Dayton drivers vs. ScanSpeak and Seas?

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andy2

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Joined 2004
#1
What are your opinons of Dayton drivers vs. some of the better known drivers from Europe such as ScanSpeak and Seas? All my speakers are either Vifa, Scanspeak or Seas so I would like to know how the Dayton's compared?
The European drivers are so expensive nowaday that the costs just do not justify.
Besides the Daytons, what are some of the alternatives at lower cost but decent performance?
 
#2
Dayton are Parts Express house brand. They can represent excellent value. But PE tends to push the (mostly Chinese) manufacturers to really push the price aspect, so some of the values inherent in Seas/ScanSpeak may be sacrificed (consistency/QC?).

SB Acoustics get a good rap (i've not used any yet) and i have had good results from Silver Flute. Wavecor is another.

dave
 
#3
In the full range area, I have compared some Daytons vs SS, Vifa, and Visaton. More info in the 5 "Blind Subjective Test" threads. The Dayton PS95-8, a $24 cast frame driver with phase plug, helds its ground against $80 to $100 offerings from Denmark (SS 10F/8424) and Germany (Visaton B80).

Round 1:
http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/full...nd-comparison-3in-5in-full-range-drivers.html

Round 2:
http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/full...ind-comparison-3in-5in-drivers-round-2-a.html

Round 3:
http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/full...ind-comparison-2in-4in-drivers-round-3-a.html

Round 4 (Dayton PS95-8 was the secret entry that almost won):
http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/full...ind-comparison-2in-4in-drivers-round-4-a.html

Round 5:
http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/full...d-comparison-2in-3-5in-drivers-round-5-a.html

Personally, I have found that Dayton drivers are excellent and some even provide unmatched TS parameters and capability and features at a given price point. Case in point is the RS225-8 woofer for $57. It looks nice and build quality is top notch, it has a cast frame, phase plug, shorting rings, 7mm xmax, 0.38 Qts, and 88.8dB sensitivity.

I have some Dayton tweeters that also measure and sound great for low cost: DC28F-8, ND25FA-4

Give them a try. I am also having luck with their budget Classic series woofers as well.

To give you a feel of build quality of Dayton's PS95-8 (made in Taiwan), look at these photos from Godzilla who recently got them for OB use - he loves them (thread here):

505291d1442848638-subjective-blind-comparison-2in-4in-drivers-round-4-image.jpg


505292d1442848717-subjective-blind-comparison-2in-4in-drivers-round-4-image.jpg


It's a solidly built, nice looking driver for $23 and change. I would say class leading value that is currently, unmatched by another manufacturer for this level of fit/finish and features. Anyhow, I have not had an issue with QC for Dayton products.
 
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#4
The Dayton RSS line of subwoofers are very capable, and have similar or better (for specific applications) performance than some of the Revelator woofers. BTW- I have an RS150 that was damaged and I gutted it only to find there was no copper in there. Zero. Zilch. Nada.

Another cheap-ish line of drivers comes from Meniscus house brand as 'Eclipse'. The newer woofers have been exceptional.

Airborne drivers (house brand from Solen) have also been well received. Some are excellent, and some are just okay. I've only used one Airborne driver that I did not particularly care for, and that's out of 8 either used or experienced.

Later,
Wolf
 
#6
Sorry I no experience with Dayton, but they show good value. Would choose their top performers to go against any euro types that you mention. It very hard to tell, one says good, ones say okay, ones says no good 🙂
really have to buy them and test, which is a expensive proposition.
I can vouch for Morel, as being good value and quality. Close in quality to my Dynaudio Gemini's that I have.
I have yet to blow any Morels and I still have replacement diaphrams which very few offer. i have used MDT32S,MDM55,MDT30 in 2 and 3 way passives.
good luck, there is so much selection.
 
#8
andy2 said:
What are your opinons of Dayton drivers vs. some of the
better known drivers from Europe such as ScanSpeak and Seas?
The European drivers are so expensive nowaday that the costs
just do not justify. Besides the Daytons, what are some
of the alternatives at lower cost but decent performance?
Click to expand...

Dayton drivers are good quality in every way and affordable
too, for the ones not having to pay extra fees and taxes.

Peerless has excellent drivers and prices at PE. Visaton,
loads of good drivers in the lower series of products, but
they cost a bit more.

Almost all of the art is in the voicing and choosing the right
speaker units. Brands matter very little.
 
#9
How about Tang Band? They have some attractive looking quality to cost ratios. I ordered those W5-1138SMF subs. Have no experience with them.

Vifa sound extremely good and dont cost an arm or a leg being European. Have heard their drivers in some upper line PSB's also had mid basses and tweeters in diy.
 
#17
There are some arguments speaking against products that has short product liftime.
Difficulty getting a new driver when old is blown or broken.

By Seas and other old firms you get consistency of parameters, materials and physical dimentions year in and year out.
Also have a look at total cost of speaker. Can something be saved at interconnects, amp or dsp/crossovercomponents that can be used at speaker elements instead?

I think the basic series of classic manifacturers are very, very good and not that expensive compared to other elements in the audio chain.
Just my thoughts.
For me it is also satisfying having the original, not the ripoff, but this is not a valid technical argument;-)
 
#19
I have been getting reliable TS parameters from Dayton drivers that agree well with advertised values. I don't see how Dayton products are ripping off any ScanSpeak, Seas, Vifa, etc. and in fact they often have unique products. Take the PS95-8 I mentioned earlier. Also the RS225-8 - where is an equivalent woofer from Europe with aluminum 8in cone 7mm xmax and 0.38 Qts? You know the value proposition is high when their most expensive "Reference Series" dome tweeter costs $50 (RS28F or A). What's the most expensive Seas 1-1/8" dome cost?
 
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