I am looking at building 350litre sub with two 6inch 1m ports. We do not seem to have the drivers in the UK? Im going to import 1 or 2 dayton um18s but I was wondering if anyone knows of a UK alternative?
Thankyou in advance
Steve
Thankyou in advance
Steve
Nooooooo! I did not expect that! are dayton um18 a good driver? I am not a fan of china but not many ppl are.
Dayton is Parts Express’s house brand. Almost everything branded that is made in China by a variety of OEMs.
dave
dave
Last edited:
including China. Crap is made everywhere too.
But because China builds such huge numbers they are going to have just more...
dave
Last edited:
True, Brasil made drivers like Selenium, now JBL, are high quality.
I like italian FaitalPro.
Some Dayton stuff is good. Some not.
I like italian FaitalPro.
Some Dayton stuff is good. Some not.
I agree, not many 'hifi' sub drivers available in the UK, especially ones above 12"
All the pro drivers are available, most with higher FS / lower xmax than the Ultimax style drivers.
I use 4x Lab12's in my front room. Enough for music.
There's some ok looking Rockford Fosgate and Alpine car audio subs available.
I had really good results from a Clarion 12" driver in a BP6. Very long ports though.
Rob.
All the pro drivers are available, most with higher FS / lower xmax than the Ultimax style drivers.
I use 4x Lab12's in my front room. Enough for music.
There's some ok looking Rockford Fosgate and Alpine car audio subs available.
I had really good results from a Clarion 12" driver in a BP6. Very long ports though.
Rob.
I was looking at building a sub at one point and I couldn't find anything like the UM-18 in the UK/EU.
Despite the premium from import duties and whatever else, I think they still offer good value for a big sub
Another woofer that looks pretty good is the peerless STW-350F188PR01. It looks similar to the one used in the svs pb16 ultra. But it looks like it's out of stock in a few places so maybe it's being discontinued. It'll fit into a much smaller box then the um18
Despite the premium from import duties and whatever else, I think they still offer good value for a big sub
Another woofer that looks pretty good is the peerless STW-350F188PR01. It looks similar to the one used in the svs pb16 ultra. But it looks like it's out of stock in a few places so maybe it's being discontinued. It'll fit into a much smaller box then the um18
I assume that because you are looking at a car audio type driver in a box with ports like organ pipes that you are interested more in quantity than quality. What are your expectations of response and spl?
Member
Joined 2009
Paid Member
Much of their consumer range is also made in China or assembled in the UK using Chinese parts...
If you want the UM's, Sound Import in the Netherlands also have them: https://www.soundimports.eu/en/dayton-audio-um18-22.html
you still need to import them in the UK altough, due to Brexit, but shipping will be much less. For drivers like the UM18-22 there are not real cheap replacements i'm affraid. 18" drives tuned that low are rare worldwide, and certainly here where houses (and so listening spaces) are smaller than in the US so there is no real need for that big drivers for hifi.
And in general, EU designs (even when made in Asia) like from Scanspeak (Denmark), Purifi(Denmark/Netherlands/Belgium), Kartesian (France), Focal (France), SB Acoustics (Denmark) and Seas (Norway) are far more refined than US for subwoofers. And if you include pro audio drivers fit for hifi, like faital or B&C (both Italian) it's also the case. The US got JBL, Emminence, Peerless by Tymphany (original Danish, but now US owned) and Dayton (Parts Express). And outside JBL, it's not playing in first class anymore. Dayton delivers very good drivers altoug, that are very close to the top quality, and often way cheaper. America is not leading in general, but in some segments they got better models, and in other the EU has.
And in the past we also got great driver makers like Philips, Kef ao, that were on par with the american industry...
you still need to import them in the UK altough, due to Brexit, but shipping will be much less. For drivers like the UM18-22 there are not real cheap replacements i'm affraid. 18" drives tuned that low are rare worldwide, and certainly here where houses (and so listening spaces) are smaller than in the US so there is no real need for that big drivers for hifi.
And in general, EU designs (even when made in Asia) like from Scanspeak (Denmark), Purifi(Denmark/Netherlands/Belgium), Kartesian (France), Focal (France), SB Acoustics (Denmark) and Seas (Norway) are far more refined than US for subwoofers. And if you include pro audio drivers fit for hifi, like faital or B&C (both Italian) it's also the case. The US got JBL, Emminence, Peerless by Tymphany (original Danish, but now US owned) and Dayton (Parts Express). And outside JBL, it's not playing in first class anymore. Dayton delivers very good drivers altoug, that are very close to the top quality, and often way cheaper. America is not leading in general, but in some segments they got better models, and in other the EU has.
And in the past we also got great driver makers like Philips, Kef ao, that were on par with the american industry...
Audax France is owned by Harman USA. Davis France has very good 15" design made for hifi and studio purpose and also an OEM maker. Focal as Cabasse are now Chineese capital. I believed Thymphany was chineese... but most of the steel comes from India !
Odd nobody talks about Japan brands...It is so hard to buy there than few people are talking about them but TAD (maybe not anymore a Pioneer division perhaps.
Volt still made in UK ?
SB Audience the PA division from Indonesian maker SB acoustic has good 18" you can find in european internet shops.
Odd nobody talks about Japan brands...It is so hard to buy there than few people are talking about them but TAD (maybe not anymore a Pioneer division perhaps.
Volt still made in UK ?
SB Audience the PA division from Indonesian maker SB acoustic has good 18" you can find in european internet shops.
Last edited:
Focal is part of the Vervent Audio Group, still based in France, and also including JM Labs and Naim. Maybe the shareholders are Chinese, but it's still a French company based in Saint-Étienne in France.
SB Acoustics is designed in Denmark, but build in Indonesia, and the ownership is shared Danish/Indonesian.
Volt is British, just like Fane and Precision Devices (two brands that are owned by the same owners).
And Japanese brands are not used much down here, TAD (a Pioneer spinoff) and Foster/Fostex are most known and used, but they are or too expensive and/or very niche for the rest of the world. Also because Japanese have a very specific taste in hifi that does not fit the rest of the world. Tad and Foster/Fostex manage to serve both markets, but most brands focus only on Japan for that.
Yep still Saint-Etienne made for the flagships drivers and cabinet. Rest of the line made in a chineese plant. Chineese capital like Club Méditeranée indeed...with more focus on the automative markett.
Most of which are made in China. But often many of the parts come from elsewhere. For instance, Mark Audio surrounds come from Taiwan and voice coils from Japan.
dave
yeah, off course much is made in china or indochina today, but the brand is not located in China. Much of the EU brands (but Scanspeak i think) is made in China also, but to EU designs.
And chinese are not stupid, i think soon we will start to see full chinese brands that make hi quality drivers also. Untill now most were not that good, often even crap. But they are learning every day i think, just like they do with the rest of our technology. And we can already learn a lot from them on some subjects.