Reliability of Dutch & Dutch 8C speakers

What part failed?

I believe several of the early units provided for reviewers had a bad wire or something in the amp modules. I remember reading about it you might find something by Google. 

I really doesn't like the fan for cooling.

Wait a minute! FAN? Are the screws I see on the bottom of the speaker in images indicative of a FAN used internally? 

Can anyone give some insight on this? 

The dutch and dutch use very cheap nasty drivers in their ultra expensive speakers. This is an insult to the consumers who rightly expect ultra high end drivers if you spend such a large amount of money.

Its an insult to the high end speaker/driver companies that spend months developing high end drivers. The dutch and dutch use ordinary drivers and an unusual cabinet loading. The cabinet has holes drilled in the sides to allow some of that energy to escape. The bass drivers on the back are there to compensate for loss of this energy. It also uses a lot of DSP to get the result they want. 

The cabinet itself is ordinary mdf or actual WOOD depending on whether you get the hifi or studio version. 

Again this is an insult to all those speaker companies that have worked tirelessly to develop better cabinet materials. 

The dutch and dutch claims to offer perfection according to the reviews and the company. 

We all know this cant be true. So it must be a hoax.

Can anyone give some insight on this?

http://www.6moons.com/audioreviews2/dutchdutch/1.html
http://6moons.com/audioreviews2/dutchdutch/9.jpg

I’m not too concerned what parts are used as long as they sound good and are reliable. They do sound good. I have had a failed amplifier unit though. 

Should have mentioned: the speaker was repaired promptly under warranty. 

Ah, I see in the review images the fan. Thank you.

So, how often does that fan turn on, and what is the noise level. I likely would not even consider a speaker with a fan. My room is so quiet that I likely would hear it. I do not accept any fan in any component. I'm not interested in introducing potential noise generating equipment.  

I have never heard the fans. If you listen to the speakers muted you may hear the fans. Don’t know. I usually play music through them. The flashing LEDs inside the base of the speaker and network ports are a little irritating though. I imagine they are part of the computer inside. Would be nice to be able to extinguish them when listening in the dark.

“I have never heard the fans. If you listen to the speakers muted you may hear the fans. Don’t know. I usually play music through them”

Much of the music that I like and listen to has passages that go silent.  Quite a bit of music has quiet passages as well.

I'm with Douglas again on this one.

I also listen to music that has quiet passages and I’ve never heard the fans. I have just been listening to loud rock for an hour or so in a warm room, muted the speakers and listened for the fans directly under the speakers. What I heard was silence. Are my fans faulty? Should I return the speakers and demand that the fans be audible?

LoL, I never heard the fans either when I had Dutch and Dutch 8c. From your listening position the ambient room noise would mask them even in the quietest of passages in  classical music. 

I have two customers who own the Dutch & Dutch 8c. One is a very experienced ultra-hard-core audiophile with a superb dedicated room, and the other is an extremely meticulous recording engineer. The latter owns the first pair that came into the US.

I cannot imagine either of them tolerating any audible fan noise.

Duke

Was not tracking that we were talking about dutch and dutch 8c’s... thought someone was talking about an amp...?

I’ll go back to being quiet now, lol

djones51, I do not have an average room. The ambient noise level is about 8dB below the average quiet room in a home. It has been compared by Bill Dudleston of Legacy Audio to having the characteristics of a mastering studio. I believe the last time I checked with a couple of dB meters, the average ambient noise level was 13dB, somewhere between calm breathing and leaves rustling. It is akin to walking into a vault at a bank as acoustically the room has the feel of being completely isolated from the rest of the house. 

So, noises that would be masked in the average listening room are not  in my room. If a filament is buzzing in one of the wall sconce bulbs, I hear it.

It's nice for owners that the fan does not seem to be a problem.  

If your listening position is at least 2.5 meters and breathing is 10db you wouldn't hear the fan if it ever kicked on assuming you breathe of course.

This question comes up with active speakers regardless of brand. D&D is probably the best bang for the buck in hifi right now. I don’t own them, have nothing invested and currently have more speakers than rooms to play them in, but there’s a thorough owners thread on wbf for anyone serious about them.

Dutch & Dutch 8c Speakers https://www.whatsbestforum.com/threads/dutch-dutch-8c-speakers.31113/

Hi,I have a pair of 8C's for about a year now and they sound fantastic. I did have one problem with one of my speakers it was outputting about 4-5dB less than the other one. I filled out the support form on-line explaining what the problem was along with the serial number and within 2 days they problem was resolved remotely. Each speaker has to be connected to the internet and you can leave them on all the time. Any other questions let me knowRich

Is there any possible need for an external DAC (audiophile grade)?  Any need for a sub?

It seems too good to be true:  I can get rid of my amp, DAC, big speakers, cables and sub and get these active speakers and along with a good streamer listen to Tidal/Roon with as good or better sound and pocket money from my gear sale? Is that right?

You don't need the streamer to use Roon, the Dutch and Dutch are now Roon certified.

can get rid of my amp, DAC, big speakers, cables and sub and get these active speakers and along with a good streamer listen to Tidal/Roon with as good or better sound and pocket money from my gear sale? Is that right?

Yes, depends on your room size and SPL requirements. You can use subwoofers with them if you need more SPL in low bass.

Another option which would play louder but you would need a streamer, doesn't need a DAC, are Genelec 8361a monitors