I purchased a used pair of DQ10's. My friend was an electronic engineer and completely revamped the crossovers into two separate modules: one for the bass with huge chokes and one for the midrange and treble also with very large chokes and all with very high-quality capacitors and resistors. All the wiring was redone with teflon Straightwire and heavy gauge for the bass. All the defractions were completely done away with by using special felt to build-up layers from each driver. The man who originally owned the DQ10's now owns Avante Guards said maybe he should have kept them. I am driving them with monoblock B&W amps, with a Krell preamp, a Sony 9000 ES SACD player, two original subwoofers driver by a Hafler 500 and Straightwire/Crescendo Speaker wire, etc.
These upgrades and accessories have dropped the jaws of a number of discriminating audiophiles, and if I can improve them anymore--well, lets say I'd have to be able to afford the very best to give these babies up. |
look at a pair of vandersteens 2ce ( if he has the room )
or
pair of alon II's ( again if he has the room)
or
vandy 1b and dump the rest of the money into the electronics.
the dq10's arent a bad speaker, but once you get them upgraded you are in the alon II arena.
the alons are a fantastic speaker if you drive them with very good gear., they are one of few dynamic speakers that sound like a magneplanar ( but with bass & dynamics). please keep in mind they are VERY demanding of placement and elcetronics. the vandies are a little more forgiving but also less transpearent.
hope that helps !!!
Mike |
Here's a Dahlquist model rarely seen, the DQ-30I's, I've owned them for nine years, and people come over to hear them and can't believe how good they sound, or look, for that matter. Captain, Sean & Elgordo have good ears, there's a special presentation and magic to these speakers few have. My short list of speakers happens to be identical to Captains. |
Buy a ampzilla amp and the original DQ subwoofer, with the cross-over, bur two pairs of DQ'S, RACK MOUNT THEM,for totally allsome speaker system, maybe a vintage high-end B.AND O. TURNTABLE, WITH THE PROPER CARTRIDGE and direct wire the speakers, by-passing the fuse or just get the up-gradesfor the cross-overs and a Rotel c-d single play, and a high end G A S pre-amp Chuck |
Hello,
The DQ-10's were my first speakers and you really need some current and watts to drive them. There were several mod's available to improve the crossovers and that did help. Also, you can run them with a sub to capture some of the lost bass. Not a bad speaker, especially if they have had the mod's done to them. I enjoyed them for many years. |
Sean...good point...there is a "learning curve" in regards to hi-end audio...sometimes it is best just to let people make their own decisions...I guess if they are happy thats really all that counts.. |
Phasecorrect: Please explain to me how your rebuttal here:
"Here is what one can get new or used for same amount of coin / all vastly superior in one way or another."
differs from what i stated here:
"You can probably beat them with newer products in any given category, but probably not in as balanced of a manner for the same amount of money."
As such, i'm not suggesting that the DQ's are the end all or the most perfect speakers that one can buy. I simply think that they can be made to compete with newer versions quite well for not a lot of money. If one is handy and knows how to shop, one should be able to purchase a "solid" pair of 10's and replace the caps and internal wiring for less than $500. This is not to say that this speaker won't have drawbacks after the upgrades are done ( it will, believe me ), but that it will offer pretty balanced performance for the amount of money invested in it.
Then again, if your friend wants to raise the roof, listens to a lot of rock, etc... i would agree with your assessment. These speakers are not made for doing anything like that. They were designed to perform reasonably well with a wide variety of musical selections and i think that they do that, even moreso after modification. To each their own. That is why we have different makes and models to choose from.
Having said that, have you ever thought that maybe your friend's hearing and personal tastes differ from yours ? Let the person buy what they like and work with them from there. I know that we all want newcomers to get the most out of their investment right off the bat, but sometimes, people have to learn for themselves. Along the way, they develop their own strategies and tastes and learn to live with the decisions that they've made OR they change them as they go along. This is no different than what most of us have done here, so why deny them the fun and experience of that part of the journey ??? It is better to be slightly more "passive" and a help than to be a "guide" and cause friction. Sean
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Your thoughts (Phasecorrect) are fine, but if your friend wants DQ-10's, talking him out is not the right thing to do. You are friends and he might continue to think about these speakers after buying something else. You can give him your thoughts but, let him decide what sounds good to him! I owm a pr of DQ-20, which I upgraded the coils and capacitors and new wire, rebuilt the woofers and midranges and bought new tweeters, the speakers are better than new. They still take a back seat to my Vandersteen 3A Sig w/ 2wq. Associated equipment does make a difference especially here. I've mated the Vandy w/ Classe CA 300 & ARC LS25MII. The DQ-20 w/ Magnum Dynalab MD208. I like classical with the DQ-20's and just about everything else with the Vandy's.
