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
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.
For 20 years now ím still the lucky owner of my DCM Timeframe 500's. They still sound great. Yesterday i layed my hands on a pair of TimeWindows, but the manual is gone and i'm not sure which type i bought.
Can somebody please help to identify my second hand TimeWindow. The plate on the back of the speaker is exactly like the picture shown above, with the same number: 48104.
Does this mean these are the (so called) originals?
And what's the diffenrent between the original, 1, 1A ?
Hauser, I may have been mistaken about the TW3's. It's just what I thought I had read. Actually, I have a problem that was said to be cured(or reduced) by the 3's. One speaker is close to a corner, and the other has no real side wall and an opening close to it's back. I apologize for any misinformation.
I have a question about my just arrived Timewindows (originals). I bought them second hand last week, but the DCM labels on the cloth are missing. My dcm timeframes TF500 require placement facing the labels towards each other. How about the Timewindows? The only identification i have is the bass-responceport in the lower part of the spaeker, eighter on the left or right pane.
I just found this forum a few days ago doing research, when I stumbled across a pair of TimeWindow 1A's on Craigslist near my house. When I read the information in this forum, and then heard them in person, I plunked down $350 for them. Okay, that was higher than what I’ve seen on ebay, but these were only 15 minutes away, the natural oak is in fantastic shape, and the brown fabric (not foam) is good (couple tiny holes). These sound great! These will replace my Infinity Studio Monitor SM155 that I’ve used for ten years—loud, thumping, but fatiguing.
I first heard a DCM TimeFrame while I was in Ann Arbor going to college at Michigan. I've always thought one day I’d get "grown up speakers" like DCM makes……
Anyway, DCM's website doesn't seem to have the manual posted for TimeWindow 1A. Does anyone have a pdf of it?
And does anyone have a spare CX-17 for sale, having used one for a center channel and leaving the other homeless?
Does anyone have any technical design info on the sophisticated crossover?
Thanks for all of you sharing your experience! Your information was very helpful.
Downsizing sucks! My family has had to move to a smaller place and I have to sell my set. I am in Orange County, CA and would like to find a good owner. My speakers are worn - the wood is scratched and the foam has long ago worn out - so I took it off, but they still sound great. I'm sure they would look great too with a little TLC.
Anyone know someone who might be interested in giving me a little bit of $ for them? PK
Kagalmf, we took off the foam outer covers many years ago. I wouldn't worry about how they affect the sound, as I'm sure that they improve the sound of the original Time-Windows.
It's interesting for me to read through posts in this topic and see there are lots of others who are still enjoying original Time Windows. I have a set of Time Window 1a's that I bought when I was a freshman in college in 1981. I drove them then and still drive them now with the little NAD 3020 amplifier that I got as a high school graduation present.
I recall that back then some audiophile magazine had the Time Windows and NAD 3020 as kind of the premier "poor man's" high quality audio system. (Maybe "Sensible Sound"?) Both the Time Windows and the little 3020 have followed me around in my meanderings, sometimes in storage, sometimes not. At the moment both are in use in the living room of my home, and the combination still sounds fantastic.
I drove the Time Windows for a short time recently with a Yamaha home theater receiver, 80 watts per channel. I thought they sounded fine. But then for fun I reconnected the 20 w/ch NAD 3020 and was surprised at the difference. Much more bass from the little 3020, and overall sound was "warmer" along with the elusive "more musical" description.
If my current original Time Windows ever give out, I hope I can find another pair on eBay.
I just recently found this Audiogon website and started reading a bit about tube amplifiers. I have to say I've always been skeptical that amplifiers were much of a factor in a hifi system; I always thought speakers were by far most important and that you could pretty much just plug in any decent amplifier and get great sound. My recent experience noticing how much better the NAD 3020 sounded than the Yamaha receiver has me rethinking things. I'd appreciate any comments people could give about whether a tube amp might make a noticeable difference with the Time Windows over my current 3020. Cheers.
dunno for suer, but the guy i got my windows from also owned timeframes and he said they were the same. his info has always been correct re: all things audio.
Hsitz, I has the original 3200 driving the original DCM Time Windows, with an analog set-up. Let me tell you, that the Classe DR 70(which came from the original poster of this thread) was far superior. I also want to say that the Nuforce amps killed this Classe(are you listening Classe?).
