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DAK and DBX (1 Viewer)

Alan M

Second Unit
Joined
Jan 3, 2003
Messages
454
I saw a member mention DAk in another thread,so I just thought Id get this 1 going.
Does any1 remember DAk,they used to carry all sorts of electronic stuff for cheap.some of it was pretty good brand name stuff back in its day(SAE,Dbx,etc.)
I used to go to their showroom and play w/all their demo stuff.As a matter of fact,Im still using my Dbx 15" downfiring sub,that i bought at Dak back in '88(its passive,so i have a seperate amp for my sub).It works very well in my ht system.
Any1 else have a Dbx sub?
 

Ralph Summa

Supporting Actor
Joined
Nov 6, 2001
Messages
715
DAK is attempting to make a comeback. I've been on their email list for about a year now, but there's not much offered and the quality doesn't seem to match the old stuff. For example, there are KLH speakers on there! The old stuff was very good. My buddy had the dbx sub and my college roomate had some pretty nice floorstanding speakers. Here's the new website if anyone is interested.
http://dak2000.com/
 

Michael_Hml

Stunt Coordinator
Joined
Sep 25, 2002
Messages
75
Alan,

I'm the one who mentioned DAK in the Cerwin Vega thread. I bought a few of their products. My first modem was their ADC 1200 baud, I had the BSR EQ-3000 that they sold, the Cerwin Vega SW12B and a few other things.

Searching back through Usenet articles on Google Groups provides some interesting reading on DAK, the products, and what happened to the company (bankrupt).

I don't remember exactly what the DAK/BSR/DBX relationship was, but I think I remember it being somewhat intermingled. I think it was that DAK was a big liquidator of BSR products, and that BSR was also manufacturing DBX's consumer division products. When DBX closed their consumer division, DAK sold off the BSR manufactured "DBX" gear as well.

Personally, I miss the catalog... it was fun, even if I think some of the products could never have lived up to Drew's (Drew Alan Kaplan, hence "DAK") descriptions. :)

I never heard the DBX sub. The Cerwin Vega that I bought from them wasn't great, but I never really gave it enough power, either. I was running it and a pair of Design Acoustics PS-10a speakers off of a JVC integrated amp. It was better after I ripped it apart and added damping material, but only slightly so. I had purchased a pair of HH Scott speakers back then with 15" woofers, and a Carver m1.0t to drive them, so I retired the 12" CV sub to my car, where it was (at that time) insane.

-Mike
 

Alan M

Second Unit
Joined
Jan 3, 2003
Messages
454
Mike,wished i would have heard that sub in ur trunk.back in those days ,must have been hilarious.
now that u mention it,i think i bought that same bsr eq for my old stereo system.guess some old memories are Good old memories.
 

Kevin P

Screenwriter
Joined
Jan 18, 1999
Messages
1,439
I got the dbx 3-piece speaker system back in '91 (w/the passive bass module, later on they started shipping an amp with it). It sounded decent, better than Bose and Cambridge Soundworks. Of course, back then I didn't know that Bose was so bad. :) I still use them in my spare room.
I bought a number of products from DAK back in their days. A lot of it was cheap junk, but some of it was pretty fun too. I used to use their audio cassettes too, they were ok at best, but cheaper than Maxell/TDK.
The best product I got from DAK: The ADC 1200 baud "Smart Duck" modem. I spent many hours online with that puppy.
KJP
 

Michael_Hml

Stunt Coordinator
Joined
Sep 25, 2002
Messages
75
Alan,

It was definitely fun, that's for sure. What a project. Heheheheh. It was my first full car stereo install. I pre-wired everything I could, built amp boards with plug-in connectors, tested it all out in the house with a portable power supply, spent an afternoon installing it... and no sound from the amps. Took it all apart, re-checked everything in the house, re-installed... no sound. Took it out again, re-ran my signal wires, re-installed everything (it was now around 10pm), nothing. That's when I realized I had the @#(&*@#&*( fader control set all the way to the front (I previously had a single pair of front speakers hooked to the head unit) and in that particular unit, the preamp outputs were equivalent to "rear" outputs through the fader. Funny now, but that night I was ready to scrap the whole thing.

Once I actually heard it, though, it was all worth the effort. Everyone who saw it thought it was crazy. I met two of my closest friends (who remain so to this day - 15 years later), because they had "heard about the huge speaker and had to hear it for themselves" from a mutual friend, so insisted that he bring them over for a demo.

I wish I had taken some pictures!

-Mike
 

Alan M

Second Unit
Joined
Jan 3, 2003
Messages
454
Mike,
I hesitate to ask this ,but what kind of car was this?if u tell me it was a volkswagon beetle,my world will collapse,lol.
 

Geoff L

Screenwriter
Joined
Dec 9, 2000
Messages
1,693
Real Name
Geoff
I too remember well the DAK catalogs. Looked forward to what he might have next month. In the "end days" of DAK their were some very decent to excellent buys on some pretty decent stuff.
As you guys mentioned he also had allot of less than flattering goodies.
When SAE bought the boat he bought out all their remaining inventory. I remember it well, as just 6 months before I had bought 2 of the four SAE-A502's I own from J&R for 999.00+ shipping a piece. Thought I had done oh so well as list was 2100.00
Low and behold 6 months later his catalog came and he had them in their for 399.00+ shipping.
Man I was pissed!
~{I was unaware at the time that SAE had bit it}~
So, SAE had bought the farm like I said above, and he had the rest of their inventory. Anyway, picked up 2 more and still have them today.
Very Nice Amps....
***Krakatowa Erupts***watch out!
The big 15" fuse loaded passive Pecan DBX sub you speak of. Yup, got one of them also. Didn't last long as it was gutted reinforced and turned into a real powered sub. Blew the driver in 6-months. It was mediocer at best we'll just say, but NOW is quite the performer for a good friend in his HT system.
The little DBX pecan sub/sat set, I have that too, though they also have been gutted reinforced and all re-done with all new drivers and crossovers. The sub is now a 8" driver and 3" PP flaired port and powered unit. Use it in the wood shop run off a mint Marantz~2252B receiver. Silver face with that beautiful blue lighting.
Nice to see Drew back up, but to this point his products are "less than impressive". Been on the mailing list sence he was building the new web site.
He got a little piece of my mind, told him (nicely) how about some real quality Audio electronics. As you guys know, he WANTS and ask for our feedback,
So I sent him some...;)
KLH etc, com-on DREW...:frowning:
Yes days gone by, don't seem that long ago, but my how time passes.....
Cheers
Geoff
 

Michael_Hml

Stunt Coordinator
Joined
Sep 25, 2002
Messages
75
Alan,

Almost as bad... it was a 1981 Oldsmobile Omega. The rear deck was only deep enough for 4x10 speakers, so I built a pair of enclosures for 6x9 speakers and bolted them on top, overhanging the back seat. I don't remember what I had in there for speakers, probably Pyle, as they were decent at that time. I probably had about 16" of open space to see out the back window. I had Pyle 4" 2-way plate mount speakers in the front and an Alpine 2-shaft cassette deck. The amps were Clarions that came out of a wrecked Mazda RX-7 factory "premium" system - probably around 20w/ch or so. One was for the 6x9's, one was for the sub. By today's standards for car audio it was not even entry-level, but it played surprisingly loud and clean for what it was.

-Mike
 

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