Time Window 3 recap

[dbuz]

I used to live in SE Michigan and only heard about them after I left and was talking to my grandparents neighbor in traverse city on a visit. He said he had Time Windows and I thought that was the coolest name for speakers. I got home and was looking at marketplace a few months later and some guy was selling a bunch of DCM Time Frames and it triggered that memory. I wouldn’t say I got a deal necessarily but my TF600s were 300 and I just picked up some Time Window 3s in great cosmetic condition for 350 a year after having loved my TF600s.
I never was into stereo equipment or speakers so I don’t have a reference to most speakers and how they sound, but when I wanted to have a nice stereo setup I went to a local HiFi store and the sales guy showed me all sorts of stuff but I realized that’s not for me. Their basic beginner setup would have cost me like 3000 bucks. That’s too much for me. I thought my dreams of having a nice stereo were over until that Timeframe ad showed up. Couldn’t be happier with them. They are so fun to listen to.

A big part of the fun for me is getting something that sounds great for not much money. The little HK330B receiver I picked up for $200 recently was $200 when it was new 50+ years ago. Over $1500 in today's money! Vintage is the way to go, at least until I win the lottery.

 

[Mr Boochie]

Hi, I'm wanting to recap my TW3s, mainly to replace the electrolytics with polypropylene film ones.

Those look like a three-diamond logo Mitsubishi-made film caps.

If I remember correctly, they had a good reputation.

 

[mrswakka]

I wouldn't assume that a low price is necessarily suggestive of issues. DCM isn't widely known outside of the audio community and tall speakers like the Time Frames are a tough sell now that a fancy stereo is no longer a necessary status symbol.

Makes them easy to buy.

 

[Darylpoynter]

If they sound good now, it probably may not make a lot of difference now, but it will ensure that they stay sounding great for many more years to come. You are lucky to have a big space to enjoy them, but I must admit that they make a small space sound big.
The caps are easy to get on and off with a minor modification. I made the hole in the baseplate a little bigger so that I can fit a thin walled metal pipe through it and over the threaded shaft. It makes it so easy and there's no chance of damaging the crossover which is mounted on it. I also used a larger washer and a nut with a flared base.
Whether or not you want to go to the extent I went to is up to you. You might be lucky and have the later version where the crossovers are on a pcb.
Should you decide to replace the ferrofluid in the tweeters, that's an interesting process. They don't make it easy to remove the tweeters, but once out it is very easy.
I hope that helps. If there's anything else I can help you with, just ask.

I got around the doing restoration on them. My cross over was on a pcb board unlike yours on the wood. I really debated on replacing the 2x 47uf and 2x 100uf in each crossover with poly caps but I ended up doing all of them with electrolytic mundorf caps. I also replaced all the tweeters with new vifa tweeters( peerless D19D-05-08) since one was dead. I even hand cut the tweeters to the shape of the originals and mounted them on the brackets. These things sound amazing now. I thought they sounded good before but this opened them up a ton. I am really impressed. Thanks for your help and posting your journey. There isn’t much info on these and your post gave me the confidence to open them up.

 

[shanepp]

Hi Daryl, I'm so happy that you went on this journey too, and I'm glad I could help. Enjoy those beasts!!