Inside however was a tooootalllly different story, rubicon 10,000uf capacitors, a 400VA torroidal block and a very very neat and organised circuit board, Volume Control, Tone and balance switches were all made of high quality parts some of which had the 'JAPAN' markings on it. mobile truck repair

None . .

Originally, the build and overall sound quality was flawless.
After the REGNAR rebuild... is there a level beyond flawless?

Originally, at high volumes the bass was adequate but a sub really made them shine.
After the REGNAR rebuild they are actually better than original, but the Velodyne DD10 will still be relied on for those extreme lows. I've yet to hear a set of speakers that don't benefit from being paired with a decent sub.
( Except for a custom made speaker from Danby Audio with Martin drivers, which actually incorporated 2 12" down-firing woofers and were the size of a loveseat!)

Back in the early 80's we had a lot of really amazing speakers out there to choose from. I had owned Polk's, Infinity, AR among a few. We use to talk about things like Magnaplaner and other exotics in hushed tones. One day I had the luck to find myself in a recording studio in NYC and the monitors in that place left me with my jaw dropped! Dahlquist DQM9's were the beasts I had heard and I knew I would never be satisfied with less. Several weeks later I parted with $1250 and the DQM9's became reality for me for many years.
Home theater hit the planet and 7.2 surround and the old DQM9's were forgotten and sat in storage for the last 7 years. I yearned for pure stereo again. The M9's came out of storage and I cried! The woofers were falling apart... REGNAR to the rescue!
I discovered these good people after a lot of searching for all things Dahlquist. I never hesitated once I realized that REGNAR actually was what was left of the original group. I decided to go for the total routine. I shipped them my dead woofers and about 2 weeks later they sent me a package with new ploy CAPS and complete destuctions. I rebuilt the crossovers using those parts and waited for another 3 weeks before I saw the box being carried to my door. Within 2 hours the newly built (you heard correct...not rebuilt...these woofers had a heftier build than new!!!) woofers were resoldered and the DQM9's once again were complete.

I had acquired a new B&K Reference 200 amp & Reference 5 S2 preamp to do justice to the moment. The Sony ES cd player had Art Pepper / Eleven ready to fly. I sat about 15 feet back in a comfy chair and punched the remote keys. HOLY CRAP!!! How often have you encountered things which EXCEEDED your fondest recollections of how wonderful they once had been? Never, right? WRONG! These speakers are not merely back in order, they are absolutely better than original! The new woofers and revamped crossovers produce such a tight bass I'm in awe. If I had read this kind of report earlier I would have been skeptical as to the sanity of the writer of the report. You can doubt my sanity (many have), but I urge you to find these speakers and go down this path. You will not be dissapointed.

The people at REGNAR / DAHLQUIST were not just selling basic speaker service. They understand the history and appreciate the capacity of these speakers and have done the original constructions justice with their recommended process for total restoration. I was willing to try this as a stopgap to purchasing new speakers. After running these rebuilt DQM9's for only a few days...They're SO DARN GOOD I can't imagine where to begin looking to match these gems no less try to surpass the clarity and true to life nature of the music they produce. The imaging is so realistic I find myself expecting someone to wait my table!

With scotch in hand I listen once again to beautiful stereo sounds and I raise my glass to the crew at REGNAR! WELL DONE!

Customer Service

Since these speakers have not been marketed for many years (possibly not since 1990) I would have to rely on REGNAR. After my personal contact and actual voice contact at that, I envision that any kind of support from their organization will work smoothly. However, I also must admit that I can't imagine needing to contact them for service unless I can find another pair of Dahlquist speakers in need of a new life!

Similar Products Used:

A friend had a pair of OHM G's which were spectacular and yet never quite measured up to the Dahlquist's transparency.

Incredible speakers afther the rebuild. I would truly like to hear a speaker that claims to sound better.

Ummm, they don't toast bagels?

These speakers were purchased from a friend about ten years ago for $400. For some reason we both thought they were DQ-12. However, after discovering that the woofers had suffered from dry rot I sent them to Regnar for repair and they informed me that the speakers were DQ-20i, not DQ-12. Of course, this was clearly printed on the back of the speakers. Anyhow, I opted for the complete upgrade kit and the woofer rebuild. Upon opening the kit I was intimidated by the prospect of having to connect all of these capacitors, coils, etc. Once I got started it was easier than I thought. After I finsihed and connected the speakers I was pleased to hear something coming out of them. When I started to actually listen to them I was (still am) blown away by how good they sound. It's like having a brand new pair of high end speakers. They are crystal clear, incredible range and imagery. Now I have to re-listen to my entire collection as everything sounds new in that I hear things in tracks that I have never noticed before. In other words, I'm as happy as I can be with the Regnar upgrade. After being disappointed numerous times due to my having unrealistic expectations I can honestly say that these rebuilt DQ-20i's surpass any expectations I had.

REGNAR FIXES THEM AND DOES IT WELL. They sound better than anything you can get for twice their price today. And they are completely upgradeable via Regnar if you're a total audio geek. You can have your Martin Logans for $5,000. I'll take a redone set of DQ20s for half that and be happy as a pig in you know what.

