# Dayton Reference rs52 dome mid



## npdang (Jul 29, 2005)

Dome mids really have a special place in car audio. Being self-enclosed, you don't have to worry about trying to stuff a driver into too small of an enclosure, and the resulting heavy low end resonances which can muddy up the midrange. It's also nice to have a solid 90dbwm+ sensitivity, rather than the traditional low 80's you'd see from your typical 3-4" mid.

My favorite dome mid coming into this review was the Usher silk dome. It had an excellent mix of detail and body and was well built. I have to say that I have a new favorite now, and it's the Dayton rs52. 

The rs52 is well built, with a large aluminum rear chamber and flange, and a copper shorting ring above the pole. Clarity and realism is unbelievable, and among the best I've heard to date in a dome mid (or cone above ~600hz). I also felt that coloration was extremely low, and not nearly as cold sounding as some titanium and aluminum domes I've tested before. Notching the breakup above 10khz yielded a slightly more neutral presentation that I doubt many would notice in their cars. Some may even prefer the brighter, more detailed sound from not filtering it.

If I had to pick something I didn't like, it would be the low end dynamics... although it's certainly arguable that domes weren't designed to play optimally below ~500-600hz. There is a slight amount of resonance in the rear chamber and the driver audibly breaks up when pushed hard. For car use, I'd recommend no lower than a 4th order highpass at 300-400hz. For those that push their drivers hard or have an extremely discriminating ear, 600hz would be more ideal.


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## kevin k. (May 5, 2005)

Thanks for the review, Nguyen...  

Your new favorite dome? That says a lot...  

I've got my ATC dome mids x-ed at 360 Hz with 4th order slopes... I've found that output begins to drop noticeably at 315 Hz...


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## npdang (Jul 29, 2005)

The ATC's are actually very good, and more dynamic and effortless but for $35 each the rs52 is very hard to beat.


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## kevin k. (May 5, 2005)

You could buy quite a few for the cost of a pair of ATC's...  :blush:


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## 3.5max6spd (Jun 29, 2005)

Nice. My only complaint of the Ushers was the size of the flange/width of the motor. These look much more compact and caraudio friendly. 
These look like a bargain for me to try a 4way active front plus sub
Leave the lower midrange to my 4's and xover those RS's to play from their sweet range up.


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## WLDock (Sep 27, 2005)

3.5max6spd said:


> Nice. My only complaint of the Ushers was the size of the flange/width of the motor. These look much more compact and caraudio friendly.


USHER - 5-7/8" flange, 4-1/2" cutout, 1-3/8" depth
DAYTON - 5-1/8" flange, 4-1/8" cutout, 2-1/8" depth

Damn! Still too large to fit on my A-Pillars. Although, i like the Idea of using a sealed back mid up there over say the TRIUS(TG9) in the pillar in too small of an enclosure.

I just don't like the idea of a big speaker on the pillar. You get visual reflections off of the windshield as well.

Car audio is not easy!


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## Mike Hall (Jun 30, 2006)

Why cant you turn the ring down to a smaller size on a lathe? If you could knock off a full inche in diameter that would help out a good bit. At least it would for my truck. LOL

Mike


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## WLDock (Sep 27, 2005)

Not sure if that can be done...look at the screw holes:


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## Mike Hall (Jun 30, 2006)

I would just drill new holes. I did not know if the large ring was there for just looks or if it had something to do with how the driver responded. 

Mike


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## WLDock (Sep 27, 2005)

I see what you are saying but the cup is still large...say compared to the TG9/TRIUS mids. Again, the lack of enclosure needed makes them still very attractive.










So, Mike...I don't have a lathe...are you offering your services?


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## Bob (Aug 16, 2005)

Taking an inch off the faceplate wouldn't work too well... at that point you'd basically just have a faceplate connected to the rear chamber/motor, with no way to mount the speaker... unless you lathed down most of the faceplate and left a couple of tabs extending outside the rear chamber diameter I don't think it would work... would be better off rear mounting them.


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## jdybnis (Sep 20, 2005)

You can remove the front flange by taking out those four screws. Make the cutout hole in the pillar 2", or just big enough for the dome. Then rear mount the driver using those same screws that held on the flange. Should make for a very discrete installation too.


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## Bob (Aug 16, 2005)

Right, except that 2" is too small for the surround to fit, and if you want the grill also you need to drill another groove for it to sit in... I found that 2 7/8 inches works perfectly for the grill hole, and 2 9/16 works perfectly for the opening.
I don't have access to a good camera right now, but I took a couple quick pics with my cell phone to show how it looks when finished... I'll take better ones later.


