Review: DCM TimeWindow 1 Speaker

I still have my TW's purchased in early 1979 and also had a pair of the TW-7's.....agreed, great sound. Unfortunately, a cat got to the original TW's in my downstairs system and tore the hell out of the grill cloth. Any suggestions on replacement of the original material?

Yes, I also have a response buried waaay back there somewhere over a year or so ago....what a thread! You're review was certainly spot on.

I still haven't replaced my cat-torn grill material but I intend to.
I'm still amazed at the performance of these speakers after 27 years. I also had a pair of the TW-7s but foolishly let them go a couple of years ago. They were also great speakers and I wish I'd tried a few simple tweeks on them. For instance, they should have had some acoustic damping material inside to eliminate any trace of standing waves, and the bass port could have been reduced to tighten/quicken the bass a bit.

Has anyone heard these speakers (originals) stacked...That is, two pair stacked on top of each other either biwired of jumpered? They really did sound great that way; a much bigger and more relaxed presentation. When used that way the upper speakers should be upside down to provide better focus and imaging. A friend managed a high end show in Carmel, CA, at the time and we used to enjoy the hell out of trying such things. Anyone remember Audio Components of Carmel and Keith Yates? Keith is now designing state-of-the-art rooms and theaters in the Sacremento area. (Keithyatesaudio.com)

Used alone, a single pair benefits from being elevated a bit. I recall someone doing a study and coming up with them sounding best exactly 9 inches above the floor. I took that as gospel and built two stands from solid black walnut slabs exactly 9 inches high and shaped exactly like the TW endplates. They were difficult to fashion (using a chain saw, 5" sanding disk on the end of an electric drill, and a pad sander) but well worth it. The most difficult part was getting the tops and bottoms perfectly parallel. The TWs do sound very good perched on those and it also seems to help to keep a little weight on the speakers to couple the array to the floor. Bronze statues do the trick for me.

Those speakers still are sounding great in my downstairs system. They are very close to the back wall in this configuration, but for some reason they sound superb that way....plenty of bass! Lack of deep bass was considered this speaker's greatest weakness way back when.

As I recall from the original DCM owner's manual (which I still have), DCM's recommendation was to keep them a minimum of 36" from rear and side walls, which I did religiously. But now I think they sound much better with more rear wall reinforcement of the bass. Back when they were anchoring my main system I didn't do all that much experimenting with positions because of decor considerations, but I usually kept them 36" out measured from the speakers' backs to the rear wall. I had them as close as 24", but I'm wondering why I didn't try them closer than that. I suppose I thought they'd lose imaging and I'd be excommunicated from any pretense of residence in audiophiledom or something.

I was in contact with Steve Eberbach a few years back and he was still involved in audio research at the time. He was working with some very talented people on some revolutionary concepts in the whole transducer/psycho-acoustic relationship, but he was obviously still very proud of his Time Windows....and for very good reason!

Tom E.

Mine are now in my downstairs system about 8 feet apart and only about 8-9 inches from the back wall (measured from back of cabinet). They are still up on the walnut stands but those are also up on a quasi raised hearth that's about 14 inches above the carpeted floor. No idea why the previous owner had this configuration built to appear like a fireplace, but I think he must have had a TV in the recess and speakers to the sides out on the raised hearth. Whatever, it sounds damn good with much more bass than I hear from my upstairs system with Talon Firebirds driven by Pass X350.5! The TWs are driven by an old Threshold CAS-1 amp, which I bought at about the same time as the speakers. The imaging isn't superb being that close to the rear wall, but it sure does sound superbly musical. Even FM radio sounds right down there. Bass was never a strong suit of the original TW (which supposedly is why the TW3 was introduced), but I have plenty with them now. It's not the tightest bass, but it doesn't lag and really helps make the room seem much bigger than its 20X28X9' It's just one of those freaks of synergy. A system of my old also-rans never fails to amaze me and anyone else who hears it. My son lusts after those speakers! (over my dead body)