Kevin,

If you have enough with the combo now, adding the horn will just be icing on the cake, so to speak. It isn't going to require anymore amplifier  power for  the horn to do its thing if that is your concern.

Welcome to the forum.....

Zygi

Fireblade,

I'm doing well and continue to get better every day. Couldn't ask for any more!

Companion cabinets....first off, let me make it clear, I do not build or make anything from the companion cabinets, so my opinions are not money motivated, quite the opposite really.

The companion cabinets add dynamics, soundstage, and bass. Most impressive is there ability to add soundstage, (hard to explain but I get it) and the bass, forget about it!

There is no way using a sub you can integrate the bass to the main speakers more effectively. I don't care if you use several subs placed around the room in a swarm  (I think they are calling it these days) This may be a way around  room mode issues, but it doesn't  integrate as well.

Hope this helps,
Zygi

It's been my experience that a lot of the depth of the sound, and a perception of the room size and nature, come from an extended and quick sounding bass region. Factoring this in, to me it makes sense that the cabinets add soundstage and imaging definition and improvement.

I think you were smart to get both the phase guide and the cap.  What I heard at Decfest was a different speaker.  So much so that I got up and inspected the speaker and noticed the wave guide.

Steve explained that the removal of the dust cap was necessary because the increase in the bottom end via the horn required more from the mids to balance out.  At least I think this is what he was talking about.

Also, he said the horn was not unlike what is in the DNA horn.  The DNA speaker tosses a pretty good sound stage.  I think it benefits from putting out a wide sound wave out the back.  Per what Lon said, the bass is very quick on these horns.  They image well and disappear easily in my room.  Different speakers, but the same concept and possibly the same result.

It's removing a dust cap and placing the wave guide in the cavity.  Dust cap removal is a little tricky but it could be DIY.

Thanks for the feedback, Palomino. I'm still not clear on what this entails (I don't even know what a dust cap is). Anyway, when the time comes I'm sure somebody could show us the step-by-step procedure. The important thing is it is DIY.

This video will give you the idea on dust cap removal.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2uOvO0yiF3s

Kevtn8, I liked the DM945s with the companion cabinets the best of all the speakers I heard at Decfest.  It may be that my personal taste runs towards the horn speakers.  Another caveat is that I listened to them mostly with the ZMA which is a fantastic amp.  It made all the speakers sound really, really good.

For example, I had heard the HDTs at a past fest and thought they sounded good, but I thought with the ZMA they sounded exceptional.  Same thing for the DM944s.  I did not get much time with the ERRx or the Omni's.  But from what I heard, I still liked the 945s the best.

I think it is hard to go wrong with a Decware amp/speaker combo unless you somehow end up with an underpowered speakers.  These speakers are designed and tweaked using the Decware amps.  That said, I think the Rachael/DM945 combo is loud enough for most people.  I can't really speak to the Zen/DM945 combo.

Others who have spent more time with all these speakers and different Decware amps may be able to offer better guidance.

Edit: Oh, and I have never regretted upgrading the capacitor in any speaker.  Zygi turned me on to the mudorf tin foil caps which I like.  They are around $25 each though.

Thanks for your input Palomino. Sorry I've been so busy with work. Your strong opinion of the passive cabinets and custom phase guide have really made me excited. I have already sent my speakers back to Steve for the modifications and the cabinets will arrive this Thursday. My only concern is how will the small amp handle the extra horn cabinets. There was not much time allocated on the Decfest videos to this combo, however what I did hear sounded very promising. Steve assured me that the improvements from the cabinets will carry over regardless of the amp with the main difference being the stronger amps having more headroom.

DBC, I've been following your thread on "adding body n weight" and I find the Midbass Module a very interesting product. However after careful consideration and talking to Steve , the passive horn cabinets was a no brainer upgrade for my DM945s. According to Steve, the low bass extension is only 1 part of the equation that gets improved. I was equally excited about the improvements to the soundstage , dynamics, and overall midrange clarity. Even if these cabinets give me half of the performance of your midbass module in your system, I consider it a great investment (and achievement by Steve) because my amp is only 2 watts with no external amp for the bass and I'm also not using any preamp. My speakers are being modified/upgraded with Steve right now and it shouldn't be much longer before I get them back. I might also invest in a preamp like the CSP3 in the future to further add weight n body to the music. As for now I'm sticking with what I have because my current room is pretty small and I feel what I have is more than adequate for the job. I'll update once my speakers are back.

