Yeah, I'm definitely the guy to tell you about DNA amps and cabs as I am a DNA Endorser (was accepted to their group in 2019) and I have amps and cabs by DNA. I also have Eden amps and cabs, which was the first company David David Nordschow (aka David Eden) founded before he sold and left Eden (left in 2009) and founded DNA (David Nordschow Amplification) releasing his first cabs in 2010.
Arguably, David's best cab designs when he owned Eden were his XST cabs, which had tighter and lower bottom end, and higher power handling than his XLT cabs as well as a very flat frequency response. Lots of folks still preferred the sound of the low-mid hump in his XLT cabs but some EQ adjustment in the low-mids between 250Hz and 500Hz will get really close to the XLT sound. Regardless of which cabs you prefer, clean, clear, and articulate sound is the hallmark of Eden amps and cabs and all of David's designs.
One of the things that David has always done was design and build new speakers to integrate with his cabinets. So the first thing he did starting DNA is design new speakers and cabs. He came up with cabs that are a level above the XST cabs he designed for Eden. The DNA cabs use long-throw speakers as well as flared and textured ports. They have very high sensitivity and HUGE power handling. Often those two features are often mutually exclusive of each other, but not with these cabs.
In 2010 he came out two [Invalid or Expired Link Removed]'s (regular and mini) a [Invalid or Expired Link Removed], a [Invalid or Expired Link Removed], and a [Invalid or Expired Link Removed]. I wanted to get two of the 112's because they are amazing speakers but would need to get two of them and they weren't cheap. For a few hundred $$ more I could get the DNS-410. It will handle 1400-watts rms (mechanically and thermally) and has a maximum SPL of 137db, which is well above the threshold of pain.
It also has a very low and tight bottom end as well as clarity, articulation, and a super-clean sound a step above all of his Eden designs. Figured using the Eden 800 watt amp that I bought directly from David (was his cab testing bench amp at Eden) when he left in 2010, I could drive that cab as loud as I would ever need it and would never have to buy another cab. My 800-watt amp will drive it to 134db, which is still above the threshold of pain.
Well, it took me a while to get the $$, but in 2015 I finally bought it. Paid $1,000 for it then and now street price is between $1,049 and $1,149. It arrived 2-days before our move from Virginia to the Pacific Northwest east and we live in the greater Seattle area. So I loaded it in our moving van and away we went. In 2016 I started gigging with it and found I really had a problem with it in small venues. Don't get me wrong, it sounds great at low levels as well as deafening levels, but it tends to scare owners of small brew-pubs when you roll in a 410. Their eyes get big and round, they shake their head "No", and they typically point to a small combo they want you to use. So I really needed to buy another cab.
Got an Eden EX-112 for $269 and used one of my older Eden amps with it to get away from that problem. Sounded so good the first time I used it that I bought a second one and started using two of those 112's for medium-sized venues reserving my DNS-410 for large venues, outdoor venues, and Festivals. It was a great set-up and I got a lot of compliments on my sound using them. But I really missed the sound of my DNS-410, which was the next step up in clarity. So I started thinking about getting the DNS-210. Nobody looks sideways at a bassist bringing in a 210 and it supposedly had the same sonic characteristics as my 410 but in a smaller, lighter package.
In 2019 I wrote to David, gave him a bio and asked if there was a chance I could get into his Endorsing Program. He passed off my info to John Vitale who is in charge of Artist Relations at DNA. He called me back and told me what I needed to send in and then asked what cab I wanted to buy. Told him I would really like the DNS-210. He said, "yeah, great cab" and then gave me a good price on it. Wasn't free and wasn't
dealer wholesale, but it did save me a chunk of $. The street price on it seems to vary between $849 and $969.
The first night I used it, I also brought my DNS-410 and stacked my 210 on top of it. The venue wasn't quite large but it was bigger than a medium-sized club. So it was an "almost large" venue. From the specs on paper, it shouldn't be a problem, but real life sometimes doesn't cooperate. With it stacked on top of my 410, if it wasn't enough to cover the room adequately, I could quickly unplug the 210 and plug the 410 in - no question the 410 could cover it. Did a sound check and using my wireless, I walked the perimeter of the club as well as walking through the dance floor to make sure everything was good. It does have the same sonic characteristics as my 410 and had a nice balance throughout club. So I thought we were good to go.
About 20-minutes later we started the set and I had to physically move over by the drummer and behind my amp because it was killing my ears - painful! I couldn't move my amp farther back on my corner of this shallow stage so I moved it over next to our mains. Still killed my ears on the next song...my drummer was laughing at me. After the second song, I moved our mains over as far as they would go and then moved my amp next to it and up towards the front of the stage a bit. This finally got me out of that 60° cone of dispersion and my ears stopped hurting. So, yeah, it can easily handle that space.
Here's what it look like that night before I started moving it over and up:
