PartsExpress: Dayton "AIRs" -- what do y'all think?

mhardy6647

mhardy6647

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So, after much navel-gazing, I've convinced myself that I want to purchase and try a pair of the cheap Dayton two-way loudspeakers with generic "AMT" (air motion transformer -- a la Dr. Oskar Heil) tweeters.

This is, of course, a completely selfless and eleemosynary move on my part -- my way of making a data-driven contribution to this thread... but I do have a question:

Which model should I procure?

The 4.5 incher or the 6.5 incher?

https://www.parts-express.com/dayto...kshelf-speaker-pair-with-amt-tweeter--300-451

300-451_HR_0.jpg


https://www.parts-express.com/dayto...kshelf-speaker-with-amt-tweeter-pair--300-651

300-651_HR_0.jpg



On the other hand, if all y'all think that these are aiming too low for the intent of this subforum, please do say so!

Thanks!
 
I think they are on the money. My son uses the non-air b652. They work better than you would expect.
 
opa1 said:
I think they are on the money. My son uses the non-air b652. They work better than you would expect.
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I expect them to be not bad -- especially for the price!

:)

I think they'll be interesting to compare to multiple generations of low-cost/small two way loudspeakers.

AR-4
CSW Model Seventeen

etc.

Wish I still had a pair of AR-18 loudspeakers. I really liked those, but passed them along to someone who actually needed something like them some years back.
 
I'd go for the 6.5 inch. 87 dB vs 84 dB for the smaller one. I've heard the non-AMT version, and the mid-woofer is surprisingly good for a $60 pair of speakers.
 
Ernie said:
I'd go for the 6.5 inch. 87 dB vs 84 dB for the smaller one. I've heard the non-AMT version, and the mid-woofer is surprisingly good for a $60 pair of speakers.
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The price is certainly right (either way, actually), so I think that's the plan.

I figure they should easily be worth their modest cost in fun.

1) evaluate as is with various kinds of music, various sources, various amplifiers -- avec and sans subwoofage.
2) take a peek inside.
3) maybe some gentle, pseudo-audiophile tweaking of said insides (depending upon what is found therein)?

tonnes of fun to be had, methinks.

sort of reminds me of this golden olde from another time's forgotten space:

http://audiokarma.org/forums/index.php?threads/dogg-digital-speakers-a-review-by-yours-truly.51717/

 
I can't remember the last time I bought new speakers... it was probably an on-sale pair of CSW Model Sixes I bought for my daughter when she matriculated into college (2002) :)

To quote Ricky Ricardo:
"The cast is dead"*
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* "The die is cast" :o

I just ordered a pair of the 6.5 inch AIR morph :) Free standard shipping (had to spend a hunnert bucks in toto; that wasn't difficult).

Further details as events warrant.

I'm actually excited about this!
 
In curious to hear how you like em. I’m with you in thubkI by they won’t sound bad and might be surprisingly decent.
 
mhardy6647 said:
That strikes me as too much -- from a configuration and from a price standpoint.
I am nothing if not parsimonious (by which I mean cheap).
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An official "Hi Fi Haven Cheapskate"? ;) ;)

The bookshelf speaker would fit better in a small apartment or dorm. We'll go with whichever Dayton you choose. :)
 
I never got the fuss about the original B652, TBH. Much like the speakers packaged in inexpensive shelf systems - and about the cheapest "real" speakers you can buy. And that's a wonderful thing for 95% of the population.

But I didn't like the originals, I didn't like them when the sourcing changed, and I didn't like the derivatives. This is the sort of thing that I listened to in happy ignorance many years ago.

I briefly listened to the AIR speakers, but I wouldn't say critically. Struck me as a gimmick - the cheapest possible AMTs grafted onto flimsy POS speakers in place of the mylar dome that really more befits the rest of it.
 
So -- I ordered a pair of the 6.5 inch AIRs, a FiiO closeout lossless audio (not high-rez) player, and enough (by the foot) Mogami cable to push the total over $100 -- so as to have free shipping.

They are en route (we'll see if they find their way here to the edge of civilization).

Fiddy dollas the pair for the speakers... it will be interesting to see what they're like (and maybe what their potential could be).

I probably shoulda boughta low-cost "Class D" amp with onboard DAC to try with them, but... maybe later...

Further details as events warrant.
 
mhardy6647 said:
So -- I ordered a pair of the 6.5 inch AIRs, a FiiO closeout lossless audio (not high-rez) player, and enough (by the foot) Mogami cable to push the total over $100 -- so as to have free shipping.

They are en route (we'll see if they find their way here to the edge of civilization).

Fiddy dollas the pair for the speakers... it will be interesting to see what they're like (and maybe what their potential could be).

I probably shoulda boughta low-cost "Class D" amp with onboard DAC to try with them, but... maybe later...

Further details as events warrant.
Click to expand...

My new $70 TPA-3250 amp should be here soon.

We should get my amp and your speakers together and see if they can dance. ;)
 
Got home and what should be waiting for me? The TPA-3250 amp! :)

It's a cute little amp. I'm really looking forward to hooking it up. :)
 
opa1 said:
The ACA might work well with them.
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I am guessing that the low-ish sensitivity will make them less than ideal for the ACA -- but, since there is an ACA here (albeit a slightly hot-rodded variant thereof), it is a testable hypothesis.

For some reason, I am fixated on trying them on the quasi-complementary HH Scott LK-60 that lives here. I have this weird, nonlinear affection for that amplifier :)

004 by Mark Hardy, on Flickr
 
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