Hi - I have a Zen Triode in my office driving Omega CAMs and love the sound of the Zen and the speakers. Fantastic imaging and speed, huge sound stage. ( I listen nearfield in my office)

In my living room I have Caintuck Betsy F15 Open Baffle Speakers driven by a Dennis Had Inspire "Hot Rod" SEP amp (using KT120 tube right now) ~ 10W/Ch I think.

When everything is just right i.e speakers positioned, the inline Zrock2 tuned just right and the recording "just right" I get an amazing and jaw dropping wide sound stage - instruments everywhere. But the bass is lacking. The speakers are amazing, full range - no crossover but my living room is not loving them.

Steve extremely graciously spent time with me on the phone walking me through tips to get my subwoofer more integrated and yes his improvements have helped a lot. Thank you Steve!

I have been drooling over the DNA2 and would love to hear from all the DNA2 owners about the bass and sound stage for the DNA2 speakers.

I can add low frequency drivers to the Lii Audio F15 Full Range but I am a hair away from pulling the trigger on the DNA2 speakers. I am just a little scared given their price and my inability to listen to them before I buy.

I am really biased as I love the Decware equipment that I already have.

Help! Any advice - thoughts and impressions on the DNA2? I suspect  that after I buy them I would compulsively buy the Torii

Thanks!

Reptar

I've had the DNA2s for about one year. The DNAs replaced a pair of Omega S3HO monitors. The DNA2s are fantastic!. The bass is surprisingly substantial and deep, and is more than enough for my normal listening needs. For example, with  the S3HO I used my sub (Omega DeepHemp 8) regularly to supplement the S3's. In contrast, I only feel the need to use the sub occasionally with the DNA2s depending on my mood and  the genre playing. for reference my listening space is 19'x13.5'x10' (LxWxH)

 Just last night I tried something that I have never tried before. Toeing the DNA2 to cross the image in front of me. I mean, this is extreme toe in compared to a slight amount usually used. The result was an incredible expanse in sound stage, mostly depth, but I have to keep them there to hear if this will apply to other recordings as well. I was listening to a large orchestral piece that seemed to have a hole in the middle. Well, not anymore! I will report back after some more listening. This has got me really curious as to why it works as dramatically as it does. I'm thinking room acoustics are being handled better or something.

The pure joy that Elizabeth Zharoff expresses in her musical reviews is infectious. She always adds to my understanding & enjoyment of music even if It’s a piece I know well.
 4krow, thanks for the insight, I’m unfortunately still at the rubin’ sticks & banging rocks together stage.
 Ya don’t know what ya don’t know. Ralph

John,

I would have answered sooner except the Decware site keeps giving errors for the code sent. I ended up somehow remembering the original password. Geez.

You can see my build on this topic by looking at the thread that I started for DNA2 build. At least, I think that it is still there.
There is an important change made recently with the speakers. A grateful customer of mine sent a free set of 8" Scan Speak drivers to me. What was I to do? So I replaced the Mark Audio drivers that I had installed and am now using the SS drivers instead. This is a big deal because it meant that I had to add a treble driver since the SS only extended to 3-4k. I choose the treble driver and built a 2 way second order crossover. This is what I have been using ever since. I cannot tell you how great it is to hear the SS drivers not only play the midrange perfectly, but the bass from maybe 400hz down is reproduced in a way that I have rarely heard. especially bass in the 60-200 region is exceptionally clean with harmonics and heft that give the DNA2 new power. The design is only as good as the driver used. The Mark Audio drivers were light in the bass but had a clarity to the midrange that was impressive.

John,

I do appreciate the compliment because I will tell you that this particular project was more difficult just because getting the information was difficult! Once there, I had to be careful of angles all the way through. My little brainstorm idea for the build was when I spray foamed the unused cavities before assembly. If I were to do it again, I likely would be adding sand, a little more foam, more sand etc. In the end the cabinets turned out decent, though not my best build to date. The payoff was finding the right driver that was available to me, which ended up to be the Scan Speak 18W8741T .  I had to add a high frequency unit (horn loaded tweeter) and of course build a crossover, but it has been a good start. I will readily admit that I may choose another high freq unit and upgrade a couple of caps in the crossover. You know, the endless game as it were.

Will this be one of the models to benefit from the expanded speaker woodworking production? While on the waiting list I’ve been thinking about Jay Lee’s CSS Typhon(lower impedance & lower sensitivity + more $), Danny’s GR Research Brutes (easier to drive with higher impedance & sensitivity than the Typhon with cost close to the price of the DNA II) & the new Had speakers (still in development, so no clue on specs). But once again I remember the saying, “If you don’t think too good, don’t think too much”.

I listen to music on average around 60-65db, the DNA2 supply pleasing results at even higher/lower volumes.