So my modified speakers arrived 2 days ago. This is an early update of what my system is sounding like so far. This is only after 1 day of listening to the combo. There is something wrong with my dac so I'm currently borrowing my friend's Musical Paradise MP-D1.

My speakers still needs to break in as well as the rest of my system but what I'm hearing now is beyond words. The difference that the cabinets and phase guide have made is just incredible. Now I don't have much experience with alot of full size speakers or other amplifiers ( tube or solid state) but I believe I have a pretty good taste for overall musical balance. I have been an audiophile for awhile now but mostly in the car audio scene. My very first as well as current amplifier in my car is hybrid tube amp from Butler Audio. All of my friends are audiophiles and have been into tube systems before me so I kind of have a taste of what to look for. What amazes me the most so far after just a few hours of testing is that the Super Zen is only 2 watts and I'm also not using any preamp yet the soundstage and dynamics of my system is now taken up another 2 or 3 levels. I was listening with one of my friend earlier and we both agreed it sounded so "live" now. The bass integration is just fabulous and not overly done. Keep in mind I also have the phase guide installed. With that said, the bass is very musical and its seamless with the music. As a result there seems to be more weight and body to the music. 

Perhaps what made my day was when my father who is into live professional musical equipment because he likes to sing karaoke in the house complimented on my system. He was the one that recommended that I needed a subwoofer in my system a few weeks ago but now says my system is complete and lacks nothing  :)

I will keep on breaking in the speakers , Super Zen Select and rest of my system and will give another update later but I'm sure things will only go up from here. One final word for anyone looking into the DM945 to pair with the Super Zen but don't think it will measure up to a floorstander, please use my experience to rest your fears and worries and know that it can be done. I believe this speaker combo ( DM945 with phase guide paired with passive horns) , considering the price, ranks right up there with some of the best sounding speakers in the world for the dollar. Another masterpiece from Steve and Decware.

kevtn8,

Happy to see your glowing review of the companion cabinets. In my earlier post I was simply trying to give you reason to be optimistic these would be everything ZYGI described while you waited for their arrival.

When I first read this thread I was struck by how ZYGI's description of what the companion cabinets do with the DM945's was exactly how I would describe what the HSU Mid Bass Module does with my Klipsch RF7's.

My theory on why Subs are not entirely seamless on music: I think the brain actually connects low frequencies from 20 hz all the way up to about 200 hz based on my experience with the Mid Bass Module.

If you visualize a horizontal line, the left extreme representing 20 hz and the right extreme representing 200 hz. Say in this example your mains drive good down to 50 hz so you set up a sub to handle the 20 to 50 hz range and raise the volume level in this range say +6 db. At some point the brain senses the abrupt change in level around the 50 hz point and says no good.

In my case I added the Mid Bass Module raising the volume level say +6 db in the 50 to 200 hz range "Sweet". Then when I introduce the sub at +6 db the entire range (20 to 200 hz) is at the same level "Sweeter". At some point if you continue raising the volume level it just becomes obvious there is too much Bass and you just back it off a bit.

Based on the description you and ZYGI have provided I suspect the DM945 companion cabinets not only go lower but also reinforce the upper Mid-Bass frequencies, hence the seamless integration. Perfect solution for anyone already equipped with the DM945's.

There is nothing better than getting a great bang for the buck and sounds like you scored here.

Enjoy.

Do you have any pictures that you can share?

I understand. Thanks for describing your set up.

I am curious to see what the modified woofer looks like. I can got an idea of the horn section from the Decfest videos.

I would like another set of speakers, but I do not need another set of speakers.

Busterfree, the phase guide looks like the one used for his DFR-8 driver only its a white hard plastic mold/resin and on the Silver Flutes there is just the phase guide without the whizzer cones. There is also an O ring attached near the tip of the phase guide. Steve says this is because the phase guide was originally designed for the Fostex/ DRF-8 drivers and the Silver Flutes dustcap space is a little larger in diameter. It honestly doesn't look too bad in person however Steve reiterated here that the goal was all about sound quality and less with aesthetics.

Palomino, thanks for that information. That is a very interesting concept that Steve has implemented here. So far I have to give him the benefit of the doubt on whatever it is that he's trying to achieve with the phase guide as both my friend and I felt it integrated quite well with the horn cabinets. We both agreed that there was definitely more midrange. Also the midrange seemed much clearer... not sure if this is the result of the phase guide or the cabinets or both.  

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Thanks to you both. I think I have the idea now.