Dahlquist DQ-30's in the House!

relaximus

Consoles 'Я' Us
First off, a big shout-out and thanks to Beemer for suffering through my haggling about these speakers. Thank you Paul! Secondly, a huge thank you to Markus for driving up to Paul's to collect them while I was without a vehicle (blown head gasket). Thank you both!

Now about the 30's. These things are absolutely stunning. I thought I would never find a speaker that I would prefer to the Stratus Gold i's, but I have. Both visually and sonically, these are (for me) far superior. Pure bliss. Absolutely effortless and pure mids, crystalline bell-like highs and well-controlled, yet deep, bass. Even though these are port-loaded, I have noticed absolutely no chuffing or "huffiness" presented by the forward-facing port. And the soundstage from ~10-12 feet is so deep and realistic. I almost feel as though I'm wearing headphones. The placement of instruments and vocals is almost surgical. I am truly in awe.

More will follow as I spend more time with them. I will try and get weights, dimensions and more pertinent information once the novelty wears off. I'll get some pics taken and post them up as well. I'd like to pull a woofer and confirm the legend of Solens caps in the crossovers and get cab thickness measurements. For now, I am just enjoying them.

Again, thank you Paul and Mark for your help in my acquiring these. I am a happy camper!

BTW: If Paul (Beemer) says a piece is good or is selling it in Barter Town, you can bank on it. Trust this man's judgment, as he knows of what he speaks.

Dave
 
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Deli:

I find myself to be very fortunate to have landed 2 pair of very rare speakers of late. Between these and the TW3's, I would like to say I am done. But then, in my own mind, I still need a pair of Dynaco A-25's, KLH 5's (or 12's) and several others just to satisfy my own inner need to hear the speakers that I have read about. For now, these DQ-30's will not soon be displaced from the main listening room. I am, truly, still in shock by their presence. I may (really) never go to bed tonight.

Dave
 
Congratulations! You have acquired my favorite speaker!

I have a pair of 30s (not the 30i), and they just do everything I want them to. I have DQ-10s as well, but I don't even put them in the same league as the 30s, and they're much more picky.

The 30s are 4ohm, from what I've read, by the way. I run them with an amp that puts 200wpc into 4ohms, and they really like that. I've run them on 35wpc tubes (Fisher SA300), which sounded fantastic as well, but they really seem to sound best in my system with a tube preamp into my ss RGR Model 5 amp. The midrange is to die for, and the soundstage bigger than anything I've heard. Very coherent, with a very authoritative bottom end that, to me, doesn't sound ported, though it is.

I had a buzzing in one woofer once, and it turned out to just be the heavy dustcap that had come loose. I almost took the woofer in to get repaired, but a little white glue fixed it.

I've since only bought one pair of speakers that have held up to them...Sony SS-m7s (the trapezoidal shaped ones), which I actually run more often but that's only because they're more forgiving up amps, and I like to switch systems around all the time. The Sonys are actually very similar sounding, just not as LARGE sounding.

FWIW, mine like to be angled in just slightly toward the listener in my space, about 3' out from the wall. Really opens up the depth of the sound stage. Everything snaps into focus.

I hope you end up loving them as much as I love mine. I've heard $10,000 speakers that sounded very much like them (Jamo) to me.
 
... I have a pair of 30s (not the 30i), and they just do everything I want them to.
Thanks John, you have really helped to substantiate my initial impressions. Mine are 30's (not 30i) as well. I was very clear in my questions to Beemer as to which they were. I had read that the 30i's had gone down from the 30's, somewhat, in the quality of the internal wiring and crossover components. These 30's are just awesome! With these in my main listening room and TimeWindow 3's in my office, I am truly a happy AK member. My RtR II-F's will be moving down to the kids' game room in the basement. I now have to decide on a center channel speaker that best matches the DQ's. I currently am running a DefTech C1, but also have a DCM KX-C to try. Just need to try and find something that is fairly close in voice to the 30's.

Dave
 
I used to run a 5.1 system alongside my stereo gear. Separate, but in the same room. After getting the DQ-30s, I started watching movies on my stereo rig and eventually took down the 5.1 system to put a little more, um, feng shui back in the room. I don't miss it. The 30s image so well and put out such a huge sound that it was actually better than my 5.1 rig except in certain instances. I ran a Velodyne sub with them as well, but it was crossed over so low that it also got the boot because it just wasn't really that noticeable.

There isn't a lot of info out there on these. Either they didn't make too many of them, or those that have them, keep them and listen to music instead of posting on the internet.
 
... There isn't a lot of info out there on these. Either they didn't make too many of them, or those that have them, keep them and listen to music instead of posting on the internet.
John:

Yes, I've found that to be the case as well. I have a feeling that there weren't many produced. There's tons of information on the 10's, markedly less so for the 20's and essentially nothing about either version of the 30's (or the 8's, 12's, 28's, etc.). I would guess that these are the Dahlquist version of DCM's TimeWindow 7's or TimeFrame 2000's. Rarely, if ever, seen and somewhat fabled. I feel quite fortunate and privileged to now own a pair. And dayum, I am sure enjoying the music! :banana:

Dave
 
Am I missing something? Where are the pictures?
Sorry I didn't get the pics up sooner, I've been too busy listening!

Dave
 

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you're very welcome Dave :D

it was a nice to have those babies in the house, and it was a pleasure to have you and you're son visit again.

Beemer - what was the monster amp you had driving these in your garage ? they sounded SWEET !
 
Here you guys are doing it again... just when I'm struggling valiantly to REDUCE the audio overload, you come up with yet another thing for me to add to the "must get and try" list! It just never ends, does it.

:scratch2: Hey, it never ends! :banana: :D

Seriously, those look like my DQ-12s, improved and updated and on steroids. Based on that (which is just an impression from a pic; I share analog addict's curiosity at the comparison), I'll bet they sound VERY nice, indeed. :music: Congratulations on getting such fine speakers! :thmbsp:
 
Just for the record:
  • 48-1/4"h x 17-1/2"w x 15"d
  • ~95lbs. ea.
  • 10" Woofer (foam surround)
  • 5" Mid (rubber surround)
  • Aluminum Dome Tweeter
  • 2-3/4" Port
Dave
 
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Here are some (hopefully) better pics of the Mid/Tweeter modules. Yes, the support frame is purple! Everything is clad in a felt-like, sound absorbing material. Even the woofers. It's a little difficult to see in the pics, but there is a clear polycarbonate window between the mid and tweeter modules. I can't imagine that it is there for anything but aesthetic reasons, but ya never know. Pretty cool nonetheless.

Dave
 

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Strange...your speakers have many detail differences to mine. The woofer looks lower in the cabinet, and the upper modules are a bit different I think.. and I don't have the purple framing. Mine have black trim. They clearly say "DQ-30" without an "i" on the back. Maybe I do have the i? I don't think so, but they are slightly different. Here's a pic for comparison:

dahlquist-4.gif
 
John:

Very interesting indeed! What size is the woofer in yours? I believe the 30i's used a 12" woofer instead of the 30's 10".

Dave
 
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