Opinions on using closeout Dayton 15"

[seagrasser]

Any thoughts on using this driver in a 2-way setup? I have a pair of Behringer active speakers (B115D) and have never liked the woofer very much. Wondering if this would be a way to hotrod the speaker.

https://www.parts-express.com/dayton...8-ohm--295-040

It is vented enclosure with a crossover frequency around 2.2Khz. I am guessing enclosure is tuned to mid 40's.

Any thoughts are appreciated.

Jason

[Chris Roemer]

says the -040 rolls off at 1kHz. so you don't care about the octave from 1-2.2k (upper voice range - and generally LOTS of highs)?
You'd have to model the -040 in YOUR box to see what the bottom end does.

[billfitzmaurice]

It's very likely an upgrade to the Behringer driver, and since the specs are middle of the road it will probably work as well as can be expected in the Behringer enclosure. Now for the bad news. The Behringer enclosure is too small to go very low, its amp is not 1,000 watts, and no fifteen will work well to 2.2kHz. No PA on a pole will deliver solid lows, that's the job of subwoofers. When you have subs to handle the lows you don't need fifteens in the tops, tens or twelves will work better in a smaller package. IMO replacing the Behringer woofers would be throwing good money after bad. If you want a better quality system start from scratch, and like building a house that begins with a solid foundation, in this case good quality subwoofers. A pair of the Dayton drivers in proper enclosures would work well in that regard.

[seagrasser]

That sounds like solid advice. If I am looking for better mid performance, sounds like I should look at smaller drivers. The Behringer's are good enough for the community BBQ and cul de sac parties and I think I will leave it at that.

[duronboy]

Worth it in a custom cabinet. This really looks like an impressive woofer if the parameters are honest and it's placed in a proper cabinet. Nice power handling with the xmax to actually use it full-range. With a 3 ft³ box tuned to 37hz, it's got an f3 down to around 35hz, which is not too shabby at all. WinISD shows 119 dB at RMS at 35hz, 121 dB at 40hz. So even on a pole and you subtract 6 dB, that's not too bad outdoors for small groups.

My idea was to use it in a 3-way box to be capable to being used without subs for small gatherings. Looking at the graph, I don't know if it's much use above 220-300hz, so I feel it should be a 3-way, especially if you're looking at better mid performance. Seems like the price of HF drivers was getting expensive to use this in a 2-way design, if they would even be acceptable.

Ultimately we were looking for something smaller to be used with subs since we're going to have subs anyway.

[billfitzmaurice]

The problem with 3-ways is that you can't have the woofer down near the floor where it belongs and the HF elements up above the audience where they belong. If you have mics you can't wall load the LF element for best results while having the HF elements in front of the band or DJ where they need to be to prevent feedback. You absolutely want a 3-way system, but not with all three elements in the same box.

[duronboy]

You're probably right, but it's something that happens.

This driver still makes a decent subwoofer, though. The 3015LF is like less than 1 dB hotter at 40hz in a box almost 3x as large. 1000 watts vs 400 watts, but still. The Tuba 30 goes 5hz-8hz lower, or more, but I don't really know the maximum output at any particular frequency.

It's just weird to me how at a hundred bucks these are still available. I suppose the mere fact that these are on clearance could be a deterrent?