Okay, so, eventually at 6pm yesterday (thanks Yodel), they arrived. Finally, but at least it made yesterday interesting as a Sony CDP-791 also arrived (or at least I picked it up from the TNT place near the airport)!
So, what're they like? Well, they've aged well. The design's hard to describe and I'm happy to report the pair I landed is a hell of a lot better looking than the one in the photo I grabbed off the web at the start of this thread! I'll put up some shots later when I've taken a few more, but enough of the eye-candy stuff, how do they sound?
First off they sound like no other speaker I've heard. Through CD and WAV streamed files, bass is - as you might think of it - virtually AWOL. Imaging, midrange, treble however are hard to beat and these deliver in spades. Voices are in the room with you and the articulation of the finer, more subtle elements in a recording are all there. Those of you who want warm and cuddly should look elsewhere. It's almost forensic, but not intrusively so. This is still a highly adept and musical speaker. It's a closed box design too, so no booming ports thumping out and hence they sit nicely near walls.
Chebby linked to a page earlier on in the thread that made me think this could be a rocker's speaker, but in truth, that's about as far away from the target market as you'll get. The grunt ain't there for those guys.
What they do share with the rock brothers however is a need to be driven well. To hear the DB101's at their best, you need to give them some volume. I live in an apartment which is a fairly new build, hence paper-thin walls, so driving them hard ain't an option or I'll be driven out! I could invest in a subwoofer, but that's not happening and for the same reasons (neighbours again!). Chances are I'll be moving these on again soon-ish for those reasons.
While they're a tad lean with my gear, they shine with Spotify through the ATV3 and on via the Sony amp. I have no idea why this should be so but it is. The sound is far more rounded, deeper and the bass is noticebaly improved. Bizarre, but true. Threw a good selection of my Spotify stuff at them and they shone.
Ridin' with the King from Eric Clapton and BB King was a revelation. Every nuance there, but the whole flowed wonderfully.
No question, this is a Marmite product. Some will love them, others will loathe them. For me, I'd take them long term in a heartbeat, but they'd need to go with a well partnered subwoofer. Positioned well (they're magnetically shielded too) they'll sing like canaries (very clear ones!). If Cerwin Vega! style grunt is your thing, look away now. These are some of the most transparent speakers I've heard, but by no small coincidence, some of the most musical too.
...mind you, I could hang on to them. For a while anyway!
http://www.rogershifi.com/ENG/review-DB101.php
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