Dayton Ultimax 15 DIY build.

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All ready for paint!! Sanded baby smooth no bumps no cracks
 
I'm going with a Jet Black paint. I'm going to Spray it on with an Electric spray gun so its nice and even and professional looking. Then after a couple coats of Black I bought some polyurathane clear coat to paint on. Its not going to be super glossy. I don't care for that look unless its done with professional autobody paint but that **** can get expensive very quick. If it turns out how i hope it will turn out it should Match my RBH black painted speakers. I posted a pic of them earlier in the thread.
 
Ultimax can handle more. And I got it for $150 shipped so at that point I was like ummmm yeah its a no brainer. I really liked the stereo integrity specs but found some opposing arguments to it. I'm sure the ultimax has some too but after I paid 150 i couldnt be happier. If I see it that low again I might pick up another
Some sort of sale? It's going for $199 at PE right now.

But yeah, at the price you paid, you got the best value on the market.
 
The Ultimax is a better driver. It has lots of copper in the motor with really low inductance. You got the right driver and will be really happy with the results
Do you have any hard data to back that up? I haven't seen a real comparison between the two.

Perhaps tellingly, the SI HT doesn't have advertised BL(i) curves, but I haven't seen any Klippel measurements for the Ultimax either.
 
Looking good. Do you have any measurement equipment? I'd love to see some in room response as I'm considering the 15" to either supplement or replace my 12" Ultimax. I wish I had the room, the 18" Ultimax is supposed to be outstanding if it ever gets released.
 
SI HT DATA

that is where drew some of my conclusions. I don't have any data on the Ultimax other than their site and parts express mentions RMS at 1000 Watts and max load of 2000 watts. obviously i'm comparing the 18" Ultimax with the SI HT 18" even though i took a step down and got the 15". Sealed I don't think you would need to worry very much about which one is better than the other. I modeled them a while ago and they came out very close. but the HT SI would be better for a ported design due to the qts being lower. Real world outputs would obviously be different than a computer generated theoretical model. Do some Digging see what you think. I chose the Ultimax because there was a sell at partsexpress and based on that databass website I shyed away from the SI HT.
 
the 18" Ultimax is released you can buy it here they are just sold out at the moment. I would have loved to get and 18" but for the money at $150 I think the 15" will hold its own. I don't have any measuring equipment right now. but I will see if my buddy can supply an SPL mic so that I can do a sweep. My HT room is pretty bare right now due to no extra money for furniture and we just moved into a new house. I think I'll do some measurements once I get some dampening in the room Like a couch and some bass traps. Its a work in progress you know
 
SI HT DATA

that is where drew some of my conclusions. I don't have any data on the Ultimax other than their site and parts express mentions RMS at 1000 Watts and max load of 2000 watts.

Be very careful, I just had to return my two for warranty replacement after about 3 months of them sharing a 1200w amplifier, one coil started coming apart, and the other was starting to cook.

They're great drivers, don't get me wrong, but I'd be a little more conservative with the power than they say.
 

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Off topic: Did you guys break your subs in before you put them in the cabinets?

I have heard a lot and a lot of debate on whether you should or not. I finally decided just to put it in and play music. It will break in over time. at least thats my thoughts. am I wrong?
 
Were your 15s sealed or no? I would think they could take that power and more in the recommended size sealed box.

Mechanically, yes, it'll probably stand it without bottoming out.

Remember though that sealed cabinets are terrible for heat exchange with the outside world. Ported systems are much better, as there's air being moved in and out of the cabinet.


Curveball, all drivers change with break-in. Since its about exercising the suspension, playing some LF outside of the cabinets is the easiest way to do so without having bass playing for hours on end.
Given plenty of use, though, they'll break in anyway.

Chris
 
Mechanically, yes, it'll probably stand it without bottoming out.

Remember though that sealed cabinets are terrible for heat exchange with the outside world. Ported systems are much better, as there's air being moved in and out of the cabinet.


Curveball, all drivers change with break-in. Since its about exercising the suspension, playing some LF outside of the cabinets is the easiest way to do so without having bass playing for hours on end.
Given plenty of use, though, they'll break in anyway.

Chris

Thanks Chris,
Do you have some LF tracks you like to play outside the cabinet to break them in or should i just find some 20-40hz sine waves to play through there? if so at what volume should I play it so the driver doesn't over extend? do I need to extend them a lot to break them in or just a little?
 
Do you have any hard data to back that up? I haven't seen a real comparison between the two.

Perhaps tellingly, the SI HT doesn't have advertised BL(i) curves, but I haven't seen any Klippel measurements for the Ultimax either.

I guess if we are going dismiss advertised info from Rory at PE who states Klippel data for the UM drivers is 23mm xmax and double that for Xdamage and the advertised Le for both drivers then I guess there isn't much to support the statement. I however credit PE's statement of the use of a copper sleeve and copper pole cap in the UM 10, 12, and 15 which is far better than the aluminum in the SI motors. Ricci has tested the SI 18 D2 and found its specs to be in line with advertised.

Running WINisd of both, I'd get the UM15.

Rory's post: Ultimax 10" Subwoofers Finished
 
I guess if we are going dismiss advertised info from Rory at PE who states Klippel data for the UM drivers is 23mm xmax and double that for Xdamage and the advertised Le for both drivers then I guess there isn't much to support the statement. I however credit PE's statement of the use of a copper sleeve and copper pole cap in the UM 10, 12, and 15 which is far better than the aluminum in the SI motors. Ricci has tested the SI 18 D2 and found its specs to be in line with advertised.

Running WINisd of both, I'd get the UM15.

Rory's post: Ultimax 10" Subwoofers Finished
First of all, don't take anything personally. I know you couldn't possibly hold stock in PE as they aren't a public company, so no need to get so defensive.

So, let's look at what we have.

Distortion limit for BL(x): It's a wash between the HT's measured 22.5 mm and UM's "true" 23 mm. Would be nice to actually see the Klippel graphs for the UM, though.

Xmech: The HT is tested at approx 30 mm, leaving only 7.5 mm leeway on either side before damage can kick in. The UM has "a lot more" Xmech than Xmax, but lacking the exact figure, I can only suspect that the UM is just slightly better in this regard.

Le: The UM takes it here by a long shot, with 1.31 mH vs the HT's 3.2 mH. However, the meaning of inductance in itself is only that the high end is rolled off. The role of Le in various Le-related distortion is indirect.

Distortion limit for Le(x): 22 mm for the HT. No clue for the UM. The UM advertises a large copper sleeve, which should give it the edge over the HT, but the effect of the sleeve may not be as substantial as it is in other applications. For example, the AE TD15H has an Le of just 0.3 mH. Implementation is always an important factor.

Distortion limit for Le(i): 15 amps for the HT (though only given at X=0). No clue for the UM. See above.

Distortion limit for Kms(x): 22 mm for the HT. Weird that all the distortion limits are right at 22 mm... Anyway, again no data for the UM.

So, it looks like the UM may be the better driver, depending on the end use, but it's hard to say for sure until more data becomes available. If it were me, I don't know which one I would pick if the HT were $20 cheaper (which it usually is, depending on shipping).
 
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