DCM TP160S Bookshelf Speaker Deals

zieglj01

zieglj01

Audioholic Spartan
Healthy looking magnet too. I need to find and listen to a pair. There are a bunch of DCM speakers on Craigslist but most of them are "vintage". I found one pair of TIme Window bs speakers for $150, but the cabs had water damaged. All swelled on one side. No way was I gonna bother even checking them out.
Thing about them old time windows is hard to remove the cloth grill -- I would want to inspect the drivers, and listen around the speakers to make sure you can hear all the tweeters.
 
KEW

KEW

Audioholic Overlord
Well Z, your thread wore me down!
Cherry and people talking like they are even close to the Infinity R152 for $80!
I'm tellin' ya, I just couldn't take it anymore.o_O
Mine should arrive any day now!
 
Pogre

Pogre

Audioholic Slumlord
Well Z, your thread wore me down!
Cherry and people talking like they are even close to the Infinity R152 for $80!
I'm tellin' ya, I just couldn't take it anymore.o_O
Mine should arrive any day now!
You bought a set? Ha ha!

I'd better not laugh too hard... I recently bought 2 sets of speakers I don't need either...
 
KEW

KEW

Audioholic Overlord
You bought a set? Ha ha!

I'd better not laugh too hard... I recently bought 2 sets of speakers I don't need either...
Do you think I can get my $80 back selling a pair of Pioneer BS-22's and a pair of Sony CS5's?
 
slipperybidness

slipperybidness

Audioholic Warlord
@KEW
@Pogre
@zieglj01

Maybe y'all should start a "budget speaker trading thread"

Set up some ground rules and general price structure, then send speakers to each other when the honeymoon period is over.

Save a buck, scratch the itch, keep the significant other placated ;)
 
Pogre

Pogre

Audioholic Slumlord
I'll tell ya, those Overtures I picked up for 35 bucks are pretty decent speakers and the design is unique. I'm impressed with them. They're pretty heavy tho. Man, they'd be pricey to ship, lol.
 
S

snakeeyes

Audioholic Ninja
Bipoles are OK for 5.1 systems that calls for diffuse sound content, but they aren't as appropriate for 7.1 or object-oriented sound mixes which call for a more precise surround soundstage. In most circumstances I would go with the bookshelf speakers.
What about what SVS is calling “Duet Mode” on their Ultra Surrounds? Is that an option that would be good for Atmos?
 
zieglj01

zieglj01

Audioholic Spartan
Well Z, your thread wore me down!
Cherry and people talking like they are even close to the Infinity R152 for $80!
I'm tellin' ya, I just couldn't take it anymore.o_O
Mine should arrive any day now!
But my human ears may have gone south! -- and they are not dead neutral flat, as there is some brightness to them. They need space and room around them to breathe. Not really voiced for nearfield. Bass guitar is good. If the tweeter had more air, they would really shine. But for 80 dollars hard to complain much. That is why my nit-picking is easy. But they are much better than the Xtonebox S-7M speakers which sell for around $800 -- that have frequency holes/suck-out
https://www.amazon.com/Xtonebox-S-7M-Reference-Speakers-Quality/dp/B07BFLDXLJ/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=xtonebox+speakers&qid=1569458146&s=gateway&sr=8-1
 
zieglj01

zieglj01

Audioholic Spartan
@KEW
@Pogre
@zieglj01

Maybe y'all should start a "budget speaker trading thread"

Set up some ground rules and general price structure, then send speakers to each other when the honeymoon period is over.

Save a buck, scratch the itch, keep the significant other placated ;)
Well I have not put my foot through them yet, in which I break in the speakers and then they are no good. I really want to listen to the DCM TFE60
 
S

snakeeyes

Audioholic Ninja
I don't think it would be ideal.
Ya I’m probably going to need something monopole to replace my bipoles when I add ceiling speakers. I need to look at wall mounted options as bookshelves on stands won’t fit unless I rotate the room. Anyhow I’ll start a thread at some point soon.
 
KEW

KEW

Audioholic Overlord
@KEW
@Pogre
@zieglj01

Maybe y'all should start a "budget speaker trading thread"

Set up some ground rules and general price structure, then send speakers to each other when the honeymoon period is over.

Save a buck, scratch the itch, keep the significant other placated ;)
That would be a good idea if we could get Amazon's shipping rates, but for these $80 includes shipping speakers, I expect it would cost about $45 to send them. that would get pretty pricey. Plus, this is on the low end of what I'm willing to buy at this point. Since the Infinity R162 can be had for under $200, and is so good as it is, I have a hard time recommending anything for less! It is the comparison with the R152 that got my attention.
 
Pogre

Pogre

Audioholic Slumlord
Nice looking crossover, thick front baffle, plenty of polyfil, big heavy magnets, stamped basket... just looking at the pics you can see they check off a lot of boxes. I love looking at stuff like that. Check it out, a while back I took apart one of my Ultras. Clicky

I didn't intend to take the tweeter all the way apart, just pop it out so I could look inside... oops, lol.

