# Average Joe Review: Dayton Audio HO 12



## LaserSVT (Feb 1, 2009)

Hello folks, time for yet another average guy that has minimal test equipment review of another noise maker.
As you know I don't list many numbers or specs that the "average" user does not understand nor due I list a bunch of graphs of what a driver can do sitting on a bench.
Just real world thrashing and playing using various music to give an actual impression of the sound you can expect with a similar setup.

Today I will be reviewing the Dayton Audio RSS315HO-4 12" Reference subwoofer. I had never heard of this company until earlier this year by the good folks here on DIYM and have been impressed ever since. They Dayton is a very inexpensive subwoofer that has big boy sound. At only $150 it has been easily my favorite subwoofer in that price area but more on that latter.

Basic specs for this version are single 4 ohm coil with a power rating of 700rms and 1400 peak. Frequency response is 26 to 600 Hz with an Fs of 31.6hz. They are claimed to work in a box as small as .33 cubic feet but....no.
They have an attractive and plain black aluminum cone with a very familiar cast aluminum basket I have seen in several much more expensive subwoofers. At 25 lbs they are no lightweights. The magnet alone is 150oz. The spring terminals are of good quality and accept my 10 awg wire with ease. Their Xmax is only 12.3mm so don't expect to break windows but they should be a good sq sub.

Testing will be done in vehicle mounted inside a .72 cubic foot sealed box with 1/2lb polyfill. Amplification is from a JL Audio 500/1 V1 getting its signal from a Pioneer 80PRS.

I should note they would be best in a 1.15-1.25 sealed box and I had built one to sample a single sub. I only had a couple hours break in and listening time before I removed the box to fix a leak around the terminals. I left it on the floor of my shop and a hard rain ruined the box. So some of my test music may have been better reproduced in the larger enclosure.

I am a bit limited on pictures as some files were corrupted but I will remove the drivers this week for some better pictures but lets get this started.

I get home from work and there are two plain brown boxes just sitting on my porch. Forgetting what I ordered I was a bit shocked by just how heavy these boxes were and it struck me what I was holding. Oh joy, those showed up very fast. Gotta say parts Express is pretty dang fast with the shipping. I excitedly get inside and proceed to see what $300 bought me. As it turns out it buys to very nice looking sub drivers. I thought the box they came in was plain looking with no markings, the subwoofers them selves are just as barren. Just a clean black driver with no fancy logos or fake CF dust caps, just a soild looking driver. I am one of those people that much prefer a speaker that is not slathered in its name on its cone.




My first worry was if they would fit in the box I had done to fit under my seat but they slid in like it was made for them.



So I checked for leaks and upon correcting a few small box issues I went ahead and installed them in my test vehicle and gave them a couple weeks of break-in since my drives are so short before I really started to punish them. Let me add that 500 watts is no where near enough to punish them so instead I just tickled them. LOL

I tried the box facing forward and upward and even angled:



In the end they responded best in a downfire configuration with a tad over .7 cubic feet sealed and 3/5lb of polyfill. 




Now on to the testing. I love drums. Wish I knew how to play but I can air drum with the best of them. Often people will see me at a stoplight and wonder if I am having a seizure. These subs instantly brought that out in me.

I had been trying to get that real drum sound for a while in this vehicle and had tried Infinity Kappa SSi, Infinity Kappa Perfect, Polk MM and a few others all in that $150 range and right away I could tell the Dayton was a far better noise maker. Clean and tight yet it can really growl if you wish. I had a Boston SPG555 in there that I adored but could not fit without losing the rear seat and that is not an option in this truck. 

I played with many many crossover settings and phasing but end the end preferred 63hz @ 36db with the subsonic filter on and the subs running reverse polarity. 

Started off with Lindsey Buckingham doing "Family Man" just because I always loved Mick Fleetwoods drumming. I was not disappointed. The song opens up with a mellow kick drum that should have a mellow thud with every impact and these reproduced that just right. Soft thud without being muddy and the double thump being clearly heard. So far so good.
Used an old trusty track from Yes called "Shoot High, Aim Low" that has very prominent drums throughout the track. Nothing hard or fast but just a nice slow relaxing beat. The woofers once again played this very well and with authority.

Now I felt I really needed to see what these things are made of and threw in Korns "Never Never". At 19 seconds a base note comes in that sounded much different from what I was used to. The growl came in hard and fast and shook the radar detector off my window. I am used to this growl around 50hz but these subs took it to the next level. Instead of one long muddy note I could detect the cone reproducing each part of that growl. Hard to explain but it was just cleaner.
I loaded up another track I found that I have no idea who it is. Its called "Craziest Drum Solo Ever" and while it isn't the craziest it is a wonderful combination or slow and fast drum styles with a very rapid bass drum for several minutes that when I push the amp for all its worth sounded simply amazing. Not once did they get sloppy or fake sounding. The impact and clarity with the thunderous kick drum was simply amazing. My ears were telling me I was listening to a much more expensive subwoofer.

