DBX Soundfield 10 Worth?

[Brunt]

A pair of Soundfield 10s was listed nearby recently and I'm interested but it seems to me like his asking price of $400 is a bit steep.

Any input on what a pair of these is actually worth in need of some tlc? (refoam all around, one of the tweeters is dented in and may need replacement, probably a recap as well)

 

[62vauxhall]

They seem to be somewhat appreciated. But not by many and they don't seem to command much money. Their EQ / control box, whatever it is, is needed for them to work properly.

A shop I frequent has people dropping off all manner of vintage gear - either for evaluation or sale. There has been a pair of DBX Soundfirld something or other, standing in the corner for about a year. The shop's owner didn't want them because he didn't think he could sell them and it sounded like the owner is in no rush to take them back.

If storage fees are not involved, I'm sure they will be considered abandoned one of these days.

 

[EVBoy]

They are very good speakers but aren't worth much. They aren't collectible and are mostly unknown. They were very expensive new so that is why the seller is asking a lot of money. No controller?

 

[Brunt]

The seller said he had the controller but it wasn't shown in the listing. I'm thinking of making an offer for them but I'm not sure what I would use them for. Likely I would restore them and then sell to a friend as I tend to do.

Any thoughts on how they stack up/sound when put against a big infinity of the same era? (RSII and RSIII are ones I'm very familiar with)

I've read that the image is where they shine but otherwise aren't especially noteworthy.

 

[EVBoy]

I have never heard them but some people say they are very good, amazing even. There are some threads on them from long ago.
They are worth pursuing but they are not worth anywhere near $400.

 

[Brunt]

Ended up getting them for $240, I personally would have only taken them for less than that but a friend was in need of speakers and was into these so rather than waiting for another random deal on some old speakers he just said that price was fine to save the time.

They are completely pristine including the controller. The 4 bass woofers need refoaming but the mids appear to have a cloth surround or something that is still fine. The build quality is actually a lot better than I was expecting as well. Super solid cabs, nice drivers all around, even the separate equalizer is build like a tank.

I'll post some more pictures and listening impressions if people are interested as they get fixed and played more. They are an interesting and weird old speaker design, shame they didn't really get any further development after these once DBX got bought.

 

[deuce2737]

About 7 years ago, I learned on this forum about how to re-foam the 4 bass woofers on my dbx S10s. After 34 years, they still sound very nice. I have the controller, which is absolutely critical. The controller was supposed to run through a cassette tape loop when it came out. My old Denon preamp has one. Not sure how one would do this in a modern receiver. Only bad thing is they are quite large, and not great for a small space--like a townhouse. The top covers fell apart years ago from constant moves (military). I use a 23-year old Nakamichi PA-5 II amp to run them. That works well, but I probably should upgrade my CD player.

 

[Boonaroo]

The brand was sold to DAK.

That was long after the decline of DBX. These speakers were manufactured by the actual company DBX in the 1980's. I had a friend who had a pair coupled with BO equipment and they were quite stunning when set up correctly. He had them in a large sun room with tall ceilings. They were set about 4' off the back and side walls.

Let us know your impressions as you get them up and running. I think you will be quite impressed.

 

[jberger]

These really need to be away from side walls, and the more distance behind them, the better.

It would be interesting to try these with some of Carver's Sonic Holography; would they compliment or battle each other?

 

[analog addict]

I think you did fine. I sold a pair awhile back for $300. Set up correctly and of course with the controller box, they are very nice sounding speakers..

 

[lchiu7]

About 7 years ago, I learned on this forum about how to re-foam the 4 bass woofers on my dbx S10s. After 34 years, they still sound very nice. I have the controller, which is absolutely critical. The controller was supposed to run through a cassette tape loop when it came out. My old Denon preamp has one. Not sure how one would do this in a modern receiver. Only bad thing is they are quite large, and not great for a small space--like a townhouse. The top covers fell apart years ago from constant moves (military). I use a 23-year old Nakamichi PA-5 II amp to run them. That works well, but I probably should upgrade my CD player.

This posting is over 6 month's old but I thought I would reply here since my experience is relevant and maybe somebody will see it! I bought SF10's new in 1983 I think. I used them for many years but once surround sound and digital processing become common, there was no obvious way to patch in the equaliser without buying a really expensive AVR with preamp outs. So they sat round for years unused and in the past 15 years just sit in the family room where my wife puts photos albums etc. on top!

I have since worked out a solution to use them. This is to take the speakers output from the AVR, patch it into a unit (or a simple resistor circuit) and attenuates the signal to line level, patch that into the controllers and then out to another amp. In prepartion for that I had my woofers re-foamed (they had disintegrated over the years) and found an attenuator device from Carver.

See this long post on AK

https://audiokarma.org/forums/index...bad-the-distortion-is-plus-crazy-idea.831588/

I have a spare power amp so I am looking forward to hearing these bad boys again!