Dayton vs Accuton/ScanSpeak/Seas

[CedarWind108]

Looking at the specs of many Dayton drivers, the frequency response looks very impressive. Drivers like the Esoteric and Epique lines and even the relatively cheap Dayton dome midrange drivers frequency response graphs look much better than some of the most respected speaker drivers such as Accuton/ScanSpeak/Seas that are used in $30,000 speakers.

Are Dayton drivers really that good, or am I missing something and the premium brands do some things better that make the sound more impressive even though the frequency response might not seem as perfect?

[cap]

Dayton has came a long way and seems to have listened to customers. Their subs are as good as any or better than some danish ones. Over seas production has improved. QC to . SB has stepped up with their danish roots and Sinar Baha manufacturing..

[rickcraig]

Response curves can be difficult to compare. Not all manufacturers use the same method. The Dayton drivers are sourced from different suppliers, some very good and others meh.

[Drummer]

Response curves can be difficult to compare. Not all manufacturers use the same method. The Dayton drivers are sourced from different suppliers, some very good and others meh.

Rick, may I ask, which Dayton drivers happen to be your personal favorites? Specific series, or specific drivers within a series? I've only used the RS 8 inch paper/ kevlar woofer, and I am very happy with the performance and value. I've heard speakers that were fairly expensive, comparitively, that didn't sound any better, but my knowledge and experience is very limited. Glenn.

[rickcraig]

Rick, may I ask, which Dayton drivers happen to be your personal favorites? Specific series, or specific drivers within a series? I've only used the RS 8 inch paper/ kevlar woofer, and I am very happy with the performance and value. I've heard speakers that were fairly expensive, comparitively, that didn't sound any better, but my knowledge and experience is very limited. Glenn.

The ND105 and ND140 are good values for a limited budget. The RS180 / RS210 / RS265 / RS315 are all very good and made in my opinion by their best manufacturer. I'm testing the new 2" dome soon.

[craigk]

Looking at the specs of many Dayton drivers, the frequency response looks very impressive. Drivers like the Esoteric and Epique lines and even the relatively cheap Dayton dome midrange drivers frequency response graphs look much better than some of the most respected speaker drivers such as Accuton/ScanSpeak/Seas that are used in $30,000 speakers.

Are Dayton drivers really that good, or am I missing something and the premium brands do some things better that make the sound more impressive even though the frequency response might not seem as perfect?

Response curves don't tell you how a driver sounds.

[3rutu5]

i just spent the last week asking/trawling that same question I found that SB and Scan both have some reasonable gear out there that wont break the bank. I ended up going the RS180S-8 7" so might be able to give some feedback once i build it all.

[cap]

Response curves don't tell you how a driver sounds.

Sure it does, If its flat it must be right. ..RIGHT??? one rarely uses the most accurate measurement tool ever

[Thump]

I went through similar considerations few years ago when I initially jumped into the deep end to attempt pure custom, going from zero knowledge to an LCR front stage.

The sound I yield from parallel Esoteric 5-1/2" + 7", excluding tweet which instead uses a true ribbon from Canada, is extremely nice, powerful, utterly crystal clear, clean, vibrant.

It was taking a chance the flagship Daytons could satisfy versus spending several times more just as you've said. For me because the design, the final cost was several thousand so it may have approached or exceeded $5K+ easily had I chosen the alternatives.

From what I hear, and my friends and family, the choice was excellent and I've never regretted a second of it. Been a while but I think they wound up doing a v2 on the series refining the response even more.

I'm working on phase 3 of the project finishing them 100% so they're torn down and I don't have a high quality shot available, but this is an early in-situation with them cranking AC/DC like I've never heard in my lifetime.

[cap]

Thump, Those look Bad ***... Hows the bass and are the 3 way

[Thump]

Thump, Those look Bad ***... Hows the bass and are the 3 way

Thanks it was really fun to learn how to do this from absolutely nothing. This forum is a gem for the planet, especially those of us coming at the hobby from a clean slate.

I'm hoping the final finish - all oil based satin primer and base, plus a slight custom body tone mix I made - turn out. It's such a huge amount of work to prep, but if I can keep my patience going it should do.

They are 3 way yes. They're 8" parallel passive radiators on the sides you can see a piece of - those are not drivers.

Due to the size and the amount of internal structure and "stuff", plus placement, my porting options were limited. They're in (very near) corners by design, and specifically intended for use with quality subs for the deep lows, although these are set around 40hz IIRC. I was sure if I'd done ports they would have been boomy with corner loading and they're placement were always intended to be in corners without deviation.

As it stands the bass they generate is moderate, though a very nice tone.


Bass almost its own topic for these:

It's perfect you asked about bass though. During final design I had to skip and let stand an issue in my head when I finished stage 2 and they went into use. The bass drivers have direct access on their stroke to the radiators. This is because there was literally no other place the radiators could go in my packed layout.

So right now their bass isn't a stand alone option (IMO), but that's only due to the intentional design.

Having two of those 7" Esoteric in a ported enclosure where maximizing their bass is a focus would likely produce a good bump. With them working together it's a decent amount of mass moved, and in parallel the power handling is very nice. Ditto for the mids on power.

This week while working the structures I finally decided on a strategy after chewing hundreds of ideas in my head for a few years on and off. I'm in process of finishing creating 2 curved rigid shields that force the energy to the top and bottom of the bottom chamber coming from the 7" pairs. The shields arc precisely match the radiators inset, span across entire width above them and each end sloping so a nice flow while eliminating direct stroke interaction.

This should help fully utilize the air chamber, better focusing the interaction with the radiators and improve bass. This should also eliminate bleed out the radiators with the energy finally getting a chance to engage all the internals and soak reflection. This is total unproven theory straight out my head. I don't know it'll do what I think it will, but I'm going to be finding out

Sorry for such long winded answer but the bass happens to be a particular enhancement I'm working on and it took some description!

[scottvalentin]

Thump those look pretty amazing keep us in the loop on the finishing process!

[Wolf]

I'm not really sure what he described there. The pressure and vacuum of the air-mass in the enclosure as dictated by the active woofers' oscillation should be in direct coupling to the tuned passive radiators. Without them sharing the air volume, they don't work together. I'm finding it hard to understand his theory.

Later,
Wolf

[tomzarbo]

Thump, I built a TMM with the smaller Esoteries drivers last year and there was no shortage of bass whatsoever.
Can't imagine how your setup must sound with two of the larger drivers and a PR. Nice looking setup.

Are you referring to the back of the lower drivers being very close to the moving cone of the PR and any possible unwanted interactions between the two? If it were a vent with very fast moving air directly and closely interacting with the drivers, that may be an issue... but with a PR I don't think there should be any problems there.
TomZ

[djg]

Yeah, this is air, not maple syrup.