Satisfied these things can handle drums just excellent I switched over to synthesized bass tracks.
First to try was "Bass I Love You". With this song I started to see some weaknesses. Compared to some other high end subs these are a bit muddy in the 40-60 hz range. Not terrible just not great. They have very fast attack but the decay is slow like there is just not enough control there in the spider. Could just be my setup but they left me a bit wanting. On the other hand when that subsonic note comes in they are impressively loud. Powerful enough to make that note I cant hear move my dash a solid inch up and down. LOL
Playing Janet Jacksons "Runaway" also makes them sound a tad "muddy". I listen to this track on my Klipsch speakers and the bass line is solid yet clear. The Daytons have a solid impact with each hit but just muddle through the remainder of that second long bass note.
Odd thing is when I switch to "Go Deep" from Janet Jackson its completely different. Each bass note is clear and defined and really makes the whole song come alive. Its a fun song and should give a fun feeling, with these subs its a lot of fun. At the 3:20 mark when the bass line comes in that almost sounds like a helicopter landing the reproduction is spectacular. Fast attack and a kick that has some serious authority.
Switching to Nicki Minaj "Super Bass" I realized I cant stand her so turned it off.
Went with Lorde "Team" instead. This is a track I was used to sounding a certain way with my Polk MM subwoofer. I was shocked with the Dayton as it changed the whole song as now I could clearly hear 4 impacts instead of it being muddled into two impacts with each bass note. 
I have given these woofers a ton of different music from Floyd to lady Gaga and everything in-between. They are not great for "bassing out" but do an excellent job of playing actual music. Some areas they do get a little sloppy like in the 40-50hz range but again, that may just be my application. Its not bad enough for me to not like the subwoofers.

I would imagine in a larger ported box that a bass head could really enjoy these woofers. I shoud also point out that while 250 watts per subwoofer is enough to become annoying to other people, these subs would be much happier with triple that power. I have never once been able to even get them warm and they never give up.

Are they a good $400 sub? They are alright but they don't cost $400. Are they a good $150 subwoofer? I honestly don't think you can get a better $150 subwoofer anywhere. Only testing of more subs will reveal that. 

In summary they have great extension and sub bass and for most music styles they perform like a much more expensive sub. Fast attack and livable decay and very musical. I wouldn't use them to try for SPL records and for those of you that love bass heavy music you may be better off with a ported or at least a larger sealed box. In the small box they make surprisingly good use of 250 watts each and need 9db of attenuation to balance with 150 watts going to my components.


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## bkjay (Jul 7, 2009)

Great write up. Thanks for taking the time to post this.


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## casey (Dec 4, 2006)

I like your reviews. 

Nikki Minaj is a man.


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## Bayboy (Dec 29, 2010)

Very similar to what I found about the 10" HO subs... Very definitive up top with a slight drop off midband, but ultra lows and strong as well. Very odd sub to say the least, but very likable. Still have mine and can't seem to let them go despite being shelved for now.


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## ccapil (Jun 1, 2013)

Excellent review, thanks. I will have to try a pair of these soon, ported. They sound like awesome subs for the price, plus they look cool too.


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## LaserSVT (Feb 1, 2009)

Thanks all. I enjoy the reviews. I know they are not everyones taste but I know many moons ago when I started in this insane hobby that a lot of the specs meant very little to me. That has changed for me now but when I talk to most people about stereo equipment their eyes glaze over like I was discussing washing machines. Most people just want to know how it performs and what works with it.
At the same time it also allows people that do know what the specs mean as to what the actual component sounds like and if it can perform as advertised.


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## CDT FAN (Jul 25, 2012)

Nice review. I haven't heard one of these yet. Most every review I have read was positive. Their only negative seems to be their sensitivity.

Speaking of washing machines, this is always good for a laugh.


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## damonryoung (Mar 23, 2012)

Nice write up! If I may add to your review...

I too enjoy my HO's... the 10" version though. What's crazy with these is that I have (2) that share a ~0.55ft^3 box! They play stupid low without help from the eq...

I feel they are the best all around value in subs...


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## LaserSVT (Feb 1, 2009)

Every Dayton speaker I have ordered has impressed the heck out of me. For the price I do not think they can be beaten.
I have a 6.5" in my Klipsch Promedia computer speaker subwoofer and it plays down to 35 hz like nothing and is far cleaner and louder than the Klipsch sub was.


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## Ray21 (Oct 19, 2009)

Nice review! I agree that the Dayton is a very solid sub, nearly unbeatable for the price. I'm not quite sure it is an XBL2 sub though - news to me if it is. 

I am currently running one in my HT setup in 1.5 sealed and it plays flat (+/- 1.5 db) from 20-80hz with some EQ cuts. Extremely impressed with it.


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## HiloDB1 (Feb 25, 2011)

I didnt think these were XBL2 subs.


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## LaserSVT (Feb 1, 2009)

I apologize folks. I had a brain fart and while I was writing this review I was trying to multitask but failed. I was taking notes for the SI BM and messed up.

I will edit the specs.
Thank you all for pointing that out.


EDIT: It seems I can no longer edit the original post. LOL Let me see if I can find a mod.


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## thehatedguy (May 4, 2007)

They are not XBL2.

I like my HF15 too...very nice for the money.


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## LaserSVT (Feb 1, 2009)

Ah there is a mod! Since I can not edit that out of my OP can you?


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## thehatedguy (May 4, 2007)

I saw it after I read this post and took the XBL part out.



LaserSVT said:


> I apologize folks. I had a brain fart and while I was writing this review I was trying to multitask but failed. I was taking notes for the SI BM and messed up.
> 
> I will edit the specs.
> Thank you all for pointing that out.
> ...


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## LaserSVT (Feb 1, 2009)

Thank you sir. Ignore the PM please.


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