VAF Research DC-X Floorstanding Speakers

VAF Research DC-X Floorstanding Speakers 

USER REVIEWS

Showing 1-10 of 14  
[Nov 27, 2004]
Electric_Haggis
AudioPhile

Strength:

If there is anything better for anywhere NEAR the money, show it to me.

Weakness:

Have to buy direct from VAF Research - but you get better value for money because of it.

What can I say? These speakers have it all! Revealing, detailed, intimate, explosive, exciting - but never less than accurate. A few years ago, I decided to move up to floorstanders, but feared the intimacy, imaging and mid-range from my old book-shelves would suffer. WRONG. Never again could I own a speaker with smaller drivers. I've heard plenty of speakers costing this sort of money and in some cases even triple - both in shops and in my room - and all I do is roll my eyes and go back the DC-X's with a smile. I listen to a WIDE range of 2-channel music, as well as a fair bit of home theatre, and the sound from these beasts just keeps me coming back for more. They're amazingly free of congestion and distortion. They go so deep that I sold my sub-woofer. The bass is tight, controlled and ACCURATE. And with the black-cloth covering, they even look great! For home theatre I match them with a DC-X custom-made centre speaker (get one of these - they thrash the DC-6), two DC-7's for side-surrounds, and a DC-6 for the rear surround in a 6.0 setup. They match superbly. My system is... * Creek OBH-22 passive pre-amp (for 2-channel music - I will have this thing buried with me) * Arcam Alpha 8 CD player (upgraded with LClock XO3 and improved op-amps - incredible) * Rotel RMB-1075 5-channel power amp (drives the DC-X's with ABSOLUTE ease) * Rotel RB-971 2-channel power amp (for surrounds) * Rotel RSP-1066 surround Pre/Pro (nice) * Speaker cable: Belden 1810A (quad cable but not bi-wired over a 10metre run - This equals any overpriced snake-oil cable I've heard) * Interconnects: Van den Hul D-102 MkIII (no real improvement over solidly made standard interconnects) * DVD's come off a custom HTPC (love it...)

Similar Products Used:

NHT / JMLab / Richter / B&W / Krix

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[Oct 19, 2004]
Sydney boy
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

so many to name but overall the sound quality is amazing. it may be cliched but it`s true. dont buy other speakers in this price range when you get such high end reproduction from these. I gaurantee you will not be disappointed. The best thing about it all: "THE`YRE AUSTRALIAN MATE, AND IT MAKES YOU BLOODY PROUD".

Weakness:

If running a power amp be careful. I demoed the EP1 podrace for my friends one night and have cooked the lower woofer in one of my dc2 surrounds and have had to return it to VAF for repairs. dont let that put you off though. The dc2 are 80w speakers and i was running 200w into it at aorund -5 dcb. if you watch your movies at a more reasonable level you wont have a problem. I normally watch my movies between -25 to -15 dcb. These speakers are so faithful in sound reproduction you dont have to have them loud anyway. i just got carried away.

I have had my VAF sytem for just over 3 months now and i cant begin to describe how wonderful these Aussie made speakers are. Impossible sound and value just make it all the sweeter. I purchased the DC-X/DC-6 DC-2 combo after having owned two Richter system since 1997. When i first listened to the DC-X in stereo mode i was instantly taken aback by the sound,"clean". I did find the bass a liitle flat so i adjusted my speaker setting on my amp for cd to large and was blown away by the bass these babies produce. I do not use my sub for cd as these speakers dont need it anyway. If you own some heavy bass tracked music you will love the bass on tap here. Very low and tight. they really do function like stereo subwoofers. dont worry these speakers will take anything. Soft music passages are romantically reproduced. every nuance of sound is so faithfully relayed to you it makes you want to cry. I have heard new passages from my 10 year old cd`s i never new existed. Brand new recorodings in cd are wonderful. Multi channel cd (dvd-a & sacd) are in their own league. In surround mode the dc6 and dc2 come into their own. music dances around the room and through you. No wonder the package is called "perfectly matched home theatre system". In dvd mode i have left the speaker setting on my amp to small for the 5 speakers as i have a Velodyne HGS 15 sub which already produces teeth shattering bass so i let it do the job. On the whole a completely wonderful speaker system which i am enjoying more each day. I love sitting in my movie room 6X4 on weekends and losing myself in this wonderful escapist environment of movies and music.

