Stacking Dahlquist DQ-10s

[msaxon]

Greetings all - I listen to a pair of dq-10s and a dq-1w subwoofer using the dahlquist passive crossover. I have often heard and read about "stacked" speakers. Since i have an extra pair of dq-10's sitting in the basement I have wanted to try stacking them.

I have several questions. Is this worth trying? Is it hard to do? Will my existing sub and xover work? How do i wire them? Will my wife finally file papers?

If this is a wornout subject I apologize - I've been searching this forum without success!

Oh i almost forgot. I use 2 audionics of oregon solid state amps +/-200 wpc. (and can't afford to purchase more power).

[wedmiston]

did you ever stack your 10's?

[markw]

did you ever stack your 10's?

If he did, i'd be very interested in how he physically did it.

[BallinWithNash]

is stacking a speaker on top of your sub "bad"?

[markw]

is stacking a speaker on top of your sub "bad"?

No, but they may benefit from different placement. Room interactions, ya know.

[E-Stat]

I have several questions. Is this worth trying? Is it hard to do? Will my existing sub and xover work?

Back in the 70s I worked for a hi-fi shop that sold ADS, Dahlquist, Magnepan and Dayton-Wright speakers. We had one customer who went to the trouble of stacking a pair of DQ-10s. Unlike doubling Advents (very popular in the day - I use a pair today in the garage), you must build a frame to support them since they are not simply boxes. I don't recall exactly how that guy built his frame, but it supported both speakers.

The benefits are similar to stacking Advents - doubling the woofer area improves bass extension without using a sub and you get a more lifelike image size. You invert the upper pair and wire them in parallel ideally with separate runs to each speaker. The gotcha is that you need an amp that can deal with the very low impedance load - as low as 3 ohm at some frequencies. Also, you really need a bit more distance from the listening position for the drivers to blend optimally.

rw

[E-Stat]

is stacking a speaker on top of your sub "bad"?

Not necessarily. That's exactly what I do with the RT-35s in my HT system and get very good results. I set them atop powered and equalized subs to create more of a three way system. There's a pic in my gallery if you're interested.

rw

[BallinWithNash]

thanks E-stat and mark

[emaidel]

I knew a few folks who stacked DQ-10's many years ago, but can't offer any advice or information, as I never heard such a setup. I imagine it would sound pretty good, though the enormity of each speaker pair might be difficult to deal with in a person's living room.

While I was in the service, I purchased a duplicate pair of KLH-6's (I already owned a pair back home), as did a bunkmate of mine. Another friend purchased a pair of KLH-17's, and I wound up connecting all three to my Sansui 4000 receiver. I stacked the 6's on top of one another, reversing the top speaker, and did so in series. Then, I connected the 17's to the "remote" terminals on the receiver, and placed them as rear speakers more for a "fill" effect. The result was, as I recall, some pretty impressive sound (especially deep bass), and the Sansui 4000 got hot as hell, but never once quit. I'm sure the impedance load of three pairs of speakers was in the dangerous category, but the 4000 handled the load easily. At least in that respect, the phrase "they don't make 'em like that anymore" is appropriate in terms of the receiver's stability.