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## Mike Hall (Jun 30, 2006)

Bob, How did you get the grill of the mid? I looked at doing a setup like yours but was afraid to pull on that grill to much as I did not want to bend it. 

Thanks
mike


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## dwk (Feb 3, 2006)

Mike Hall said:


> Bob, How did you get the grill of the mid?


You can probably just pull it off if you hook into the grill, but if you're worried about that just pull the faceplate off by unscrewing the mounting screws. You can then just pop the grill off by pushing from the back - it's just held in by a bit of adhesive of some sort.


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## Bob (Aug 16, 2005)

You have to remove the faceplate, and then hit it out with something from the back side to break the glue joint. I used the back side of a screwdriver with a fairly large rubber handle... left a couple dents in each one, but unless you look at them from profile or up real close they are unnoticeable, and even then they aren't too bad. No damage to the coloring or anything. If you had a rubber ball about the size of the opening and stuck that in there and hit it from behind you would have better results with no dents I'd assume, but I didn't have anything like that laying around.


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## Sephiroth619 (Jun 24, 2005)

Are these good at 30-50 degrees off axis?


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## Bob (Aug 16, 2005)

I have them mounted almost perpendicular to me in the kickpanels... and they are good at least up to my crossover point of 3600hz 24db/oct that far off axis.


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## SSQ (May 26, 2005)

If these are used on axis with the peak at 13k eq'ed out, is there any need for a tweeter? 


-Kris


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## Diru (May 23, 2006)

Does the metal grill need to be there? If not, what do they sound like without the grill in place? How much change would there be in response?


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## kappa546 (Apr 11, 2005)

SSQ said:


> If these are used on axis with the peak at 13k eq'ed out, is there any need for a tweeter?
> 
> 
> -Kris


ditto bump


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## npdang (Jul 29, 2005)

It's not needed, especially if you are a full range driver fan... but personally, I would still use a tweeter as the driver begins to beam above a certain point.


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## demon2091tb (May 30, 2005)

What would a good xover point between the RS52 and an RS225, in a tower for home audio duty .........Either an LPG 26nafm or Neo 3 on the top end.

Possibly might be off topic but does the RS52 work well in home being a dome as well as in a car, but with a low enough ~6k or so before beaming may start would it be a good point for the tweet, and down low possibly around 400hz, mabey 500hz then the RS225 play down to a good 40 or 50hz, dual tempest sonotubes down low.


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## danssoslow (Nov 28, 2006)

demon2091tb said:


> What would a good xover point between the RS52 and an RS225, in a tower for home audio duty .........Either an LPG 26nafm or Neo 3 on the top end.


Bump for discussion on this setup, particularly for a car setup w/ the 26nfa.


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## Hillbilly SQ (Jan 26, 2007)

i'm considering these mids for my qforms crossed between 1khz and around 5khz. here's the catch...my tires are allterrains and my magnaflow exhaust really bellers when driving around town but is whisper quiet on the hwy up to about 65mph. do you think these dayton domes could keep up and at least get up to near painful listening levels without selfdestructing if crossed high enough? with the loud truck and my hearing being somewhat shot i need whatever i get to be loud and fairly bright.


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## bobditts (Jul 19, 2006)

if you want loud and bright, you should match that driver with a focal tweeter and aim it right at your ear. Normally I would never recommend that, but you said you want bright.


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## Hillbilly SQ (Jan 26, 2007)

eh don't know about it being THAT bright, but my mcsq mids could pass for focals. and i'm keeping my morel tweets in the stock location in the doors. i like a snappy lower end but up above 5khz i like it to be somewhat smooth and balanced. i'm strange like that


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## toolfan91 (Dec 7, 2005)

bobditts said:


> if you want loud and bright, you should match that driver with a focal tweeter and aim it right at your ear. Normally I would never recommend that, but you said you want bright.


I definitely agree, I had the RS52 in my car for a week... That was all I could bear really. Off-axis, on-axis, numerous xover points(couldnt STAND them above 3.6khz), a bit of eq work, and still WAY too bright.


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## sundownz (Apr 13, 2007)

How are these compared to the DLS Iridium IR3?


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## npdang (Jul 29, 2005)

It's noticeably cleaner, more open sounding but a touch cold/sterile.


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## s10scooter (Feb 5, 2007)

Not to mention quite a bit cheaper.


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## backwoods (Feb 22, 2006)

npdang said:


> It's noticeably cleaner, more open sounding but a touch cold/sterile.


I would agree with that, but I found them somewhat laid back on vocalists, because they needed crossed over fairly high, it left alot of the realism for the midbass drivers to reproduce for certain vocalists.

I also have the usher domes, and prefer the dayton drivers as well.


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## MiniVanMan (Jun 28, 2005)

I've just now installed these in my wife's vehicle, and the tweaking/tuning has begun.

These are very difficult to work with. They can be harsh, and as was pointed out before, with the high crossover point on the low end, getting vocals, primarily male to sound right is hard.

I'm finding that a low crossover point, with a low slope is working pretty well, i.e. 4000 hz at 6db/octave. I'm going to have to hit the high end breakup with some EQ, but that's not a big deal. The low crossover point with the low slope helps attenuate the harshness these exhibit in the upper midrange to treble frequencies. The breakup at about 13-14k will need to be addressed though. Using a higher slope, kills the dynamics of the driver, so that's where I sit right now.

I'm tuning with a DCX-730, so I can do a lot to tame these down. I definitely wouldn't suggest using these without having a vast amount of tuning ability. 

To be fair though, this is only my second day working with these. I haven't hit them with any EQ yet. I'm still trying to get the crossover points right. Overall, I'm expecting I should be happy with these. They are very lively, and very accurate. They are a bit sterile as npdang pointed out, but it's not "metal coned driver" sterile. It's just harsh on the top end. They will tear your head off if you're not careful.

Oh, and one more thing, these things are EFFICIENT. I have a 50 watt @ 4 ohm amp running them (they're 8 ohm), and I have them attenuated a huge amount.


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## backwoods (Feb 22, 2006)

I had good luck using a 6 db slope from 600 down, and boosting my midbass around 350. 

If you are using a driver like the dayton Rs 180 or 225, you may not need the boost, but with most midbass only drivers, you'll need the help to bring out some of the fundemental tones of lower vocalists...

I cut them off sharply between 3k to 3.5k and was happy with a silk dome up top.


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## MiniVanMan (Jun 28, 2005)

backwoods said:


> I had good luck using a 6 db slope from 600 down, and boosting my midbass around 350.
> 
> If you are using a driver like the dayton Rs 180 or 225, you may not need the boost, but with most midbass only drivers, you'll need the help to bring out some of the fundemental tones of lower vocalists...
> 
> I cut them off sharply between 3k to 3.5k and was happy with a silk dome up top.


Yeah, I've still got a nasty CDT tweeter that's pretty beat up handling the high end, so I haven't been able to really blend the tweeter that well. 

For midbasses I'm running Adire SF7s. They seem to be a very nice driver, and were picked because of the relatively high point the RS52s need to be crossed on the low end. Tomorrow, I'll attack it some more, and maybe start hitting it with some EQ.


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## backwoods (Feb 22, 2006)

I had a quart tweet hooked up for demo'ing with that dome...Now THAT combination, although extremely detailed, was just painful with no eq...


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## MaXaZoR (Apr 1, 2007)

How did you like them better as far as imaging, on or off-axis?


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## X Ray (Oct 29, 2007)

MiniVanMan said:


> I've just now installed these in my wife's vehicle, and the tweaking/tuning has begun..........


Just curious as to how the tuning of those dome mids turned out MiniVanMan.


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## MaXaZoR (Apr 1, 2007)

I can check my settings as well...I believe I have them starting up around 350 and cutting them off at ~ 2.5 - 3k. I really like these speakers. Others have noted that the tend to be bright, but after a little tuning u can get them to settle down


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## npdang (Jul 29, 2005)

You're probably experiencing the effects of a small baffle on the low end sensitivity. What you could try is rather than using EQ, just highpass them first order at around 500hz to 1khz and see if that doesn't help.


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## Oliver (Jun 25, 2007)




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## Hernan (Jul 9, 2006)

First order @ 500 is not a bit on the low side? They sound good but I'm a bit worried about their powerhandling playing that low...

After living two years with them.. I use them from 900/18 to 4K/18 or 7khz, depenpending on the tw used. A -3dB wide Q at 4K tame their bright character. 
Nice drivers overall. They have very low distortion, loud and clean.


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## npdang (Jul 29, 2005)

Sorry I don't know what I'm saying. I meant lowpass! (to compensate for the rising response unbaffled).


