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Dahlquist DQM-9 Who has them?

saltwater

saltwater

Super Member
Im curious, I keep reading that these speakers are flat out amazing, and heavy as hell. Anyone hear care to wiegh in on how they sound? I can snag some local for 400.. Im just hesitant, I dont want another pair of speakers setting around. They have been refoamed and good to go. :music:

I HIGHLY DOUBT THEY WILL BE THE LAST PAIR I WIL OWN THOUGH... :yes:

If you have pics may i see them?
 
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Looks like they will need a refoam before use... this isn't the place to talk price but that's quite a hefty sum IMO.
 
I tried the dollars and sense, they said it was a ok price.. im ok with it. I just want to know how they sound with price aside. And who has a pair? pros cons.. that sorta thing.
 
saltwater said:
I tried the dollars and sense, they said it was a ok price.. im ok with it. I just want to know how they sound with price aside. And who has a pair? pros cons.. that sorta thing.
Click to expand...

Gotcha, I have enjoyed my Dahlquist Speakers, I doubt they made "bad" speakers, in fact quite great speakers!
 
I have the dqm-7 which as near as I can tell are identical aside from a different basket plate for the mid (round in the 9 vs square in the 7) and the 9 uses a veneer exterior where my 7's have a nextel "paint' exterior I'd have a hard time selling them as they do everything right have a nice extended low end with incredible detail and smoothness on the mids and highs

right now they perform duty as my office speaker which in fact is my main speaker. IMO though $400 is incredibly high $200-250 is more the range that I've seen them go for on eBay
 
I spruced up a set of 9's for a friend awhile back. They are heavy, the drivers are cast frame, and they sound fantastic. Filled my large living room with an SX-780 pushing them. The bass was great, and the mids and highs were a little forward compared to my Klipsch KG 4.2's. Kinda bright but not in a bad way. I really loved em. I don't think I'd give $400 for em but they are great. I think this set had butyl surrounds though - are you sure your drivers are original? They should be stamped MAGNAT.
 
I have 2 pair of the DQM-9 Compacts. These have a 9" woofer as compared to the Monitor's 11". The brochure shows the DQM-7 is a 2-way. The DQM-9 Monitor and Compact are 3-ways. Sensitivity-wise, the Compact is rated at 92 dB and the Monitor is rated at 95dB; 35-22Khz and 28-22Khz respectively. I advise to have them on stands (mine came with them). I think these are some of the best speakers I've ever owned. IMHO, while they can do "rock" just fine, they really shine with Jazz and instrumental. One pair does duty in my son's room and the other does vintage duty in the LR. It's been run by vintage Pioneer and Kenwood receivers rated at less than 100 w/p/c. Here are some pics I took and posted on AK before.

Enjoy!
~ Jim
 

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my 7's are three way with two ports on the back even though they're one of the better speakers I've owned I'd have no problem selling them for $400 at $200 i'd think about it unless I had something clearly better in the wings. ugly duckling that they are

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Those pushed in dust caps can be fixed on these. One reason my friend got me involved was all of his were victimized by little hands. The tweeter can be disassembled, dome removed, straightened out and reassembled. The mid and woofer (IIRC) can both be fixed by going in through a small hole in the back of the driver. I used a metal punch or you can use a pencil eraser to gently poke them out from the back, gradually. Just hold onto the speaker so you don't drop it and stab your tool right through the dust cap. They cleaned up pretty nice.
 
I`m still waiting to come across a pair of the 9" surrounds minus the glue, shims, Q-tips and other non-essential junk sellers on that auction site try justifying their outrageous prices for.

The pair I just acquired are coated on all sides with an all black substance with a rubbery feel to it. I thought about cutting to fit some 10 inchers but want to keep them as original looking/sounding as possible.

HEAvy mo-fo`s they be!!
 
I've got DQ-8s DQ-12s and a set of DQ-10s - I love Dahlquist speaks and I think the 10s are the way to go. You should be able to snag a pair for the same price or less than what you are looking at. I don't have any experience with the DQ-9s but I bet the DQ-10s will be a step up. I've never read anywhere that this would not be true. I've read a lot about and listened to a lot of Dahlquist speakers and I gotta say what ever you read about the DQ-10s is about right.

