Dutch & Dutch 8c Active Full Range Speakers

The Dutch & Dutch 8c speakers utilise several somewhat unique ideas to achieve a speaker that is powerful, accurate and relatively easy to place for best sound. Being active means that all the amplification and crossover design that is built into the speaker can be optimised for the most accurate sound with time and phase aligned sound. The 8c active speakers are so accurate that they are used in recording and mastering studios around the world... they are equally at home in a domestic setting when full range sound that is natural and accurate is important. The Dutch & Dutch 8c has a new firmware update in DECEMBER 2021 to make them a ROON end point - this is a free update and adds to the immense capabilities of this fantastic speaker.

The Dutch & Dutch 8c is a powered bookshelf speaker that is quite the departure from the typical bookshelf speaker. Its cardioid design means it is practically all forward-firing above approximately 100Hz. This enables the listener to place the speakers very close to a rear wall and get the benefit of boundary reinforcement without the negative characteristic of rear-wall reflections. It’s quite a neat theory that also has remarkable sonic achievements in practice.

The front of the speaker features a 1-inch dome tweeter and 8-inch midrange. The crossover between these two driver units is 1250Hz. The front baffle is one piece that fits over the drivers, resulting in a very smooth waveguide for the tweeter (notice the lack of screw heads and holes) as well as a smooth lip even on the midrange.

The rear features dual 8-inch subwoofers which play below 100Hz. The rear also contains the I/O ports (AES digital, as well as balanced analog via XLR) and even a pass through for a separate subwoofer.

The Dutch & Dutch 8c is an “all in one” product. It features a built-in amplifier with DSP allowing the user to tailor the speaker to their own tonal desires (bass, mid and treble adjustments). The 8c is also designed to integrate with Room EQ Wizard for room equalization. This feature works very well and is very easy to navigate and implement. The speaker connects to your network via wired ethernet cable. Once connected you can access the speaker’s DSP, volume control, source selection (analog/AES), etc. via your web browser. It is really quite easy and convenient.