18" downfiring project

That's looking good, I bet it weighs a bit.

looks awesome

The project failed completely ...The Dayton 18 driver proved extremely inadequate in output - in other words it was very easily over driven to distortion so it and the Dayton 1000 amp are going back for refund...maybe I could have done more research on this product. After realizing I could not install this at the clients home..I rebuilt a sealed enclosure to be certain that it wasn't just my box parameters that were off.. Same result - at moderate volume ,the output became distorted and unlistenable...... Very disappointed in Dayton 18 HO at this point... I cannot collect on final payment from this job until a satisfactory replacement is installed.
I have to wait on the refund from PE to buy the replacement... Very unexpected and disappointing results from this product. In the end I will lose over $500 in material and labor...Now I even doubt what I should offer to my customers as far as custom builds....I posted this info in my review on PE and they removed it.

That's really unfortunate to hear. Given my experiences thus far with Dayton products, I'm surprised this project went as badly as it did. What's the plan now?

I was unglued to say the least . The last Dayton sub I used on a project - the HO 10" was really really impressive ... plan is to return merchandise to PE - buy a suitable sub-woofer to install , then hope client is satisfied enough to make final payment....

Ouch! Any update on what your "fix" was? What was the budget on the subwoofer build?

ht-core said:

Ouch! Any update on what your "fix" was? What was the budget on the subwoofer build?

Click to expand...

No fix...sadly sent amp and sub back to PE today. I honestly did not have the energy to build another cabinet... Plan is to provide a Sunfire HRS12 for now...probably a second one if its not enough.. My client really likes to play the music LOUD...

I am surprised you never heard of http://www.diysoundgroup.com/ you could have had few flat packs sent for 2 15" subs and been done. A nice pro audio amp and called it a day. It might be something to look into the future. I have never owned a dayton speaker or subwoofer for that matter. I knew I could not settle for less so I went with a TC Sounds Lms Ultra 5400 in a 7 cube passive radiator box. It was $3000 at the end of it but I am never disappointed ever.

ht-core said:

I am surprised you never heard of http://www.diysoundgroup.com/ you could have had few flat packs sent for 2 15" subs and been done. A nice pro audio amp and called it a day. It might be something to look into the future. I have never owned a dayton speaker or subwoofer for that matter. I knew I could not settle for less so I went with a TC Sounds Lms Ultra 5400 in a 7 cube passive radiator box. It was $3000 at the end of it but I am never disappointed ever.

Click to expand...

Would love to get my hands on a LMS5400. Ive emailed them about how to order one. They dont respond

Anyways I did not have nearly the budget for that type of build unfortunately...

I would never order a prebuilt kit as I always enjoy DIY

Thanks for the info .. It may be an option for future projects :grin2:

RTS100x5 said:

No fix...sadly sent amp and sub back to PE today. I honestly did not have the energy to build another cabinet... Plan is to provide a Sunfire HRS12 for now...probably a second one if its not enough.. My client really likes to play the music LOUD...

Click to expand...

Your client will most likely be disappointed in the HRS12 then. That unit is designed to be small, not loud. Tiny subwoofer <> tremendous output. Physics will not allow that I'm afraid.

If your looking for a 18" driver, the better ones on the market are the Dayton Ultimax 18" and the Stereo Integrity HST-18.

The Ultimax 18" driver works well in large enclosures that are ported, and the HST-18 also works well. That said both may want MORE than 1000 watts to really hit their peak.

Too bad your not closer as that enclosure looked GORGEOUS and I'd totally buy it off you, so its GOOD FOR MY WALLET AND MARRIAGE you are not lol.

It's a shame to let that enclosure (not to mention the time & materials) go to waste. Would an Ultimax work out as a drop-in replacement and upgrade? I'm surprised to hear the HO was so far short of your expectations, they are usually pretty well regarded. I'd have looked into swapping with an Ultimax, a UXL-18, or a DS4-18 / HST-18, maybe with some minor revisions to the enclosure. Seal it up, revise the port, etc. Then again, if your customer really wants to play loud, maybe a pair of 15s would be better suited. Maybe PA drivers if he prefers volume over low end extension.

After much consideration and input - thanks to you guys - I just pulled the trigger on the HST18 and a Crown XLS2002. Will be posting an update as I build the cabinet. It will be sealed as it must fit a very specific dimension that is not big enough for a ported.... I must admit I was very down on myself for the failure of the first design... the parts I had chosen, were simply not up to the expectations I had... On top of that, PE took 2 weeks to post my refund... I was really expecting the client to abandon the project ...ie I would really lose out on a lot of money... Thankfully I got paid and got the refund (after numerous emails to customer service)
So this morning I texted client who gave the go ahead on the new sub/amp combo....
Now my expectations are even higher for phase 2.... :|

I know it has been a while on this project. but your box was too big for that subwoofer. Making the woofer go past its Xmax, in turn giving you the distortion, the best flat response box size is 4.5 cf ported to 24hz, I have one of these in a 800sf room and it fills it perfect. woofer facing the listening area from TV. I have tried up firing, down-firing, side, and the best I found is front-facing towards the listening area. hope that helps.