Longtime enthusiast, not previously engaged with forums, just once in a while out of necessity. Ready to spend time regularly online and I like what you folks have going on here. So for my first post I'll get straight to my question and not get into describing my current rig, etc...that'll be for future posts. I bought a pair of vintage DCM Time Windows about a year ago for $150 from a local vintage collector. Serial numbers are 14xxx and are sequential. Seller told me he believes they're all original and were never refurbished in any way, at least to best of his knowledge. Some of the drivers have a red chalk X-mark near them on the facia/baffle...not sure who put them there or what they mean. Anyway, the speakers look and sound great, all drivers operating with no unusual sounds (buzz, hum, crackle). I'm driving them with an old but badass NAD 2200 amp and even at higher volumes the Windows sound great. Thank God the woofers have rubber surrounds as they're 40+ years old; cleaned them with Qtip and some Sonax to rejuvenate the rubber. As the title of my post implies...should I be concerned about condition of caps on crossover (I understand opening these babies up is no picnic) and secondly what is this I'm reading about refreshing ferro-fluid in the tweeters? Essentially, my question is this: Is it possible I'm not getting everything out of these that they once put out, or because they sound great (still have that incredibly unique spatial quality) just leave well enough alone and continue to enjoy them. They're accompanied by two Paradigm subs run at speaker level input and things sound pretty darn good.
Thanks for such quick, honest, to the point response! We'll see if a few others chime in; it's not like I'm itching to start taking them apart LOL.
There is at least one long Time Windows thread with a lot of info.
There were at least a couple versions of these (with no name change), can you post a picture? If the woofers have a octanal basket they are teh originakl Philips (along with the ubiquitous, and not great) Philps tweeter.
I always like to swap out any bipolar caps, maybe the internal wiring, but if your are happy with them ...
We sold a bunch of these, they werr a stand-out iun their era. a\And i had buddies who hung a pair upside downb ibn the windows of their record shop (i spent a lot of money there, and Demis makes great Turkish coffee).
dave
There were at least a couple versions of these (with no name change), can you post a picture? If the woofers have a octanal basket they are teh originakl Philips (along with the ubiquitous, and not great) Philps tweeter.
I always like to swap out any bipolar caps, maybe the internal wiring, but if your are happy with them ...
We sold a bunch of these, they werr a stand-out iun their era. a\And i had buddies who hung a pair upside downb ibn the windows of their record shop (i spent a lot of money there, and Demis makes great Turkish coffee).
dave
Had SNs wrong, actually 39xxx. Just says Time Windows (no 1 or 1A). Wife sewed nice glossy black sheer fabric "sleeve" that slides right over the cabinet and hugs the rounded back with the two flat front faces, tossed the old crumbly foam everyone tries to replace. Don't know if drivers are OEM or not, but things are sounding good regardless.
Thanks rayma, I actually recall seeing this exact ASR post a few months ago, but you know what? I did not notice then but just noticed now that the speakers in the post have the exact same chalk markings on or around the drivers! I'm guessing the OEM shipped product this way and my drivers are in fact original. Chalk marks might help in assembly alignment? I don't know, but it's pretty cool that the pictures are so similar.
I have the same original TW. Yes, the chalk marks are from the factory.
I'm in the same boat as you, I'd love to replace the caps on 40+yr speakers, but they still sound great (I've played them side-by-side with modern speakers and convinced myself they're not missing anything in general sound quality and few/no others can touch their spatial qualities), and the cost of entry into opening them up is high and with some risk. So I leave them alone and just enjoy listening.
I'm in the same boat as you, I'd love to replace the caps on 40+yr speakers, but they still sound great (I've played them side-by-side with modern speakers and convinced myself they're not missing anything in general sound quality and few/no others can touch their spatial qualities), and the cost of entry into opening them up is high and with some risk. So I leave them alone and just enjoy listening.
There was a time, more than 40 years ago when electrolytic capacitors were difficult to make reliable. These days, the way they’re used, temperature for example, tends to be more of the concern.
Thanks all for experienced and nuanced opinions, I think I'm gonna be leaving these puppies alone, at least in the short term as I don't sense they're lacking anything. As Scrapper4 said "if you sense you're missing some detail" then maybe look at re-capping; I don't see the need to go there presently. Last evening I listened to America's first LP with Sandman, Horse with No Name, etc.; what a great record, a favorite of mine, the acoustic guitars, especially the 12-string are so present with the TWs, speaking to detail. And the vocal harmonies those guys had are dare I say as good or better than CSNY...very similar actually. Now that I'm pretty certain I'll be leaving the TWs alone to do their thing, I think I'm going to delve into a DIY bookie-build, I know there's a ton of info to be had at diyAudio...where do you guys suggest I start?
I've rebuilt 3 pairs of Timeframes, and even made a video for others which is on Youtube. I got a pair of Time Windows, and thought I'd do the same and I could...not...get...them...apart without destroying them. They used some kind of black adhesive to glue everything together and I had to destroy them to get the drivers out. I got 'em for free, so I just sold the parts and made a few bucks but it was frustrating.
