If you were placed in the unenviable position of only having two high-quality speaker cabinets in the back of the truck and a pair of also-rans, I wonder how long you’d agonise over where to put the good ones? Out front for the audience… or on stage for the artists? It’s a tough call. Either way it’s a big compromise. Put the good ‘uns on stage and you’re far more likely to have a vibed-up band and a killer performance… but that of course leaves the shoddy ones pointing into the room. Do it the other way around and the room gets a better, full-range sound, but what would they be hearing? Probably, an underwhelming performance from a band full of dropped lips. In the end, I’d contend a great performance wins every time.

The point I make is one that’s well recognised by monitor engineers the world over: getting a great on-stage sound is half the struggle. If the band’s unhappy – constantly looking over to the monitor position and pointing up/down, shaking their heads, or simply storming off – then it doesn’t matter if you have the world’s best house system, the night is a disaster.

So the follow-up point to make is: it’s no use blowing all your dough on the best front of house PA you can afford then bolting together some ‘frankenstein’ wedges in your shed from components you have hanging around.

DAS Audio is doing quite well with the Stage Monitor Series, so I thought I’d get hold of an SM12A and hear one for myself. The first thing to note is: it’s self-powered. This is proving to be a trend. Quite a few manufacturers are heading down the ‘integral amp’ path and it’s quite easy to see why. A powered wedge is easier to lug than an amp and a wedge and, being bi-amped, DAS has been able to optimally match amps to drivers and build all the associated protection circuitry into the box. The downside of a powered monitor is, of course, there’s another lead on stage (power as well as audio). DAS has gone with PowerCon connectors, which lock nicely into place (an IEC just wouldn’t cut it), and there’s an AC Output socket so you can daisy chain mains power from one to the next (up to four boxes). This alleviates the ‘power cords everywhere’ problem, but I’d still be nervous about seeing a bottle of Jack Daniels resting next to the cabinet.

The SM12A is a solid piece of kit. Thanks to the Finnish birchply cab, the extra weight of the amp blocks, and the rubber feet, you’re unlikely to see this speaker hopping around the stage or shoved out of position by an errant foot. It’s knocking on 30kg in weight, but handles ease the burden. DAS has also used some chunky speaker components. The lows are taken care of by a 12-inch driver with a three-inch voice coil, while the HF device also sports a chunky three-inch voice coil. Powering the drivers are a 500W Class D amp for the lows and a 100W Class A/B for the highs.

The SM12A is a thoroughbred floor monitor, not some hybrid that’ll work okay on stage if it really has to. There’s no pole mount, there’s no power switch, or volume knob on the rear… everything points to this device being tamper-proof and ready for some serious abuse

The SM12A sounds full and loud. Naturally, the first thing I did after pulling it out of the box was to plug in a line level source and play some CDs. Immediately the SM12A exhibited a full and well-balanced sound – it’s very pleasant to listen to. I then had it working as a vocal monitor and as a drum fill, and was easily able to pull a good, strong sound with very little recourse to the graphics.

Floor monitors are traditionally an odd breed in that their SPL ratings normally hold about as much weight as how they actually sound. I’ve had the dubious pleasure of being in front of some scarily loud wedges. The Firehouse wedges on the AC/DC stage nearly stripped the skin off my jumping carcass, while L-Acoustics’ 115XT is certainly not for the faint-hearted. DAS quotes a maximum output of 133dB at 1m, which seems plenty loud enough to me. In practice, the SM12A cut through easily enough when used as a drum fill (with the drummer going berserk). For a 12-inch, it’s got plenty of thump and doesn’t mind running full throttle. But, and perhaps I’m ruining the SM12A’s street cred entirely here, what I like most is the relative delicacy of this unit’s sound – it sounds quite refined. Sure, it’s still a compression driver we’re listening to here, but the SM12A wasn’t giving me a headache. And for that I’m very grateful.

I’ve said it before, I’ll probably say it again and I’ll definitely say it this time: DAS makes exceptional speaker systems! Just like it took Australians seemingly forever to realise that there are more countries out there besides the UK and the USA, it’s taken them almost as long to recognise that there are many other high quality manufacturers of audio equipment besides the more familiar contenders.

I have reviewed DAS products in the past and I’m pleased to trumpet their existence once again – I’m always happy to extol the virtues of well-made products. Most retailers and installers (with virtually no exceptions) present products to customers that give them (the retailer) the greatest margin on a deal – often regardless of the product’s performance or specs. It therefore falls to this publication to present reviews that are unbiased appraisals of the gear. We don’t care if you give us free tickets to that U2 concert or ply us with various addictive substances, we’ll always present an honest critique. And so we move on to the new range of updated DAS speakers known as the Reference Series.

I was sent two models for review: the RF-8 and the RF-10. Both speakers are a visual treat, built from birch plywood with extremely strong steel grilles. The trapezoidal design is modern and efficient and there are Ancra flying points on each side and one on the rear of each box. A ‘witch’s hat’ pole adapter is fitted to the bottom for use with pole-mount subs or wall brackets. As you would expect, there are DAS wall brackets (AX Series), pole mounts (TRD series) and speaker stands (TRD) available for each model. The speakers come in two shades: black and white.

The RF-8 is a superb little blockbuster, weighing in at 10.2kg. Its quoted SPL is 93dB, but I think that might be conservative. The RF-8 has tight bass for an eight-inch woofer and a smooth high-frequency with excellent definition. The rated power handling is 150W RMS @ 8Ω and it can certainly take some stick – I drove the hell out of it and it didn’t distort. Frequency response is stated as 60Hz to 20kHz. This speaker box is very impressive and would be perfectly suited to installations and small sound reinforcement requirements. Contrary to the specification sheet, however, the RF-8 does not have carrying handles… not sure what the story is there.

Before proceeding, I must express my frustration with the DAS spec sheets. On the specs, DAS stubbornly refuses to state RMS power (but at least it’s now quoting the facts on the backing plates of the speakers themselves). DAS states that both boxes utilise an M-3 high-frequency driver but you can’t find a sniff of information about it anywhere on the DAS website. DAS has also really got to lift its game regarding the info that comes with the speaker itself… each box must have its own spec sheet included in its packaging.

Anyway, back to the speakers. The mighty RF-10 is sensational. Wonderful, huge bass with excellent top-end definition make this baby a potential competition exterminator. Featuring an 80° x 60° horn flare, an SPL of 97dB and 350W RMS power handling, it’s a great choice for a variety of applications. I flogged this box with power from an Inter-M L2400 amplifier and it didn’t bat an eyelid. The top-end is more ‘middly’ than its smaller brother but that’s probably a good thing if it’s being used strictly for music applications. In other words, it’s good for reinforcement in dance clubs and bars. The 10-inch woofer sounds big and the box is very well built.

I fed both these speakers a variety of music and they handled everything nicely. The Euro-dance of St. Germain did not intimidate either box. Spyro Gyra are revered for their beautifully-produced modern jazz and the DAS speakers appreciated the tight bass. Tex’s vocals and Don’s keyboards were distinctive and Jimmy Barnes’ daughter Mahalia proved that the DAS References are very comfortable with mellow grooves. Piano recordings were especially well represented. I once knew a bloke in the Brisbane area whose evaluation of speakers was almost entirely based on their ability to reproduce piano sounds. Mate, if you’re reading this review, wrap your ears around these babies, you’ll love ’em.

Finally, and most importantly… the pricing: the DAS speakers aren’t cheap. The RF-8 retails for $699 and the RF-10 for $1,100 apiece. In defence of DAS, the build quality is absolutely outstanding and the whole package is well worth the asking price.