DCM TP160S Bookshelf Speaker Deals

[KEW]

I can't believe you let the dust get caked up on the front baffle of your ultra like that!
That is just gross!


That is just gross gloss! (fixed it)

 

[slipperybidness]

Those cherry cabs on the DCM are gonna match and look dang good in my living room!

 

[zieglj01]

Those cherry cabs on the DCM are gonna match and look dang good in my living room!

Look and sound good

 

[Pogre]

I can't believe you let the dust get caked up on the front baffle of your ultra like that!
That is just gross!


That is just gross gloss! (fixed it)

That's funny. I actually wondered if anyone would comment on that. At the right angle, the finish works almost just like a mirror. The carpet being reflected on the front almost looks like I smeared oatmeal all over it. Lol

 

[Pogre]

So who has a set of AA monitors that would be willing to do a shootout with the TP 160s?

 

[Pogre]

Those cherry cabs on the DCM are gonna match and look dang good in my living room!

Can't wait to hear your impressions and see how they match up with mine. I feel like I know good sound when I hear it, but I've had no training or practice for all the cool buzzwords like tweeters that are "airy" or "crystalline", "chocolatey" midrange etc...

 

[zieglj01]

That's funny. I actually wondered if anyone would comment on that. At the right angle, the finish works almost just like a mirror. The carpet being reflected on the front almost looks like I smeared oatmeal all over it. Lol

And you can see writing on top of the speakers

 

[Pogre]

And you can see writing on top of the speakers

Yup! Lol. I love the finish and geometry of the Ultra bookshelf. It's a sexy speaker. I know the gloss finish doesn't work for everyone, but they're not as bad to keep clean as one might think. Takes me about 2 minutes to dust 'em all off with a swiffer.

 

[slipperybidness]

Yup! Lol. I love the finish and geometry of the Ultra bookshelf. It's a sexy speaker. I know the gloss finish doesn't work for everyone, but they're not as bad to keep clean as one might think. Takes me about 2 minutes to dust 'em all off with a swiffer.

not just fingerprint magnets, but also reflections in the finish can be distracting.

I used to be a big fan of gloss black, but the more I see the real world cons, I now tend to prefer matte black.

 

[charmerci]

(My apologies to zeiglj for this post - but it is a different forum! )

For those of you who want a giant killer for not much with a simple DIY, you can vastly improve the bass on these things at high volumes by bracing the cabinets - and putting non-drying clay on the outside of the port in the interior and on the front baffle. I don't have the Ultras but it sounds like the DCM's would equal (surpass?) them if you did so.

"Where the ultras really shine over the TPs is in mid and lower bass, especially at volume. That's not to say the TPs won't get plenty loud without breakup. They hold their own very admirably. The Ultras do it just a little better."

I wasn't overly impressed with these (outside of the outstanding bargain they are) compared to more expensive speakers until I did this. Much tighter and lower bass coming out of these now.

 

[Pogre]

(My apologies to zeiglj for this post - but it is a different forum! )

For those of you who want a giant killer for not much with a simple DIY, you can vastly improve the bass on these things at high volumes by bracing the cabinets - and putting non-drying clay on the outside of the port in the interior and on the front baffle. I don't have the Ultras but it sounds like the DCM's would equal (surpass?) them if you did so.

"Where the ultras really shine over the TPs is in mid and lower bass, especially at volume. That's not to say the TPs won't get plenty loud without breakup. They hold their own very admirably. The Ultras do it just a little better."

I wasn't overly impressed with these (outside of the outstanding bargain they are) compared to more expensive speakers until I did this. Much tighter and lower bass coming out of these now.

That's worth trying for sure. What did you do? Dowel rods and wedge them in there or did you use some adhesive? Non drying clay on the front baffle? Do you have a thread over at AVS with some pics and description of what you did? This is something I can definitely do. I'm interested in Dennis' mod for the tweeter too.

The Ultras are clearly a step up from the DCMs. The price is the real kicker for me too. I see reviewers use this term a little too often, but it truly applies here. The TPs punch way above their weight class.