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## mitchyz250f (May 14, 2005)

MaXaZoR said:


> How did you like them better as far as imaging, on or off-axis?


Good question, how are you guys running these?m Dash, doors, kicks...?, on asix off, are the tamer off axis?


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## MaXaZoR (Apr 1, 2007)

I personally have mine in the kickpanels On-Axis. I really couldn't see how I could make them sound good off I have a large pertruding dash in my Civic.


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## matt62485 (Jun 7, 2008)

so with these things being self enclosed... do i need to mount them on anthing in particular (i.e) large face, etc.. or can i just perhaps fab something up and make them on-axis in my KP w/ my tweets. also, being ill have to use a passive x-over, where should i put it and what should i cross at (i.e b/t my mach5mids, the rs52s or seas neo textiles)


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## MaXaZoR (Apr 1, 2007)

Pretty much...I have them in my kick panels. I love the clarity it them. I think the biggest weakness is what NPDang refered to as the breakup below ~600. I really wish they played down passed ~300. I have them set to 4th order highpass of ~450 and at loud volumes I can hear them struggling to keep up. Above ~600 they cannot be beat.


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## Hernan (Jul 9, 2006)

MaXaZoR said:


> Pretty much...I have them in my kick panels. I love the clarity it them. I think the biggest weakness is what NPDang refered to as the breakup below ~600. I really wish they played down passed ~300. I have them set to 4th order highpass of ~450 and at loud volumes I can hear them struggling to keep up. Above ~600 they cannot be beat.


This are 2 inch domes. They are not designed to play low. You have no need too play them below 600, or even better 900hz 3rd order.
Every door mid could play up to 900 with good off axis response. Low Xo points on midranges are for dash mounted installs or medium sized mids at the kicks. 
This domes belongs to the kicks. Blending with door woofers should not be an issue at 900hz and a bigger driver has better impact at those frecuencies.
Play attention on phase issues at the xo point, between mids and woofer at each side and between each pair of drivers.

I found them nice up to 6,3 18Db/oct (I like even order slopes).

A bit of EQ at 4,5Khz is usually a call.

These are very low distortion drivers, with its pros and cons.


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## MaXaZoR (Apr 1, 2007)

My issue is that I have the SLS 8's which I don't believe are designed to play up to 900hz or even close to it. I love these RS52's but I don't think they will have a prolonged future in my car, and instead will be moved to my living room,


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## WmAx (Jan 1, 2009)

Since I did not see any links to off axis plots, here are mine for reference.

It would be fine at 3.5-4kHz crossover point in most circumstances.

-Chris


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## Spasticteapot (Mar 5, 2007)

One reviewer found these to work quite well at fifty degrees off-axis. It don't get much better than this, folks.


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## BMWturbo (Apr 11, 2008)

I'm looking at installing a set of these and some HDS tweeters for a fellow member here in the A-pillars.

I am a little unsure about putting these on the lower pillar on-axis though, domes as my general understanding are better suited to off axis.

Any suggestions?


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## Hernan (Jul 9, 2006)

BMWturbo said:


> I'm looking at installing a set of these and some HDS tweeters for a fellow member here in the A-pillars.
> 
> I am a little unsure about putting these on the lower pillar on-axis though, domes as my general understanding are better suited to off axis.
> 
> Any suggestions?


These are wonderfull drivers. Their strengs are low distortion and high sensitiity.
No problem on using them on axis. They could get a bit harsh above 3khz.

HP at 400 18.Db/oct is the lowest I use. No problem, sounds nice.
LP depends a lot on the location and the tweeter used.
LP around 2khz 6Db/oct blends nice with the tw at 3,5khz/18.


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## BMWturbo (Apr 11, 2008)

Thanks Hernan, definitely taken on board.

They will be coupled to a Peerless HDS 810921 810921 | Tymphany

I'm not 100% certain waiting on the tweeters before I can size the locatins up, but most likely the RS52 on-aixs for driver only, between the A-pillar base and dash with the HDS above this slightly overlapping the front plate but not dome on-axis.


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## Hernan (Jul 9, 2006)

BMWturbo said:


> Thanks Hernan, definitely taken on board.
> 
> They will be coupled to a Peerless HDS 810921 810921 | Tymphany
> 
> I'm not 100% certain waiting on the tweeters before I can size the locatins up, but most likely the RS52 on-aixs for driver only, between the A-pillar base and dash with the HDS above this slightly overlapping the front plate but not dome on-axis.


