Dlk 1.5

[ddragg1]

Just bought a sweet pair of DLK 1.5's for $30 at Goodwill. I own a pair of DLK 1's too. I think these speakers are way under rated. They sound so freaking good with the right amp. I need some manuals and I cannot for the life of me find anything. I know a little about the history of DLK, but that's about it. Does anyone have manuals or brochures for these?

Thanks

 

[vinyldavid]

I passed on some at my goodwill for JBL 4311's....
GREAT SCORE!

 

[ddragg1]

I would have gotten the JBL's too if I had the option. Haven't seen any of those yet, but if I do I will pick them up if the price is right. I have some JBL S-10's and some E50's. I like both of them, but I hardly ever use them and I don't believe they are even broken in yet. Crazy huh? Good score for you. What did you end up getting them for?

 

[jackgustav]

Well worth $30

I see that you snagged a pair of the original DLK 11/2s. They should have rubber surrounds so that will never be an issue for you. Search DLK here and you will find a fair amount of information. They were a house brand for a local electronics store here in Minneapolis. The 11/2s are good, but see if you can find a model 2 or 3. They are quite good. If you find a pair of 4s, SEND THEM TO ME!!! As far as paper work on them, I haven't seen much. DLK has been gone for some time.

 

[ddragg1]

Thanks for the info and I hope to find some 2's, 3's or 4's, but until then I will listen to these along with my Allison Sixes. I am replacing the surrounds on some ESS PS-12C's and I hope they sound as good as the DLK 1 1/2's. Maybe even better with that Heil tweeter/mid and a passive radiator.

 

[draftingmonkey]

Here is the little I have picked up over time since I picked up my Model 4's:

The company was a wholly owned subsidiary of Schaak Electronics based in Minneapolis MN. The name is derived from name of the engineer Donald L. Kliewer. Don was an excellent engineer and had a state of then art lab for the time based on Bruel & Kjaer test equipment. The company originally made speakers under the Omega label and later developed a higher end line under the DLK label. Don did extensive testing of drivers and in the DLK line did not use off the shelf drivers but had them slightly modified to his specifications and 2nd order x-overs were used in all models. All the DLK speakers were made of ¾” mdf and had hand rubbed oiled book matched walnut veneered cabinets.

The DLK Model 1 was the first speaker in the line. It was a two way design using a Phenolic Ring tweeter and an 8” paper cone tweeter with a butyl rubber surround.

The next speakers were the Model 2 and 3. Both these were three way designs with the woofer and tweeter in phase and the midrange out of phase to smooth the x-over notch distortion, a common practice then. The Model 3 was developed first and the Model 2 was a modified 3 made to be smaller less expensive. The 3 had a 12” woofer with a foam surround in a sealed cabinet. A 4.5” paper midrange with a doped fiberglass surround in a sealed sub-cabinet. The tweeter was a Matsushita doped cloth dome with a sealed back. This tweeter was very cutting edge at the time. The model 2 cabinet had the same height and width as the 3 but was not as deep and was ported. The woofer was nearly the same as used in the Three but had a doped folded fiberglass surround and a smaller dust cap and was designed for the ported cabinet. The midrange was the same and the tweeter was the same as used in the model 1.

After the 2 and 3 were released there was a need for a model between the 1and 2 and DLK 1 ½ was developed. This was basically a Model 1 with two 8” woofers and the cabinet size increased to load both woofers. There was also a Model ½ and ¼ released later. The ½ was a sealed two way design with a 6” woofer with butyl rubber surround and a paper cone tweeter and the ¼ was a 41/2 full range driver in a small ported cabinet. The ¼ could be seen on the back deck of many cars in the seventies in the early days of car stereos.

The final speaker was the DLK Model 4 which was basically a 3 with two 12” woofers. This was known for its large size almost four feet high and it’s cultured marble top. The x-over in the model 4s were made in pairs with matched drivers and x-overs and all the capacitors were large Mylar sand filled type.

 

[ddragg1]

Thanks. Very informative. I will always buy DLK's because there are well made and sound great.

 

[MAXZ28]

My gut told me to stop in the local GW again today after picking up a quad of Realistic 7B's for $16 yesterday just to see if they had some more goodies stashed away back of house - so on my lunch hour I stopped in and found a pair of DLK 1 1/2's sitting there. They have a similar speaker configuration as ddragg1's first picture, but the grills are recessed in the cabinet's front framing with little pull tabs. I've read several threads about dlk speakers but I've never auditioned a pair. For $20 I thought it would be worth a shot. Pictures to follow tonight.

On a side note, I had a gentlemen [ could've been a local AKer, but I forgot to ask ] mention to me that the tweeters have a tendency to fail quite often on dlk's...any truth to that?

pics aren't my pair but this is how they look.

 

[jackgustav]

What you have there looks like a pair of "New DLK 1 1/2s" The pair I had was a 4 ohm set with woofers that used foam rather than rubber surrounds. A nice sounding and looking set of speakers.:thmbsp:

Now that I look at some pics of the "New DLK1 1/2s that I had, I can see that MAXZ28's are indeed older. My mistake. I will try to add some pics.

