I rebuilt the crossovers, rewired completely, and then replaced
the drivers with better ones. I had to spend about $800, but
it improved the sound so much I wouldn't trade them for
anything. |
If you love the Dahlquist sound, and audition other speakers in a "money IS an object" price range, you will be very disappointed IMO. I have somewhat modded DQ-20i's, and cost is not much of an object for me. While the 20i's have a couple of measurable "compromises", I have not found a speaker that I prefer to listen to in a medium size room, and I have auditioned quite a few. Many do better bass, many do better highs, but none I have heard do the midrange the way DQ's do. ANd none I have heard provide as balanced a listening experience. Every time I get home get home to my DQ's I just sit back and say, "Aahhhhh...., now that's a speaker."
That being said, from the dq10's (which I have owned), the affordable (under $1000) upgrade is a no-brainer: DQ-20i's or Alon 4's or 5's - and when you can afford it, upgrade the tweeters, caps, and internal wiring. You won't impress any audio-snobs, but you'll impress yourself. |
Hi, I have had dq-10's for many years, both stock and modded, with subs, and loved them. Natural progression would be vandersteens, which seem to continue and expand upon the same principals as the Dalquist's. The vandy's are more coherent. Drivers blend seemlessly. The DQ's are somewhat dated compared to current technology. I went from DQ-10'S to electroststics, Acoustst, Sound Labs, B&W 801's (yuk)to Vandy3a's to Vandy 5's. To my ear the Vandy sound is an evolution of the Dalquist.
Used to sit the DQ-10's on top of the subs without stands.
Good Luck, Tom |
keep the 10's.....even for another 5k, you're not missing anything. |
Agree with Tom re: Vandy's vs. DQ-10's, but not the Vandy 2's, which do not compete with the DQ-20i's. The DQ-10's ARE dated and not particularly coherent, but not so the 20i's which feature Scanspeak tweeter and midrange drivers with First order, attempted phase correct crossovers.
The 3a's are VERY similar sounding to the DQ-20's and Alons, but I find them a bit dull in the mids by comparison.
The 5a's are awesome, but not in your price range presumably. |
Opalchip's recommendation of Alon V's is good. I went from DQ 10's to Alon II's, the Alons are a dipole design, right in line with the Dahlquist. By the way, I still have my DQ10s stored away, never letting them go. |
Hey Jjh92! I submitted this EXACT same question years ago! (And I still have my 10's w/upgraded x-over in storage).
Ended up with Acoustat III's to get perfect mid-bass / bass-mids. Now selling them so, ... there you go! |
You did a review on the DQ-10s 10-19-07. There were several responders that shared how much they liked the DQ-10 and I am not alone for regretting selling them. Now you have some more posts from DQ-10 owners and X owners who still admire the DQ-10S. I use to own a pair of Fulton Js. But the DQ-10 is what still impresses me the most of all the speakers I have owned except for what I currently have, Essence 10As. I hope you do not sell the DQ-10s. If you do you will probably regret it someday just like me and several others.It would be neat if we could talk. We could cover more specifics that way. Anyway be careful, It will take a very good speaker to replace the DQ-10 if you are looking for significant improvement. |
This thread is a perfect example of why certain speakers are so musical (Dahlquist, Alon, Vandy)
Other speakers to make this list would be used Avalon Ascents, Eclipses, Proac 3's or 3.5's.
I have Dahlquist DQ-30i's with custom modded, external x-overs, they're staying here
till I'm gone. |
i have been told that jon dahlquist used quad esl 57 as his reference when designing the dq 10.
having owned the quads and listened to the dq 10s many times, i would say there are significant differences between them. thus it would seem that if you want to upgrade, you might consider a panel speaker rather than another cone-based speaker. |
Back in the '80's, I cut my teeth on the DQ10s, and I really liked the Randall Research modification back then. After a few years I "upgraded" to the Quad ESL63s, along with the Spectral amp and preamp. I loved the Quads until I played my first bombastic symphony on them. The Quads just lacked the dynamics of my DQ10s and made me regret selling them to a some degree.
If you love the DQ10s, I would recommend following the advice of tan43 and give them a thorough upgrade on drivers and crossover components. After all these years, I still miss them. |
