Description

I've admired a friend's Shahinian Hawks for many years. I now own a pair and I'm quite happy.

I've also been a fan of Dahlquist DQ-10 since the early 80s. I own two pairs. One is a later model (1985) with mirror-imaged drivers and latest crossover. The other is an early model (1975) without mirror-imaging and old crossovers. I'm in the process of rebuilding the older pair -- updating them to the latest design. I dissembled the cabinets and coated the interiors with Cascade VB-1X. I spray painted the baffle boards and grills with Plasti Dip so they are significantly damped. I replaced the capacitors with the latest values and kept the original resistors and inductors. I replaced the original 22 gauge solid aluminum internal wiring with 18 gauge OFC stranded copper. The baffle boards have been mirror imaged. I enjoy these kind of projects. These 50-year old speakers were way ahead of their time. 

As a kid in the 1970s, I was mesmerized by a pair of Snell Type A driven by a Sansui 9090DB at a friend’s house. It inspired me to want a system, but at 16-years old, I couldn’t afford much. The magazines were praising DQ-10 at the time. I lusted after them, but they were out of reach. That was all long ago... Since then, I've spent a significant amount of time with DQ-10, DQ-20i, DQ-30, Alon Model I, Model II, Model V, Alon Circe, Shahinian Obelisk, Shahinian Hawks, Magnepan 3.7i, and Ohm 200. I’m drawn to omni-directional designs. The Shahinian Hawk have everything I want with a spaciousness that brings you to the performance, a bottom end that hits you, and a top end that reveals unbelievable nuances. 

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Room Details

Dimensions: 17’ × 13’  Medium
Ceiling: 8’


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Comments 19

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Owner
Thank you Halcro! Very nice of you.

Boonetrc, I don't have any bootleg GD recordings. I have Trinity Sessions which is a great album. Lay it Down is one of my faves.

mingles

Owner
Boonetrc, thanks for the heads up! I just ordered it.

mingles

Owner
Flg2001, I appreciate your comments.

Mavroudakis, I'm glad you found the schematic. You should be aware of the fact that ASL made changes to the circuit without documenting them. My amps are slightly different than the schematic. You probably saw the write up in my system about loose sockets. These caused a few resistors to burn out which, in turn, burned out some tubes. To prevent future problems, I decided to replace all the sockets. I haven't finished... it's tedious work.

Chazzbo, I like the Cartridge Man quite a bit. In my opinion, the Grado Sonata is an under-appreciated cartridge that has one of the best midranges I've heard. I agree with you about Dynavector. The 20X sounds fabulous.

mingles

Owner
Thanks for your comment Sam. I'm hobbling things together the only way I know how... through trial and error! I have to admit I'm starting to question why I bother with vinyl. It requires so much effort compared to digital and the results are spotty. It's starting to feel like a chore rather than an enjoyable experience.

mingles

Owner
Oddly enough, the forums don't allow html tags, but the virtual system descriptions do. Give it a try.

mingles

Owner
Hi T-bone, thanks for visiting. The descriptions and links in my system are basic html. Unfortunately, they aren't a feature at Audiogon, but the tags are easy to learn. Here's a good tutorial that explains how to create bullet lists:

http://www.davesite.com/webstation/html/chap07.shtml

mingles

Owner
System edited: New addition: Bottlehead Extended Foreplay III with Sylvania 6SN7. First impressions are extremely positive. There's no mistaking this a warm preamp. Vocals have more weight and presence. Highs have a new sense of air and ambiance. Cymbals seem to be in the room. Bass has a new punch. The only thing I'll nit-pick about is a tranny buzz between songs. It's independent of volume and source. I'll try to track it down and deal with it.

mingles