Design Acoustics D-6 speakers- any good?

[riverrat]

I have a chance to pick up a set of these for cheap. Probably can't be more specific than that without getting moved to Dollars and Sense, but suffice it to say we are not talking any serious cash here.

I don't need any more speakers, so if these are just "OK" I will pass. But they certainly have an unusual design and aside from the grille cloth, are in pretty nice shape and good working order.

Do these babies punch above their weight, exhibit any special qualities, or are they just another decent vintage speaker?

 

[kfa888]

I had a set here for a while (a friends) and really liked them.

 

[sealy]

If I can recall, the woofer is a rear-firing 10 in.. The cone mid fires into the listening area and there are several cone tweeters projected at various angles on the beveled front. I remember listening to a pair powered by a large amp and a nice turntable equipped with my Dynavector moving-coil cartridge. The sound was clear and very smooth. I always wished that the speakers would have had one dome tweeter, in the middle of all those cones, for a bit better high end.

 

[dc270]

I would get htem- or any early DA design for that matter- their design approach was unique and usually sounded quite well. The set you are refering to had the angle set baffle with the off set firing tweeters and center mid with rear firing woofer. Placed correctly it will sound good- Some what of a Bose spin off but better thought out!
DC

 

[stickman]

I used to work at the Design Acoustics factory in Torrance, CA back in the 1970's and D-6's were by far the best selling model. On most versions there was a CTS phenolic ring tweeter on the front and Peerless cone tweeters on the beveled sides of the front panel assembly with a Peerless midrange also up front. I've seen late models that used a Peerless cone tweeter on the front panel as well, but most had the CTS tweeter. Because of the rear firing woofer and side angled tweeters speaker room placement is far more critical than on a regular front firing only speaker, but they can sound very good when properly set up. For a cheap price they are well worth buying, and besides you could always try substituting a good dome tweeter on the front panel to replace the standard cone unit!

 

[riverrat]

Thank you for the replies folks! For the low-medium 2 digit price I am tempted, although the WAF factor is very low with the torn grille fabric. Here are a couple pics:

 

[VinylHanger]

I use my pair as my mains now. They have pushed out a pair of KG-3.2's at the moment. The only pair of speakers I have that will seriously make them leave is my Kef 104.2's when I get some driver work done. Other than that, they've out run some Mission Freedoms, Infinity 3006's, LA's, ML-1c's, Lancer 99's, L-19's and a miriad of other lesser and better units. For any price in the double digits, go for it. They have bass aplenty, balanced out with some nice treble. They are great at adjusting to the room as the distance from the walls makes a difference in how they respond using the rear firing woofer. they are going to have to fight it out in the new house to see if any of the aforementioned units suit the front room here better, but either way, they are one of the few speakers I will never get rid of.

The grills are a cloth covered plastic mesh that sort of snaps into the groove between the side of the front baffle and the side wall of the speaker. It should be easy to replicate.

 

[GTman]

Hi Stickman, I just saw your post from way back and saw that you worked at Design Acoustics. Do you know what the wood is that the outer case is made from? I don’t think mahogany and definitely not walnut. I want to build some stands for mine and also build a matching TV/stereo shelf.
thanks,

 

[stickman]

I do believe the veneer on the cabinets is indeed walnut and was stained to get that particular appearance. One time while I was working there the owner George Sioles purchased some rosewood veneered pieces for making a special batch of D-12's at a premium price. That veneer was absolutely gorgeous and the wood shop guys had to be extremely careful while cutting it!

The D-6's pictured in this topic thread are the "classic" design in terms of the drivers used with Peerless cone tweets on the angled side panels, a Peerless midrange driver, and a CTS (or equivalent) phenolic ring tweeter. If I had a pair I'd relocate the midrange mounting to the front of the baffle and maybe replace the CTS tweeter with a dome driver with a recessed dome to limit dispersion.

On FleaBay there has been a pair of D-6's for sale that have CTS tweeters used all around on the front baffle and side bevels that have been trimmed around the edges to fit. I've also seen other versions on FleaBay that have another Peerless cone tweeter on the front baffle in place of the CTS unit, but again neither of those set-ups were the usual configuration while I worked there.

 

[Palaka]

I just purchased a pair of D-6s from the original owners. All drivers are working.