIPMENT REPORTA
t first glance, this active,
DSP-controlled loudspeaker
system, with dynamic
drivers firing to front and
rear, may seem an alien invader from
the world of recording and master-
ing monitors made by such brands as
Neumann and Genelec. I wouldn’t
dispute that perception, but I offer
another perspective: The engineering
that has gone into the Dutch & Dutch
8c ($12,500/pair) is an all-out attempt
to meet the goals that all designers of
high-end speakers hope to attain: wide,
smooth frequency response; sufficient
and linear dynamic performance;
crossover management; a cabinet free
of audible resonances and edge diffrac-
tion; control of the dispersion of sound
energy throughout the audioband.
This last challenge is one that is of
increasing interest to me, as illustrated
by my reviews of Bang & Olufsen’s Be-
olab 90^1 and Kii Audio’s Three^2 speakers (respectively pub-
lished in January and September 2017), which also employ
built-in amps, active crossovers, DSP, etc. It has also been
paid vigorous attention by such builders of passive speakers
as Bryston, Dynaudio, Paradigm, and Revel/Harman.^3
What is it?
The Dutch & Dutch 8c is a clean, rectangular box meant
to sit on a stand, though it’s rather large and heavy for that
application. The upper portion of its front baffle, made of
injection-molded damped acrylonitrile butadiene styrene
and polycarbonate, is formed into an 8"-diameter waveguide,
or acoustic lens, for the 1" aluminum-magnesium–alloy
dome tweeter; in the lower portion is an 8" aluminum-cone
midrange driver. The two 8" aluminum-cone “subwoofers”
(D&D’s word) on the rear panel are similarly symmetric, al-
though diffraction effects will be minimal at the low frequen-KALMAN RUBINSON
Dutch & Dutch 8c
ACTIVE LOUDSPEAKER SYSTEM
Description Stand-
mounted, three-way,
DSP-controlled, powered
loudspeaker. Drive-units:
1" (25mm) aluminum-
magnesium–alloy dome
tweeter with 8" (200mm)
acoustic waveguide, 8"
(200mm) aluminum-cone
midrange, two 8" (200mm)
aluminum-cone woofers
with cast frames. Crossover
frequencies: 100Hz, 1250Hz(fourth-order, Linkwitz-
Riley, linear phase). Power
amplifiers (all class-D):
250W (HF), 250W (MF),
500W (LF). Audio inputs:
analog (XLR), AES3 (XLR),
Ethernet (RJ45). Audio
output: subwoofer (XLR).
Control I/O: Ethernet
(RJ45). Maximum linear
SPL: 106dB continuous from
35Hz up.
Dimensions 19" (485mm)by 10.5" (270mm) by 15"
(380mm) (H by W by D).
Weight: 57 lb (26kg).
Finishes White/Natural,
Black/Natural, Black/
Brown, Black/Black, White/
White, White/Black and
Black/White.
Serial numbers of units
reviewed 8c-515, 8c-516.
Price $12,500/pair. Approxi-
mate number of dealers: 50.
Warranty: 1 year, 3 yearswith product registration.
Manufacturer
Dutch & Dutch,
Claes de Vrieselaan 164,
3021 JZ Rotterdam,
The Netherlands.
Tel: (31) 10-737-0863.
US distributor:
Dutch & Dutch USA,
PO Box 294,
Cape Canaveral, FL 32920.
Tel: (877) 388-2465.
Web: dutchdutch.com.SPECIFICATIONS
1 See stereophile.com/content/bang-olufsen-beolab-90-loudspeaker.
2 See stereophile.com/content/kii-audio-three-loudspeaker.
3 I wrote about my participation in blind listening tests at Harman International
in the February 2019 issue: stereophile.com/content/blind-listening-harman-
international.