Price Paid:  $578.00 from Parts Express

Summary:
I used the 15" Dayton in a room about 20ft x 15ft, it sits in the corner facing into the length of the room. The crossover is set to 80Hz and I add a little EQ around 4.5dB on the amp at 22Hz just to compensate for the natural roll of of the sealed cabinet.
Play something like the pod race in Star Wars - or the martian heat ran on War of the Worlds and this thing will shake the couch and vibrate stuff all over the house. I have not heard the other top contenders in this price bracket such as the HSU VTF3 or the SVS offerings - I am sure these shake the house too. I bought the Dayton because it seemed like a lot of sub for the money - a 1000 watt amp with EQ adjust and a 15" 800 watt drive unit - and I bought it as a kit so saved around 150 bucks. One thing I did do was stuff the cabinet with polyfill to increase the effective box size - the Q seemed a little high based on simulated data in a 3 cu ft box. Since the driver is so heavy and thus not easy to install I did not experiment with and without the fill but it sounds tights and there is plenty of very LF extension with it. The driver seems to have almost limitless power, and sounds decent even moving at around 2" of excursion. I have heard the 15" HQ drive unit from parts express, and that seems to run out of steam much sooner under heavy LFE rumble.
The only minus is I think it would be better with big rubber feet rather than the spikes - but with that said mine is on a tile floor and it rattles unless it has some dampers under the spikes..... on carpet no big deal.
I read a review saying the 15" titanic has less extension than the 10" - I think that is inaccurate - there is no way a 10 inch cone with a 250 watt amp could reproduce the kind of house shaking air movement I get off this.
I would be interested to hear how this model compares with the ported variants such as the HSU.... I debated both for a while but of course both being mail order its hard to hear either.

Strengths:
Great room shaking ability

Seems to have almost limitless power

Easy to make kit saves about 150 bucks - makes it superb value

Solid - its around 100 Lbs and hard to move on your own

Sounds very tight - probably due to the sealed box loading - seems to start and stop on a dime

Weaknesses:
Functional looking

May benefit from extra polyfil in the 3 cu ft box

As with any sealed box the driver has to work hard to produce sub 30Hz at high volume..... I dont know if the HSU or SVS ported offerings would be better for HT use - but the driver does move a huge distance without complaining

Similar Products Used:
Dayton 15" HQ driver

Rex Russo

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
Less than 1 month

Price Paid:  $688.00 from Parts Express

Summary:
I bought the kit version of this subwoofer. I'm a born again listener, but still a newbie. Yet, I'm positive of the results. I've heard others brag about their subs, and this one blows there subs away, hands down.

Strengths:
Price! Lots of research to find the best for the least. Power.

Weaknesses:
Looks average, but mine is hidden in a cabinet. If you purchase the kit, do not use there T-nuts! Spiked T-nuts chew up the mdf. Try their hurricane nuts. if you must use their T-nuts, epoxy them in place first.

tho5

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
1 to 3 months

Visitors rate this review
5.00 of 5, 4.00 votes

Price Paid:  $700.00 from partsexpress

Summary:
Dayton 15” subwoofer is a very solid performer. Directly compared it with the SVS 16-46 PCi and the Dayton is clearly better. It sounds tighter and has better slam. Tonality can be tightening up with filling poly fills in the cabinet. Added about three lbs of poly fills from Wal-Mart. The parametric EQ helps tailor the bass for the room and the sound preferred. Over all very impressed with little money spent.