B&W DM14

skrol

I ran across a pair of B&W DM14 and was tempted to buy but restrained myself. They look like they were aiming for the Monitor 5 as they looked to be similar configuration with, I believe, a PR but perhaps not. It is a sealed cabinet. Anyone know anything about these?

xschop

I almost purchased their later model, DM220. Probably would have if they had real wood veneer. Think I asked about these here too. If the cabinets are built right as the description says, then they would be worth having a listen. Most vintage speakers do come with weak panels that color the sound. It can all be mitigated with time and effort.
To note, you'd have to drop some real coinage upgrading those crossovers. May be a true 2.5 way design?

Gardenstater

Your brochures say "acoustic suspension" therefore sealed cabinet and active drivers.

JayMX

I reworked a pair of the little sister bookshelf style DM12's a couple of years ago. Real wood veneer cleaned up very well. They were sealed, not vented. I re-capped the crossovers - I think I used Jantzen films, can't remember... The speakers weren't very lively at that point. After some listening and then some research, I re-coated the tweeter domes with a thinned mixture of AR sealant and alcohol - I don't remember the proportions, just didn't want to load the domes heavily, so I diluted the sealant quite a bit. Applied with a fine brush. They went from being very dull and laid back to pleasantly warm, with nice detail. Paired with a quick little 10" RBH sub I run for music, they were great.

I was never very sure of how beneficial/detrimental the protection circuit with the peaking LED indicator was in the xovers, thought about bypassing it, but then I got lazy and left it all in place. Never saw the LED's illuminate even when I pushed them really hard.

I really enjoyed them, very well built, handsome, quality cabinets, good components except for the spring-loaded speaker terminals. I removed them and replaced with binding posts on a custom, walnut-veneered hardboard plates. Oh, and I did new brown grille cloth. IMO, they turned out quite nice after the restoration.

I bet the DM14's would be that much better - especially on the low end. If the price is right, get them and see what you think! Let us know!

skrol

Nice looking speakers. I had gone back to look at them again but (thankfully) they were gone. I have to get rid of some of my stuff before I bring anything else into the house. They were tempting though.