Dayton 8 MTM

[aussie78]

Hi guys, just wondering if any of you have really had any experience with the "Dayton D-8" MTM? have looked at Dave Tenney's site and they look pretty good for me. However I would be using them for home theatre use and would eventually like to upgrade my center channel to something a little more matched to my mains. Any suggestions?
Also If that doesn't work I would like to try the Db616TL by dave brown but never have I heard a TL before.
I figure someone out there has listened/owned these at one point.

[RJ]

I built a Dayton 8 MTM test box and found the mids are very recessed.
Decent bass and the Seas H1212 tweeter delivered very nice highs.
The mids just muffled the male & female vocals.

Built a few TL's also. Instead of the Dayton Classic 6's I used the 5's. They also had recessed mids but very good bass for their size.
The TL's bass is also different. Something you have to get used to. It's very clean and deep. To put it simply, It's There.

For HT and Music - nothing beats a line array.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...n/hpnx0294.jpg

Jaggle of test boxes;
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...-TestBoxes.jpg

The center MTM squished by the 4 Dayton aluminums top and bottom are the Dayton 5's with the Seas tweeter in a TL box.

Solely my opinion, yours & others might vary...

[aussie78]

ok... so you say that both of those MTMs have recessed mids. What are you comparing to. I don't have much comparison experience other than car audio - so quite limited.
What would you recomend with a $200 - $400 budget Canadian so that would be @ $160 - $320 US?
I want decent bass and clarity so maybe the D-8 isn't what i'm looking for?!

[x. onasis]

Yup, slightly recessed mids would be my critique as well. But slight it is.... OTOH, you can build many other kits and get just the opposite too. Forward mids is far more common, in my experience. These speakers play clean, loud, and provide house shaking bass.

For this price in a kit, you get a lot of "wow" factor. I built these and many friends wanted a pair. If this is your first kit for your home, I wouldn't hesitate giving my recommendation for all around "bang for the buck".

But be forwarned, they're big. You'll need space to set em up. And if you sell them, you'll need a truck to haul em away.

[RJ]

I compare all my test boxes to the Dr. K's - a reference MTM and my Line-Arrays.

The Dr. K's;
http://www.partsexpress.com/projects...mtm/index.html

I really can't recommend a design, but if I was cornered I might recommend these;
http://www.wadsnet.com/~dtenney/d27_veritas.htm

I crossed over the Dayton 8's at 500 hz and it did clear up the mids so these 3 - ways might do the same trick.

[aussie78]

well I looked at the "veritas D27" and it looks like its kind of a "rocker" if I can just get all the parts figured out I could see what cost it is. Just the drivers look like @200 US. I need to find a good place to get xo parts in canada... maybe it would save me some loot!
RJ - You said that you crossed over the Dayton 8's at 500 hz and it cleared up the mids. what did you change on the xo? I'm still new at this home stuff and don't have any experience with building crossovers. however I know how to weild a soldering iron so i'm confident I could build'em.

also, I just wanted to say that you guys on diyAudio are awesome!

[paulhfx]

Originally posted by aussie78
I need to find a good place to get xo parts in canada...

Check out Solen.ca.

Paul

[aussie78]

I looked at Solen.ca but there are tons of different types of caps and inductors and resistors... what do I choose for my crossovers? like I said, I am new to the xo thing.
Again I am at the mercy of the diyAudio board.

[RJ]

well I looked at the "veritas D27" and it looks like its kind of a "rocker" if I can just get all the parts figured out I could see what cost it is.

I think you'll be able to get more SPL out these speakers then the D8's. Also, jazz, pop, and HT will also be better.

RJ - You said that you crossed over the Dayton 8's at 500 hz and it cleared up the mids. what did you change on the xo? I'm still new at this home stuff and don't have any experience with building crossovers. however I know how to weild a soldering iron so i'm confident I could build'em.

It was more than just a crossover. I was experimenting with these Mid/Tweets;
http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/showd...number=297-411
for a line array use. Just for the heck of it I hooked them up to the D8's.
At first the crossover point was 900 hz which didn't do too much to help the midrange sound, so I then crossed them lower at 500 hz.
This did the trick. The negatives to using these mid/tweets are;
1. The terminals are way too flimsy to solder 24 awg wire. They'll need very small push on connectors.
2. The metallic domes didn't blend in very well with the Dayton 8's treated paper cones.
3. Off-axis listening revealed a lot of seperation from the woofs/mids, the Dayton and Hi-Vi's didn't integrate very well. Probably a crossover problem, not worth fixing in my opinion.
4. The HiVi's top end sank very fast at 10 khz. - no sparkle at all on the top octave. To fix I used a Pyle Super Tweeter;
http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/showd...number=272-115
I attached this tweet on the back of the box and used the crossover that came with it (3 uf). This really did amazing things to the percieved soundstage. It brought out the sparkle that was missing and not only widened the soundstage but added depth as well.

All in all, I wish that it would have integrated better, maybe someday I'll find a mid/tweet that'll match the Dayton 8's. I have seven of them!!!

As for your crossover purchase, the only problem I see is the 2 mH coil. I'd buy the ferrite core type. Get good poly's for the 13.5, 31, 2.7 & 3.6... the rest can be electrolytics and the coils air-core.

[aussie78]

Originally posted by RJ

As for your crossover purchase, the only problem I see is the 2 mH coil. I'd buy the ferrite core type. Get good poly's for the 13.5, 31, 2.7 & 3.6... the rest can be electrolytics and the coils air-core.

ok... so I finally got all the parts together and i'm kinda stuck on what to really use - I mean how to get the proper value for caps and Inductors I can't find. do I put two together to equal the right one or what. I'm sooo confused