Dayton DIY subwoofer kits

[Wayne A. Pflughaupt]

Has anyone tried any of the Dayton DIY subs, such as the Ultimax 18? They seem like a good value, and I’m always a sucker for a good deal. Someone recently posted on Audioholics that his hits 16 Hz in his room. I know Sonnie made one of these, but he never gave us a frequency response graph. Anyone else have experience with these?

Regards,
Wayne

 

[chrapladm]

I have had them before a while back to try out. They are a good value subwoofer but tend to want bigger enclosures then some other options. Just really boils down to size constraints and budget.

 

[Michael Scott]

they work great... I used a pair of them before I moved to 32 cu ft ported 18s and they were fantastic.. they go together super easy and have very good drivers in them. the Ultimax kits are my favorite

 

[Greg Dunn]

I built mine from a kit, which included their SPA1200DSP plate amp in a bundle. The first amp failed within 2 months, so I exchanged it for a brand new one. That also failed within a few weeks, and I was told that they are redesigning it and would contact me when another one was available. That's been a year. It's also worth noting that their DSP control software is horrible to use and also doesn't work properly. I was unsure of it originally, so instead of building it into the cabinet I put it in an external ventilated enclosure, which meant I could replace it without leaving a gaping hole. Frankly I'd avoid the amp and just build the sub, in case you were thinking about it.

That said, the sub itself in their default sealed box has been excellent. It's now powered by a bridged Crown XLS1500 and never fails to please. I only listen to music through mine (no AV, no LFE) but it does a fantastic job of producing 14 Hz organ pedal. The attached graph was achieved by actually reducing a few room mode peaks; there's no boost applied below the crossover frequency (63 Hz).

 

[Michael Scott]

I'd heard that before about their amps. I've had their older 240 watt amps back in the day that have been flawless, but their higher end ones had some issues from what I heard. Supposedly those have been fixed, but who knows. I always used Peavey or other "pro" amps to run the subs themselves so no problem there

 

[Greg Dunn]

I think whoever designed these either has not paid attention to QC or didn't do proper acceptance testing, because having two of them fail in different ways over the course of a few months is not good. They are the newer Class D / DSP Dayton amps, though, so perhaps they are working through the issues; their linear amps may be a totally different situation. In all fairness, the P-E support people have been nothing but helpful and easy to deal with. The design of the software, though... ugh. I will spare AV NIRVANA the rant, but essentially the front panel, PC software and iPhone app each allow control of only part of the DSP functions. You need all three to completely use the system's capabilities. Further, once you set up the automatic sub EQ there is literally no way to clear the filters; you can only re-do the setup and hope it doesn't make it worse. And more, sadly. I already have a DSP, so the only thing I use on the Crown is the LPF to keep higher frequencies out - that's probably not strictly necessary, but it causes no issues.

But not to get off track, the sub itself is a fine product. There's almost nothing to customize; a screwdriver and wood glue will get it built (though I recommend some clamps to ensure best fit). The driver cutout is already there if you buy the full kit, and as mentioned, there is NO cutout for the plate amp. I consider that a good thing; I cut my own and just mounted a speaker connector in it, so I'm independent of whatever amp I choose. That also gives you a few more cubic inches of volume in the box. That 18" driver - it's so massive you want to be very careful handling it. Dropping it on your foot or letting it slip when mounting it could cause some real damage. I hooked it to the connector with 12ga solid wire to make sure all the signal I'm feeding it does some good.

 

[Sonnie Parker]

I have really enjoyed mine... and I use the Behringer amps. I just ordered 4 of the SVS SB16-Ultras for my room... so I have two of these kits with the 18" sub available ... with or without the amps. I'll make you a great deal, but we might have to meet halfway or something.

They extend pretty low... I think I have a response graph somewhere, but as you know, it all depends on where you place them in the room... and if you have EQ correction. They will flat out knock your socks off, that is for sure... never even a second of strain on any movie I've ever watched. Angie thought the house was gonna crumble during the end of Ready Player One during that one scene.