Move from my LS3/5A orig ownr to Harbeth which

Horn loaded bookshelves such as dc10audio Berlin II are not well designed. The bottleneck of bookshelves is the woofer, not the tweeter. With such a small horn, the tweeter can only have crossover down to around 2,000+HZ. Its drivers inside the horns are not true compression drivers for horns. That's to say, such a design loses most benefits of horns but keeps undesirable features of horns such as directivity over 10,000HZ. What DC10 did is to put an ordinary tweeter inside a pretty wooden horn of primitive design. Having such a horn-like tweeter will make the high frequency more efficient but the bottleneck of woofer does not change.

Giantube,

First off you are Incorrect about the dc10audio Berlin.

And you bashing a design you know nothing about shows you're just another troll.

The woofer also ports through the horn thus increase its dynamics at the same time as the tweeter! You are correct about not being compression drivers ...they are not compression drivers and avoid the very common compression driver "honk" and colouration associated with compression drivers.

The LS3/5 comparison is relevant here as one of Europe's premiere audiophiles states:

from Warsaw, Poland
On the Berlin II mini monitor

I connected Berlin II with extraordinary Audio Note KEGONS Low Gain version monoblocks delivering 22W matched with Audio Note preamplifier M8, the 86dB efficiency of Rogers LS 3/5a that construction is rather adapted to push-pulls, do not really let listeners enjoy the outstanding SET monoblocks signed by Peter Qvortrup of Audio Note. Nonetheless, while the set Rogers-Rogers plays very well high and middle frequencies referentially, and mid-bass is reach (at least, according to the ear of English traditionalist), AudioNote-Berlin II set plays referentially and emotionally to the full extent of frequencies (the only limit is the size of a room – I have a living room with quite big capacity!). A combination of AN and Rogers LS 3/5a does not make any sense and Berlin II with Rogers shows clearly difference between SET and push-pull configuration. And as it is not to me to judge if apple is better than pear, Berlin II mini monitors are able (providing honest court proceedings) to resolve an eternal, audiophile conflict (SET or push-pull).

However, there is a continuation of this story. If I understood well, a clever and patented construction of dc10audio, and actually its outstanding designers, released the bass-reflex sound pressure through the gap around tweeter horn, thus creating a virtual, point source of sound. This is how they provided a listener with a coherent 3D sound-stage (assuming the use of excellently paired mono-blocks or very decent amplifier). Berlin II mini monitors are entry level of products range od dc10audio, yet the are dream speakers and for many audiophiles (because of financial reasons but also due to the performance price ratio) could be starting, or even the ultimate music platform, supported by a decent, similar in price, tube amplifier from one of the leading producers. Today, the music source dose not have to cost anything, thanks to excellent DACs, and music servers working with USB, Ethernet or FireWire, but also, optic S/PDIF. Thus, thanks to dc10audio, one can have truly audiophile system for less than 8000USD. It’s really a groundbreaking construction, and when I see a Berlin’s II brother – Berlin studio monitor I can only imagine how more rich and joyful their sound could be. I’m more than sure that this American niche company, being a herald of the finest traditions of American technology (in the world again dominated by the Chinese mediocrity), representing a truly American spirit, reflected in such a beautiful way in the names of the greatest spaceships in history: Columbia, Discovery, Challenger, Atlantis and Endeavor, will conquer European, Asian and American audiophiles’ minds.

The best summary of this little bit lengthy review would be the fact that, after a couple of months of experiencing and testing of Berlin II mini monitors produced by company dc10audio, I ordered, without hesitation, their flagship instrument – The Instrument, which will be in my possession maybe even this year, and I will surely describe all my small and those bigger ecstasies, describing specific music pieces which let them.

quad-man you are wrong. Its woofer does not work in this way.

Giantube,

I work for dc10 it does work this way! The woofer ports through the horn along with the tweeter.

Read more at: www.dc10audio.com

Regards,

Q