I don't have the Regnar Center Channel and would like to bi-wire them and use tubes for the upper end and mids in my dream which includes a processor and a set of rear channels and a nice plasma hdtv.`

Great Speakers - mids are almost as good as electrostats but you can pump em with some juice without the panels blowing up. And I'm talking top of line Martin Logan panels here. Heard a lot of speakers but with my Adcom mono blocks and preamp they sound great and the woofers have broken in nicely. My hats off to Regnar.

Similar Products Used:

Been to a show or two - am familiar with a lot of equipment. Not an expert but what sounds like music to my ear may not sound the same to you. I've never heard Mozart's Requiem played on any system anywhere that sounded better than what I have that was under $10,000. And I've heard the Wilson Grand Slams and Cubs and yes they are better but the price is in accordance and the returns are minimal the higher up you go.

Highs, mid and for me with this system, the bass is great!

I bought these speakers when they first came out, back in the mid 80's. My intergrated amp is a Tanberg 3015 and I auditioned the DQ 20's with "Money" from Pink Floyd. I did not have any reservations about the bass at all. The mid and highs were crystal clear. Perhaps this wonderful sound was because of the Tanberg......since the 80's I had to have the woofers replaced in 2000 (too much Pink Floyd) and am now needing the tweeters done. If there is anyone who can send me the number for Regnar, I'd appreciate it. For some reason, google is not cooperating. The person who did the work on the woofers is located upstate NY somewhere and I can't find him either now. He was an original Dahlquist repair person.

Transparent as glass. Beautiful mids. Nice soundstage

A little light on the bass end.

Just got the woofers reconed by Regnar. Speakers sound great. Bass is a little on the light side. Am hoping the new speakers break in a little bit. Heard a sub detracts from the mids which is definitely not the way to go; with these speakers the mids are everything. As said before not the best speaker to crank Led Zeppellin on but Mozart's Requiem or any accoustic or woodwind music or vocals sound wonderful. Rock and Roll sounds real good too but if you need that sizzle and boom feel you won't get it with these speakers which is a plus for me. My hats off to Regnar though. They did a really nice job repairing the woofers and I will be listening to the 20s for a long time.

Similar Products Used:

Martin Logan Sql 3 Like the Vandersteens too. No bass problem with them bad boys. Also Joseph Audio makes a nice speaker.

Open, airy, incredibly detailed highs and midrange.

Very little bass.

These are amazing speakers designed by the incredible Jon Dahlquist. Mine were fortunate to have already been upgraded by regnar and refoamed as well. The sound is incredibly sharp, open and airy which is due to the acoustic suspension of the woofer which makes for sharp bass instead of ported speakers. Also, amazingly the mid range speaker has its own enclosure but has a port! It is therefore a bass reflex midrange! This is the secret to the incredible soundstage of the mid! Unfortunately the woofer, being acoustic suspension probably doesn't go below 70 hz and the speaker like its cousin the DQ 10 is terribly lacking in bass. Still, an incredibly sounding speaker and my current favorite. Unexplainably though, matching it with a powered subwoofer just doesn't work well and seems to reduce its wide soundstage. Oh well, its still an amazing speaker. I believe for a project I will try to change the woofer to a bass reflex cabinet and see where that goes. Regnar won't even answer my request for T/S parameters though.

Similar Products Used:

Energy 22 reference connoisseur floorstanding

great price, lots of boom, adjustable, powered sub

none

Dahlquist PDQ1200 subwoofer: great sound for a 12" sub, compact,well built

Transparencey, immaging, great midrange driver. Sound like todays speakers costing $3000+.

They do need a good powerfull amp. Alittle oversized, the actual cabinet is much smaller than the grillwork.

I know I will make alot people envious finding the DQ20's at a tag sale for $75! I always knew about the DQ10's with their phase alignment from the 1970's when a friend had them hooked up to a Crown amplifier. When I saw the DQ20,s at the tag sale I knew from the looks that they were Dahlquist and asked the price. The guy was selling them for his college buddy and obviously didn,t know the value ($2000 new) so he said $100. I offered $75 and he accepted. I gave them a quick listen first to make sure they weren't dead and took them home. They were already in very good condition and sounded excellent but inevitabley the foam around the woofers gave way. That,s when I like many of the other reviewers found Regnar in Long Island, New York. They are the original Dahlquist service technicians and recommended to totally rebuild the woofers, not recone. They explained that reconing by sub-professional stereo shops will throw the shims and spider out of alignment. I had them done for $120 apiece and it was well worth it. I also replaced one of the Scanspeak tweeters and the are now almost like new. Like other reviewers I agree that these would cost a few thousand to replace with similar sounding speakers. I recently auditioned several speakers like PBS Gold ($2000), ADS ($2000)and B&W ($2500) and none come close to the overall detail and openess of the DQ20's. A great pair of speakers to upgrade if you can find them.

Similar Products Used:

Nothing similar

I stand corrected. Got a much larger apartment and can now see the need for a sub. They still sound wonderful though and the mids on these speakers are superb. The detail and transparency of vocals is uncanny. When I hit the number I'll probably get the RG-1 sub from Regnar. PS: Anybody know why Regnar won't let you drop the speakers off and insists you ship them to them. I know exactly where they are and it is much easier for me to bring them there than to pack and ship them. It's about a 60 mile trip for me. They say that you have to ship to them. Anyway - my surrounds are still fine and the speakers sound wonderful so maybe they will lighten up and I can have some work done on them in the future because these speakers are keepers.