DR280 Review

[KORTH]

My woodworking skills lean more towards the novice level, so understanding and planning were the keys for making this a successful build. I spent roughly 2 months studying the plans and re-reading every detail of the DR280 before cutting the first piece of wood, and sad to say I still screwed up more times than I care to remember. Actual build time for me was about two and a half months to complete four cabinets. Each cabinet is loaded with an Eminence Delta Pro 12 and 10 1016 piezos.

During the build, I was anxious about how they would sound and whether they would be useable at a normal size gig, let alone a large outdoor festival. I questioned whether my time and monetary investment was going to pay off. My wife seriously questioned my sanity more than once and said I was going to hell for all the cuss words I shouted whenever I made a mistake. I came back often to this forum for inspiration, re-reading posts about how great DR cabinets sounded. I figured if I could get mine to sound even half as good, I’d be satisfied.

I vividly remember playing music through them the first time. I carefully turned the volume up a little bit and went “ok” that sounds pretty good. I turned it up a little more, and then a little more, and each time it sounded better. Finally it was like “WOOOOW” that’s incredible!!! It was one of those moments when you have that big grin on your face, like you just got away with something and you still can’t believe it. All the frustration, anxiety, time, and whatever other sacrifices I made simply faded into the background and I became a believer in all the hype I read on this forum.

Having used these cabinets for a couple of months now, I can honestly say that the DR280 is a great sounding cabinet. As if that wasn’t enough, they can be played at extreme volume levels and they still maintain the same crystal clarity they have at low volume. I personally think they sound better when cranked up.

I had the opportunity to use them for a rather large outdoor event recently, and they exceeded my expectations. I stacked two 280’s on either side of the stage. We mic’d the entire band, including a full compliment of mic’s on the drums. During this particular event, I had trouble getting the subs to work and ended up turning the crossover to the 280’s down to about 95Hz. They handled it without breaking a sweat. The rest of the show went great.

I wish I had the equipment to scientifically measure their performance, maybe some day. For now, I have to “settle” for feedback and comments I’ve received from audiences who’ve heard them. Several people have commented about the clarity of the instruments. A few others about the “huge” sound they produce. But what is most amazing to me was that a sound guy from a well established local band was asking me for advice on how to setup his system to sound as good. His system is made up entirely of JBL products. He was speechless when I mentioned my set up was composed of 12 inch speakers and a few piezo’s running off two power amps. I think his equilibrium shifted a bit more when we started talking about efficient cabinet design versus brand name.

The only negative comment I’ve heard so far is that it is too loud. I can deal with that.