Dahlquist? (4 Viewers)

[Andrew Pratt]

I refuse to step foot in any visions stores having not been impressed with their service at all (to put it mildly)...plus their grey market stuff is a little fishey to me.

Have you considered building your own sub?

 

[Alex Dydula]

Hello,
I just got back into the audio / home theater arena over the last three months.
Having been used to mega-buck systems, rooms designed via Paul Klipsch's Golden Mean data....I was wanting the top end stuff, but the latest house and room arrangements are less than optimal.
Using the room over the garage as my new stereo, home theater location, 12 ft wide, 18 long, 8 ft ceiling, I was very nervous about getting anything to work really well. Life is a compromise.
That compromise sometimes includes the 'budget' (smile!).
After much reading and cruising the internet, and listening to the local dealerships I found a place in the USA in Georgia that was really offering some good stuff at a great price.
Looking at the particular speakers that I was going to buy, I fould the source of the manufacturer and is was in Canada. I found a Canadian dealer that told me they could not sell us guys in the states these speakers, but had two other brands that I might be interested in, AXIOM and Dahlquist.
Axiom I never heard of, Dahlquist I have from 20 yrs back.
Why even consider Canadian stuff, because the USA dollar to the Canadian Dollar offers you to buy lots (I mean lots) more for you bucks....if you combine this with something you really want, then its a real deal. Finally NAFTA means something to me!
The top of the line Axiom was my first pick, many reviews and info..but the room I have, being as small as it it would become overwhelmed. So I looked at the Dahlquists and was looking at the top end of their bookshelf line and their floorstanding stuff. I was very impressed at the specs and the few reviews I was able to read.
I decided on two QX10's for the mains, a QX60C for the center, and to keep the cost in budget choose the top end bookshelf QX6's. For a sub I choose the 125 (10") powered Class D. All this for Approx $1500.
The QX10's are specs'd as being full range speakers, they dont go as low or have the enormous bandwidth say a full size set of Mirage M1's (I used to own) but they are really awesome for their size.
The dealership I got these from is the Audioshop in Ottawa, an excellent place to do business and these folks really are customer orientated.
Ordered the Speakers on Friday, got them on Monday FEDEX 2 day delivery, doubled boxed. Absolutlely no problems with them, set them up and started the placement and the wiring 'dance'...
After three weeks of placement and a new Sony STR-DA4-ES I would do it all over again.
The QX-10s are absolutley a real awesome set of mains, they are not obtrustive, fit well in a small environment, and the tonality, the crispness and the overall sound quality is very, very good.
I used the QX6's as the two mains just to see what they can do, These also are really fine instruments in this class, the bass is solid and tight...they will fool many people!! Marc's note above about people thinking there is a sub somewhere is true!! (smile again!).
The hardest thing to get right in the room was the placement of the mains and the sub. Being such a small room it took much trial and error to get the boomieness out...not the speakers fault...I have them about 3 feet into the room , toed in slightly (the ole isosolces triangle) and have very good, tight, and I mean TIGHT bass. The sub was placed in many positions in the room until it sounds like its not there, except for the effects during the movies.
One of the goals was to be able to listen to good old 2 channel stereo as well as home theater. That is why I picked the QX10's over the other smaller floor standing models, I wanted the closest thing to a FULL range speaker as I could get. I am VERY VERY pleased.
I am now in the process of re-listening to the CD collection and am amazed at what new stuff I am hearing from these odl cd's!! The quality of the sound, IT SOUNDS LIKE REAL MUSIC!! I get lost in the quality of the sound and forget about the system....this is a real testament to the technology...and the overall system setup..
Final note, I played this system with normal wire and with bi-wire....BI-WIRE at all costs, there is such a HUGE difference in the soundstage, imaging, and most of all the timbre, those highs are sooooo nice....
So I higly recommend you all to look at these new speakers from a company that did great stuff years back...
Their site is: Link Removed and the Audioshop in Canada is:http://www.audioshop.on.ca/
Now...back to listening..will it be Richard Souther's Cross Currents of Chet Atkin's Sail or Spyrogyra, Alternating Currents!!!
Smiling
Alex