DB Technologies DVA S09 sub vs RCF 905AS sub.m4v

[surferjc]

today i did a little comparison test between the DVAS10 18" model vs the RCF 905AS just to see how they all got on and can report that the 18" cabinet from dB is a significant step up in performance over the smaller RCF number. In fact having heard the single 18" RCF TT18A cab i would suggest that as long as u don't mind the handle configuration on the dB unit there's no point spending the extra money on the TT gear.

[rorybz]

Aren't RCF and DB Technologies the same company? I thought DB Technologies had actually purchased RCF some time ago, and they've been in the process of appropriating RCF's design know-how to the DB Technologies products. It should probably be no surprise, then, that it's a dead heat.

[olyansincs]

Change the logo between the woofers and the sound will change too. :) - Tested on patients. btw: the dB has power-con cable. And both come from the same sparkle and same designlab. Different shape, different use. The DB goes for live open-air gigs, the 905 for small clubs. Oh, and what's your neighbor's oppinion? Which one is louder?

[somapparatus]

tanks, gracies

[DurhamEvents]

Good points LandroverTeun, all correct. I couldn't remember what the damn plugs were called on the back of the DB unit, you're right having 2 of them is a gr8 feature & safer. Plus, regarding MH placement you are also completely right, i was actually demo'ing comb filtering to a friend on this day hence the setup...! I'll try harder next time.

[LandRoverTeun]

That isn't speakon on the dBtech, but Powercon. That is one HUGE difference, especially for the safett of your viewers. Besides that, the dBTech has two powercon out's; so you have TWO power-out's. You mentioned the power-out on the rcf, but not on the dBtech. Another thing: positioning your MH's this way will creacte combfilters.

Besides this all, cool video and two products that are really worthy to compare!

[TurbulentMethods]

50hz isn't that low, about 20-30hz is low. I wouldn't pay too much attention to the sub's power rating because that just tells you what the amplifier that's built in can output, it doesn't tell you anything about how loud the sub will be. Also the 133db peak, well, you;ll never get 133db out of either of them, more like 125db, measure their spl with a class 2 or class 1 meter set to slow response and C weighted and you'll see i'm right.

[surferjc]

@TurbulentMethods neither box quotes their output on slow response or C weighted figures, as is the case of almost all speaker manufacturers from Funktion One or EAW right through to Void or d&b. Transient response is also an important factor to consider and using C weighted measurement would negate the differences these two cabinets exhibit, but if you want to try and come across all 'high and mighty' then please continue. The power rating does have an impact but of course is only 1 factor.

[TurbulentMethods]

@surferjc

They're definately good subs for their size. I menationed 20-30hz because in the video the guy said low bass and in reality proper low sub bass in below 30hz, so that's why I mentioned it. Spl wise, yeah no companies actually quote their spl output as being C weighted or what not, but some companies do quote their measured continuous spl output. You shouldn't ever take peak spl specs as serious unless it's a measured peak spl because most subs can't output what the peak spl specs say

[surferjc]

@TurbulentMethods additionally, i doubt that any1 looking at these subs is interested in producing 20- 30 Hz as they would probably (like myself) have to buy a bigger car or van to put their system in. For me, these represent the most powerful bins i can easily fit in an estate car with 2 powerful tops, a pair of flightcased CDJs & a small light rig ie a DJ rig, not a 5000 person outdoor event touring rig! Again, why even mention 20- 30 hz when both boxes don't even cover those frequencies?

[SoundXperienceDJTeam]

The connetors of the dB-sub are not Speakon, but Powercon. Speakon = passive speakers, Powercon = powering for electrical equipment. Speakon wont fit into the socket.

Its also not true that the dB hasnt got the possibility to loop through power cables. He even has 2 of them. The blue powercon is the input, the white one ware the 2 outpts. The advantage is that powerconn can not be accidentally pulled out.

Btw. RCF is part of dB Technologies and dB uses RCF-speakers amplifiers (like DigiPro).

[surferjc]

@SoundXperienceDJTeam very true, i hadn't even realised until i looked back at the video! Of course with the DVA being designed for arraying you'd expect it to have loop through, also as you can probably tell i couldn't remember what the cable was called hence the momentary hesitation b4 i said speakon! Either way, these videos are frequently full of much greater misnomers than mine is, & i think i get the message across ok.

[surferjc]

@SoundXperienceDJTeam also, re DB & RCF relationship, most people know that but in the UK market most people would expect the RCF unit to be the best. key stat differentiating these boxes is the 4inch voice coil on the 15" woofer in the DB box, which is probably responsible for its slightly deeper & more tuneful response (IMO). Still both great pieces of kit tho.

[SoundXperienceDJTeam]

@surferjc Well... it depends on the series. DVA ist mor professional (see: Powerconn). RCF as brand might be the better then dB. But they all use RCF-Speakers since dB has bought RCF. Both of those subs are Bandpass-subs. Made for a high sensitivity and often because of this they are tuned a bit "high"--. With deeper tuning, the max. SPL wouldn’t be so high. They can tune the boxes however they want. I mean 50Hz… that isn’t really deep, but deep enough for most of live application and music.

[surferjc]

@SoundXperienceDJTeam yep, true as well. I guess maybe a more fair test would be to go against some of the RCF TT series but they don't seem to have a single 15" model to compare against. The TTS18 is similar spec except for the driver, but again it really just compares to DB's own 18" model. I'm sure the DVA S10 & the RCF TTS18 sound almost identical. In my experience 2 x DVA S09 are enough for almost all indoor gigs up to 500 people or even a few more depending on acoustics.

[surferjc]

@SoundXperienceDJTeam i also think you're right 2 point out that 50Hz isn't that 'deep' but think its a mark of respect to the cabinets- dealing with high SPL at those kind of freq's is the reserve of genuinely high end sound equipment & many DJ's/ sound techs won't have budget 2 do any better than these boxes allow. The fact that you mention this means that you're comparing these subs 2 more expensive and esoteric kit- thinking bigger as oppose thinking smaller. A mini stack of 4 DVAS09: power!

[Lejenerfarendj]

thank for uploading this video mate!

[surferjc]

@Lejenerfarendj no worries my man... there's not much between these 2 boxes, but the DB box is better. It almost sounds like an 18" unit such is the definition, and the thing i really like about it is that it's a very tuneful box- it doesn't just make big boomy noises, it actually reproduces distinct notes in a very authoritative manner. I've not heard anything in this price category that beats the dB box, but this RCF unit is as close as you're going to get. Mackie HD subs are a similar story.