 

[charmerci]

That's worth trying for sure. What did you do? Dowel rods and wedge them in there or did you use some adhesive? Non drying clay on the front baffle? Do you have a thread over at AVS with some pics and description of what you did? This is something I can definitely do. I'm interested in Dennis' mod for the tweeter too.

I thought I posted some photos somewhere on one of these audio threads but I can't find any photos anywhere offhand. I tightly wedged dowels (they ain't movin'), 3 just under 7" horizontal and one vertical, 12 or 13" I forgot. I then put a thin layer non-drying clay around the port tube - not blocking the air flow - then put non-drying clay as much as I could on as much surface as I could on the inside. I figured I would make these things as inert as possible to stop as much vibration as possible. Takes about an hour or so per speaker. It's a fun project with big dividends if you like your music and movies loud.

 

[Pogre]

I thought I posted some photos somewhere on one of these audio threads but I can't find any photos anywhere offhand. I tightly wedged dowels (they ain't movin'), 3 just under 7" horizontal and one vertical, 12 or 13" I forgot. I then put a thin layer non-drying clay around the port tube - not blocking the air flow - then put non-drying clay as much as I could on as much surface as I could on the inside. I figured I would make these things as inert as possible to stop as much vibration as possible. Takes about an hour or so per speaker. It's a fun project with big dividends if you like your music and movies loud.

Okay, thanks. The cabs are already pretty stout, but I can see some bracing alone tightening things up a little better. I might even have some chunks of dowel left in my garage from a former project...

 

[afterlife2]

In the words of the immortal Scobby Doo...
Ruh-roh, Raggy!

So excited about these. More later.

 

[afterlife2]

I thought I posted some photos somewhere on one of these audio threads but I can't find any photos anywhere offhand. I tightly wedged dowels (they ain't movin'), 3 just under 7" horizontal and one vertical, 12 or 13" I forgot. I then put a thin layer non-drying clay around the port tube - not blocking the air flow - then put non-drying clay as much as I could on as much surface as I could on the inside. I figured I would make these things as inert as possible to stop as much vibration as possible. Takes about an hour or so per speaker. It's a fun project with big dividends if you like your music and movies loud.

That's awesome hopefully you'll find the pics or retake them.

 

[Pogre]

In the words of the immortal Scobby Doo...
Ruh-roh, Raggy!
View attachment 32282
So excited about these. More later.

Woo hoo! Everyone's gonna have TP160S' ha ha!

 

[zieglj01]

In the words of the immortal Scobby Doo...
Ruh-roh, Raggy!
So excited about these. More later.

Well mercy -- well done

 

[Pogre]

That's awesome hopefully you'll find the pics or retake them.

I'm thinking 4 dowels and globs of non drying clay might be a little overkill. If you think about it you're adding solid material to the interior volume and making it smaller. I'm thinking too much would affect the way the driver behaves in the cabinet. I might try one dowel as a horizontal cross brace and see if that tightens things up a little. The cabs are already pretty solid, but a single cross brace might tame some vibrations.

 

[KEW]

So who has a set of AA monitors that would be willing to do a shootout with the TP 160s?

I did a quickie comparison in post #70 of this thread:

Philharmonitor AA (Dayton Audio version) - I have total confidence in Dennis to get the most possible out of the drivers he uses, but that is a hard limit that even he cannot defy. The TP160 simply has better drivers and DCM did not screw up the crossover. The AA's have more bass, but midrange detail and HF clearly favor the TP160.

Edit: I should add that this is the earlier version of the AA monitor using both drivers from the Dayton Audio BR-1 kit. Later on he swapped out (upgraded) the tweeter which would help close the gap!

 

[Pogre]

I did a quickie comparison in post #70 of this thread:


Edit: I should add that this is the earlier version of the AA monitor using both drivers from the Dayton Audio BR-1 kit. Later on he swapped out (upgraded) the tweeter which would help close the gap!

That tidily answers my questions! Thanks Kurt!