Chris Tsutsui
Screenwriter
- Joined
- Feb 1, 2002
- Messages
- 1,865
I have this sub in my room and have been switching between it and my Adire Alignment Tempest (with 250W plate amp).
It was the 15" 1000 Watt Titanic MKIII for $688 shipped from Parts Express, and the only assembly required is a few screws to mount the driver and amp. (It didn't even need directions)
The box is CNCed so it looks like your commercial subwoofer in a speckled texture matte/satin black finish. I believe it was spray painted by some type of spray gun because under a certain lighting in my garage I think I was barely able to see the strokes. Edges have a 1/4" rounded radius on the edges which fits nicely as does the dark black speaker grill that covers the entire front face. The driver looks similar to the tempest except the surround is rubber and a tad bit larger. (It also has a stylized Dayton "D" Logo on the dust cap) The amp face is pretty clean and doesn't come with speaker in/outs so you'll need an LFE output or Stereo RCA output from your receiver. The plate amp gets a nice flush mount and everything went into place nicely since the T-nuts were pre-installed and the holes were all pre drilled. The only tool I used was a phillips head screw driver and a hex key to mount the driver and amp.
The parametric EQ is pretty nice and works like a charm. You have 3 knobs which one adjusting the frequency between 18-80hz, the other adjusting the bandwidth from .1-1, and the other adjusting the level from (-14.5) to (6).
Low pass frequency is adjustable from 30 to 200hz.
Overall, I'd take this amplifier over my 250W plate amp anyday mostly because of the 1000 watt rating and PE EQ. The drawbacks is it doesn't have fully adjustable phase like my other one and is only compatable with 120V AC. At least the auto sensing works and the power up doesn't make a "pop" sound from the subwoofer.
Now I know that comparing a small sealed sub to a huge 214L vented isn't that fair but i'll comment on the differences I heard anyway.
Listening to your typical 200hz or less frequencies from the subs its really hard to tell. I actually ran frequencies into the subs starting at 500hz. This allowed the subs to play higher than normal where you could hear parts of vocals. The Dayton had much clearer mid bass and upper bass. Sounded tighter, not as loose and perhaps a bit more accurate than my Tempest especially at louder volumes. The Tempest at louder volumes with higher bass notes seems to sound blended or a tad muddy. This is where the Dayton won.
I believe the amplifier could have helped the dayton play louder bass in the 80hz and up region more cleanly. It could also be because the Dayton is sealed that it had a more tight sound. Perhaps because of the smaller sealed design, this Dayton sub was incable of playing the deep bass my tempest could play.
The Tempest was able to hit some nice room presurrizing notes during LOTR Twin tower scenes while I felt the Dayton lacked the super low notes, it had better quality bass in general.
The tempest has a looser sound that is airy yet not boomy. It hits each note well when you listen carefully and goes real deep so you can feel the air move your clothes. The Dayton had more impact, like I'd be able to feel it in my chest more with a little less deep extension. I'd describe the tempest as being more musical for string type bass and "Audiophile" bass while the Dayton is clearly better in cases of Home theater impact and rock music bass. The Tempest integrated better with the speakers I was testing it with which are the JBL S38s with upgraded crossovers.
Both subs have a similar sound and extension, it wasn't until I could switch between them that I could begin to hear the differences. They both have their different "styles" of vented low Q vs sealed higher Q.
If I had to choose, I'd want the deep extension/sound quality of the tempest, with the output capabilities of the Dayton. I guess that means I'd rather take the 1000 watt amp and use it on the Adire Alignment tempest and see if it makes the tempest better in every way.
I guess I'm not as much of a sealed sub fan as I thought. I like how the sound of a vented sub can fill the room with deep bass. Sealed didn't have the same presence or realism. This could be because the sealed sub isn't tuned low like the tempest and doesn't have any equalization to sound flat. I wonder if a Linkwitz transform would work well with the Dayton.
Anyways, Seeing how the Dayton gets louder than a tempest and sounds cleaner only doesn't have a smooth deep sound. I'd say it's worth the $688 price tag. I am sure it has more output than an SVS PB-1 because it has more clean output than my tempest. I just wish they offered a different alignment box with the sub for those that want a sound closer to the Adire Alignment Tempest. But not everyone can build a large MDF cabinet which is what makes the Dayton Kit worth every penny.