Similar Products Used:

Ricther Dragon mk2, unicorn centre and hydra rears. Richter emporor mains and chancellor centre. same rears. The Richters were good in their day but these Babies rule supreme. They really are that good. "Sound to die for"

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[Oct 13, 2003]
mickcar20
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

Bass by the shovelfull (I hope S&I forgive the plagerism), great midrange and I don't care what anyone says, if you must have floorstanders the jarrah models are furniture pieces in themselves, the boss has certainly not complained about a speaker farm in the loungeroom.

Weakness:

I have developed a somewhat snobbish attitude to other products in this price range (read - exceptional value). Watching movies at the cinema is a dissapointment in the sound reproduction department, I normally cant wait for them to be released to DVD.

Whilst wishing to purchase a home theatre system and expand on the audio capabilities of my stereo system I had no idea what speakers to buy. Living in the north of Western Australia it's difficult to audition a variety of speakers so most people are stuck with generic japanese brands. A friend asked me if I'd heard of VAF which of course I hadn't. Until I started reading a couple of the home theatre mags I hadn't heard of the majority of non japanese brand speakers apart from "Bose". At the end of the day I listend to JBL speakers in two different settings and some japanese speakers but found that the majority of people didn't have them set up well and wern't aware of it anyway so I was still no wiser. I devoured every magazine review available and concluded that in my price range, a). Australian speakers were as good as overseas products and b). there is no shortage of quality manufacturers to choose products from. Also if I bought euro or american brands I was going to pay a significant percentage of the purchase price as import duty. Magazine reviews for the VAF DC-X's were very complimentry as they are for most brands however there is no shortage of positive comment regarding the ability and value for money of the DC-X speakers. Based on the consistently good reviews for the DC-X's and VAF's other products I decided they were what I wanted and ordered 5 of them and a DC-6 centre speaker (6.1 system). Having owned them for more than 18 months I can confirm that everything written about them is correct. After about 12 months they seemed to get better, if thats possible. I'm running them with an Onkyo TX-DS797 AV reciever and whatmough typhoon sub which as a system balances out nicely. Owning a mainly rock music CD collection the DC-X's have certainly sorted the wheat from the chaff, it's easy to work out which artists take pride in thier recordings. Seasonal compilation recordings are definately in the less than 70% of full volume category otherwise the poor recording quality is revealed. Some examples of musical reproduction nirvana that these units are capable of include Dire Straits, the piano in telegraph road sounds like a steinway has been transplanted into the lounge and now I understand what they mean when they say attacking guitar, awesome. SRV, every caress of Stevies guitar can be heard and if you want to hear it loud you only need to work out how much permanent damage to your ear drums your prepared to live with, the reproduction is so clear even at huge sound levels. Electric blues guitar sounds fantastic as do the electronic arrangements of ELO, I havn't come across any music that isn't faithfully reproduced by these speakers. Lately I've taken to playing them direct (no subwoofer) as the bass is so competent. Aussie Crawl is crystal clear, reckless, HCFM and boys light up in particular sound great. Hells Bells (AC/DC) puts you in the belltower. I took the easy way out and paid the extra for upgraded wiring and assembly by VAF as I knew I would not have the patience to assemble them myself. When they arrived it was all I could manage not to just cut the boxes away and get them hooked up. VAF were very generous with the deal too and I scored almost a full grand off the retail package price which paid for speaker wire etc.

Similar Products Used:

JBL, custom floorstanders, numerous japanese generic packages such as Sony, marantz, pioneer and JVC.

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[Jul 06, 2003]
speedtriple
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

A real presence in the room, both physically, and acoustically. Don't brave the weather to go to that recital / concert / cinema... Just sit back, close your eyes and you're already there!

Weakness:

Their ability to find any weakness in the structural integrity of anything that you place them on.

