DCM TF 250 curbside find!

insomniac

Active Member
So, our little town has a yearly 'spring cleaning' event where you can set all your unwanted junk by the curb for it to be hauled away on certain day. Naturally, scavengers like myself do a little scouting the day or two before it all gets hauled away, but there's usually nothing worth looking at. However, it seems I got lucky this year.

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They seem to be in pretty good shape, besides the socks needing a thorough cleaning. First impressions upon listening to them is that they are long overdue for a recap. I've read a lot of good things about the TF series and DCM in general, but these... don't sound great right now. Still though, even if I don't like them after putting some work into them, I'm only out the price of caps and a little time. Can't be too hard to flip these.
 
Thank you! Surrounds look good, I believe they're butyl rubber? At any rate, they seem like they're holding up. However, the foam under the socks did not. Anyone replace this stuff while restoring these, or just go without? It's like an 1/8" thick open cell foam, which I've had zero luck finding anywhere.
 
Congrats! Here's the user manual. It has limited info about the drivers but has other specs etc.
 

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Mine go without the foam. I remove all of the sticky residue and paint the cabinets black. That's it. Then I put the socks back on after washing them. You'll be amazed at how filthy the socks can get. :D

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I recapped my TF350s with some mylars that I had sitting around. They sounded better than the original caps but I wasn't real impressed with the sound. It wasn't long before I went ahead and bit the bullet for Clarity PX caps and Mills resistors. With the better crossover components they are very well balanced speakers that punch way above their weight.
 
Thank you! Surrounds look good, I believe they're butyl rubber? At any rate, they seem like they're holding up. However, the foam under the socks did not. Anyone replace this stuff while restoring these, or just go without? It's like an 1/8" thick open cell foam, which I've had zero luck finding anywhere.
You can find the material needed to rewrap the speakers at any automotive interior supplier. It's the same stuff that is used for the headliners in cars.
 
Mine go without the foam. I remove all of the sticky residue and paint the cabinets black. That's it. Then I put the socks back on after washing them. You'll be amazed at how filthy the socks can get. :D

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Huh, maybe I'll toss the socks in the wash before I button everything back up.

I recapped my TF350s with some mylars that I had sitting around. They sounded better than the original caps but I wasn't real impressed with the sound. It wasn't long before I went ahead and bit the bullet for Clarity PX caps and Mills resistors. With the better crossover components they are very well balanced speakers that punch way above their weight.

I was going to go with Solen 5% film caps for the crossovers, but seeing as they may get flipped at some point, I opted for the slightly cheaper Daytons. Is it critical to replace the resistors too? I was probably going to leave those alone, but if it makes a big improvement I might spring for some new ones.
 
Well, I finally found some suitable foam on the bay, but it ships from Shanghai, so I might get it sometime in July. Looks like I'll have plenty of time to get the crossovers done before it gets here.
 
The Mills resistors probably aren't necessary in Time Frames, but since I was using Clarity caps, I went ahead and got them. I have noticed that on high sensitivity speakers, say over 95db, that sand cast resistors can be a bit noisy but the Mills resistors are quiet.
 
So, are the tweeters in these things supposed to be somewhat rolled off? I was expecting the top end to open up some with the new caps, but it really hasn't. They're both making sound, but I wonder if they're not working 100%.
 
At any rate, caps and binding posts are done on one speaker, about to do the second. Those dayton 47uf's should come with a disclaimer, they are gigantic.
 

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Of course the second speaker is different from the first. I had read there were some inconsistencies between individual speakers in this line, but I was still surprised to see it. The second sock rolled up just fine, unlike the first, which brought tons of that nasty foam crumbling off with it. That was nice, but upon dismounting the drivers, I found they were soldered in, instead of having spade connectors like the first one.

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Whyyyyy would anyone do this? Of course, I don't have any spade connectors on hand, so it will be re-soldered when I put it back in.
 
At any rate, caps and binding posts are done on one speaker, about to do the second. Those dayton 47uf's should come with a disclaimer, they are gigantic.
No need for a disclaimer since they post the dimensions along with the electrical value and price. :)
 
Man, I would sure enjoy this project.

Reading your story does remind me of the old sayin'

"Nothing is ever really free..."

Will continue to follow the thread with interest. Always have wanted to track down a set of TFs but they're as scarce as Vandersteens around here. This thread may convince me otherwise.
 
Just have to look on the right curb I suppose lol. Side note, I would love to find some Vandersteens around here.
 
Some pics of the crossovers. Had to get a little creative with the second one.

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A picture of one of the 47uf's for posterity. Good lord lol.

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So, are the tweeters in these things supposed to be somewhat rolled off? I was expecting the top end to open up some with the new caps, but it really hasn't. They're both making sound, but I wonder if they're not working 100%.
The Vifa tweeters should not sound rolled off.
 
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