Nice tweeters!. They should mate perfectly with the daytons.

I had the 52s and tws at the A pillars for some time but I like them more at the kicks. (but... I don't even like tws at the pillars. Drivers works better close together).


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## mitchyz250f (May 14, 2005)

From what I have been reading in this thread, the RS52's work well in a car as long as they are not crossed over too low. If crossed too low they can be harsh at hgher frequencies. Now I have also been reading that the RS52's can be harder to tune than cones when used on the dash or pillars. 

Is this because of dispersion characteristics of the 2" dome or crossing to low or something else? It seems that the dispersion characteristics of a 2" dome should be the same as a 2" cone?


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## MaXaZoR (Apr 1, 2007)

I personally cross mine at ~600 up to ~5000k and I LOVE them, my only beef is that my SLS 8's can't play high enough to blend in with them. I will sadly be putting these on the chopping block soon


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## Hernan (Jul 9, 2006)

MaXaZoR said:


> I personally cross mine at ~600 up to ~5000k and I LOVE them, my only beef is that my SLS 8's can't play high enough to blend in with them. I will sadly be putting these on the chopping block soon


Don't worry and HPass them at 400. They hold on.
The LP sweetspot for my aging ears are around 3 khz 18Db/oct (duller) or 2khz 6Db/oct. (brighter).

They have to blend with the SLS's... What LPs are you using with them?


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## MaXaZoR (Apr 1, 2007)

I wouldn't put the SLS above ~250 - 300, above that they start to lack in clarity. These drivers are meant to play low


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## braves6117 (Feb 13, 2008)

MaXaZoR said:


> I wouldn't put the SLS above ~250 - 300, above that they start to lack in clarity. These drivers are meant to play low


Agreed, I actually had to pull mine out (the sls 8's). But they do play low, and really well.


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## MaXaZoR (Apr 1, 2007)

Brave, what did you replace your SLS 8's with, I'm looking for a similar driver size that will play up to 600 - 800 so far its the MW 172's or the HAT 8's


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## thephallicphantom (Jan 11, 2009)

^ indeed, i was just about to ask how these would mate with the SLS. looks like i might want to consider a set of the Dayton RS225's instead, i'll probably start out with 3rd order, 500hz and 2500hz as a starting point for these.


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## pyr0maniac (Jan 25, 2009)

MaXaZoR said:


> Brave, what did you replace your SLS 8's with, I'm looking for a similar driver size that will play up to 600 - 800 so far its the MW 172's or the HAT 8's


What about the 8" Peerless exclusives (830884)?


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## AndyInOC (Jul 22, 2008)

I just got a great deal on a set of these and i am really looking forward to experimenting and matching them up with the ID OEM's. I feel as though my response to 500 is clean enough so I am not particularly worried about the crossover point at that level


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## mitchyz250f (May 14, 2005)

Has anyone taken an RS52 apart? How big is the magnet assy? Maybe you could take it out of the houseing for easier mounting in pillars/ sail panels?


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## bass_lover1 (Dec 10, 2005)

mitchyz250f said:


> Has anyone taken an RS52 apart? How big is the magnet assy? Maybe you could take it out of the houseing for easier mounting in pillars/ sail panels?


It's chambered for a reason. That chamber IS the enclosure, my guess is a 2" dome w/o a chamber isn't going to play down to 500hz very easilyl.


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## mitchyz250f (May 14, 2005)

No intention to run these IB.

Ofcouse another enclosure would be made for the RS52. But it would be a different shape to allow it to fit into the pillar/sail are more easily.


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## t3sn4f2 (Jan 3, 2007)

mitchyz250f said:


> No intention to run these IB.
> 
> Ofcouse another enclosure would be made for the RS52. But it would be a different shape to allow it to fit into the pillar/sail are more easily.


It's worth a try if you can at least get the internal volume and dampening material the same. But something tells me that the chamber tunes the sound the way a chambered tweeter does versus a mid (ie the internal shape and anything else included affects the sound).


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## mitchyz250f (May 14, 2005)

Has anyone used these with an exlectronic crossover and a NOTCH Filter so that these could be run to 6K or so?


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## splicer (Oct 4, 2008)

Just FYI these now have a plastic chamber, not aluminum like they used to. In fact, the whole thing is plastic except for the removable hexagrid cover.


