Operation: Speaker Cabinet Field Test, February 11, 2010
Mission: Listening Test for DNS-112N, DNS-112N/Micro, DNS-115N
Test Bass: Spector NS-6P Custom (The Voice)
File date: February 12, 2010
Filed by: Agents J and L

First test of DNS-112N by Lane on Bass

OK, let's get something out of the way before we get to the fun stuff. Having served in the Navy for several years, writing dozens of reports in Mil-Speak, I could go that route, and do this whole report the way I used to write back in the days of windowless buildings and black SUVs. However, those who've read my web musings over the years know that's just not the way I roll. I'd much rather just type this out the way I would say it if we were face to face. So while you'll see definite signs of my Black Ops past, and David's and my love for military sounding titles, jargon, etc., that's about as far as it goes. Then, we settle in and shoot from the hip. (smile) Having gotten that out of the way, let me tell you about the test in plain English.

I got there early, so David and I had some time to shoot some interview footage. David discussed the cabinet designs, offering more information that we're ready to release. Over the weekend I began working to create several short videos on the things that we can discuss. I also shot some video during the testing itself, and I'll post some of that as well. Below is the first video, an interview of CEO, ChEng, and Fearless Leader David Nordschow, completed before the testing began. In this clip, David talks about the new cabinet designs.

David Nordschow Interview

Agent J (Jeff Carlson) got there ahead of schedule as well, and was all fired up for the test. He's been doing R&D and Quality Control tests with us for several years, so we were very pleased to have him be part of this test, too. As his report is included below, I won't repeat much of what he discussed.

Jeff and I both use David's last single 12" design, so we're very familiar with what we considered our baseline. He has the standard magnet version while I have the neodymium-filled boxes. The differences are extremely minor, so we set up one of each. For power we used a couple of old favorites, one big guy with a pair of power amps, and two micro-heads.

I brought My Spector 6, The Voice. Later we brought out the bass David has used on every cabinet test since pretty much the beginning. It wouldn't have mattered what it was; just the fact that it was such a part of David's history was reason enough to use it.

We did the coin flip (me flipping, Jeff calling, David ruling on the toss); Jeff got to play first, and we went back and forth from there. The first box tested was the DNS-112N, followed by the DNS-112N/Micro, finishing with the DNS-115N. We discussed each aspect of the tonal characteristics of each cabinet, played with some potential tweaks, and basically had a ton of fun.

David Nordschow, CEO and ChEng, sits on a prototype DNS-115N.

Throughout the entire process, we were like kids at Christmas, playing with the toys we'd begged Santa for. For me it was especially exciting after all the work we've done to this point. I mean, to finally get to hear the cabinets was a serious affirmation: Yes, this is real! It's really happening. Or, as I said several times,"he's BACK!"

As for difference? Let me put it this way:

Night, meet Day. And, boy did the daylight shine! Now, everybody knows I'm a Disciple of David, and there is a certain level of validity to the claim that I'm biased. However, that ignores that I have very specific reasons for that "bias" as well as the fact that anyone who really loves one product over the others is biased too. Be that as it may, it's not hard to figure out what I think of the new designs. Instead of telling you more about what I thought, and why, here's Jeff's report in full, as emailed to me earlier today:

BEGIN REPORT

There is a heaven for bass players. It begins on earth with this fellow named David Nordschow who knows how to tune thunder in a way that you can still hear the angels. Last night, at an undisclosed location, I had the privilege to sample three D.N.A. cabinets - a "general purpose" 12, a micro 12, and a 15. The power, tone, and clarity of each single-driver box was stunning; clearly a much higher power is at work here.

The reference box I brought along has been faithful, reliable, and loud for five years, but I confess to having met a new temptation that is hard to resist. My first comment after A/B-ing my cabinet was "this is not a fair fight". So, I connected TWO of the reference boxes in order to do a fair comparison with the D.N.A. "general purpose" 12. That's quite a leap forward.

Jeff Carlson First Listening Test

The sound is best described as having deep articulate lows with mids and highs that are both muscular and detailed. Whatever you put into the box with your hands and instrument comes out as the perfect blend of fundamentals and harmonic overtones. You want to play chords through these boxes. And play thumping blues/funk lines. And solo. And load them in your car (with one hand) and not give them back. Really.

As a counterpoint to the more exotic basses present at the test, my choice was a homebuilt mahogany P-bass with Fred Hammon's Dark Star pickup and fairly dead DR Black Beauties. This is my well-used, go-to workhorse for a Motown/Stax/classic dance band. The cabinets just threw back whatever aggressive, percussive grooves I could produce, and begged for more. Top end melodies were easily nuanced with slight vibrato, finger pressure, or really digging in. The boxes are not only tough but sensitive and detailed. My opinion is the D.N.A. boxes are much more fun than what I now use for bread-and-butter rock/blues/soul - in other words it's not an overly boutique sterile design. There is clarity, but it's organic and alive at the same time. Transient response and frequency response of the 15 cabinet was as impressive as the 12's.

Fearless Leader David Nordschow and Agent J.

Lane's Spector 6-string sounded fantastic, generating 3-octave chords, solo lines, and a tight slap tone. A vintage G&L SB1 with old roundwounds (used to test all of David's prior designs) sounded gut-churning punchy - the way Chuck Norris likes it.

I won't describe 'how' David built these boxes. But he did treat us to a comparison test using different crossover components, and different porting ideas. That was a useful exercise to challenge our ears. In the end, everyone present agreed that we liked David's choice of voicing for the 12, the micro 12, and the 15. I can't wait for D.N.A. to begin production, and I wonder what other awesome designs are coming from the Land of Very Loud Angels.

END REPORT

So, there have it. I've got to close this out and getyself ready for tonight's gig. Unfortunately, I couldn't get David to look away long enough for me to snag a box, so I'm going to have to wait until the next test to drool some more. I'll be back as soon as possible with more info and some video clips.

UPDATE:

February 19, 2010 - As of today, I have added two videos: the first was an interview of David, which will eventually be replaced with a new version with cleaner audio. The second is a compilation of sound clips from my first test of the DNS-112N as well as some of our comments. More to follow.