Help - DCM Time Frame TF-500

[JimiJohnB]

Hi guys,

A woman I've been in contact with has a stereo system she received as part of the divorce settlement and wants to get rid of it. Along with a three year old Sansui system comprised of 5 separate components, she says the speakers are DCM Time Frame TF-500's.

I have no experience or knowledge with this model or brand. As she describes them, they are approximately 4 feet tall, heavy, and "flat" (before she gave me the brand name I thought they might be Magnepans).

I can't seem to find too much info on these speakers on the web, nor pictures. Have any of you ever heard these or heard a similar model by DCM? I understand their older stuff was pretty darn good, but their new loudspeakers aren't the best quality? Any info would be much appreciated.

 

[bully]

From my 1997 OABB, they have a 6.5-in. woofer & 0.75-in. tweet. They are mirror-image floorstanders. They date from 1985-90, and carried a MSRP $649/pair.
I would have to check eBay's completed auctions to get a sense of what they're bringing on the big stage (as opposed to the lower prices brought local-sale).

 

[JimiJohnB]

Bully,

Thanks for the info. They're not quite what I was expecting (hoping), so I'll most likely pass.

-jb

 

[mhardy6647]

The "classic" DCM speakers (the TimeWindows and the slightly smaller, and later TimeFrames) were (IMO) good sounding speakers, although I am much more familiar with the former than the latter. These were pretty early TL designs and (at least the Timewindows) early examples of speakers designed for "imaging". I'd suggest NOT dismissing them out of hand, even if they're not planars!

There've been a couple of threads here in the last few months on the Timewindows. You might want to take a look.

 

[Andyman]

I'll echo that! I picked up a set of Time Windows recently and have decided to hold onto them for a while. I buy and sell a lot of speakers, so I hear a lot too. The Time Windows are one of the few that have caught my attention as something special.

Alone, the were undistinguished, but when I paired them on my acoustically balanced Delta Contractor's saw in my garage, it was a very pleaseant surprise. Good sound and a tremendous image; almost holographic. They beat my Small Advents handily, so I'm cleaning them up for extended duty here before I decide their final fate.

You may want to spend some time auditioning those Time Frames. They may not be what you expect, my Time Windows weren't; they seem to be more!

 

[JimiJohnB]

You've convinced me to take another look at these speakers. Hopefully I'll be able to swing by and give them a good test this weekend. I'll let you know what I decide and/or think about 'em.

 

[JonTee]

I own a pair of TF-600's. Bought them new and probably will never sell them. They image extremely well as they have tweeters mounted on the back inside corners as well as in the front ( they are left and right speakers). They are 6 ohm speakers and will take lot of power without distorting (185 watts I believe). The high frequencies are somewhat laid back but still articulated. Woofers go down to about 35 hz. Worth a look...

Jon

 

[JimiJohnB]

Well I went and looked at the Time Frame 500's yesterday. They were in perfect shape cosmetically, and I was anxious to get them hooked up to the Sansui stereo system she was trying to sell with the speakers. I was expecting a more modern Sansui system than the one I found when I got there, as it was one of those late 80's/early 90's cheap plastic ones.

Although I only listened to them for an hour, I found the greatest strength of the T-500's to be in their imaging capabilities. The soundstage is possibly the widest of any speaker I've ever heard - the entire wall that the speakers were placed in front of (about 10 inches from the wall) seemed to be producing the music, rather than just the two panels.

However, I didn't think the speakers performed very well at either the low end (very imprecise and muddy sounding) or the high end (highs just weren't there; they rolled off significantly). Neat looking speakers, and althought the soundstage was great, I couldn't envision myself liking them all that much if I brought 'em home. Added to this, the woman wanted way too much for the system; she won't ever sell it at the $500 she was asking for it.

 

[Jack G]

I've lived with the TF-700s for quite a while. I have them in storage now though. They look nice, and are well made, but are nothing special. They really need to be against the wall if you want bass out of them, and even then its not great. They also tend to lean on the bright side of neutral. The sound stage is WIDE, WIDE, WIDE, but not very deep.
I know this description makes them sound awfull, but thats not really true. They are OK, especially for the money, but they are not worth raving about.
Jack