Dahlquist DQ 10

By the way for interest sake before arthritis put and end to my hobby I used to design and build one of a king knives from scratch, this speaker refurbish however is well within my abilities and has me back in my shop again, I imagine I could make a speaker from a kit as well so maybe that will be my next project. Thanks to all of you for the help this far.
 

Attachments

  • IMG-2707.JPG
    IMG-2707.JPG
    73.2 KB · Views: 120
  • IMG-2709.JPG
    IMG-2709.JPG
    36.9 KB · Views: 129
  • IMG-2710.JPG
    IMG-2710.JPG
    72.2 KB · Views: 123
  • IMG-2711.JPG
    IMG-2711.JPG
    86.7 KB · Views: 110
  • IMG-2712.JPG
    IMG-2712.JPG
    31.3 KB · Views: 137
Citation 11 is a preamp. Not a stellar one.

dave
Yeah, I meant the 12
80uF 100V Electrolytic Non-Polarized Crossover Capacitor $2.43 each,,,,,,View attachment 1133397
Solen 82uF 400V Polypropylene Capacitor $50.00 each,,,,View attachment 1133398
Audyn Cap Q4 82uF 400V MKP Metalized Polypropylene Foil Crossover Capacitor $30.00 eachView attachment 1133399
Considering the price differences here I have to ask, am I going to hear the difference between $3 cap and a $50 cap, the gentleman at the speaker shop I bought my caps at suggested these caps that are remaining ( see pic ) were sonically the least critical, now if he was mistaken would I hear a difference between the $3 cap and the $30 dollar cap? I attached a pic showing the original Xover and the View attachment 1133404modifications that were made .View attachment 1133401
I've used several generations of Solens and some Audyn caps too - the first blush of Solens for the DQ-10. I'd say the Audyns were more neutral, and at the price difference....

I noticed the coffin resistors. I'm an addict of mills non inductive caps of the 5,10, 15 watt size - matched to 1%. The ones in the xover are probably +/- 5% - at least test the existing ones.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Considering the price differences here I have to ask, am I going to hear the difference between $3 cap and a $50 cap, the gentleman at the speaker shop I bought my caps at suggested these caps that are remaining ( see pic ) were sonically the least critical, now if he was mistaken would I hear a difference between the $3 cap and the $30 dollar cap?
When there's doubt with that particular cap during recapping, I usually recommend just getting the cheap electrolytic and living with the speakers awhile. There really isn't that much difference between a good, new electrolytic cap and a film cap, at least not at these lower frequencies. It can be an upgrade path in the future if you decide you love the speakers, but the most important thing is replacing the old cap. The quality of the cap...less so so long as it isn't a really, really cheap electrolytic or a "motor run/motor start" cap, which can have very loose tolerances and other low quality parameters (they're meant to kick over an AC motor, not be a calibrated, low loss electronic component). I don't understand why the gentleman thought these remaining capacitors weren't critical unless he didn't look at the schematic. I can only guess that he looked at the board, ignored the schematic, and assumed it was a basic parallel crossover and assumed the 80µF and the others weren't in series with anything. With the DQ-10 being a series crossover, there's no non-critical capacitor outside of the 0.15µF and 0.1µF. The rest interact in a rather complex way to create the crossover points and slopes. The 80µF is responsible for the 400Hz to 1kHz range ie half the midrange and half the range where our hearing is most sensitive, so it's not one to be ignored.

BTW the link wont let me select between the two fabrics shown and as well don't indicate the number of products you get with your purchase nor the dimensions of the fabric you are buying so can't pull the trigger yet, now it could just be me as I am not savvy with online shopping however I can't seem to get those details sorted. Thanks again for the link I am going to snoop around and see if I can't get on the phone with someone and get the material ordered.
There's only one kind of fabric, the new on the left and an example of the discolored old cloth it's being offered to replace on the right. If you want to use that particular fabric, I'd suggest using the "Contact seller" option and asking about the dimensions. Just ordering it may result in some fabric precut for the smaller speakers, so you'd want to be sure that you're getting a few yards off the bolt to cut as needed.

When you do find a source of grille cloth you like, I've attached Dahlquist's service instructions for replacing it. Should help a bit.

