Dayton RS150 = 5 1/2" or 6"?

[JWFokker]

In Zaph's comparison of 5.5" drivers, the Dayton RS150-4 and it's shielded counterpart were both included, yet on the Parts Express website, they're listed as 6" drivers. Can anyone confirm the actual size?

[sqlkev]

I just measured it for you. Flange to flange, it's 5.9" ( keep in mind that the flange is quite large, surround to surround is only 5")

[JWFokker]

Huh. Since my intention was to use it as a replacement for a 5.5" driver in a prebuilt enclosure, I'm going to err on the side of caution and get something I'm certain will fit. Maybe the Seas CA15RLY, though it is $50 to the Dayton's $28.

[sqlkev]

Will you be surface mounting it?
Did you wanted the actual cutout size? I can take off the driver from my box and do a quick measure for you without a problem.

[JWFokker]

The drivers are effectively surface mounted on the box itself, but they've got a polished baffle that goes over them, as seen at GR Research. The opening on the baffle is 5.5", as is the diameter of the surround. I haven't taken the baffle off yet to see what the diameter of the frame is.

http://www.gr-research.com/insignia.htm

The plan is to replace the driver with something better (the stock drivers are cheap carbon fiber coaxials) and go external with the tweeter, installing a higher quality crossover while I'm at it. I've got a set of Hi-Vi RT1L isodynamic tweeters left over and they'll be a good fit for the Seas or Daytons since they're similar efficiency and can cross fairly low.

http://www.remo.nl/hiviresearch.htm

I realize some people would criticize the decision to do all this work to such cheap speakers (I paid $31 for the pair at Best Buy, regularly $50/pair), but that's not how I see it. They're decent speakers out of the box, especially for the price, but they're not as good as I want them to be. So I'm using them as a cheap pair of enclosures. The enclosure itself has some issues, which I intend to rectify. Strengthening and deadening the enclosure walls is first on the list. I'm sure I could do better with a different enclosure, but I don't have the tools or the time or the experience to do it better than just modifiying these.

[sqlkev]

I'm actually listening to the Insignia bookshelves at the moment
FWIW, I think you're better off tweaking the stock crossovers it came with and fix the box's resonances.
The advantage to this bookshelf is its full-range capability. Even with the ragged FR, it's still better than a badly design 2 ways, imo.

[omarmipi]

I'm interested in what others have to say about this also. I have a pair of the Insigna speakers and I wanted to know the approximate volume of the enclosure. I have some RS150S drivers on the way that I am going to tryout.

[JWFokker]

Let me know how the RS150's work out for you. I'm going either with them or the Seas.

[omarmipi]

I received the Dayton RS150S and they will need new baffles in order to mount to the enclosures. It's a shame because it will take a lot of time to get the same paino finish as the current baffles.

I would keep the original drivers but I do not plan to use Carbon fiber cone drivers for the rest of my system. I'll keep you posted. Anyone figure out the approximate volume of the enclosure yet?

[JWFokker]

Here's the stock driver parameters. I'll get back to you on the volume.

Qts = 0.527 Total Q
Qes = 0.609 Electrical Q
Qms = 3.932 Mechanical Q
Fs = 45.976 Hertz, Free Air Resonance
Res = 6.65 Ohms, DC resistance
Ls = 0 H, series inductance
Lp = 0 H, lossy series inductance
Rp = 0 Ohms, loss across Lp
Dia = 165m meters, effective
(%shift) 28.9 %, resonance with mass
Vas = 76.12 litres, air volume equivalent
mms = 10.10 grams, effective mass
cms = 1.185m m/N, compliance
bl = 5.647 T*m, motor strength
n0 = 1.168 %, max efficiency
SplSens = 92.67 dBSPL max @1W absorbed
(Added mass) 10 grams