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

    Similar products
    Polk SDA 2,Large Advent,Infinity,Boston Acoustic.

  • ferrari
    The best I ever got my Time Windows to sound was in a previous house I owned. The dimensions of the rectangular room were in the exact Fibonacci ratio. They were placed three feet from the back wall, which was covered with Sonex, about two and a half feet from the side walls and six feet apart. They stood on Tippy Toes on a cement floor with about 15 pounds of weight on top of each. Listening was from about 8 feet back. My turn table was near the back of the room sitting on 12 cement blocks. In this set up they just disappeared.

    The Keith O. Johnson Reference Recordings that I was into back then were stunning.

    It was great!
    I have a much more confined listening space but I also believe I am now getting the best possible performance out of my Time Windows. I have owned mine since 1982 and only now am I beginning to hear even more soundstaging and imaging capabilities than I did when they were closer to the floor. I do wish I had a listening environment like the one described above by rolando. In the meanwhile, I cannot complain. These speakers continue to amaze, and you cannot ask any more of any speaker than that.
    Oh Yeah. Once, when I first got my Time Windows back in 1980 or so, I also built a set of 14" stands forthem because I read a reviewer somewhere or other suggesting that it would "raise" the sound stage. It indeed did just that, making it about equal top to bottom as from side to side. One thing I have never tried is both raising them and spiking them down solidly at the same time. I can only imagine how this would effect things.

    Maybe I'll build a new set of stands. I gave the original ones to a friend with an unruly 2 year old to keep him from kicking the grill foam off of his JBLs.
    Time Frame series? dcm-250 picked up cheap-ish and sound great but know little/any about them other than are best with subwoofer addition...awesome in theater mode....any info or insight as to what these are intended for
    If remember correctly the Time Frame 250 were the start of the TF series. Used primairly for 2 channel audio where space is a consideration. Had a pair of the TF 350 and liked those very much. Time Frames were mirror image speakers. Make sure the small DCM logos on the front of the speakers are to the inside when viewed from front for
    proper imaging.

    link below:

    http://www.dcmspeakers.com/manuals/TF250.pdf