Forums - DNA Sound compared to open baffle

Dana

Seasoned Member

Posts: 689

DNA Sound compared to open baffle
01/01/18 at 19:19:55

Long time lurker first time poster

Stereo on the web is really difficult to assess but from what I’ve experienced the Decware philosophy regarding sound reproduction most closely aligns with my own. I was able to attend Burning Amp this year and got to experience many different approaches to sound reproduction. I’ve learned that I don’t like the boxed enclosure as well as the more open sound of a dipole and amps do make a difference. (who would have known)
About me: I’m getting ready to retire and feel that building stereos would be a great hobby. I’m currently running bi-amped Dalquist DQ-12 on two Dynaco st-70 amps in a small living room and mostly listen to acoustic Americana music with a female vocalists. (this month). The need for chest thumping bass is not the driving force for my selection but deep bass is.

My questions are
Does the DNA speaker sound going to give me that “airyness” that I’d get with an open baffle? Is it close? At burning amp for me the best sound was a home built folded horn speaker with an AMT Heil tweeter on top driven by a 12 watt SE tube amp.
Is it just phrasing “For people who want to attempt their own DIY build of the DNA horn” or is the build extremely difficult to complete?
Big price difference but how do the DNA compare to the ZOB?

Any and all suggestions / observations are welcome.

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Tom Waits:
And the newspapers were fooling,
And the ash-trays have retired
'Cause the piano has been drinking,
The piano has been drinking
The piano has been drinking,
Not me, not me, not me, not me, not me

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Frimpy Senior Member Posts: 71	Re: DNA Sound compared to open baffle Reply #1 - 01/02/18 at 16:50:12 I am in Tenneessee near Athens. If you are near you could listen to my DNA's powered by my Rachel. You could call call and ask Steve. Palomino might chime in he has open baffles and is familiar with the DNA's.
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Dana Seasoned Member Posts: 689	Re: DNA Sound compared to open baffle Reply #2 - 01/02/18 at 18:40:47 Frimpy thanks but I live near Seattle and as much I appreciate the offer it's a little out of my "it's just a short drive, let's spend the day."
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Palomino

Seasoned Member

Posts: 2474

Re: DNA Sound compared to open baffle
Reply #3 - 01/03/18 at 14:17:56

Its difficult to compare the two. Completely different sounds, especially now with the MarkAudio driver in the DNAs.

I am also very biased towards the openness of the OB and the tight bass produced by the Augies in my setup.

The bass in the DNAs will surprise you for their size. Also, while the MarkAudio sound is a bit different, I found it very engaging and fluid. I have heard the DNA with three different drivers and the MarkAudio is the least single driver-like if I recall correctly.

OBs with full rangers can be difficult to dial in. Randy's Betsey OBs are probably the exception.

If you have room to pull the speakers out into the room a bit I would steer you towards OBs like Randy's with some bass augmentation. These are also more efficient I think.

If space is limited and/or you have a little more horsepower in your amp, you may like the DNAs more.

If it were me, I would try to get a listen to some OBs first to see if you like the OB sound.

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i7 Mac Mini with LPSU/SSD running Audirvana 3.5, Uptone Audio Regen on LPSU, Mytek Brooklyn DAC+, Ven Haus DIY Silver ICs, 25th Ann. Zen, PS Audio P5 Power Supply, PS Audio Power Cords, GR Research Speaker Wire, DIY Big Betsy and Crystal 10 Open Baffle Speakers

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Dana

Seasoned Member

Posts: 689

Re: DNA Sound compared to open baffle
Reply #4 - 01/04/18 at 16:14:42

Thanks that helps. I have listened to some open baffles. Both versions of the Linkwitz were terrific but so many amps and low watt SE is out of the question. I've also listened to the Rainier MKII clones but wasn't a fan. I'm not sure what you can really tell from a YouTube video but the sound difference between the DNA and ZOB is huge to me. In real life I don't know if that's really the case??? Finding a way to listen to Tube amps and Open Baffle is a challenge which is why I'm here. Space is an issue but I'm not above mounting casters on the bottom to move them out for listening and back for the rest of the time

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Tom Waits:
And the newspapers were fooling,
And the ash-trays have retired
'Cause the piano has been drinking,
The piano has been drinking
The piano has been drinking,
Not me, not me, not me, not me, not me

IP Logged