Dayton E180HE-44 Subwoofer
7″ Dual Voice Coil
I don’t usually buy subwoofers but this 7″ Epique intrigued me. She has a Carbon Fiber Cone and blessed with a massive unique motor structure. To top it off, her Linear Maximum Excursion (Xmax) is an incredible 14.7mm.
I mounted her onto a 20 Liters Bass Reflex tuned to 40Hz. For this review, I used the Dayton PS95 for the satellite. Crossover is done electronically at 125Hz (24dB/oct). Low pass to the E180 and High pass to the PS95. No passive components are used.
How does the Dayton E180HE-44 sound like
Sounds like your typical subwoofer, only that she’s smaller. If you are looking for a woofer for music, look elsewhere. Her bass sounds “bloated” and upper bass lacks clarity. Attack is “slow”, like in most subwoofers. Her only redeeming feature is the low bass about 35Hz~40Hz. For a small woofer like her, she is able to produce these frequencies.
Is this E180HE-44 worth $125?
Well that depends on what you’re after.
If you want a compact subwoofer for your Home Theater, then the E180HE is ideal. Bear in mind that you will be paying a premium here. There are cheaper subwoofers that I can load onto a 25 liters Bass Reflex and that’s a 10″. To make matters worse, the low bass from a 10″ fills the room whereas I find the smaller Dayton H180HE to be somewhat lacking in that respect.
As for the power amplifier to use, I advise using a plate amp for she is a bit power hungry. Something like the Dayton SPA250DSP will do just fine.
After this audition, I recommend the Dayton E180HE for Home Theater. Definitely not for Music. For that, the Dayton RS225-4 is a much better choice. She cost less, is articulate and goes as low as this E180HE.
Breaking-In
It took a few days to break-in the E180HE. The bass sounds more natural after that. However, the “Bloom” in the bass notes persists. This results in a loss in clarity. It’s not an issue in Home Theater because subwoofers are for effects like explosions.
E180HE-44 in a Sealed Box
In order to tighten up the bass, I closed off the port. The bass is obviously not as loud as a bass reflex but she now sounds better for music. The bass clarity improved but still loses out to the RS225-4. For those who have this driver, I recommend a sealed box for music.
Unless otherwise stated, all measurements were made in Full Space (4pi). Mic at 36 ins, tweeter axis. Impulse Window=5ms. No smoothing applied. |
