Which Speakers for Dartzeel NHB-108B and NHB-18NS Combo?

manjy

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Aug 31, 2011
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Hello,

I have recently purchased a NHB-18NS Preamp to match my 108B Power Amp.

I was wondering which speakers are others using with their Dartzeel power amps?
Any information as to why the particular speakers were chosen would be very helpful.

Thanks
 

asiufy

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Evolution Acoustics is an obvious first choice, as that's what they were designed on.

I've used mine with Magicos, but not all of them worked great. The Q3 and Q7 (mk1) were pretty good, but the Q1 was awful.

YG also worked fine, but again, only some models. Sonja worked fine, the older Anat and Kipod did not.
 

Sencha

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Nov 11, 2013
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Evolution Acoustics is an obvious first choice, as that's what they were designed on.

I've used mine with Magicos, but not all of them worked great. The Q3 and Q7 (mk1) were pretty good, but the Q1 was awful.

YG also worked fine, but again, only some models. Sonja worked fine, the older Anat and Kipod did not.

I take it you mean that the EA loudspeakers were designed using Dartzeel amps rather than the other way around. If I remember correctly the 108 was designed using Redeko (sp?) loudspeakers (a now defunct brand) amongst others.
 

asiufy

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I take it you mean that the EA loudspeakers were designed using Dartzeel amps rather than the other way around. If I remember correctly the 108 was designed using Redeko (sp?) loudspeakers (a now defunct brand) amongst others.

Yes, the first darTZeel product, the 108, was indeed designed on Rehdeko speakers. But very early on, Hervé picked up EA, partly because it shared the same traits as his now defunct prior favorites.
 

microstrip

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Yes, the first darTZeel product, the 108, was indeed designed on Rehdeko speakers. But very early on, Hervé picked up EA, partly because it shared the same traits as his now defunct prior favorites.

IMHO it is a legend - no speaker I have known shared the same traits as a Rehdeko. A local distributor imported them in my country in the 90's and I owned the large RK175 and much later the smaller RK145 for a very short time with DartZeel ...

Rehdeko's were extremely colored - but with some types of music they could sound very real and natural. Single acoustic instruments could have life in our room, bass in jazz recordings was fascinating. But voices were colored, treble had little airiness and complex music could sound horrible. Some people who listened to them in Herve room hated them, particularly as they were very efficient and he listened very loud.

It was a bipolar speaker - some people were bewitched by its realism with some recordings and were able to forget all its problems, others simply hated it. No middle term. The type of equipment that obliges us to select recordings for them.

Today I regret having sold the RK 175s - but in the same way I regret having sold my ESL57. Most probably I would not spend a long time listening to them, but they were unique and a reference in the high-end.

See them at : https://sites.google.com/site/rehdeko/Home/game

BTW, I see them from time to time being advertised in Europe. But I have always resisted! :D
 

asiufy

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Well, I have only seen them, not heard them, because Hervé was already using MM3s when I visited him. But he kept the Rehdekos in the back :)

The EAs are efficient, like the Rehdekos, and sound very real and natural too, possibly due to their 1st order crossover. Fortunately they don't have the deficiencies you mentioned on the Rehdekos!
 

bonzo75

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I have heard both speakers at Herve's. I did not like the Rehedko's there
 

bazelio

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I've seen the 108 demoed with Martens on various occasions. E.g.



And the big boy 458s also demoed with Martens:

 
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asiufy

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I've been told the 108 works well on horns since it has such low noise.

not hear it on horns myself.

I didn't hear the 108, but I did try both integrateds (LHC-208 and CTH-8550) on Avantgarde horns. Dead quiet, and punchy/dynamic as all get out. Some folks actually preferred them to the tube amps we had at hand, that we usually paired with the AGs.
 

manjy

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Thank you all for your inputs.

The Marten Django has a Sensitivity of 89 dB / 1 m / 2.83V.
Is the 108B able to properly drive speakers with 89 dB sensitivity or does it need more efficient speakers?
 

etunes

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Focal Soprano,
Tannoy GR,
EA,
Avantgarde
 

Elberoth

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Thank you all for your inputs.

The Marten Django has a Sensitivity of 89 dB / 1 m / 2.83V.
Is the 108B able to properly drive speakers with 89 dB sensitivity or does it need more efficient speakers?

It is not about the sensitivity - it is about the ease of drive (a combination of impedance and phase angle).

Not sure about your Django, but Django XL is an relatively easy load.

My estimate of the Django's voltage sensitivity was 84.1dB(B)/2.83V/m, which is much lower than the specified 89dB/2.83V/m. Offsetting that, the speaker's plot of electrical impedance with its woofer control set to "+" (fig.1) indicates that it is not a difficult load for the partnering amplifier to drive. Although there is a minimum impedance of 3.8 ohms between 70 and 100Hz and a dip to 5.1 ohms in the high treble, for much of the audioband the impedance remains above 6 ohms, and with a generally low phase angle.

https://www.stereophile.com/content/marten-django-xl-loudspeaker-measurements
 
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luiscesar

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The 18NS+108B I have, drive with absolute pleasure (to my ears and visitors) my Watt/Puppy 8.
 

Cascais

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When I first got my Dartzeel power and preamps I was using Sonus Faber Mementos which sounded fine. Then I read about the Golden Ear Triton Ones, incredible reviews, speaker of the year, etc., designed by Sandy Gross, decided to listen to them and was blown away by the life, detail, imaging, bass (powered subwoofers), and the cost, 5900 euros. Could it be true? It was and I am still using them. My dealer advises that they do not match the quality of the Dartzeel electronics, certainly not the cost, but the magic is there for all to hear.
 

redandgold

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Jun 3, 2018
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Hello Cascais,

good to hear that you are happy with your decision buying the Triton Ones... maybe the price ratio amp to speakers is not the best. But you can be sure you get the best possible out of your speakers.

redandgold
 

Cascais

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Hello Cascais,

good to hear that you are happy with your decision buying the Triton Ones... maybe the price ratio amp to speakers is not the best. But you can be sure you get the best possible out of your speakers.

redandgold

Very good point about getting the best out of the speakers. A dealer I knew in Toronto remarked that we usually don't know how good our speakers can be. With the Dartzeel electronics, we might. Golden Ear has come out with a reference model above the One which is more expensive but still a bargain in the world of high-end. I see no need to change.
 

Thieliste

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I also would like to know if i can drive my not so easy Thiel CS 3.7s with the 18NS+108B combo.
My speakers minimum impedance is 2.4 ohms.
 

Golum

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I would also plug in Stenheim Alumine 3 or better Alumine 5 into the picture as the designer of those (Jean Pascal) is using Dart beside Nagra to voice them and also they often do the shows together (last example Hong Kong few weeks ago). Personally listened to Alumine 5 at his demo room driven by Dart and it was magical.

Cheers;
G
 

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