I contacted DCM, asking them about tightening the drivers. I believe that MTX(or that car-stereo company with similar initials) owns DCM now. Anyhow, they said tighten away. I wasn't sure about the tweeters, as they have two tightening areas plus a chalk mark, but I am sure about bass drivers. The problem is this. All I could find was phillips screws on the horizontal axis, and when I got to 4th(the last one on my right, while facing the speakers), I didn't even see phillips screws. Actually, it looked like the fourth bass unit was glued! Now, I'm not asking anyone to take off the outer stocking to check this(although, we determined many years ago, that the DCM's sounds better without that stocking), but those that have the stocking off-could you let me know what you see, in terms of tightening those bass drivers?
Re: Mmakshak question on 9/10/06--I had to replace a driver earlier this year on one of my Time Windows. I did not find any screws holding the driver in place. It was secured with a black glue like material. I used a hair dryer and lots of patience to loosen the driver so I could remove it. I tried to secure the replacement driver with screws and black silicone--I found that the small screws that I used did not work very well as the wood frame around the speaker edge was so thin that the screws had almost nothing to bite into. The black silicone did work well. I left the screws in place and I covered the screw heads with the silicone as well. My Time Windows were purchased new about 25 years ago.
Picked up my TW's from the factory a long time ago.Love them still,sound as good as ever. My friends cat also loved them, as a sctatching post. I need to replace the cloths. Can anybody offer a suggestion to finding a replacement? Thanks,Jack (yes,the cat is history)
Thanks, paulhbenson. It looks like my bass drivers are as tight as they will go. Now, I guess I will look to bass traps as further improvements. I'm going very cheap here. One speaker is close to a corner. I've tried moving it away, but, so far, it hurts the sound. 2dhunt, did you read my post on the speakers sounding better without the cloths? I don't remember where I read it, but I thought that question about cloth replacement was answered elsewhere-and it's a common question with DCM Time Windows.
Thanks ,I read your post about the sound quality without the cloths. DCM did send me a link for a replacement cloth,too bad it only comes in a charcoal grey not the black I was looking for. Thanks for the input,Jack
Got advise to get McMaster Carr foam filter material to replace 1/4" foam grille on TimeWindows. Only comes in grey. Advice: Put dark black (cheap) speaker material under first. It makes the grey appear black and does not seem to effect soud quality. Worked for me to preserve "original" look. Craig84
I don't know if I've stated this. I have my Time Windows about 18 inches from the back wall. They sit on a maple board, but I would suggest that is the minimum distance from the back wall-period.
I bought a pair of 1a's in '79 and have used them ever since. I'm now moving into a new home, getting remarried and I want to have them refurbished. I'm sorry to read they were abandoned by their manufacturer. So much has been lost in the quality and development of music reproduction. The amps of today don't hold a candle to the electronics of the late 70's in terms of cost of quality. Decent sound is ubiquitous, but quality has been forgotten.
So, who can refurbish them, recone the speakers, fix the hum (a loose wire somewhere), so forth? It's amazing to me that I've used these same speakers throughout most of my adult life. I just realized that this evening and so, found this blog.
There they are, in a corner, not hooked up yet. I drive them with a Technics SUV6x, also from that period. Happy listening! They are great, aren't they? I never guessed they would so endure.
After listening to Wilson Alexandria's, I wonder about the accuracy of DCM Windows. Oneobgyn was gracious enough to let me hear them. One song, The Pretender's, "Private Lies(?), sounded like a completely different song on the DCM's. Although it still sounded good, I knew that it was not same song. I believe it has to do with dynamics. The DCM's lack it, and they are much more inefficient than their specs would have you believe. Yes, tonally they are good. Yes, off-axis response is great. No, they aren't correct.
Speaker driver technology has come a long way since the days of the Philips drivers used in the original Time Window. The Wilson's are also quite a bit more expensive too, aren't they?
Only $135,000 a pair. I agree about the drivers' technology being better now. Also, the attachment of the drivers on the DCM's drive(pun?) me nuts. Some drivers can be tightened. One of the four bass units is glued in.
I have a pair of Time Window 3s I bought new in the early 80s. They have been semi retired for about 10 years because one has a non working tweeter. But, they are in excellent physical condition, and as others have noted, their spacial presentation is hard to duplicate by most other speakers. I am looking to seriously upgrade to a combo 2 channel and Home Theater setup in early 2008. This thread has got me itching to take the TW3s out of retirement and repair/tweak them, so I am interested in all information relating to this. I would use them as temporary rear channel speakers then move them upstairs to go with my old RGR amp and preamp for the game room later. Somewhere I ran across a suggested tweeter replacement but can no longer find the link. Any guidance on repair and upgrade on the TW3s would be appreciated.