 

[ddragg1]

I'm not really sure what you have there because the ones I have and the ones I have seen elsewhere all have the same grills and tweets. I guess yours could be their later models before DLK went out of business. Interesting! I have had a pair of DLK 1's for some time and I have not had any problems with the tweets and I have really pushed them. The DLK II's have the same tweets and drivers as the 1's, but they have two drivers. I have not heard of anyone have problems with the tweets, but at any rate you got an awesome buy. I think they sound really nice with tubes because their base is not the strongest. Good deal!

 

[MAXZ28]

I'm not really sure what you have there because the ones I have and the ones I have seen elsewhere all have the same grills and tweets.

Here's the thread with pics of my dlk 1 1/2's....

http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?t=154073

From what comments I've read, it appears there are 2 versions of the 1.5's. I'm guessing mine are of the later type.

There was a gentlemen at the GW that passed on my pair because he said that dlk's had issues with tweeter failures - I don't know if he was feeding me a line of bull or if he was being sincere, but I had heard enough dlk praise on AK not to pass them up for an audition. The return policy is 7 days if you don't remove the price stickers and have your receipt- so out the door with me they went. I'm glad, because they are definitely keeper speakers!:yes:

ddragg1- Do you know the max power rating of the speakers, by chance?

 

[ARguy]

Actually ddragg1 has the newest revision and MAXZ28 shows an older set but not the orginal revision. I believe those are the units with no "DLK" on the woofer dust cap and with pleated surrounds. The woofers were from CTS and were off the shelf units. I have at least three different versions of the 1 1/2 and I'll post pictures as soon as I can. They also had two different types of crossover mountings in the cabinet...one was round and one was square.

 

[MAXZ28]

I have at least three different versions of the 1 1/2 and I'll post pictures as soon as I can.

Thanks, AR....I'm starting to get confused - it'd be nice to clarify things. I read some old threads on dlk and it appears that you actually toured the factory. It's [ the address, I mean ] just a stone's throw from me. It would be interesting to hear some insight about that. Please share....

 

[geespot]

I have a pair of 3's that I got from my cousin. He purchased them direct and used them throughout college. His roomate bought the 3's also. He stacked them during parties.

 

[ddragg1]

They are 4 ohm 80 watt. I think that guy was messing with you so that he could score them or maybe he had someone else coming to pick them up. You like the way they sound?

 

[MAXZ28]

They are 4 ohm 80 watt. I think that guy was messing with you so that he could score them or maybe he had someone else coming to pick them up. You like the way they sound?

I was loading them into the car when he stopped by and told me he had looked at them but passed because they were prone to the tweeter failures....I really don't think he wanted them cuz if he did, he would've snagged them before I came back from the front of the store with a shopping cart. They were only $20. He also stated that his wife wouldn't let him buy speakers that big for the house- they're not really that big, IMO. I'm just glad I got 'em.

Anyway...I was listening to some Herb Alpert & TJB vinyl last night and the more I listen to them, the more I like their sound. I haven't given them more than 10watts but this weekend the wife has to work so I'll notch up the volume a bit and see how they open up with some more power.

 

[ddragg1]

Good for you MAXZ28. They sound really nice with a tube amp because their base is not strong. Not saying that they sound bad with SS, but just better with tubes. I use my DLK's stacked with some Allison Sixes and it's a wonderful combination. Both are 4 ohm speakers. Congrats!

 

[ARguy]

Thanks, AR....I'm starting to get confused - it'd be nice to clarify things. I read some old threads on dlk and it appears that you actually toured the factory. It's [ the address, I mean ] just a stone's throw from me. It would be interesting to hear some insight about that. Please share....

It was in the early eighties (80-81) and I was living in Bloomington at a apartment complex called International Village with a college buddy. He had a pair of DLK 1.5's and I was running AR's. When I noticed that the DLK factory was just down the street we gave them a call and asked if we could stop by and take a look see. The gentleman that showed us around, Michael Shields, (if memory serves) was surprised that anyone would want a tour of a small speaker factory. He showed us the whole works from the engineering side to the assembly and shipping side including the cabinet manufacturing. It was a typical assembly line layout, well organized and everyone looked to be in good spirits. Unfortunatly I didn't hang on to much of the documentation that Mr. Shields had given us during the tour and I'm really sorry about that 25+ years later. I can attest to the B&K test equipment in the labs throughout the company. I was impressed that they took the time of showing us around and speaking with us. I'll get to the pictures this weekend for you.

 

[MAXZ28]

Pretty cool, AR - Thanks! We all have those "coulda woulda shoulda" moments. I'm looking forward to the 1.5 pics.

 

[wilke87]

dlk

Here are some pics of the first ever designed 1.5 by my uncle DLK, note the inverted voice coil. Sadly Don passed several years ago,since I recently am more interested in this hobby I wish he was around since I have many questions ... The early models of speakers had the round style plate in rear and solid framed cabinets and machined screws for the speakers ,and foam black center and butyl surrounds later models had accordian style woofers square plate and full front grills with dlk band in brown ,the omega brand speakers were dlk woofers with outside supplied cabinets (cheaper),Later Don was sued for his own rights and lost and then they became soundmates also some under Domus .Don continued in the speaker business making and designing crossovers for such companys as Wilson audio, JL, soundtube,and many many more.