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## bLG (May 1, 2009)

Vifa makes a nice dome 3" mid (actually a Seas design) too-- if you can fit it in as it has a big old flange.


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## crf450r4u2nv (Oct 12, 2008)

splicer said:


> Just FYI these now have a plastic chamber, not aluminum like they used to. In fact, the whole thing is plastic except for the removable hexagrid cover.


i thought mine was plastic but when i went to cut the faceplate to fit the tweeter closer it turned out to be aluminum .


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## DarrenK (May 8, 2009)

Hi Guys,

I happen to know quite a bit about these drivers, and thought I'd post a bit of clarification.

1. The rear chamber on these was plastic from the get-go. Never was Aluminum.

2. The front faceplate IS aluminum, and always has been.

3. If you want to get really crazy with modifying these, it IS possible to remove the rear chamber. The motor itself is a donut shape, with a large hole in the middle that leads to the rear chamber. It is entirely possible (I've done it) to seal off the back of the motor, essentially creating a non-chambered version. You'll need to add a bit of damping inside the motor, but it is entirely possible and functional. Yes, it will effect the low end performance, but if you're using active EQ and active crossovers anyway, then it's not such a big deal. In some sense, the smaller enclosure will reduce low-end excursion, which could clean things up a bit at higher power. Especially if you're crossing at 500 - 600 hz anyway. I might even have an impedance plot somewhere for the "no chamber" version I made.... 

4. As for dissecting and modding these and using them for cars-- one thing that is both a positive and negative is that some of the glues holding things together are thermoset adhesives. Means some parts can be disassembled easier with a heat gun and whatnot. On the other hand, an extremely hot car environment can also tend to loosen things up a bit.

Good luck!

Darren


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## bLG (May 1, 2009)

Please share your impedance plots, I have experimented a bit with different felt damping with the dome mids and would be interested in your results. Thanks much!


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## mitchyz250f (May 14, 2005)

DarrenK:
I just got a pair used and cut the back off near the small end. It looks as though I would be able loosen the 4 small cap screws form the face pate and remove the motor assembly. Is this correct or is it held in place with an adhesive?

Also are you saying the the cup/chamber is held in place with hot glue or are you saying some other components are held in place with hot glue? 

The metal ring that the 4 cap screws screw into appears hold the entire motor assembly in place, it is 3 1/4" total diameter, with the magnet about 2 5/8" dia. and a approx. 1/2" thick. Overall a pretty small package even including the air volume required. Once I get the motor assembly completely out I am going to see how they fit into the sail panels. 

When you discribe a non-chamber version are you discribing something like your typical car audio tweeter? If you have any plots or pics from this work I it would be very interesting to see.


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## DarrenK (May 8, 2009)

Hi Guys,

As for impedance plots, unfortunately I can't seem to locate the exact files. I've got a slew of different plots of similar drivers, and am not sure which is which. Sorry about that...

As for disassembly...

Yes, the four screws on the front will detatch the faceplate/grill from the motor. However, the rear chamber is attached to the motor itself, not to the faceplate, so removing the screws doesn't really help with removing the back cup.

For taking the back cup off the motor, I would recommend using a heat gun if you have one. Both the plastic itself and the adhesive both soften up substantially with heat, and it'll make it much easier to pry the cup off. I'd leave the faceplate on at this point to help with heatsinking from the motor assembly.

The beauty of this driver for car applications, is that the metal dome, surround, and motor are glued together into one assembly. (On many tweeters/mids of this type, the diaphragm is sandwiched between the faceplate and the motor, and when you take the faceplate screws off, the whole thing falls apart). Once you get the faceplate and rear chamber off, it indeed will be very similar to a large car-audio tweeter, except for there will be a bit hole in the back that you'll most likely want to cover with some sort of chamber. (Heck, even something like half of a plastic easter egg would work if glued in place.)

As I hinted at before, if you're going to use this tweeter without the faceplate in the car, I would recommend reinforcing the joint between the diaphragm assembly (black plastic) and the motor (shiny metal). Normally, the faceplate screws do help hold everything together. Without those screws, it is just the small amount of glue between the motor and diaphragm that holds them together. As I found, the glue is heat-sensitive, so in a hot car environment, it's literally possible that you're motor could just fall off the back of the mid! Reinforce with some "goop" or "epoxy" or something that strengthens with heat.

I don't have any pics or anything right now, but if there's enough interest, I suppose I could take some of the disassembly process.

See ya,

Darren


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## mitchyz250f (May 14, 2005)

I have enough interest for 10 people!


