# Dynaudio MW182 -- Sub/Mid-Bass Goodness



## CAMSHAFT (Apr 7, 2006)

After two months too long here is the long awaited review. I apologize to those of whom I told I would do this a while ago. 

First off I would like to Don Amann for tirelessly helping me with this endeavor! Don was able to spend a whole weekend with minimal sleep making sure that these drivers were able to be installed properly. Don's attention to detail and skillful installation ability was awesome. I highly recommend using his services; whether for purchasing Dynaudio or Tru Technology products among others or for getting a high quality installation. Don will make sure you are taken care of!

So on to the review! First off this is all in a car that was totaled. Over 1000 man hours of installation time was spent in getting the Alty to where it was. 

System Composition:
2005 Nissan Altima 3.5SE
Head Unit -- Sony ES C-90
Processor -- Sony ES XDP4000X
Amps -- Two Arc Audio SE 2150, Two Arc SE 2300 
Cable -- IXOS IXOTICA Interconnects and Gti Speaker Wire
Front Stage Drivers -- Dynaudio ESOTAR MD330D, ESOTAR2 650, ESOTEC MW182 (I did have an eD 9kv.3 as a front sub in the center under dash prior to the 182's)
Subwoofers -- Two Arc Audio Flatlines

Driver Impression: The basket is a low profile stamped steel design. This is not the claw like forged basket like most of the other drivers by Dynaudio. IMO opinion this makes it much more installer friendly allowing them to be installed in a shallow location. The flange is two pieced with the gasket made of rubber and is able to be removed. The screw holes are nice and adequate. The terminals are easy to access and sturdy. The cone is the normal proprietary poly cone with the integrated dust cap. All in all this is a quality Dynaudio product. The Danes know how to build a great speaker. 

Installation: The driver was mounted to a highly damped door on a mdf baffle. There is an estimated 50 sq ft of B-Quiet Ultimate on each door. A rubber deflection pad was installed behind the driver. The pads are design to keep standing waves from returning back through the speaker causing nasty spikes in frequency response. I will never install another car with out these. 11 gauge IXOS Gti Gamma Geometry speaker wire was ran from one of the SE2300's feeding each driver 330 watts. The plastic inner door skin was carved out for clearance tolerances. 

Listening: For critical listening I have a few songs that I like to use specifically for mid-bass. The song Prodigal Blues by Billy Idol from his Charmed Life disc is a great lower mid-bass upper sub-bass track. The song starts off with a low rumble containing pulsing electronic drum beats. The rumble calls for ambience and authority which the 182's exhibited effortlessly. The MW182's were able to take care of this without any problems. Normally my Flatlines need to be brought into the mix, they did not this time. The second song was Money for Nothing by Dire Straits. This song has an awesome drum solo with toms. A few things to point out, one a more precise stereo image was present over the single sub, two authority is exponential on each hit, and finally the articulation of each drum beat was spot on. If reproduced properly this song should send chills up and down your spine. It definitely did, I could have listened to that track over and over!! After listening to these specific track I listened to a variety of genre's of music. Each genre asked the drivers to perform in a certain way, one thing that stuck out was the articulation of the instruments. Kicks drums, bass guitar, and other bass producing instruments all became more defined. These drivers made music even more enjoyable. 

In conclusion I have another driver for life. I do not need to by another mid-bass driver unless this one fails. My front stage is pure awesome. From 20k to 30hz I am ear to ear smiles. These drivers are made for creating music accurately and honestly. The cello, contra bass, and bass clarinet all sound like they would if I were there for a live performance. Lets be honest for regular pop rock music I don't need subwoofer with the MW-182's upfront, very few producers are mixing freqs that low. Then again there is the IASCA disc that I have to perform  

Bottom Line -- This must be your next mid-bass purchase!!!


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## nismos14 (Jun 22, 2007)

Sweet review my friend!!


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## CAMSHAFT (Apr 7, 2006)

Thanks dude! I just wanted to show my enthusiasm for the speakers.

BTW the 182's are pretty close to being completely burned in now. I have been running them off of my home theatre amp since that week! As much as my wife and I watch TV I say they have around 200 hours since JUL. Two weeks of that was on pink noise for the 8 plus hours I was asleep each day.

They should be nice and sweet for the next ride!!


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## nismos14 (Jun 22, 2007)

Oh man.. so they're only going to be better!!


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## CAMSHAFT (Apr 7, 2006)

Yes sir!


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## s2groove (May 18, 2007)

pics please


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## CAMSHAFT (Apr 7, 2006)

Sure I will have a few pics loaded up tonight.


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## CAMSHAFT (Apr 7, 2006)

Cleaning and grille mesh were next on the to do list. Notice how well the hole lined up with the driver. Dispersion was nice!!









Door mounted photo... enough said...









Three for one... Deflex pad, Heat shrinked and loomed IXOS Gti Speaker wire, and a sturdy decoupled speaker baffle


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## nismos14 (Jun 22, 2007)

yummy


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## CAMSHAFT (Apr 7, 2006)

Yep aural and ocular tastiness!


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## Boostedrex (Apr 4, 2007)

I'm glad to hear that you are liking the Dyn's. I've only heard a few installs with them, but they always seemed to sound great to me. I'm afraid I don't have much time listening with music I was familiar with to truly judge them though.


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## CAMSHAFT (Apr 7, 2006)

Well if I am ever in California, I will let you know. I would be more than happy to demo my next vehicle which will feature these awesome drivers!!