If any of you try this sub out, let me know your thoughts.
It was the 15" 1000 Watt Titanic MKIII for $688 shipped from Parts Express, and the only assembly required is a few screws to mount the driver and amp. (It didn't even need directions)
The box is CNCed so it looks like your commercial subwoofer in a speckled texture matte/satin black finish. I believe it was spray painted by some type of spray gun because under a certain lighting in my garage I think I was barely able to see the strokes. Edges have a 1/4" rounded radius on the edges which fits nicely as does the dark black speaker grill that covers the entire front face. The driver looks similar to the tempest except the surround is rubber and a tad bit larger. (It also has a stylized Dayton "D" Logo on the dust cap) The amp face is pretty clean and doesn't come with speaker in/outs so you'll need an LFE output or Stereo RCA output from your receiver. The plate amp gets a nice flush mount and everything went into place nicely since the T-nuts were pre-installed and the holes were all pre drilled. The only tool I used was a phillips head screw driver and a hex key to mount the driver and amp.
The parametric EQ is pretty nice and works like a charm. You have 3 knobs which one adjusting the frequency between 18-80hz, the other adjusting the bandwidth from .1-1, and the other adjusting the level from (-14.5) to (6).
Low pass frequency is adjustable from 30 to 200hz.
Overall, I'd take this amplifier over my 250W plate amp anyday mostly because of the 1000 watt rating and PE EQ. The drawbacks is it doesn't have fully adjustable phase like my other one and is only compatable with 120V AC. At least the auto sensing works and the power up doesn't make a "pop" sound from the subwoofer.
Now I know that comparing a small sealed sub to a huge 214L vented isn't that fair but i'll comment on the differences I heard anyway.
Listening to your typical 200hz or less frequencies from the subs its really hard to tell. I actually ran frequencies into the subs starting at 500hz. This allowed the subs to play higher than normal where you could hear parts of vocals. The Dayton had much clearer mid bass and upper bass. Sounded tighter, not as loose and perhaps a bit more accurate than my Tempest especially at louder volumes. The Tempest at louder volumes with higher bass notes seems to sound blended or a tad muddy. This is where the Dayton won.
I believe the amplifier could have helped the dayton play louder bass in the 80hz and up region more cleanly. It could also be because the Dayton is sealed that it had a more tight sound. Perhaps because of the smaller sealed design, this Dayton sub was incable of playing the deep bass my tempest could play.
The Tempest was able to hit some nice room presurrizing notes during LOTR Twin tower scenes while I felt the Dayton lacked the super low notes, it had better quality bass in general.
The tempest has a looser sound that is airy yet not boomy. It hits each note well when you listen carefully and goes real deep so you can feel the air move your clothes. The Dayton had more impact, like I'd be able to feel it in my chest more with a little less deep extension. I'd describe the tempest as being more musical for string type bass and "Audiophile" bass while the Dayton is clearly better in cases of Home theater impact and rock music bass. The Tempest integrated better with the speakers I was testing it with which are the JBL S38s with upgraded crossovers.
Both subs have a similar sound and extension, it wasn't until I could switch between them that I could begin to hear the differences. They both have their different "styles" of vented low Q vs sealed higher Q.
If I had to choose, I'd want the deep extension/sound quality of the tempest, with the output capabilities of the Dayton. I guess that means I'd rather take the 1000 watt amp and use it on the Adire Alignment tempest and see if it makes the tempest better in every way.
I guess I'm not as much of a sealed sub fan as I thought. I like how the sound of a vented sub can fill the room with deep bass. Sealed didn't have the same presence or realism. This could be because the sealed sub isn't tuned low like the tempest and doesn't have any equalization to sound flat. I wonder if a Linkwitz transform would work well with the Dayton.
Anyways, Seeing how the Dayton gets louder than a tempest and sounds cleaner only doesn't have a smooth deep sound. I'd say it's worth the $688 price tag. I am sure it has more output than an SVS PB-1 because it has more clean output than my tempest. I just wish they offered a different alignment box with the sub for those that want a sound closer to the Adire Alignment Tempest. But not everyone can build a large MDF cabinet which is what makes the Dayton Kit worth every penny.
If any of you try this sub out, let me know your thoughts.
