Although the DCM TF 700's may be an older design, does that mean they are lacking? Does time really make that much of a difference? Has inflation drastically changed price to performance ratios?
Let’s take a look, and dive into these old school speakers!
Coming in at 44 inches tall, 18 inches wide, and 7 inches deep, they’re quite easy to place, and with each speaker weighing in at 42 pounds, moving them should be a breeze. One of the design features, that I really think is overlooked, is having the ability to place them closer to the wall, without having to sacrifice bass extension, or depth in the soundstage.
With most speakers, they have to be about 3-4 feet from the back wall, depending on your room size, and layout. The box itself is a Transmission Line design, which gives you a more realistic bass response, while utilizing an 8 inch driver for the bass, a 4 inch mid frequency driver, and a 3/4 inch soft dome tweeter for the highs. With a total frequency response of 30hz-20khz these cover most of the audible range, and should do great for either movies, or music.
Whenever I test a speaker I always like to do so with variations in the amplification category, as not all amplifiers, or receivers, sound the same. With the DCM TF 700’s, I paired them to each of my devices, and found that these like more power, and can better utilize class A/B amplification.
Class D sounded too thin, and harsh, while the Class A/B setup filled my room with warmth and articulacy, without being harsh or overbearing. Not saying all class D is bad, but most class A/B systems have a thicker, more controlled low end, and cleaner highs. Once I had the correct amplification picked out, it took just minutes to position the speakers, thanks again, to the great design of the Transmission Line box.
The spring loaded clips on the back, assured the wires would stay in place, as I moved the speakers around during testing. For my listening space I started by placing them about 6 feet apart, and about a foot from the back wall. Doing a quick stereo sweep test, I found the center imaging to be spot on, and decided I had given them the optimal position.
Now every listening room is different, so this won’t work for everyone, but it’s definitely where I would recommend starting. Even though I found my DCM TF 700’s at the Local Marketplace, I didn’t have the opportunity to unbox them like all my other things, but thankfully they survived the hour drive home, and the solid cabinet design kept them in one piece.
With the right amplification chosen, and the speakers being in the optimal position in my listening space, I knew it was time to see what they could do.
One of my favorite movie testing scenes is from Aqua-Man. The aquarium scene to be more specific, when the shark decides it wants to slam against the glass. With the volume cranked, and with popcorn In hand, I pressed play, the force from the shark nearly knocked the popcorn bag out of my hand, I laughed, and turned down the volume, while double checking to make sure my sub wasn’t plugged in or turned on.
Next on my list is a song I like to listen to by Pink Floyd - “Comfortably Numb”. The guitar solo towards the end filled my space evenly, and induced quite a few chill bumps while doing so. I could swear I was there in person. Throughout all the different genres I tested, I noticed that unlike some speakers, these have the tendency to make every song sound incredible, but fair warning, these are revealing speakers, and can make a bad recording sound worse.
Having listened to many brands over the years, I’ve had quite a few different speakers in my setup. In my opinion, these easily can compete with speakers that go for up to $2,500 today.
One of my go to speaker manufacturer’s has been Bowers & Wilkins, for the smooth soundstage, and having clean lows, and highs.
In comparison, the DCM TF 700’s do everything my B&W’s did, and more! This is especially true in the bass department, where my 707 S2’s were limited to volume because of excursion limits, something a Transmission Line speaker doesn’t suffer from.
Compared to my Klipsch speakers, these have sparkle as well up top, but with a smaller bump in the 3-4khz range, than the Klipsch, which definitely helps tame listening fatigue. The cabinets are also solid like B&W cabinets, and don’t resonate, or color the sound.
Although these are older speakers, and aren’t the easiest to find, I can definitely say I’ve enjoyed my time with them, and they have definitely opened my eyes to the possibility that spending more doesn't always mean better sound. From music to movies, regardless of the genre, I think this will please most perfectionists like myself.
Like I said, they aren’t the easiest to come by, but If you can find these speakers I would recommend scooping them up, and adding them to your collection. You can find these fairly cheap at around $100-500 dollars, and at that price point, you can’t go wrong with the amount of performance they’re capable of, give them a try, and see what you may be missing. I can assuredly say, I think that time plays a big factor, and that sadly, price to performance ratios, have decreased with time.
