Dutch & Dutch 8c Studio

Sale & demo on request

Price per pair

Our take

"Perhaps the most complete audio system on the market! Able to adapt to any acoustic environment, the 8c sound good everywhere, all the time. Their great neutrality and controlled directivity have made them as popular in studios as in hi-fi. They are used by renowned engineers and musicians such as Alex Gopher at Translab, Perceval Carré, Anna, Etienne de Crécy, Mathieu Chedid and Dave Pensado." - Victor Malvolti

Active loudspeakers with controlled directivity

Music deserves to be reproduced faithfully, without colouration from either the room or the speakers. To enjoy it, you need an accurate reproduction system. A system able to recreate a recording with nothing added and nothing left out.

That is a challenge for traditional systems. Most audio systems are simply not accurate to begin with, and those that are usually ignore the room.

The 8c are both accurate and adaptive. They are among the most faithful loudspeakers in existence. And they make the most of your room through a set of technologies called RoomMatching.

Accurate

The 8c were designed for accuracy and clarity. Thanks to their constant directivity and flat frequency response from 20 Hz to 20 kHz, music can be heard exactly as it was produced. Nothing is added, nothing is left out.

Adaptive

Fit the system to the room, not the room to the system. The 8c adapt to the room they are in and can be placed (very) close to walls without losing performance. They are designed for rooms from 6 m² upwards.

To do this, the 8c combine a proprietary waveguide tweeter, a cardioid midrange driver, bass drivers coupled to the front wall and an active room adaptation system. The result: superb acoustic reproduction in any room.

All-in-one

The 8c include converters, amplifiers (1000 W per channel), subwoofers and high-end DSP, along with room adaptation features.

All components are perfectly matched to each other and together produce a "big sound" from 20 Hz, while keeping a very high signal-to-noise ratio.

The 8c are more than just a loudspeaker. They are a unique acoustic concept, offering constant directivity from 100 Hz. As a result, in real-world conditions, the 8c outperform most other systems in terms of neutrality.

Design

The Studio version uses a high-density fibreboard cabinet with a smooth front baffle, in a sober finish suited to control rooms. It keeps two threaded inserts on the sides for surround, immersive or wall mounting, for example with the Dutch & Dutch U-bracket (pole, ceiling or wall mounting).

Inside, compartments separate each driver and reinforce the structure. Their rigidity and weight make the 8c acoustically inert: you do not hear the box, only the drivers.

Control

The 8c are automatically discovered on your local network by Ascend, the official 8c app. Ascend gives you full control over settings such as gain, distance to the front and side walls, updates and many parametric filters. No internet connection is required. The control interface is also available as a web page hosted on the 8c themselves, accessible from any computer on the network.

The 8c are REW compatible for measurements. The new software platform introduced with the 6c, with the new Dutch & Dutch app and RoomMatching Align guided setup, will also be rolled out to the 8c.

Wireless updates

The 8c run on an evolving software platform: every year Dutch & Dutch adds new features to speakers already in use, delivered through wireless over-the-air (OTA) updates. These updates remain optional: by default, the 8c do not install them on their own, you choose which version to run.

Optional streaming

The 8c Studio does not support streaming out of the box. The optional 8c Studio Streaming Package adds it in a single, one-time upgrade to one room of 8c Studio: digital sync, streaming logic and access to all current and future streaming sources. Once the package is installed, BACCH 3D spatial processing can also be used (optional plugin).

8c Hi-Fi / 8c Studio - what are the differences?

The Hi-Fi and Studio versions sound exactly the same. A few things set them apart:

Finishes: the Hi-Fi version has a solid oak cabinet, while the Studio version has a high-density fibreboard cabinet. The Hi-Fi comes in many colour options, for both the front baffle and the cabinet. The Studio keeps two threaded inserts on the sides for surround mounting or other specific setups.

Streaming: the Hi-Fi version has it built in (Roon, Spotify Connect). The Studio version can get it with the optional 8c Studio Streaming Package.

Price: the Studio version costs less.

User experiences and feedback

"My experience with the 8C exceeded my expectations. Like all my friends and colleagues, I was extremely surprised by how good these speakers sound without acoustic treatment. Their ability to adapt to almost any room is impressive." - Benjamin Savignoni (mastering engineer at Translab)

"The Dutch&Dutch 8C replaced a complex system made up of several large electronic components - they blew the old system away with their precision and sonic richness!" - Mark Dolgonos

Technical specifications

• Type: active 3-way cardioid system (studio version)
• Technologies: cardioid, Boundary Coupled Bass, constant directivity
• Frequency response: 20 Hz – 20 kHz
• Amplification: 1000 W per channel
• Room correction: RoomMatching, REW ready; RoomMatching Align announced
• Streaming: not built in, available with the 8c Studio Streaming Package (optional)
• Spatial audio: BACCH 3D, with the streaming package (optional plugin)
• Updates: wireless (OTA), optional
• Analogue input: balanced XLR
• Digital input: AES/EBU
• Output: subwoofer out
• Network: Ethernet
• Room size: from 6 m²
• Cabinet: high-density fibreboard, 2 threaded side inserts (compatible with the Dutch & Dutch U-bracket)
• Front baffle: black or white