QUALITYTRONICS1

Overall Rating
 4 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
3 Months to 1 year

Visitors rate this review
5.00 of 5, 3.00 votes

Price Paid:  $40.00 from E-Bay

Summary:
I purchased these speakers on e-bay only because:
1. I accidentally ran across them.
2. The auction was only at $19 when I ran into it.
3. They were located 10 min. from my home!
Well I got to tell you, when I first saw them in person they seemed a bit smaller than when I saw the pictures on the listing. So anyhow I took them home cleaned them up and hooked them up to my Yamaha RX-V750. Absolutely amazing! I could not believe the sound that came out of these speakers. I have driven them to extremes and they never fail to perform. Super clear clean sound, the bass is excellent, not to boomy or tight, the mids are clear and the highs are crisp not flat. After cleaning them up, they look new, the cabinets are clean with no scratches or dents, the grills are super clean with no snaggs or tears. All in all I got a super deal! I highly recommend these speakers, I would pay $200 if I were to not have them and run into them!

Similar Products Used:
Klipsch--Infinity--Paradigm

4 STARS GIVEN DUE TO OTHER SPEAKERS THAT WILL OUTPERFORM THESE SPEAKERS, BUT PLEASE NOTE: IN ANOTHER VALUE LEVEL.

Price Paid:  $250.00 from ?

Summary:
I purchased these speakers new about seven years ago. They were part of a decent system consisting of an Adcom preamp and an old school Parasound amp. I never had any complaints with them, but never really appreciated them until I began upgrading my system. I made the jump into high dollar hi-fi. The DCM's were the last component to be upgraded. I would upgrade a component as I could afford it, and with every step, I expected the inexpensive DCM's to show there true cheapo colors. The colors they showed however were nothing but impressive. These speakers have always been a little shrill on the top end at high volumes and the mid range leaves a little to be desired, but they NEVER embarrassed themselves, even with the high coin components they were attached to. I now have them paired with a Dynaco ST70 and a PAS preamp. The lush Dynaco gear fattens up the midrange and tames the top end. With tube gear, these speakers sound great. I understand that DCM is no longer the same company and these speakers are no longer available. I am sure these could be picked up used fairly cheap. If you can find them for around $100, it's a no brainer, pick 'em up!

Strengths:
outstanding value, great match for warm tube gear

Weaknesses:
The top end can be shrill, but this is only at high volume. Considering the price, I wouldn't call this a weakness at all.

Price Paid:  $100.00 from Garage Sale

Summary:
WOW! I've had just about every speaker brand and price range over the past 30 years, and the DCM KX10s (version II) are a SUPERB speaker. They do NOT boom in the bass, the treble is NOT bright (unless your electronics are), and the midrange has more detail than my $600 mini-monitors with subwoofer. If you want the best of these, pair them with a vacuum tube amp! The tubes warm up the midrange enough so that the "coolness" you hear with cheap receivers goes away completely. Obviously, these speakers don't go into the infrasonic range, so I still use my M&K subwoofer, but they mate up just fine with no midbass gap in the response. The cabinets are the worst of particle board, but they still don't seem to vibrate as I expected them to. I'm using IXOS speaker cables (similar to Kimber 4TC), and getting great sound. I expected the horns to provide really ragged treble, but at reasonable listening levels, they are smooth, clean, and detailed. I don't play at "annoy the neighbors" levels unless I'm playing Mahler or organ music, but even at high levels, I have no complaint with these. They either need to be tilted back or placed on 12-18" stands so that the midrange/treble drivers are at ear level. The speakers are big, bulky, and cheaply made but WOW do they sound great! I don't know how DCM did this with the price they charged for the speaker. This must be either a tour-de-force of slick design or heavenly fortuitous circumstance. Bravo DCM!

Strengths:
Smooth frequency response from about 38 hz on up with great detail and dynamics. High sensitivity means low power is adequate. Good dynamics at both low and high volumes. Plays loudly without breakup. Careful placement can allow good sound with cheap receivers, but the speakers can reveal the glory of high-quality electronics (including tube units). Bargain price for the quality of sound that you get.