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## splicer (Oct 4, 2008)

DarrenK said:


> Hi Guys,
> I don't have any pics or anything right now, but if there's enough interest, I suppose I could take some of the disassembly process.


yeah I'd like to see the insides, but not enough to take apart my own. I removed the faceplate to fit them in the mounting location but if I put the screws back in will that be enough to hold the motor on in the heat?


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## mitchyz250f (May 14, 2005)

A typical 3" cone has an OD of 4".
I believe he is saying that the total OD of the speaker would be 3 1/4 inches and an inch deep. That sounds interesting to me.


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## mitchyz250f (May 14, 2005)

I have heated the rear chamber enough to melt the fins, but still haven't gotten the rear chamber off.

I was wrong in stating that these could be 3" diameter. The smallest they can really get dow to is 4".

Anyway DarrrenK, please show me how to talke these apart.


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## mitchyz250f (May 14, 2005)

I removed the back of the chamber. Not that tough - with a little more help from DarrenK. I cut the small end of the chamber off, heated the cub with a hot air gun, used wire cutters to get a 1" wide section started, and then pealed that down like an orange. Once I got the first section removed the cup came off in a few seconds. 

I don't know how to remove the grill. I read where demon says it pops off with a little force but it didn't work for me. Any ideas? tools?


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## bass_lover1 (Dec 10, 2005)

mitchyz250f said:


> I removed the back of the chamber. Not that tough - with a little more help from DarrenK. I cut the small end of the chamber off, heated the cub with a hot air gun, used wire cutters to get a 1" wide section started, and then pealed that down like an orange. Once I got the first section removed the cup came off in a few seconds.
> 
> I don't know how to remove the grill. I read where demon says it pops off with a little force but it didn't work for me. Any ideas? tools?


I'm interested to see how you end up installing this in an a-pillar, no chamber definitely helps there. I'm curious to see how much the low end was affected by doing this.


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## mitchyz250f (May 14, 2005)

I plan on having a chamber and if possible similar size as the oem chamber. It is the shape of the chamber the makes it tough for pillars.


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## splicer (Oct 4, 2008)

mitchyz250f said:


> I don't know how to remove the grill. I read where demon says it pops off with a little force but it didn't work for me. Any ideas? tools?


I took out the four screws on the front, and it lifted right off.


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## mitchyz250f (May 14, 2005)

I think you seperated the flange from the motor. what I meant was seperating the grill from the face plate. I did acheive this with some additional force.


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## instalher (May 13, 2009)

just put them in my apillars with the tang band/ adi knockoffs... no problems..


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## mitchyz250f (May 14, 2005)

pics?


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## instalher (May 13, 2009)

will post tommorrow! just finished reupholstering driver side one from alcantera suede to carbon fiber vynil.


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## instalher (May 13, 2009)

a few pics


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## X Ray (Oct 29, 2007)

instalher said:


> a few pics


Nice!


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## mitchyz250f (May 14, 2005)

How do they sound?


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## instalher (May 13, 2009)

just got the driver side up vynil going on right now for pass. side... but they sound fricken unreal, i compared them to my qm25hc quarts, usd waveguides, energys, morel neos, and diamond audio hexs....diamonds were the closest, then morel. followed by quart then guides....


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## splicer (Oct 4, 2008)

mitchyz250f said:


> I think you seperated the flange from the motor. what I meant was seperating the grill from the face plate. I did acheive this with some additional force.


all I know is I took off 4 screws and all the metal came off, faceplate and grill, one piece. Everything left is plastic.


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## splicer (Oct 4, 2008)

instalher said:


> just got the driver side up vynil going on right now for pass. side... but they sound fricken unreal, i compared them to my qm25hc quarts, usd waveguides, energys, morel neos, and diamond audio hexs....diamonds were the closest, then morel. followed by quart then guides....


where do you have them crossed?


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## j27 (Mar 9, 2009)

instalher said:


> a few pics


are you running a 3 or 4 way set up and are you using active or passive crossovers?


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## mitchyz250f (May 14, 2005)

The face plate will come off after removing the screws, but the rest of the assembly can fall apart at the worst possible time, unless you epoxy the rest of the assy together.


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## WLDock (Sep 27, 2005)

instalher said:


> just got the driver side up vynil going on right now for pass. side... but they sound fricken unreal, i compared them to my qm25hc quarts, usd waveguides, energys, morel neos, and diamond audio hexs....diamonds were the closest, then morel. followed by quart then guides....


