Reliability of Dutch & Dutch 8C speakers


Kal Rubinson gives a rave review of these speaker in Stereophile, but Darko, while agreeing that they sound great, seems to concentrate on the several failed units that were provided for review.  Anyone have experience with these speakers?
dbphd

Showing 4 responses by douglas_schroeder

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? 
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.  
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.