Weaknesses:
Cheap finish and cabinets (but they don't sound as cheap as they look). Heavy design is intended for floor placement, but doesn't work best on the floor unless tilted back. Stand mounting is a good alternative, but stands need to be VERY heavy and sturdy to support these monsters. I think this speaker is discontinued. The grilles don't help the sound much. The horn tweeter can be bright when paired with bright transistor electronics (Onkyo, etc.). Ported design loses control of the woofer below about 35 hz, meaning that either a subsonic filter or a subwoofer should be used if low frequencies are present.

Similar Products Used:
JBL L-36 (10" 3-way), JBL 4301b (8" 2-way), Energy Audissey 3_2 (bidirectional 6.5" 2-way), Krix Equinox (5.5" 2-way), Dahlquist DQ-10a (10" 5-way), Energy AC-300 (5.5" 2-way), Klipsch Heresy (12" 3-w

Price Paid:  $0.00

Summary:
I have the DCM KX10 Series II. Before I bought these speakers, I shopped extensively and drove the people crazy at Circuit City and several other stores because I would sit in their sound room, and switch back and forth between several speakers for hours on end. I would gradually eliminate one speaker model and then another until it was the DCM and one other brand was left. One thing that helped make the choice for me was that even at the lowest volume, these speakers still deliver true sound and audible bass. Several other models and brands lost clarity and their bass at low levels. Not these. In addition to that, I turned these speakers up so loud that I thought my ears were going to burst and they still delivered crisp, clean and true sound. The highs, mids and lows are distinctly there. They are not muddled together. For the price I paid, 280 dollars for the pair, you could not find a better speaker. I compared this speaker with others that were priced above 400 each and these still beat them out for purity of sound. Even four years later, I still like to sit down, put on a good piece of music and turn up the volume and let the music drown everything else out. The unfortunate side of this story is that DCM sold out to another company, I don't remember to whom. After this, their speakers went south. I went and looked at some recently and they were "junk" compared to the ones they used to make. I am looking for a set of KX 2 12 Series II if anyone is selling them. These are similar to the ones I have but they have two 12 Inch Woofers in place of the single 10 Inch that mine have. If you run across a set of KX10 Series II for sale, snatch them up.

Strengths:
Phenomenal sound, superb price, outstanding value, unmatched performance and sound dispersion

Weaknesses:
Low quality veneer cabinets.

Price Paid:  $300.00 from circuit city

Summary:
while i wouldn''''t call myself an audiophile, my girlfriend would probably tell you i sit in front of the computer researching audio equipment long enough every day to be one. on to the review... this review is for the dcm10''''s. they are the newest model dcm currently sells. i guess u might consider them kx-10 series 3. as of right now i am using my dcm''''s as my fronts in my home theatre setup. i have a polk 245i center and polk rt25i''''s as my surrounds. no sub. no need for one, the bass from these dcm''''s is incredible. my neighbors hate me because of them. i am a college student, and from what i have noticed drunk girls don''''t care about imaging. they do, however, care about bone rattling bass. these dcm''''s deliver. they are great for parties. just make sure you invite the neighbors. i have already broken 3 glasses and a plate with these badboys. 75 clean watts from my onkyo is plenty of power. i must note, while these speakers are loud, they are pretty harsh. the horn tweeter can get annoying at times. midbass is lean. the bottom line: 300 bucks for more bass than a puff daddy concert. buy a pair and turn your living room into a nightclub. if you''''re looking for cheap and loud with bass that can loosen the fillings in your teeth, give em a whirl. my current setup: onkyo tx-ds595 (digital, dts, plogic2) pioneer dv-440 (dvd, cd, mp3 disc) jvc 200 disc changer polk cs-245i center dcm10''''s fronts polk rt-25i surround sony 27" trinitron generic 12 guage wire gold plated bananas all around monster interconnects pheonix optical cable

Strengths:
earthquake bass, loud, great for parties, look handsome w/o grille

Weaknesses:
overly-bright/harsh, lean midbass, 3 broken dinner glasses and a broken plate, neighbors hate you, loss of hearing

Similar Products Used:
jbl hls-610''''s (AWESOME SPEAKER!)