I met Steve Eberbach (owner/engineer) for an Audio Engineering Society factory tour in Ann Arbor where they were built. The tweeters were of relative rotation, quite particular for what was best response in 3 dimensions, hence the mark on the front. The reflex cabinet has tension in them for better bass, AJAICR, this was in the 70's.
That's quite interesting that you met Steve E in a professional setting like that, I'm jealous. Of course I was 12yrs old in 1974 and wouldn't stumble upon the Windows until 78-79. After school I hung out at a local Hi-Fi store and learned about Adcom, Hafler, Rotel, B&O, McIntosh, etc. Could never afford much at 17 but I put together my first decent rig, HK integrated, Nakamichi deck, Denon table, and some JBLs if I remember correctly. Anyway, I stroll into the store one afternoon and smack in the middle of the main room which was typically wide open with gear all around on the walls, they had an oriental rug with a nice leather couch and a single 2ch system setup in the middle of the room! My friend the owner said "Hey Vic, come check this out". I think it was either King Crimson or Alan Parsons (personal fav) on the table, but what I heard next blew me away. TWs were only about 6ft apart and the overall sound was like nothing I had ever heard. I remember the sensation as if it were last week, and I still get that from these speakers today. The spaciousness of the soundstage was messing with my brain. It was lust at first hear! At $800 a pair I said to myself "you'll never own these, fuggetaboutit". Fast forward to 2023 and I'm trolling eBay for audio gear just for grins, wasn't looking to buy anything, and the TWs popped into my head so entered them into the search bar. I found this pair for $150, local pickup only, at a guy with some nice stuff about 45min from my house! I couldn't drive fast enough. These are my main system speakers and I love em, yeah I know newer stuff definitely has some vast improvements over them in many areas, but not so much that the new gear can duplicate or replace the open airiness I still get from these every time I sit down for a listening session. I'll end with this "infamous article" IMHO. We all know Steve Guttenberg "The Audiophiliac"...he wrote a lengthy article about my beloved TWs and he hated them! Hate is a strong word, but allegedly he thought the TW was more of a gimmick than anything else...man that hurt. But then I said to myself "you know what? How come there's so many stories on the net from thousands of audiophiles of different breeds that love this speaker like I do?" And Steve is a great reviewer in my opinion and he would be the first to say, as we all should, "if it sounds good to you, then it sounds good!" I'm curious why in 2024 no one has since copied the total design of the TW using modern hardware and electronics, the result would likely be stunning. I guess with DSP and AVR setups we kind of get that "TW affect" but I'd like to hear it coming from a modern design loudspeaker in a 2ch setup with only the cabinet and the crossover making all that magic.
Are the gears starting to turn in your head. We arer a diy forum, and one has to ask, can i build something like the EimeWindow with more modern, better sounding bits?
I know where i woulkd start ;^)
dave
I know where i woulkd start ;^)
dave
This thread, in some ways, is converging with the discussion is in the current BOSE 901 thread, where ways are starting to be discussed as to how to get the best use of reflected sound. A TW would be much like a castle but use a wall instead of a ceiling. https://www.diyaudio.com/community/threads/reflected-sound-design-principles-bose-901-style.411129/
dave
dave
I have an original pair of Time Windows from the early 1980s. I bought them with a tax refund, which, in hinsight was rather extravagant. I think they were about $1500, which in 2025 dollars is about $4K! Anyway. I have never touched the drivers or the caps. I made new covers for them to replace the decaying foam covers, but that's it. They still sound as good today as when I bought them, maybe better, since I am driving them with better equipment.
As an engineer I fully appreciated the notion behind the TWs that reproducing an acoustic impulse is a good measure of flat amplitude, and phase coherency. I think it is that coherency that gives the TWs their unique transparency
The sound is not as transparent as my Magnepans, but given the technology, they are remarkably good!
I found early on that these speakers REALLY benefit from a good sub. Back in about 1986 I designed and built a passive gaussian crossover, which maintained the flat phase response across the crossover transition, and drove a large bass reflex cabinet with a 15 inch driver. I later swapped that out for a DecWare WO32, which used 2 12 inch drivers in a horn cabinet. That setup was really clean.
Unloading the TWs from heavy bass duty really frees them up to produce amazing sound.
As an engineer I fully appreciated the notion behind the TWs that reproducing an acoustic impulse is a good measure of flat amplitude, and phase coherency. I think it is that coherency that gives the TWs their unique transparency
The sound is not as transparent as my Magnepans, but given the technology, they are remarkably good!
I found early on that these speakers REALLY benefit from a good sub. Back in about 1986 I designed and built a passive gaussian crossover, which maintained the flat phase response across the crossover transition, and drove a large bass reflex cabinet with a 15 inch driver. I later swapped that out for a DecWare WO32, which used 2 12 inch drivers in a horn cabinet. That setup was really clean.
Unloading the TWs from heavy bass duty really frees them up to produce amazing sound.
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