I never consider changing the vandy's, the sound is that good. I would consider changing the DQ-20's maybe for something out of the new JM Labs line next year!
Thanks for the thread and Happy Holidays... |
I had some DQ-10's years ago and at the time thought they were some great speakers. I had to buy a new amp after I got them, my 100 watt SAE amp would not push them very well. I don't think they went much below 40hz but as I recall what they did do they did well. The stands were really cheap made. |
Here is what one can get new or used for same amount of coin as the $500-600 DQs(factoring in upgrades/repair work)...Epos M12s,Spendor 3/5s,PMC tb1,Maggie MMG,Paradigm Studio 20,Triangle TItus,Monitor AUdio Studio 2s,B&W 601/602,Dynaudio 42/52,Meadowlark Vireo,Quad 11L,etc...all vastly superior in one way or another...I find that the mystique of the DQs is overly "romantic"...similiar to the contingency that simply wont let vinyl go...the Dq was a benchmark during its day...honoured as a Sterephile 100 product...and today is more of a novelty and curiousity than an actual competitive performer.. |
Phasecorrect: I won't argue the points that you brought up. They are all true.
As i had already stated though, i don't think that you could find a "conventional" speaker that could compete with the DQ's at the prices mentioned. That is, if you are willing to get your hands dirty. Not everything in life is as simple or convenient as sliced bread. This is especially true if you like something a little higher quality than what one can typically buy off the shelf.
I guess that this is why there are SO many different makes and models out there i.e. something to suite everyone's individual tastes and situations. As such, i would not try to discourage your friend but i would make him fully aware of what he's getting into and try to do so in a "balanced" manner. Sean
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Regardless of the different opinions concerning sound...these are space hogs,power hungry,and will need some
extensive work just to get them up to speed...I dont see tthe benefits in inheriting all these problems...call me cynical...but going this far back used is always a high risk... |
Delete the piezo tweeter, rewire and re-cap them with good quality parts and the DQ-10's are not bad speakers. Technology has moved on, but a good basic design is still a good basic design. You can probably beat them with newer products in any given category, but probably not in as balanced of a manner for the same amount of money.
By the way, $500 for this speaker in stock form is too high, especially if he does not have a warranty and / or right to return or trade back in. If the speakers truly are in fully functional shape, tell him to offer the dealer $350 and put the extra $150 into high quality crossover parts. Then hook up the finished product to some decent electronics and work on speaker placement. You might be pretty surprised. Sean
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I agree with Captain. I've owned four pair of DQ 10s over the years and they wiped the floor with my Vandys. These speakers are better than 95% of todays stuff. Old technology? Yeah, like a Marantz 10B or QUAD 57s. |
My new Quad 12Ls really pull the pants down on the DQ-10s...across the board:detail,imaging,transparency,soundstage,speed,dynamics,bass.etc...these hideous things are simply outclassed by new technology...there is a pair for sale on AUdiogon right now for $675...is that guy on crack or what? I also have heard people spending 1k to have them refurbished by Regnar...no joke... |
THE DQ10 WITH THE RIGHT EQUIPMENT ARE REALLY HARD TO BEAT.I OWNED THEM FOR MANY YEARS,1978 AND JUST SOLD THEM TO A FRIEND A FEW MONTHS AGO.WHILE OWNING THE DQ10 BOUGHT SEVERAL PAIRS OF SPEAKERS THINKING I WAS UP GRADING. WRONG!!! I BOUGHT THE DQ20,ALON11 MK111,ALONV MK11,VANDERSTEEN 3A AND VON SCHWEIKERT VR6 WHICH ARE PLAYING NOW AS I TYPE.I PREFERRED THE DQ10 TO THE VANDYS AND THE ALON11 MK111.I STILL OWN THE DQ20,ALONV AND THE VR6 BUT THE OTHERS SIMPLY DID NOT HAVE THE MAGIC OF THE DQ10.THESE SPEAKERS WERE WAY AHEAD OF THEIR TIME AND STILL GIVE MANY CURRENT HIGH PRICED SPEAKERS A RUN FOR THE MONEY.THEY NEED THE RIGHT FRONT END ,CAUSE THE BETTER YOU FEED THEM THE BETTER THEY SOUND,MORE SO THEN MOST SPEAKERS. |
For $500 he can get some baby maggies,off comes the towel and the bass is just as deep as the old dq-10s. |
SOUNDS GOOD Maybe he can find a Garrard turntable, Audio Research Sp 3 and a GAS ampzilla to go with them I would also get Polk cobra cables. |
