Great soundstage for 2 channel. Nice low end without being subwoofer boomy. Definitely outperforms any other speakers at or below the $1000 mark.

A bit warm - but only a weakness if you don't like that. And that may just be the crappy CD player I have at the moment.

I just picked these speakers up from a local ebay seller. I was worried because he let me listen to them at his house prior to the end of the auction, and he must have had the low frequency crossed over to his sub, which I asked him to turn off. He also just had some Sony HT DVD player and amp. Not much. Needless to say, they sounded very lacking on the low end and flat. I relied on the other reviews here and made the purchase anyway...
I am very glad I did! These DQ18's were worth every penny and then some. I don't have real high and stuff right now. Just running a vintage Pioneer SA7800 amp at 80 watts RMS - 8 ohms. We won't mention the CD player at all. I bi-wired these also, which may have helped bring out the low end and provide increased soundstage. I will definitely be happy with these for a long time.
They aren't quite as bright as my B&W's (those tweeters can't be beat), but at the price I paid, I'm good.
Also, being these can only be bought used. You won't have to wait 20 - 100 hours breaking them in. Mine sound used, but not fatigued in the least.
You must have a medium to large room, though. Being any closer than 10 feet takes away from their full potential.

Similar Products Used:

B&W CDM7se

imaging

linearity even at low levels

lack of cabinet resonance

plenty of volume for my taste

Bi-wire, or bi-amp-able

tippy! be sure where you plan to sit them is LEVEL!

purchased my dq-18's at audio classics,( then located in walton, ny.), circa 1993 or thereabouts. used them with conrad-johnson solid-state preamp and (200w/ch) power amp. i think what is most surprising about them is their neutrality and clarity and with the c.j. power amp running pretty close to max, the amount of volume was also a pleasant surprise. the (beryllium?) tweeters seemed to ring some at first but that seems to have mellowed with time. bass is potent yet well balanced with the rest of the system, and the lowest notes (somewhere around 40hz) are right where they belong even at very low levels. the design of the cabinet seems to eliminate resonance, there is no trace of "boominess".
i think these are perfect speakers for an average sized livingroom.

Customer Service

company defunct, but there are places around the country that can re-cone them if needed

Similar Products Used:

ar-2ax

true live sound reproduction.

none

i bought my dq-18's in 92 to upgrade from my dq-8's. noboady made better speakers for the money than dahlquist. no matter what style of music you listen to, the dq-18's will present it in the closest possible form to a true live performance. the clarity and imaging of the sound is awsome. a decade later, and i'v yet to hear any other speakes that would nudge me into replacing my dq-18's. i still have my dq-8's which still sound great, but for true live sound, i live and die by my 18's. if you can find them used (sadly the company no longer exists), by all means aquire them. you will not be dsiapointed in the least

Similar Products Used:

dahlquist dq-8

clarity,crispness,looks

none, if you can carry them up stairs by yourself :)

i first heard the DQ series about 90 or 91 and couldn't afford 1200 a pop (or even for a pair) but i knew someday i would have them, and when a local went out of bussness i picked up a demo set very cheap . they have been powered by n.a.d, sony, and now denon 3300 av whick is a great toy (my two sony a/v's both wore out after a couple years, bad inside connections (i.e. having to band on the left side to get a chanel to work, or wiggle a rca plug to get it to play through one channel) anyway, the dq-18 plays grover washington jr.'s anthology album so clear that you'll want to cry with joy at the beauty of it. i can't tell you about the newer "PDQ" series, they are not the original company, i do have one of the powered subs for surround use and it is very good (the 1200 self powered) . there are better speakers then the DQ-18's i am sure, (perhaps the DQ-20's) but i have never personally heard one that i prefered,they are breathtaking and even though you can't get them anymore, i hope some other owners crawl out of the woodwork and speak up.

Similar Products Used:

many "front" speakers, which always end up getting passed of to my dad when i upgrade :)

I've owned these speakers for 6 years and have thoroughly enjoyed them. They are well designed, heavy, and aesthetically appealing. My first loudspeakers were circa 1970's bookshelf Advent's, they were great sounding speakers. I eventually traded them in for a pair of Boston Acoustics A-100, a two-way floor standing speaker. I bought these for about $350 in 1986 and kept them for about seven years. I bought the Dahlquist in 1993 at a high end stereo dealer in Fort Worth, TX. They sold everything from Yamaha/Boston Acoustics to Mark Levinson/Infinity IRS Epsilon systems. I told them that I wanted to upgrade my speakers and that I had the Boston A-100. They recommended the Dahlquist and played them with Nakamichi equipment. They sounded great in the store and just as good at home. If you have a chance to pick these up used from a friend or wherever I would jump on the chance to buy them. I'm not a professional audio critic, but I will say this about the Dahlquist. They have great imaging, good/tight bass, and great highs. After jumping from Boston to Dahlquist every CD in my collection came alive. I would like to upgrade my speakers someday (maybe Thiel's), but for now I'm very happy with the Dahlquist.
My system:

Yamaha Integrated Amp AX-592
Yamaha CD Player CDC-655
Yamaha Tuner TX-470
Dahlquist DQ-18
Vampire Interconnects
Monster Cable Speaker Wire