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Dahlquist DQ-20 Fan club Rant

I just need to say - I have been using DQ-20's for the past 5 years, and recently got the "upgrade bug". So for the past month I've been running around to showrooms and auditioning the latest crop of under-$5,000 Miracle Speakers all of which have glowing reviews, of course. And I've been checking out used speakers that went originally up to $12,000. And you know what - I've given up.

With the disclaimer that everyone's ears are different - I must say that there' justs nothing out there that beats the DQ's (for my particular ears) overall sonically.

There are plenty that have lots of high end zip in the showroom, because they've got metal dome tweeters which will fatigue you real fast at home. Hence so many of the "latest and greatest" hitting Audiogon with bizarre explanations by the owner as to why he's selling 4 month old speakers.
Nobody ever says - "I made a mistake, these suck, but you'll just love 'em. Listen to how real the triangle at the back of the orchestra sounds!"
And there are some that have MORE bass, because they put a big round hole in the cabinet - called a port - that goes, Whoomp, Whoomp, Whoof. (Could somebody let the dog out, please!) To be fair, there are speakers that go lower with good accuracy - but it's nothing that can't be dealt with by adding a pair of quality little subs. And the bass the DQ's do have is tight.
And there are speakers with nicer wood veneers - you want the birdseye maple veneered MDF instead of the cherry veneered MDF - Oh, that's another $1600! Just don't tap the top of the cabinet with your fingernail, you might dent it!

There are NO speakers that I have heard that have sweeter, more coherent, more real midrange and near-highs, period. In combination with my Velodyne ULD, the DQ's can rock, they can do gorgeous vocals, and full orchestra is probably as good as you'll get below $10,000.

There are speakers I've heard that image great, but that is most certainly one of the Dahlquist's strengths, too.

The only thing I truly would wish for in the DQ's is just a bit more zip in the highs.

It's disappointing. I really wanted the fun of some "New Toys", but there is a magic to the DQ's which I assumed was available elsewhere - it's not. My Spicas had it, but they did have much greater limitations dynamically and frequency-wise. I'd have to say that the Vandersteen 3a Sigs were the closest to having that magic and coherency, but not very exciting - and the Green Mountain Continuum 3 was overall the most impressive (but just not quite right for my tastes.)

So what am I gonna do? I'll experiment with the Regnar capacitor upgrade, but I'm not necessarily going to touch the crossovers - that's probably where the magic is coming from. And I'll try a bi-amp configuration. Maybe try a more "modern" Scanspeak tweeter.

And I have this crazy idea to take two pairs, remove the grills, and stack them like quads (on a custom welded rack) with one speaker upside down, so that each set ends up in a D'Appolito configuration. I'd be willing to bet that would be an approx. $1500 set-up that would knock your socks off.

Any other ideas or suggestions out there? I'd be interested in hearing from anyone who's done the Regnar (or other) upgrades. Cheers, Chip

opalchip
mingles
791 posts
 
I have also wanted to upgrade just to have something new but find that nothing is quite as clear and airy as the DQ20 without maybe spending 10k+.
You should audition any model of Alon or Nola. They're direct descendants of the DQ-20 designed by the same person. They have an outstanding airy soundstage. Magnepan MG 1.6 is another gem to look for. Totem Sttaf sound wonderful and disappear effortlessly.

Here's a good forum worth reading:
Best bargain for speaker that can offer top sound
I am considering getting the crossover/cap upgrade from Regnar.
The Regnar cap upgrade kit costs $189 per speaker. $378 for the pair. That's a ridiculous price to pay considering the fact they won't reveal what brand they're selling. If you want a cap upgrade, do it yourself. If you can solder, you can do it. The Yahoo Dahlquist group has plenty of resources to get started. The DQ-20 crossover can be modified into 20i for less than $20. Once that's done, you should upgrade the 3.0 uF cap going to the tweeter with ClarityCap MR, Mundorf Silver/Oil or Auricap. You can spend a lot of money on capacitors, but IMO the only cap that gives an obvious improvement is the 3 uF going to the tweeter.

I hope this helps.

Mark
opalchip OP
355 posts
 
To Tommytom - I agree with Mingles - you can do the caps yourself, and save a lot of money AND trouble.

re: replacements: I auditioned the Alon V, side by side in my home, and they were marginally "better" in frequency response - which may be a cap issue, actually - but I liked the timbral characteristics of the DQ's much more.

I have not heard the Nola Vipers, and I'm sure they sound great in a large room, but there are certain aspects to them that don't like for a more intimate space - non-time aligned, distance between mid/tweet and woofers, horizontal offset between mid and tweet, and height of the tweeters off the listening position from a couch.

Three speakers I'd like to audition as possible upgrades (in order of price) are the Reference 3A Grand Veena, Usher BE-10's, and Coincident Pure Reference.

I am also considering some experimentation with replacing the mid and bass drivers with state of the art drivers, which entail some crossover mods as well, I assume.
spbarney
2 posts
 
Ok, yet another late add to this years old rant/thread. I have original DQ20s that I also love. Bought them when they first came put. Only thing I have done so far is to replace the woofers from Regnar. They are in absolute mint condition...not scratch on them. I have however, gone to new speakers in my main system. I found Vienna Acoustics Beethoven Baby Grands to fit my ear. That said, I'll be darned if I will sell my 20's for what they are supposedly "worth" now. They are just too good a speaker to give away...unless it is to a relative! So they are in my second system and like you all, I just may do some further upgrades to them....
niccolosito
2 posts
 
After reading all these great comments about the DQ-20i's, I'm having a big headache trying to decide which ones to get, a pair of Vandersteen 2c's or Dahlquist DQ-20i's. I'd appreciate any comments on their pluses and minuses. What would be a reasonable price for these oldies but goodies? Would 105 rms be adequate for either speakers for reasonably loud listening
Thanks.

Nicco
opalchip OP
355 posts
 
Hi - In case youi're still checking in here - I'd say the Vandy 3's are closer to the DQ's than the 2's are, but I have always preferred the DQ's better. I find the Vandersteens a bit laid back for my liking. I felt they didn't convey as much excitement in more dynamic selections.

The DQ's are better looking, too, IMO. A really nice pair should run between $400 to $600 - anything above that, and they better be like new with already replaced woofers or surrounds.
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