Dutch & Dutch 8c Powered Speaker now Roon-ready

With the Dutch & Dutch 8c Powered Speaker, a very special active speaker system is now designated as Roon-ready and can thus be directly integrated via the solution from Roon Labs LLC. and thus be regarded as a compact, outstanding “HiFi chain”.

Dutch & Dutch calls the Dutch & Dutch 8c Powered Speaker a unique acoustic concept, indicating that they believe it is much more than just another powered speaker. The Dutch company is even convinced that with this solution they can offer a system that stands out from all other products on the market in terms of precision, balance and neutral reproduction.

Designed as an all-in-one system, the Dutch & Dutch 8c Powered Speaker not only offers the possibility of integrating a wide variety of sources, it is also optimally equipped for streaming. This now also includes the possibility of using it as a Roon-ready device in a corresponding multi-room streaming system based on the software from Roon Labs LLC.

Firmware 2.0 as the basis for Roon-ready certification

The basis for the now available option to integrate the Dutch & Dutch 8c Powered Speaker directly into a multi-room audio streaming system based on the software of Roon Labs LLC. is the new firmware 2.0, which Dutch & Dutch has been offering since recently.

The manufacturer calls this firmware 2.0 a major update, because apart from the certification of the Dutch & Dutch 8c Powered Speaker as Roon-ready, users can expect a number of other exciting innovations.

New native app – Ascend App

These include the new native app, the Ascend App, which the company offers as a version for Google Android and also announces a version for Apple iOS. In addition, a special web version for any web browser will be offered.

With the help of this app, the Dutch & Dutch 8c Powered Speaker can be controlled and configured particularly comfortably.

The options for adapting the Dutch & Dutch 8c Powered Speaker to the respective room have also been improved and expanded with the firmware 2.0, which has been one of the most outstanding features of this active speaker system from Dutch & Dutch from the very beginning.

Dutch & Dutch 8c Powered Speaker briefly characterised

In principle, the Dutch & Dutch 8c Powered Speaker is a solution that uses two 8 inch high-excursion woofers as bass drivers, which are located at the rear of the speaker. Directly at the front, an 8-inch mid-range driver and a 1-inch alloy dome tweeter adorn the baffle, which is specially shaped for optimum radiation. The drivers are driven by Class D amplifier modules with 500 watts in the low frequency range and 250 watts each for the midrange and tweeter drivers. The frequency response is reported by the manufacturer to be 30 Hz to 20 kHz and the loudspeaker system weighs 26 kg with dimensions of 485 x 270 x 380 mm and a cabinet made of solid, 20 mm thick oak wood panels.

The user can choose between the versions White & Natural, Black & Natural, White & Black, Black & Black, White & White as well as Black & White, whereby this always refers to the combination of different colour variants for the baffle made of ABS and the actual cabinet.

The Dutch & Dutch 8c Powered Speaker offers an analogue input in the form of a balanced XLR connection, as well as a subwoofer out, again in the form of an XLR socket. The XLR socket for the input can also be used as an AES/EBU and thus for connecting digital sources. The signal can be passed on via an XLR loopthrough. An RJ45 Ethernet interface is available for network integration.

Prices and availability

The Dutch & Dutch 8c Powered Speakers are available from specialist dealers, with a retail price of € 13,524 per pair. The Dutch & Dutch 8c Stand is available as an option and is priced at € 990,- per pair. It should also be mentioned that there is a special version of this loudspeaker system for use in a professional environment, which differs from the standard version in the material used for the cabinet. As Dutch & Dutch 8c Studio, this is already available at a pair price of € 11,554.90.

Getting to the point

Solutions like the Dutch & Dutch 8c Powered Speaker from Dutch & Dutch are finding more and more followers, because they offer the optimal combination of electronics and loudspeaker by the developers. Moreover, this is a solution that can be optimally adapted to one’s own room. With the new extended streaming functionality through the certification as a Roon-ready device, the Dutch & Dutch 8c Powered Speaker also offers a maximum of flexibility and thus represents one of the most compact possibilities to realise a high-end hi-fi system.