I still have a pair of original Time Windows. They probably aren't as accurate, nor as dynamic, as many of the best modern speakers, but they're the speakers I always return to. In fact, I'm listening to my pair as I write. They're just really enjoyable and non-fatiguing, in my experience. I actually wrote a pretty thorough review on Epinions, to which I'll try and post a link. My Time Windows outlasted several well-known speakers in my collection, including Vandersteen 2Cis. I finally sold them (the Time Windows), regretted it, and scored a cosmetically challenged pair cheap, which I refinished and am now using (along with Cambridge Soundworks Towers, AR2axs, KLH 6s, and others, depending on my mood). Really nice speakers, I think.
When I was a kid, my neighbor had a pair of these. He knew I played drums (for obvious reasons) so he had me over once to show off his brand new Sony CD player ("the way of the future, son"). He even had a flashy TEAC graphic EQ to boot. Man oh man, when he dropped in a Rush CD and all the levels started to jump up and down, I went a little spacey. I had never heard anything sound that amazing. I used to house sit for them and spent a lot of time listening to those Time Windows. But I can't remember "what" the sound was like. And as much as I'd love to hear those speakers again, I wonder if reality would hold up to my memory? Kind of like your old neighborhood looking smaller than you remember. Anyhow, those DCM's planted a seed and I'd like to think my younger self would approve of my "grown-up" rig. (Although he'd wonder what I was doing with all these old fashioned records and this laptop/dac/internet thingy.)
I have a pair of DCM Time Windows(they do not have any other numbers or letters )that I have had since 1980. I previously had a Denon DRA-300 running them. It has stopped, I thought I would seek some advise in a new set up. I also am running a pair of Klipsch bookshelf speakers(KSB 3.1)with the time windows. I have approx. 30ft lenghth to each. Any advise you have would be much appreciated? thank you
I bought a pair in the late 70s from Fat Julian's Audio in Atlanta based on Peter Aczel's review. Perhaps it was the amplification I used back then but I never really warmed up to them. Especially when I think back and realize now I could have gotten a pair of LS3/5a speakers for less money. They just didn't image as well as the LS3/5a speakers. And I wasn't into bass that much but I upgraded from a pair of ADS L-710 speakers and felt that the ADS really had bass slam that could produce drum kicks like no others from the period. The Time Windows just couldn't do that well.
When we were at the showroom in Atlanta one of Julian's assistants A/B's the Time Windows against a pair of similarly priced Magnepans. The Magnepans sounded dull in the highs and my 3 friends and I were all impressed more by the Time Windows although I do recall the Magnepans could throw up a stage quite well even in those days. So maybe my amplification and preamplification just weren't good enough. I sold them to a friend and he's kept them for years and is still happy with his purchase.
I've moved on to home built Linkwitz Orion speakers which are in another league altogether.
I'm pretty sure one of the reasons I wasn't taken with the Time Windows is that I love to hear a 2 channel system create a 3D illusion of a soundstage and still do. I know now from experience that a preamp and amp can prevent a speaker from throwing that soundstage. But the LS3/5as can and do and so do the Magnepans -each in its own way. The midrange of the LS3/5a was also much more neutral than the Time Windows I'd love to hear the Time Windows with some of the newer better amplifiers that are out there as my opinion seems quite out of sync with the rest of this group and I sure as heck might change my opinion if I were to hear them again. I do still recall how we four college students all agreed that the Time Windows beat the pants off the Magnepans.
Incidentally, I don't recall the high end as being dull. In fact, I wasn't taken with that metal dome tweeter at all.
All due respect to the PR fellow from the new owners, but I used to be an occasional member of Bob Waterstripe's monthly breakfast club out at his house on North Territorial road. If you were the top seller of Time Windows in your store, you were welcome to his historic home for a killer breakfast...then a day of hanging with a few of the other salespeople from around Michigan, listening to the various systems Bob had in every room of the old judge's mansion.
It was during the recession of the early-80s, and a bunch of failing dealers paid their bills with inventory. Every room was a treat. He had way more hifi than furniture.
I would love to have seven of the original Time Windows to make a full surround system out of 'em. We used to pair them with Carver cubes in mono...and spiked them from the moment we discovered TipToes. Nothin' quite like 'em back in 1984.