Speaking of cloth sources Parts Express also has a selection of cloth, though not of the kind you liked: https://www.parts-express.com/speak...peaker-grill-cloth/speaker-grill-cloth-fabric
I know of other DQ-10 owners who have had success with this source as well and have favored it for its greater selection of colors: https://acousticalsolutions.com/product/guilford-maine-fr701-acoustic-fabric/
 

Attachments

  • grille1.png
    grille1.png
    345.8 KB · Views: 126
  • grille2.png
    grille2.png
    6.7 KB · Views: 132
By the way for interest sake before arthritis put and end to my hobby I used to design and build one of a king knives from scratch, this speaker refurbish however is well within my abilities and has me back in my shop again, I imagine I could make a speaker from a kit as well so maybe that will be my next project. Thanks to all of you for the help this far.
Wow! Absolutely gorgeous work. I admittedly enjoy watching videos of master craftsmen of your calibre making knives; it's a talent beyond me. I bet you're going to have your speakers looking better than new and they will be a good stepping off point to try your hand at a good kit. I found restoring vintage speakers to be a good way to develop an understanding of how they work before moving on to DIY.
 
Yeah, I meant the 12

I've used several generations of Solens and some Audyn caps too - the first blush of Solens for the DQ-10. I'd say the Audyns were more neutral, and at the price difference....
At those days I checked various versions, but those versions "special made for audio" like "WONDER" or "AUDYN" didn't have the best sound character. At that time I decided on the brand "ICAR" (go to the attached images) - but "made in Italy" (today apparently only "made in China" is available).
website no longer exist:
http://www..icar.it
https://web.archive.org/web/20080822093726/http://www.icar.it/
 

Attachments

  • 419SHQbFr6L._AC_.jpg
    419SHQbFr6L._AC_.jpg
    11.2 KB · Views: 88
  • ICAR 25uF.jpg
    ICAR 25uF.jpg
    109.4 KB · Views: 98
  • ICAR Ecofill 4uF.jpg
    ICAR Ecofill 4uF.jpg
    177.4 KB · Views: 91
Last edited:
Wonder Caps made their splash ~1984 with their polyprops (which, unsurprisingly, looked like regular film caps as from TI, just with branding) and became Infinicap in the '90s. Solen came out around 1982, so around the same time if not a bit earlier. Those early Solens had red ends to their caps, which makes them the rare exception to black caps with red ends being automatically bad rule with older speakers.
 
  • Like
Reactions: duc359
I ended up going with the clarity caps. I was a little surprised with the size of the 80 UF replacement cap compared to the old one. Anyway, I managed to squeeze everything in and I’m finished the crossover work now I’ve sanding down the walnut sides. I’m gonna make matching legs from scratch using the shape of the sides for the shape of my legs. I’m ordering a new grill material and I painted the old enclosure.
 

Attachments

  • A2220F07-67D2-4ACA-96E6-C69666070D6F.jpeg
    A2220F07-67D2-4ACA-96E6-C69666070D6F.jpeg
    224.6 KB · Views: 153
  • E918F58A-1E6B-4CEA-9C76-E1BC1FBBC684.jpeg
    E918F58A-1E6B-4CEA-9C76-E1BC1FBBC684.jpeg
    440.3 KB · Views: 151
  • 1D7E59F2-89C0-46D8-ADF8-500B36372054.jpeg
    1D7E59F2-89C0-46D8-ADF8-500B36372054.jpeg
    476.3 KB · Views: 153
  • 29E27030-214B-4663-B842-32B7484AF0A4.jpeg
    29E27030-214B-4663-B842-32B7484AF0A4.jpeg
    435.7 KB · Views: 157
  • 536B7AE0-D110-42F9-B965-B7E909E58E47.jpeg
    536B7AE0-D110-42F9-B965-B7E909E58E47.jpeg
    498.9 KB · Views: 165
  • A9A4955D-045A-4E3A-9AB5-0651DBFD0860.jpeg
    A9A4955D-045A-4E3A-9AB5-0651DBFD0860.jpeg
    468.6 KB · Views: 157
  • 7E1862E5-26DC-40AB-BB51-639BACF96FB4.jpeg
    7E1862E5-26DC-40AB-BB51-639BACF96FB4.jpeg
    480.8 KB · Views: 146
  • C96849C1-E5B6-48EA-8ECA-E7279B414C14.jpeg
    C96849C1-E5B6-48EA-8ECA-E7279B414C14.jpeg
    439.1 KB · Views: 144
  • Like
Reactions: wchang
So sorry for your loss. Perhaps with the passing of time your hobby will again bring a ray of joy into your life. You've done some really good work and shared freely the results here. Hang in there and know you have many sympathetic well-wishers among this group of fellow DIY nuts.