I bought them from VAF. They were delivered fully-built via Cope Couriers. They arrived on-time & in perfect condition. The courier was most helpfull, calling prior to delivery etc. First impressions were, they're "massive". In fact, when I put the spikes on the bottom of them & put them in the desired spot in the listening area, one of them went straight through the floor board! (old house etc...). Initial impressions were they're immensely efficient and have a presence that I've only ever heard before via my AKG 501 headphones. You hear the music / speech about 6 inches in front of your face, and sometimes from around the sides of your head. Close your eyes and I'd bet anyone that they can't guess the location of the sound source. You really do hear instruments & clarity that you've never heard before on tracks that you've heard a thousand times before. I'm using the speakers with a Melody EL36s integrated valve amp (60WX2) and hence the 96dB/Watt sensitivity is good. I highly recommend these speakers to anyone who takes any amount of pleaseure in music. Even my partner says how good they are. That's a complement coming from a person who normally writes hi-fi off as a decadent pastime with no justification whatsoever.

Similar Products Used:

last speakers were Acoustic Energy AE1's.

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[May 05, 2003]
David
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

Reproduction of musical detail and bass.

Weakness:

Very heavy and very big.

I bought these speakers as part of a DC-X/7/6 surround package. I also tacked on VAF's LFE-03 sub-woofer for added low frequency effects. The sub-woofer was a waste of money. Not because it was crap: it is actually a very good sub-woofer. But the X speakers handle bass so sweetly and deliver such clarity that the sub-woofer is unecessary for most applications. I think the sub-woofer would come into its own in a very large room. One of the other reviews of these speakers suggests that sometimes the bass seems to be absent (but in a good way). Certainly the bass does not stand out, but that is a complement to how well the speakers handle it. I would put it another way: the bass is 'transparent'. It reveals itself as an integral part of the music. The bass is not an entity in its own right. The way it should be. And the Xs, sub-woofer or not, are capable of producing enough bass to shake the house down. I'm not kidding. Listen to Massive Attack's 'Angel' from their mezzanine album and you will know what I mean. These speakers produce amazing bass. I think my neighbours may be beginning to hate me. Used as the main speakers in a surround set up, the Xs also excel in bass reproduction. The D-Day landing scene in 'Saving Private Ryan' has so much punch it's frightening. With the volume up past 5 its a chest shaking, whole body experience. To be honest, I prefer to listen to my speakers than those at the cinema, and not (just) because I'm biased. But enough of bass. The Xs also reproduce lovely mid-range and high-range sounds. Truly beautiful to behold. I sit on my lounge for hours and swap CDs in and out just listen to the music these speakers crank out. I have rediscovered parts of my CD collection because of these speakers: stuff that sounded cheap and tinny on lesser speakers has taken on new life. But for me the thing that makes the Xs stand out so much is the detail of their sound reproduction. Time and again I have listened to CDs that I am overwhelmingly familiar with and heard new things: a previously masked background melody, or double-bass thumping quietly in the background. Little details that lesser speakers just don't produce correctly or at all. When I was in the market looking to buy I spent ages visiting stores and listening to speakers. I went everywhere from low-end consumer shops to high-end audiophile shops. The speakers I liked the sound of were out of my price range. I can't recall how I stumbled across VAF, but I thought '7 day money back guarantee' and 'the reviews sound good'. So I ordered some without ever having heard them. I built the speakers from the kit supplied (which was fun!). Plugged in the CD and amp and got down to business. I knew inside 30 seconds that these speakers were THE ONE. Now, after nearly 12 months, I am more than ever convinced. Every time I listen to them I get the feeling. I love them. VAF's service was professional and quick. They warned me up-front that one of the speakers I ordered (the sub-woofer) would take a couple of weeks to deliver, which was fine. Nice to know before I forked over my cash. And the speakers were shipped via sensitive freight. I was impressed all round. There are only two drawbacks to DC-X: each speaker weighs a tonne and isvery big. The two speakers together are about the size of a refrigerator and probably weigh more. They really do dominate the room. It might even be said that they lurk. I challenge anybody to come up with a better pair of speakers for AUD$1,500. These truly are giant killers.

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[Apr 13, 2000]
roland feleo
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

3d sound, crisp music

Weakness:

you can't hear until you buy it

guys, i bought these speakers for home theatre, i thought that my old heybrook was really good enough until i have these speakers. they are built like a tank and sound like those speakers you have to spend atleast 5 grand. now i have a problem because i have to buy seperate amps to get its
full capabilities. i bought dcx for my front, dc6 for my centre, and dc7 for my surround. now i found out that the dc7 is enough for the home theatre , using it as front, and my old heybrook for my surround. with my denon 2800, they
sound unbelievable, but the hi fi bug is bugging me to try
seperate like morrison elad and monarchy. but guys you could not get better buys with these speakers.

