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Upping the DB
A high-value, entry level speaker system
by Michael Jones
August 2001
DB Dynamics Vega home theatre speakers. $1699
"$1699,
huh? Is that just for the front speakers."
"$1699 is for all five speakers..."
"%#@*&%!!!"
Indeed, the DB Dynamics Vega home theatre package seems like very good value. For that money you get one pair of floorstanding speakers, a centre channel and a small pair of bookshelf speakers for the rear.
You may not have heard of DB Dynamics before. They are an Australian company put together by an established audio importer looking for a "high value" range of speakers.
And high value is the key to understanding this range. These are not audiophile speakers. Instead they're aimed at a market wanting a complete package with a bit of bass, without spending too much money.
In terms of perceived value this range scores. The speakers are very well made and finished - looking at the speakers I would have guessed a higher price. The front baffle is finished in metallic silver while the other surfaces are in a grey "wood finish".
The biggest speakers are the fronts. The F-38 stand 1 metre high and follows today's norm in being narrow but deep. Under the grille are three drivers - one 25mm mylar dome tweeter and two 130mm mid/woofers. The tweeter is coloured gold while the front midrange drivers are white. On the side is a 200mm paper cone woofer to handle the bass.
On the rear are bi-wirable terminals plus a reflex port. Interestingly, the biwire terminals are split between the side-firing woofer and the top mid/treble combination.
The sensitivity is rated at 90dB which suggests that, if they don't fall too far below the rated 6 Ohm impedance, they should be a fairly easy load to drive. The F-38's are not shielded, so don't let them get too close to your TV.
The C-55 centre speaker is shielded, of course. It contains one tweeter and two of the white paper cone mid/woofers.
The R-15 speakers are designated for surround use. They contain similar drive units - one 130mm white paper mid/woofer and the 25mm mylar tweeter. I thought that they may come complete with a keyhole mount on the back to make them easy to place on a wall. There was none, but I understand that future production runs may have a mounting system built-in.
Performance
So how does this home theatre system perform? I assessed the system mainly
as a home theatre system, with a later short assessment of the front speakers
playing music.
Let's put this in perspective. With the last system I reviewed (the Energy eXL system) the front speakers alone cost more than the entire DB Dynamics system. So one has to expect some compromises in performance.
On music, the drawbacks of the system became obvious. For example, these are not the most detailed of speakers, glossing over plenty of musical information compared to the more audiophile speakers I'm used to. And the bass had a underdamped quality to it, making it hard to pick the pitch of bass instruments.
I got out my sound pressure level (SPL) meter to examine what the bass of the DB Dynamics was doing in my room. And blow me down if the front speakers didn't have one of the flattest measurable responses from the lower midrange on down that I've seen in my room. From 200Hz down to 40Hz there was nary a difference of more than 4dB at my listening position - an excellent response, and one showing that a floor-coupled woofer can make great sense.
One movie I enjoyed through the DB Dynamics system was Space Cowboys, the story of 60+ years old astronauts sent into space to fix a Russian satellite.
Voices (always the most important aspect in a movie soundtrack) were clear and discernible. The underdamped nature of the bass probably helped make the rocket launch feel more realistic too!
Conclusion
My pick is that DB Dynamics will sell plenty of these loudspeakers. They
offer an irresistible sense of value combined with a sound quality that
will easily meet market expectations.
Click here for DB Dynamics dealers
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