Dutch & Dutch 8c Review

[Neadych]

Could you elaborate on "direct sound range"? Ive not had 1237s, but in my room at 4m the D&D were slightly better than Kii Three, 8361s and 8260s. (I've tried a lot, maybe too many)

Genelec offers a table for all its speakers, indicating the maximum distance at which a given model delivers midrange and high-frequency sound that dominates room reflections—this is important for studios and critical listening.
For example, the smallest 8010 speakers are up to 1.5 meters, while the largest 1235 (36) speakers are up to 5 meters.
For 4m, I wouldn't consider any of your options with normal reverberation times.
Ideally, far-field systems are needed here, starting with the Genelec 1234.

 

[Talal]

Agree; I bet the expandability is the sub. Have to wonder whether there is going to be much advantage to the 8c over the 6 if you are using subs. Will be interesting to see the final details....

I was wrong.. Martin now mentioned a bass module coming out in 2026 on the facebook group

 

[KosG]

I'm expecting the 8c's and I have a question : should I remove the panels from the front wall? The harder the surface the better for bass?

 

[Aldo]

I am becoming increasingly interested in cardioid models and DSP. If I'm going to upgrade my system, I might as well change the whole setup!
I was thinking of going for DIRAC (or the Eversolo solution) + Audiolab S8C... but the all-in-one D&D 8C has finally piqued my interest!

But like many people, I have to deal with the needs of my wife and children: easy connection via Bluetooth or Airplay.
I use Roon + Qobuz, but they use another French platform that is not implemented by Roon (DEEZER).
I also need to connect other sources such as my TV and turntable...

In short, here are my questions:
(1) Using a DAC as a pre-amp, as I do currently, is it possible to use it as a volume control by connecting it to the XLR inputs of the D&D 8c?
Or
(2) Is only the Ascend app capable of doing this?

Another question:
(3) Could the XLR input be managed by the DSP and BACCH of the D1D 8c, or is this only possible when streaming via Roon?

Thank you for you for your attention !

 

[tw99]

I am becoming increasingly interested in cardioid models and DSP. If I'm going to upgrade my system, I might as well change the whole setup!
I was thinking of going for DIRAC (or the Eversolo solution) + Audiolab S8C... but the all-in-one D&D 8C has finally piqued my interest!

But like many people, I have to deal with the needs of my wife and children: easy connection via Bluetooth or Airplay.
I use Roon + Qobuz, but they use another French platform that is not implemented by Roon (DEEZER).
I also need to connect other sources such as my TV and turntable...

In short, here are my questions:
(1) Using a DAC as a pre-amp, as I do currently, is it possible to use it as a volume control by connecting it to the XLR inputs of the D&D 8c?
Or

Yes. You can actually choose whether you want to use external volume control or the native D&D control for the XLR inputs (digital or analogue). If you choose external, the speakers will be at 100% output.

(2) Is only the Ascend app capable of doing this?

Another question:
(3) Could the XLR input be managed by the DSP and BACCH of the D1D 8c, or is this only possible when streaming via Roon?

Thank you for you for your attention !

Yes, all the internal DSP is applied irrespective of what input is being used.

In my setup, I use a MiniDSP box as a source selector for TV, CD, LMS players. But I can also play Spotify directly on the speakers if I want. In your case, you could do the same with Roon.

Personally I found that only being able to change the D&D volume with the Ascend app was impractical, so I made a physical volume control knob using home automation software. https://notlikethatlikethis.blogspot.com/2025/04/dutch-dutch-8c-smart-volume-control.html

 

[Aldo]

Yes. You can actually choose whether you want to use external volume control or the native D&D control for the XLR inputs (digital or analogue). If you choose external, the speakers will be at 100% output.

Yes, all the internal DSP is applied irrespective of what input is being used.

In my setup, I use a MiniDSP box as a source selector for TV, CD, LMS players. But I can also play Spotify directly on the speakers if I want. In your case, you could do the same with Roon.

Personally I found that only being able to change the D&D volume with the Ascend app was impractical, so I made a physical volume control knob using home automation software. https://notlikethatlikethis.blogspot.com/2025/04/dutch-dutch-8c-smart-volume-control.html

Thank you !

So all you need to do is set the volume to maximum in the app, then control the sound using the preamp potentiometer (DAC, Dmp A6, etc.).

Your ‘remote control’ is great. Does it work on the network from ASCEND ?

What do you use the minidsp for?
Doesn't it duplicate the internal dsp of the 8c?

 

[tw99]

Thank you !

So all you need to do is set the volume to maximum in the app, then control the sound using the preamp potentiometer (DAC, Dmp A6, etc.).

Your ‘remote control’ is great. Does it work on the network from ASCEND ?

What do you use the minidsp for?
Doesn't it duplicate the internal dsp of the 8c?

You can tell the app that you are using external volume control for XLR, and it will set internal volume to 0dB full scale and disable the ability to change internal volume.

The MiniDSP is just doing source selection now, so a bit of a waste of its capabilities (compared to when I used it with passive speakers). I could do room correction via Dirac with it, but since the speakers are always doing DSP as well, I figured it's best to do it all in one place.

 

[Windmills]

It was my understanding the Bacch plug-in only works on the AES/EBU input (and the internal player of course) and not on the analog XLR inputs.

 

[tw99]

It was my understanding the Bacch plug-in only works on the AES/EBU input (and the internal player of course) and not on the analog XLR inputs.

You may be right about that, I don't use it.

 

[Aldo]

It was my understanding the Bacch plug-in only works on the AES/EBU input (and the internal player of course) and not on the analog XLR inputs.

In this case, if you do not have an AES/EBU output but a coaxial digital output, can the connection be made using a cable like this one ? :

https://www.thomann.fr/pro_snake_aes_ebu_spdif_cable_male_3.htm

But in that case, can't you control the volume from the DAC/preamp ?
Can the volume only be controlled from the analogue output ?