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New member - Dahlquist DQ10 questions

Hello gentle people,

im a retired electronics engineer so I now have time to do some repair projects I've been wanting to do. 
I've wanted to get back into listening to my stereo setup and be able to play vinyl again so I resurrected a pioneer pl 50 table and then got to looking at my DQ10's thinking I'd refoam the woofers, check the crossovers, etc. I've owned the dq10's for over 25 years and never did a thing to them but when I got them apart, I found the woofer surrounds to be in great shape, which I thought was really weird. The guy I bought them from mirrored them and I'm wondering if he then coated the woofer foams and that's why they're in such good condition.
I did find one of the 5" mids has a approx 1/4" tear in the rubber surround. It plays ok but I'm thinking the surrounds on both mids should be replaced. 
I've been doing a lot of reading but see no replacements for rubber surrounds for these.
Anyone know of a source?
Also, I'm driving these with a (about to be recapped) quad 405-2, that is driven by a Mac C27. 
Im thinking even after a recap, the quad may not be up to the task. Thoughts?

Thanks very much

ritamacaw
goose
697 posts
 
I had the DQ-10's as my first speaker.  I drove them with Mac gear (C-28 pre and 2205 Amp).  The amp was rated at 200 watts per side.  My experience was that they really needed a lot of power / current to get to them going.  I don't think you should be shy about getting a lot of power to them, the more the better.
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yogiboy's avatar
yogiboy
5,707 posts
 
Here ya go!
http://www.regnar.com/dahlquist-dq-10-speaker-parts.html
yogiboy's avatar
yogiboy
5,707 posts
 
I owned them many moons ago. TAS has them listed number 6 of the 12 most significant loudspeakers of all time!

6. Dahlquist DQ‑10

One should always be wary of pronouncing “firsts,” but, appearing in the early seventies, Jon Dahlquist’s DQ‑10 was to my knowledge the first dynamic speaker to employ multiple drivers in an open-baffle configuration (except the acoustic‑suspension woofer, which was enclosed) staggered for proper time‑alignment and phase coherence, in an attempt to realize the openness and freedom from boxiness that Dahlquist prized in his beloved Quad ESL-57s—with the added advantages of deeper bass and dynamic extension well beyond the Quad. (The physical resemblance to the Quad was both mandated by the design and an intentional homage.) Far from flawless (including conceptually), the DQ-10 was nevertheless a ground-breaking design that preceded dozens of subsequent speakers (perhaps most prominent among them models from KEF, B&W, Spica, Thiel, Vandersteen, and Wilson) continuing up to the present day. Few large, full-range dynamic speakers before or for some time afterward equaled its openness. Paul Seydor

Dahlquist DQ‑10


mr_m
1,900 posts
 
Back in the early to mid 80's The DQ-10 was my reference speaker. As tomic601 states the drivers are of Phillips design, the woofer was made by Advent. I replaced the Piezoelectric super tweet with  a modified  Panasonic ribbon with level control. That improved the highs immensely. Also replaced mylar caps with high quality polypropylene caps. Make sure you get them up on their optional stands instead of the short 4 inch pegs that normally come with the speakers. If you can't find Dahlquist stands, they are fairly easy to make. They put the speaker approx. 12 inches off the floor.
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