*Edit: I forgot you had posted in that thread!
 
zieglj01

zieglj01

Audioholic Spartan
Nice looking crossover, thick front baffle, plenty of polyfil, big heavy magnets, stamped basket... just looking at the pics you can see they check off a lot of boxes. I love looking at stuff like that. Check it out, a while back I took apart one of my Ultras. Clicky

I didn't intend to take the tweeter all the way apart, just pop it out so I could look inside... oops, lol.

*Edit: I forgot you had posted in that thread!
Yes, I am glad that Mitek left MTX out of the DCM design -- now the MTX Monitor 5i is a poor speaker -- selling for $99 but can be found in some places for $69
https://www.mtx.com/monitor5i-bookshelf-loudspeaker

Only 1 cap to the tweeter -- no stuffing -- They are overall poor sounding and poor quality - the woofer and tweeter do not play well together. -- They are bright, loud, harsh, sharp, edgy, coarse, grainy, and scratchy sounding. Plus, artificial sounding with voices and instruments and the box rings. Even Bose is better than these MTX Monitor 5i speakers.
 
KEW

KEW

Audioholic Overlord
I got sidelined by a home water supply leak (happily outside the house),but I did give them a quick listen!

I have not done any specific comparisons yet, but what I am hearing is consistent with the comments Zeig has made!
For a "quick and dirty" one song evaluation, I put on Gordon Goodwin's Big Phat Band playing "Count Bubba". This is a song one of the Big Bands I am in played earlier this Summer, so I know it and the sound of the instrumentation well!
I cranked them hard (pure direct at -1.0dB, if sensitivity ratings are accurate) to get the sense of performance levels. My biggest concern was things sounded a little "shouty" at the places where the entire band is popping out notes along with cymbals in force (like 2:45). I went into the GEQ and played with it - ended up happy after I knocked off just 1dB at 4kHz and -1.5dB at 8kHz (left 16kHz neutral at 0dB). To my ear, that took the edge off and I found my happy place! I am impressed these could keep up with the demands at that volume! This is big sound! The bass was solid (but not up to the full demands of the stand-up bass in my largish volume open floor plan LR).
Very nice.
The ride cymbal was crisp! Detail was very good. My own instrument, Bari Sax, was rendered about as good as I have heard!

After the minor EQ tweak, the only shortcoming that stands out to me - without A-B'ing them directly against another speaker is the high end doesn't have the extreme extension that comes with the Focal Be, Philharmonic RAAL, Canton Vento Ceramic, or (to a lesser extent) the Infinity Reference CMMD tweeters! However when you consider that those tweeters cost more than the price I paid for this pair of speakers, it is hard to complain. As soft dome tweeters go, they are absolutely no slouch!

A total no-brainer for anyone looking for a budget system. They easily eclipse the AJ Pioneer BS-22's, and the Sony Core Series CS5! I would, indeed, class these much closer to the Infinity Reference series.
 
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zieglj01

zieglj01

Audioholic Spartan
I got sidelined by a home water supply leak (happily outside the house),but I did give them a quick listen!

I have not done any specific comparisons yet, but what I am hearing is consistent with the comments Zeig has made!
For a "quick and dirty" one song evaluation, I put on Gordon Goodwin's Big Phat Band playing "Count Bubba". This is a song one of the Big Bands I am in played earlier this Summer, so I know it and the sound of the instrumentation well!
That is a good recording and a way to test speakers -- thanks for the link
 
KEW

KEW

Audioholic Overlord
That is a good recording and a way to test speakers -- thanks for the link
Yeah, I was pretty impressed with the quality for a streamed song!
I have the CD, but when I Googled it to link, I listened to two other copies that definitely give up sound quality. This specific YouTube recording probably would not stand up to a direct critical comparison to the CD, but nothing jumps out at me for poor recording or SQ like the other two did!
 
KEW

KEW

Audioholic Overlord
Kurt, you're making me want to buy them now too! Stop that! :p
You can probably flip them for $120-$150 after they get sold out.
There are some guys selling the Infinity R162 for $310 on Amazon - M&M Merchandise Mart (they also sell Preparation H and pool floats).
I think their business is watching for very good deals and buying inventory to resell via Amazon - not a bad gig for someone who is stay at home and has a good head for what things cost (for that matter, you could just let one of the "Deal Alert" websites be your "finder").
I expect they are buying them (I think Harman Audio limits to 5 pairs) when on sale for $200 and selling them at $310. When they are no longer on sale, $310 is still a bargain, it sure beats $450 (MSRP) and if a buyer waits for the next sale, there is always a chance that there won't be a next sale (although they have been playing this game for years).

But yeah, you're right, you don't need another (very nice sounding) speaker (at a screaming deal price of $80/pr)!:p
 
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