Dahlquist QX6 Speakers

Dahlquist QX6 speakers are designed and manufactured in Canada with a hint of British influence -- the company’s engineers come from Canada and England. Since the Canadians and British have long been known for producing the lion’s share of the high-quality, cost-effective speaker designs sold around the globe, Dahlquist feels that they have the best of both worlds with their design talent. Although there may be some British influence on the sound of the QX6, the appearance is very Canadian. The vinyl-clad, rectangular enclosure measures 14 1/4"H x 7 7/8"W x 11 1/2"D and comes in either a black oak or cherry finish. It’s a compact, fairly lightweight design, weighing in at 15 pounds. As is expected today, the finish is to a very high standard. A close look at the enclosure reveals tightly fitting edges and flawless veneer. Overall fit’n’finish are very good, and I certainly have no quibbles given the price. Both finish options are attractive, but the black is, well, black. The cherry, on the other hand, is very sharp. The review pair came in black, but if I had to choose, no question I’d take cherry -- it has a little more sophistication and is less techie-looking. This criticism isn’t directed solely at Dahlquist -- I’m bored to death with black components. Every line on the speaker is straight -- perhaps more British influence -- save for the curve at the bottom of the removable grille. Taking off that grille, though, reveals a little more flash, with a silver front baffle and a "keyhole" driver configuration reminiscent of some Paradigm models. Grilleless, the speaker's striking contrast of the front baffle to the sides does make the black finish look considerably more attractive. If you plan on keeping the grilles off, the black finish may be the way to go. On the back panel are threaded inserts for potential wall-mounting brackets and also dual five-way binding posts ready for biwiring. Jumpers are supplied for single-wiring. The driver complement is a 6 1/2" polycone woofer and a 1" aluminum-dome tweeter. Like many similar designs, the QX6 is ported out of the rear, more or less behind the tweeter. The crossover frequency is 3.5kHz, sensitivity is said to be 87dB, and the impedance is a reported 6 ohms. Most moderately powered amplifiers and receivers should have no trouble with the QX6es. Dahlquist maintains that the British influence shows itself in the speaker's voicing. The company doesn't ignore the far-off-axis response of the speaker, an important consideration with a number of the Canadian-produced speakers. Dahlquist is more concerned with the direct sound of the speaker and works to optimize that. They stressed the importance of getting the midrange just right, and they also say they’ll forgo overly deep bass response to produce tighter bass of higher quality.