Similar Products Used:

none in it's price range

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[Mar 28, 2000]
Jacob
Audio Enthusiast

These speakers have an impressive sound stage and balanced sound. This applies even in my awkwardly shaped, small - medium listening room. I've bi-wired the DC-Xs to a NAD C340. This low powered amp is enough to play most recordings clearly and accurately, due to the extremely high sensitivity of the speakers. I've played music for over a month at loud to very loud levels, for hours everyday and the DC-Xs have performed brilliantly. Very good value for money - I bought them as a kit and saved $300 for around four hours of assembly (which I found interesting.)

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[Feb 07, 1999]
Richard J Taylor
an Audio Enthusiast

I bought these speakers for a Home Theater Setup after hearing themconnected to a 20watt Class A Marantz SR-78. Simple to put together
from kits at less than AU$1300 a pair they are great value. They are
exceptionally sensitive at over 95dB/W @ 1m have a very flat frequency
response (35Hz-20Khz +/-2dB), they also have a flat phase response
providing superb imaging. Reasonable low frequency ability with -3db
at 31Hz.

Highly recommended.

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
[Nov 09, 2001]
Graeme
Casual Listener

Strength:

Natural and open 'live' sound with no dips or peaks at any frequency. Very extended, controlled bass. Superb imaging. Can produce very loud, clean sound.

Weakness:

These speakers are so good you will find limitations in some of your favourite CDs / DVDs. This is not really a weakness but you will become very critical of poorly recorded source material.

If you read Aus HiFi mags you will find that every review of the DCXs is glowing (see the VAF web site at www.vaf.com.au). There is a good reason for this - these speakers are superb in every way, even if you ignore the give away price that VAF Research sells them for.

The sound from the DCXs is huge and yet so natural it is as if the musicians and vocalists are in the room with you. At first it seems that the bass is a bit recessed, but then you realise that you are feeling it and it is so deep and controlled that you don't notice it as a separate part of the music. In Dolby Digital or DTS the DCXs work like a stereo pair of sub-woofers that can shake the floor with very deep bass but without that stressful boom-boom that many addon subs produce.

These speakers are extremely efficient and can go very, very loud. However, no matter how loud you turn them up, they just go on producing sweet, clean, balanced and undistorted sound. You don't realise how loud they are until you try to hold a conversation and find that you can't hear the other person at all!

I bought the DCXs as kits which I found very easy to build. It took about 2 hours to do the job and they look like they are factory-built. The only part of the assembly which might be a challenge for some people is a little bit of soldering. If you don't feel up to assembling the kit you can buy the DCXs fully assembled for a few more $.

As a top quality stereo pair the DCXs will be difficult to better, at any price. Just add a DC6 centre and DC2 or DC7 rear speakers and you have a home theatre setup that will beat the sound you will get in many real movie theatres.

You can't demo VAF products unless you know someone who has them or are in Adelaide, but they come delivered to your front door, fully insured with a 7 day money back guarantee, even if you build them yourself. Go ahead, order a pair now - there is no way you will be sending them back!

Similar Products Used:

Demo'd lots of speakers up to 3 times the price including the big name brands.

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[Dec 16, 2001]
mark
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

can't beleve how clear they are when pumped, Price

Weakness:

none

Living in Adelaide i was able to go to there show room and demo them was blown away by the service,price and sound. Now saving for some dx-7 for the rear teamed them up with a yamaha rx-v 3000 amp was a little bright till i set up the amp but can hear stuff in dvd's i never heared before.

must also add i brought the assembled cherry item's and they gave them to me for the same price as the kit! stoked

would totaly recomend them and the company!

Similar Products Used:

jamo krix

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
Showing 1-10 of 14  

(C) Copyright 1996-2018. All Rights Reserved.

audioreview.com and the ConsumerReview Network are business units of Invenda Corporation

Other Web Sites in the ConsumerReview Network:

mtbr.com | roadbikereview.com | carreview.com | photographyreview.com | audioreview.com