Dayton PS220-8: the speaker many of you have been waiting for.

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After listening to Fostex, Alpair, TangBand, Sonido, Seas, Lowther and many others I bought a pair without listening. To make them sound linear and sweet was tough but after all I was rewarded with a very intimate and sweet sound. IMHO: They are by far the best 8" fullrange drivers out there. My second choice are the 2 TangBand drivers (W8-1772 & W8-1808). TB & Dayton are lightyears ahead of Lowther & Fostex. The new TangBand W8-2145 has treble issues! If you want the real life-live sound of the instruments in your home Lowther, Seas & Fostex are a no go.
The Daytons have it all: True bass, full bodied sound, realistic gestalt, open and sweet highs (BTW, much better than my AirMotionTransformers!). From Techno to ancient music they do it all. Symphonic music is not overwhelming with them but impressive. Vocals sound fantastic. The Daytons sound definitely better with T-Amps (2020 or TPA3116) then with Tube. Normal transistor amps do sound sick and with the Daytons even more so. The Daytons have extremely low distortion and you will hear it, in the highs they have not more distortion than the AirMotions! Most tweeters have more distortion and we are talking fullrange here - respect! These are some serious fullrangers. I had them in BR enclosures, will put them in a horn. They gave me endless hours of joy.

If possible is it possible to explain why this doesnt sound good with traditional Class AB amps.? or pls point me to a thread which explains this.
Thanks.
 
Is there a Dayton Audio PS180-8 6-1/2" (Point Source Full-Range Neo Driver) bookshelf speaker cabinet design you can share or point me to.

Not simple, but a PS180 miniOnken i did. There is a much larger one for the PS220.

Day-Ken180wT-extents.png


dave
 
I get 7.8 L tuned to 67 Hz with a 3.75 cm [1.25"] dia x 4.5 cm [1.77"] using its Klippel specs, though of course going bigger and tuning lower with some baffle step compensation [BSC] is an option if a near-field app and/or will be used primarily for background [mood] music.

GM
 
Please excuse this entry on the Dayton PS-180 rather than the PS-220 but, I.M.H.O., it's six of one and half a dozen of the other, unless it's being used as a full range. In that case, I would think the 8 incher would yield a better low end.

The link given is to the parts Express Project Gallery where all the details of that project are given. I might also point out that I was somewhat concerned by the 10 to 15 dB rise in response of the driver when measured outside although it isn't that far off from the 10 dB rise above about 4 khz as seen in the Dayton response curves. The actual response as measured in the room is considerably flatter due to heavy drapes, a plush sofa and armchair and wall to wall soft carpeting.

Prior to buying the PS-120, consideration had been given to the PS-220 but since the system is bi-amped at 200 hz, bass response wasn't necessary.
Consideration had been given to other drivers also, like the Tang-Band 8 inch units, W8-1808 and W8-1772 but the cost couldn't be justified at the time despite the flatter high frequency response, which, in all probability would have drooped down due to the acoustics of the room. I may still make purchase of the Tang-Bands.

I do a lot of experimenting with speakers; that started in the 70's. There are currently 3 audio systems in the house with six speaker systems. I live alone; that's how I'm able to get away with such eccentricities.
Anyway, here's the link. I hope the information there proves useful.

Robert

http://projectgallery.parts-express.com/speaker-projects/grumpys-project/
 
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