 How is the output of these? From what I read previous they seem to deliver the goods. How well do they blend with your midbass?


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## ginster6 (Aug 19, 2009)

I have a group buy going on at 
http://www.diymobileaudio.com/forum/diy-mobile-audio/65511-group-buy-speaker.html

the dayton RS52 can be had for $33 each.


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## Patrick Bateman (Sep 11, 2006)

instalher said:


> a few pics


That's an excellent install!

It's too bad you are so far away - I'd love to hear your car. Just yesterday I installed my mids next to my tweeters, in the same location that you are using. My mids are 2 x Tangband W2-852SH, and the tweeter is a BMS 4540ND-16.

As you can see from the pic, it's a very similar stage as yours, in a similar car, except mine are waveguide-loaded.








Here's my build thread:

Creating a Soundstage with Waveguides and Psychoacoustics - diyAudio


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## mitchyz250f (May 14, 2005)

Instalher and Patrick -How did you guys aim your speakers? Seems like at the opposite listener for Patric and at the opposite speaker for Instahler

It seems to me that the installs are different in other ways also. Patrick it seems that your speaker baffles are in contact with the window and dash, while Instalhher are more protruding (maybe not the correct word)... Also Patric yours seem to follow the windshield.

Can you guys comment?

Ginster6 - Your group by link doesn't seem to be working.


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## instalher (May 13, 2009)

daytons are from 500 to 2k and t/b from 2k to 40k at 24db/oct... running 125 watts to each speaker.... imaging is dead centre of dash about 1ft past the windshield..


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## mitchyz250f (May 14, 2005)

Instahler- Thanks. How are they aimed? Did you have to deal with any peaks?


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## diegoejea (May 11, 2009)

Does somebody have any pic with the rear chamber removed?

Thanks guys


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## mitchyz250f (May 14, 2005)

I will have to take some, I will try to post them soon.


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## gymrat2005 (Oct 4, 2009)

Only problem I have/had with dome mids are they do not play low enough. You have to run them from 400hz-450hz (or even higher depending on slope) on up, and separating them that much from the speaker playing 200hz-400hz kind of messes with obtaining a clear defined image. No matter what I tried short of mounting the domes right next to my midbass drivers, it just never sounded right. Tonally it was exceptional, sounded great, and had tons of impact. But creating a well separated, well defined soundstage was really impossible for me with that setup.


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## mitchyz250f (May 14, 2005)

RS52 with the back off. I have also shaved as much of the 'extra' plastic off the diameter. The diameter is now 3.5" except at the terminals where it is a little larger than 4" across. These are going into my a-pillars which I just finished.


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## diegoejea (May 11, 2009)

Thanks a lot mitchyz250f !! It is very appreciatted!


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## mitchyz250f (May 14, 2005)

PM me if you have any more questions.


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## WmAx (Jan 1, 2009)

For those interested in knowing exactly how the inside is arranged, here is a carefully produced cut-away profile for the RS52 that I did yesterday:










For those that may have thought the large 'copper' parts were solid copper: a cut-away reveals this is a copper plating.

-Chris


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## mitchyz250f (May 14, 2005)

Great pic. How did you cut the cone in 1/2 without destroying it?


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## bafukie (Nov 23, 2007)

wow... sure looks good


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## WmAx (Jan 1, 2009)

mitchyz250f said:


> Great pic. How did you cut the cone in 1/2 without destroying it?


I used a portable bandsaw. I was not sure if the dome would cut clean enough or a photo, but it did. I had to do a bit of clean up physically and in software to get the good looking final shot.

-Chris


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## aV8ter (Sep 4, 2009)

Is there any 4 ohm alternatives? Are you guys pairing them with 6/7'', or 8'' midbasses?


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## mitchyz250f (May 14, 2005)

Only 8 ohm.


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## Austin (Mar 12, 2009)

Wow those are some tiny ass magnets, or are those neo magnets?


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## mitchyz250f (May 14, 2005)

No. But remember the dome is only two inches.

http://www.diymobileaudio.com/forum/diy-mobile-audio-sq-forum/67816-praise-dome-midranges.html


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## splicer (Oct 4, 2008)

WmAx said:


> For those that may have thought the large 'copper' parts were solid copper: a cut-away reveals this is a copper plating.


Is there a point to copper plating or is it just to make it seem like there is a copper cap in the motor when there isn't?


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