DCM stood for Drug Capitol of the Midwest, but I like Mitek's spin better. DeCriminalize is ok...but a bare minimum!
I have a pair of the DCM Time Windows too. I think the are the finest speakers I have ever heard, bang for buck.
Admittedly there is a large power spike in the sub-bass that comes up rarely, but it fascinates more than annoys.If you dont know want I mean try a good recording of Rite of Spring. It will BLOW YOU MIND
Does anyone know how to decipher the year of manufacture by the serial number? Mine are 46702 and 46703. Mine must be an early vintage, since it has the foam type of grille covers, and not the cloth ones.
After reading reviews and ads as a kid, and now having a set, I just love them, and wish I had a set decades ago. I am running them with a Sansui 9090, and the sound is beautiful.
I am looking for any magazine ads and reviews of the original Time Windows, does anyone know which magazine issues had them? I can't remember now, but I can order them on Ebay if I know which issues they are. Would love to frame them. Does anyone know how to decipher the year of manufacture by the serial number? Mine are 46702 and 46703. Mine must be an early vintage, since it has the foam type of grille covers, and not the cloth ones.
After reading reviews and ads as a kid, and now having a set, I just love them, and wish I had a set decades ago. I am running them with a Sansui 9090, and the sound is beautiful.
I am looking for any magazine ads and reviews of the original Time Windows, does anyone know which magazine issues had them? I can't remember now, but I can order them on Ebay if I know which issues they are. Would love to frame them.
I live in South Africa, and own a pair of ARD Time Windows. As I have it the Time Windows were designed by two students in collaboration, and as a final year project. One of the students emigrated to the USA, while the other - a Joachim Fabianek stayed on in South Africa.
I bought my Time Windows and still enjoy every moment I listen to them. Just amazing what they can do with the right amplifier. Joachim told me that the best they can do is being driven by a valve (tube) amp, fed by a high-quality per-amp. At the time he suggested I try a Gunter Steinhard amp. After I listened to the combination I agree completely.
Unfortunately it seems that Joachim has passed on (he lived in East London, RSA), and I can not get hold of anyone that knows anything about him or his family anymore. I dearly would like to try to continue what he was doing. I am not sure, but am guessing that the two students did not collaborate on later designs of speakers. Any info on this will be welcome.
What I desperately would want to get hold of is a pair of Joachim's Aera speakers. If you love the Time Windows, you will be utterly amazed by what the Aeras can do. Even with the brilliant sound of the Time Windows, the Aeras are just so much better. With the advent of the AV sound systems, Joachim fell on hard times. The last time I spoke to him he offered to sell me a pair of Aeras at just over cost price, as he would have liked to organize some income for his enclosure (cabinet) maker. At the time I could not afford them, but I wish I had rather sold my car, wife, house, etc, and bought that last pair of Aera speakers.
I just can not describe the tonal quality and absolute beauty of the music they delivered!
Well, at least still have my Time Windows.
Sorry! Got so carried away that I forgot to say: According to Joachim, the Time Windows were sold as a matched set. Each enclosure had a matched pair of speakers fitted, and this matched-pair had a matching matched-pair for the other enclosure, and that is why the serial numbers will be consecutive numbers.
As a salesman then manager for the #1 DCM dealer in the late 70's and early 80's, I can answer a few questions about the original Time Windows, the QEDs (essentially 1/2 a Time Window) , the Macrophones, and other models at that tine.
Bob Carver started using the Time Windows to demonstrate his Sonic Hologram, on the insistence of our stores' owner trying the Time Windows at our store. When TAS reviewed the Sonic Hologram, Carver told JWC (the reviewer in Atlanta for TAS) to use the Time Windows. The story could be found in TAS issue at that time.
Depending on which of the 3 men listed below you talked to, DCM stood for either: 1. Drug Capital of the Midwest (or Michigan) 2. Dope Capital of the Midwest (or Michigan) 3. Dats Cool Man
Bob Waterstripe, Steve Eberback, and Howard Jacks were the men behind the scenes.
Along with the Dahlquist DQ-10's, the original Time Windows were the affordable speakers to own. At the time, the list price for a set of Time Windows was $660.
FWIW I used "stacked" QEDs powered by a pair of Kenwood L07M and a Marantz 7C. Pink Floyd's, "The Wall" was awesome. The stack acted like a line source with more of a point source imaging than the Time Windows.
