Dahlquist DQM-9 (1985)

The Dahlquist DQM-9 is a three-way loudspeaker system from the mid-1980s, though the exact production window and most of its commercial history are undocumented. What survives is enough to show a serious Dahlquist design. It used three matched drivers made by the West German firm Magnat, through a licensing arrangement, vertically aligned in a cabinet. The construction and surface treatment were meant to suppress mid-band “boxy” resonances. Audio (October 1980, p.63) introduced the DQM-7 and DQM-9 together. It described both as three-way systems built around high-precision Magnat drivers that looked like conventional bookshelf speakers but delivered big-system performance.

The most complete spec sheet comes from a Hi-Fi Classic archive listing. It records the DQM-9 as 25 inches high, 14-1/2 inches wide and 13 inches deep, weighing about 65 pounds, and priced at $600. It was nominally an 8-ohm system with a 6-ohm minimum, recommended for amplifiers from 25 to 200 watts. The 11-inch woofer had an edge-wound ribbon voice coil and operated up to 450 Hz. The black acoustically transparent grille cloth was held to its wooden frame with magnetic fasteners at the corners. All visible metal surfaces were finely finished.

Period test coverage adds a little more. HI-Fi-Stereo-Buyers (August 1981, p.44) measured close matching between the left and right speakers and commended the dome tweeter’s dispersion. It also noted that the DQM-9 was voiced specifically for minimum odd-order distortion - with an acceptable trade-off in second-order distortion. A later Audio advertisement (October 1983, p.137) placed the DQM series in Dahlquist’s push toward studio monitors for early digital recording, and mentioned machined zinc-alloy driver chassis. That is ad copy rather than independent review, but it fits the company’s direction at the time.

Outside those sources, the DQM-9’s record is thin. Owner comments are limited mostly to brief forum mentions - one praising its all-around sound, another noting that a Counterpoint amplifier drove the DQM-9s very well. No service literature, production totals or original brochure details are known to be in the archive.

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Dahlquist DQM-9 Compact Stereo Speakers

$375

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