You know Jon Whitledge would more than likely give you a listen if you went to him. I cant totally speak for him except for he is a nice guy.

http://www.whitledgedesigns.com


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## Boostedrex (Apr 4, 2007)

CAMSHAFT said:


> Well if I am ever in California, I will let you know. I would more than happy to demo my next vehicle which will feature these awesome drivers!!
> 
> You know Jon Whitledge, would more than likely give you a listen if you went to him. I cant totally speak for him except for he is a nice guy.
> 
> http://www.whitledgedesigns.com


I actually had a chance to sit in John's van for a while at Marv's BBQ this year. But there were so many people waiting to hear it that I just let John play what he wanted to play to demo it. Incredible set up though and he's a very cool guy.

Zach


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## CAMSHAFT (Apr 7, 2006)

Yeah I saw it there last year, but sadly too busy demoing my ride....


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## usmcsoldriver (Aug 13, 2007)

Camshaft.
I'll be installing my MW182's soon 

I hope my experiance is as wonderful as yours!

I'm going to be using FatMat RattleTrap and Regular Fat Mat. And quite possibly some Ensolite. My doors are going to be solid.


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## CAMSHAFT (Apr 7, 2006)

Awesome!! Let us know of your results!!! Semper Fi!


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## Kenny_Cox (Sep 9, 2007)

I am trying to sell my 172's so I can use these in my front doors (same as Dons setup) but I cannot find a buyer. Your review makes me slightly more upset . Glad you like em!


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## CAMSHAFT (Apr 7, 2006)

How much are you selling the MW172 for??


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## Kenny_Cox (Sep 9, 2007)

im *asking* $400 which is "fair", just no market i guess.


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## lacruisin (Apr 29, 2008)

Once again, Dynaudio rocks. I do think I'd take a piccolo over an MD102, though.


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## CAMSHAFT (Apr 7, 2006)

I have heard the Pick twice and each time it was too laid back in both cars. I have heard the Supremo three times and only sounded "proper" once. As for the MD Keith Turner is able to make some magic with that tweeter. In his wife's Honda they sounded effortless. So, moral of the story is, it is sometimes in the tuning.


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## audisoner 596 (Dec 15, 2008)

nice review...dyns still the best


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## CAMSHAFT (Apr 7, 2006)

Thanks I agree Dynaudio FTW!

Look for these to be re-installed in the next six months!!!!!


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## MaXaZoR (Apr 1, 2007)

Cam...when are you coming down to NJ. Have you picked what your next ride is going to be yet?


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## SQplease (Jul 23, 2008)

I like your review, I will be doing my review of that driver soon, not broken in enough, maybe only thee hours of use. but I am teaming it up with the morel piccolo and the morel cdm54 midrange for a three way active set-up. here is the review that I started. http://www.diymobileaudio.com/forum...02-morel-caw938-vs-dynaudio-esotec-mw182.html


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## CAMSHAFT (Apr 7, 2006)

MaXaZoR said:


> Cam...when are you coming down to NJ. Have you picked what your next ride is going to be yet?


MY father is not doing too well. I am home in NC spending time with him. The things happening in the next month or so will determine my next ride.....


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## CAMSHAFT (Apr 7, 2006)

SQplease said:


> I like your review, I will be doing my review of that driver soon, not broken in enough, maybe only thee hours of use. but I am teaming it up with the morel piccolo and the morel cdm54 midrange for a three way active set-up. here is the review that I started. http://www.diymobileaudio.com/forum...02-morel-caw938-vs-dynaudio-esotec-mw182.html


Cool Ill go check it out!


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## jdc753 (Nov 14, 2007)

CAMSHAFT said:


> MY father is not doing too well. I am home in NC spending time with him. The things happening in the next month or so will determine my next ride.....


Not good to hear, best wishes and prayers go out to you and your family. 

Hopefully we can get out from the snow and ice and get back to building some stuff in the spring.


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## CAMSHAFT (Apr 7, 2006)

jdc753 said:


> Not good to hear, best wishes and prayers go out to you and your family.
> 
> Hopefully we can get out from the snow and ice and get back to building some stuff in the spring.


Thanks dude! 

I have garage access now!! More to follow...


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## chinaonnitrous1 (Dec 28, 2008)

Nice write up. 

Much appreciated. 

I'm stepping into the DYN world, replacing the factory 3 way setup found in my S60r. 8" 3" and tweet from factory.

I'm excited too!


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## Flash_Gti (Dec 8, 2008)

greetings from South Africa!! Great install with an awesome driver! i have the same installed in my '07 VW GTI , even tho they sit in factory locations, you cant ignore how sweet they sound! Did u run these in with the passives? im also running full active at the moment and they make all the difference! as the advert i once saw for dynaudio some 13years back said, DANES DONT LIE!

eager to see them in ur new install!


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## CAMSHAFT (Apr 7, 2006)

chinaonnitrous1 said:


> Nice write up.
> 
> Much appreciated.
> 
> ...


Putting some home speakers in your car? Nice! Make sure to start a build thread so we can keep up to date with your progress!!


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## CAMSHAFT (Apr 7, 2006)

Flash_Gti said:


> greetings from South Africa!! Great install with an awesome driver! i have the same installed in my '07 VW GTI , even tho they sit in factory locations, you cant ignore how sweet they sound! Did u run these in with the passives? im also running full active at the moment and they make all the difference! as the advert i once saw for dynaudio some 13years back said, DANES DONT LIE!
> 
> eager to see them in ur new install!


Cheers to you Flash! I actually ran these active off of the Sony ES 4000 processor! I don't think I will ever compete passively. The usability is too convenient to ignore. 

x2 on the "DANES DONT LIE"


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## chinaonnitrous1 (Dec 28, 2008)

CAMSHAFT said:


> Putting some home speakers in your car? Nice! Make sure to start a build thread so we can keep up to date with your progress!!


aha. I'm not that advanced.

Just going with the Dyn 362 setup.

=D

Its easier. 

I'm also lazy.


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