Yes if you looked at the cost of the materials (Phillips/Peerless drivers and very basic crossover, the box and only wood tops and bottoms, it was certainly a wonder of economics. But it's sound, while not SOTA, was really pretty good, especially for the money!
I have read several postings regarding the TimeWindows speakers. This is my situation. I have come to help my mom after my brother passing a few months ago and I found a couple of these speakers in his closet. The wood is pretty good but the black cover is in bad shape. He was still using them before he passed and they are still in good shape, actually, I must say I have not heard anything so loud this good. I have a doubt in my mind, my mom says I can have them if I want to but I think that if I sell them she could use the money for sure. Should I buy new material, recover and keep them or should I sell them; since they are from 1974 how much should I ask for them? In need advice.
IMHO, these are keepers. You can get 3x4 foot foam sheets for 20 each online, then recover them, then sell them for maybe 250 with local pickup. The 1As are more desirable, with real oak ends and better crossovers...and some say better woofers and tweeters. I dont know. I just picked up a pair like yours for $225 and spent 50 for foam. Seems to me that selling yours would not really impact the family budget, but listening to them for years might be very satisfying. On line, E BAY that is, perfect condition pairs go for about $300ish, maybe 350. DOES ANYONE OUT THERE KNOW HOW TO GET INTO TW1 Original SPEAKERS................ WITHOUT RESORTING TO A SABRE SAW ? I WANT TO RECAP . Thanks. I won't do anything too hasty.
I have been reading up on the TW and TW1s, considering a crossover rebuild. These beasts are almost impossible to get into. The only person I have heard of actually doing this update ..........cut the bottoms off,esentially boogering them up.... then remade them from oak. Serious project. I am toying with doing a Caesarian..8 inch tall by maybe 12-14 inch wide tubectomy on the back..Then, soldering in the PPE caps without trying to pry the cap board off of the cabinet bottom.. I would then build a lip, using yardstick-sized wood strips....full ones on the interior side edges... and little one-inchers inside the curved tube.Then, lots of wood glue and recover. Maybe glue in a couple front-rear braces just for fun.. Then , I think about the hours involved... Good Grief. Here is something unique, TW folks. Flip them upside down, make room on your computer desk, and use them as nearfield monitors. Oh My !!!! Buckethead, Soothsayer, from Grooveshark thru a Soundstreamer II into a Parasound 850 pre and SAE 201 power.Never heard it sound THIS good, fer reals.
I have a pair of Timewindow 3. I listen to them to or three times a week. and they sound very nice. But I must say that they do not come close to my B&W DM6 speakers. yes I know most of you will be thinking that they are not even in the same class. I am just giving my opinion
I just picked up 2 pairs of Time windows at an estate sale, one DCM3s and the other similar in appearance but shorter (36" vs 39") and without adjustments.
I've not been able to find a copy of the DCM-3s manual or a detailed description of how to set them up. Any help out there? Can anyone ID the smaller pair?
Still have and use a pair of the original Time Windows that replaced my AR3a's 35 years ago. They sounded so much better than the ARs way back then. Have them set up in my exercise room driven by an old NAD integrated. They sound so nice I have always tried to find a place for them.
Easy to live with. I was a dealer back then and got my pair for $330.
If you folks are old enough they remind me of Allison 1's. Not quite the extension into the highs and lows but everything in the middle. I liked them, but when I started to compare them to Maggie MG-1 and Cizek-1 I found the DCM's to be veiled. I sold them pretty quick. I never disliked them, I just found them to never give me the sense of musicians in the room. I grew up with Quad ESL-57's so I'm hard to please.
Good morning. Great to stumble across this forum. I have a pair of the original Time WIndows purchased in the 80’s. I heard them once and my Corner Horns went up for sale. After a ten year break I have finally “managed” to claim a stereo room. I’m happy to be back into it! Monty
Audio Research SP6a Citation II Thorens TD-125 mk II
I just found this thread in 2020. I've owned my Timewindows for 45 years. They haven't been used in probably 15 years, but now i am motivated to hook them up and see how they sound.
I saw a post or two above talking about the foam covers. I need new foam. Anybody have any spare or know where i can source it? Thanks.
and all that sound from 6 1/2 inch woofers my mom bought these in the 70s paid close to $1000 for the pair and its like you say the sound is just so impressive the speakers have excellent imaging the bass can drop real low and hit good and hard .. my mom passed them over to me in the 80s and the foam coverings were damaged so i just removed it all my friends could not understand where all the bass was coming from.. lol awesome speakers
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