Cheers,

Bob
 
Great questions,

The Magnat rebadged by Dahlquist are very different from the older DQ-10's. Different, in Susurus-land, means you need one of each. :music:

DQM-9: dynamics and SPL of West Coast but with the imaging bypassing most of the much more subtle east coasters. That feat didn't come cheap: 1800/pr.

Quality that's rarely seen:

crossovers: 3 separated boards, huge coils, flat-wound VC's and coils.

Heavy cast baskets. Even the tweeters!

Double-walled sides, heavy as battleships. Braced/reinforced. Even where you don't see it.

That tacky coating is called Nextel, and it's supposed to help the "less-boxy" sound, along with the velvet front. Some were veneered in fine walnut like HPM-100's. But these blow the doors off the HPM's I had--but we'll see once I get foams for my 1500's... :yes:

The 9 and 9c were all butyl, no foam.

Although the top two DQM's are twin-rear-ported, they still sound grand. I have not heard the smaller DQM's but I have the Magnat 6P-II, which is a sealed cab, but it has Al tweets instead of the nice silk domes.

Sure i've got DQ-10, 12, 20i, and DQM-9c's but I sold my DQM-9's. :no:
 
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One of my favorites when growing up. I remember them to be punchier and a bit better suited to pop than the DQ-10s. But the DQ-10s had a sound stage that was awesome. I also remember they were far easier to drive than the 10s, which required some pretty significant power.
 
Yes, 55-85 wpc could work fine on the 9's but if you go up, you still see slight to minor improvements.

In that range my 10's aren't even out of the front driveway. 200 please. Or you'll be left wondering what's the fuss about these quirky Quad-like things. :D

5-way crossovers & Acoustic Suspension requires more than 3-way, dual ported, usually.
 
I recently rebuilt my 3-way monitors, and installed them in my upstairs "Man Cave." Their imaging and top end are superb. I went for a cosmetic overhaul too, stripping the old rubber paint, and shot the boxes with black truck bed-liner. Polished the aluminum horns on my buffing wheels, then had them re-foamed at Freman-Tuell here in Dallas. Checked all the caps, they're all great. Wired it up, and wowzers!
Last step will be to re-do the fabric covers. I will ceiling mount them due to floor-space issues (and anti-cat protection) which should actually improve the imaging since I can line them up in all three axis.
 
If you are going to spend $400 - find a pair of DQ-10's - they are out there at that price - trust me - you won't regret it one bit - listening to mine right now.
 
I have DQM-9s AND DQ-10s and M-905s and they are all excellent speakers. I've owned five or six pairs of JBLs and none have compared. Or stayed in my collection.

And the only pair of speakers that even came close to either of the two pairs of DQ-10s I've had have been my DQM-9s. Quite frankly they are amazing speakers. They do so much so well. Rock, jazz, classical and even HT duty with my Sony ES HT Receiver and I have no need for a sub. The DQM-9s rattle the windows just fine.

Mine are the walnut ones and they are a good looking speaker as well.

I wonder if Saltwater (OP) still has his?

Eric
 
AFAIK the reg 9 had an 11" woofer and I thought it had foam surrounds. The 9C was a 9" woofer and definitely butyl surround as I`ve seen and heard them in person. The pair I was looking at buying had that tacky/sticky Nextel finish but I`ve read in warmer climates it`s even worse. I passed on them @$200 because I was looking at some Yamaha NS-670s for much less and got them instead. They sounded just as good to me and were built heavy, just like the DQMs. My ADS L-1090-2s are better than either of them anyway IMO. I still have my original DQ-10s also and they sound great.
 
I know this is an old thread but had to chime in. two years ago my neighbors gave me their pair of the DQM-9's and I moved the JBL's to the other room where they have stayed. A really amazing and well built pair of speakers, I offered them money for them and they said no just enjoy them! I have them as my fronts for surround sound system and the low end shakes the room. I really like the sound of jazz , new country and Steely Dan sounds quite nice as well. I used the microphone for my Onkyo HTR2295 receiver to analyze the room acoustics and set up the sound and it sounds even better now. In fact over Christmas even at a low level my brother-inlaw and father-inlaw's eye got really big when they heard the low end coming from them that shook the room. I told them you don't need a crappy sub woofer just a really good pair of speakers. So glad to find out they are Butyl surrounds so I don't have to worry about replacing them.
 
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