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Review: DCM TimeWindow 1 Speaker

Category: Speakers

This review covers the orignal DCM Time Windows. Not the subsequent versions.

I remember the first time I heard these. Their unique shape and sound where unlike anything I had heard before. Here was a speaker that really delivered the promise. It was driven by a PS Audio Amp and PS Audio LCC PreAmp. At the time I had the Large Advents,and while those speakers were very good indeed, the Time Windows were clearly superior. The music just seemed to come alive in a way that's hard to describe. There was just a seamless transparency to them. Not overly bright or accentuated on the bass. The balance was right on. It didn't really matter what the program material was, the Time Windows clearly and with authority brought the music to life. If they had any real weakness is for some peoples taste the bass may have been on the light side. But for my taste it was as it should be. The orginals used Philips drivers using a transmission line and the cabinet construction contributed to the overall sound. In the late 70s these were not cheap at about $800.00 but were indeed worth the price of admission. I was finally able to acquire a pair of these and have them to this day. Few things one purchases in life have enduring value and the Time Windows truly are in that category. Of all the reviews I have read on these speakers not one reviewer has clearly defined the sonics of this fabulous speaker. Use all of the adjectives you want and one will still come up short in the description. Best way to describe them, if you love music and have better than average components connected to them, the Time Windows will deliver the music with a verve that will astound you.

Now these speakers are some 20 years or more in age and continue to deliver the music. And that's what this hobby is all about. DCM no longer produces the Time Windows,having opted for the HT route. This is a true shame as these speakers deserve continued production. Timeless design is just that.

Specifications:

  • Dimensions:36"H x 14 3/4"W x 11 3/4"D
  • Weight:32 Pounds
  • Power Requirements:10 Watts Minimum per channel 89 dB/watt at one meter;200 Watts Maximum
  • Impedance:5 Ohms minimum/6-8 Ohms nominal
  • Frequency Range:25Hz to 18 kHz
  • Dispersion:180 degrees horizontal/60 degrees vertical.

    Specifications do not tell the whole story,listening does. The Time Windows due to their configuration can be literally tuned to any room. That is due to their shape. This was a brilliantly executed design that has remained faithful all these years.

    Associated gear
    Click to view my Virtual System

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    • ferrari

    Showing 1 response by rolando-07e3

    rolando-07e3
    1 posts
     
    Islandbird and I must have read the same comment, regarding Time Windows, at about the same time, that 9" inches would raise and improve one's image greatly. At about the same time the same comment also appeared in Playboy in a John Holmes interview. Must be in the numbers.

    Anyhow, I immediately constructed, although not out of solid black walnut, speaker stands that raised the Time Windows exactly 9" off of the floor with great results. For years I also was neurotic about keeping the speakers exactly the prescribed 36" from the back wall of my room.

    However, now I am forced to place them much closer to the wall in their current room with the same results, improved base and I must admit, only slightly dimished depth of image. The conclusion I have come to after all of these years is simply that these speakers image better under similiar conditions than most other speakers and certainly in in their price range.

    The day that I bought mine I went to the Audio shop knowing that I was going to buy either Time Windows or Dahlquists. It didn't take very long in the listening room to make my solid choice, and it was the imaging that made it. It is still the quality that makes new listener's jaws drop.

    I live in the university area of town and have many neighbors who are students. When any of them come into my house they are invariably amazed to hear music, "sound like that". I am also happy with my role reversal status. I am the only long term elderly resident of the neighborhood who has students ask them to,"turn the music down and please keep it a little more quiet".
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