Dayton Audio OPAL1 speaker launches

[Gorgonzola]

Yes, I certainly like see a review. These OPAL 1 speakers are going aways up-market from a purveyor of parts, components, and low-end finished products. (Will there be an OPAL 2 at some point? .)

32 Hz at -3 dB is fairly remarkable in a speaker this size -- even at 78.5 dB sensitivity. In a smaller room that sensitivity shouldn't be a problem for most people using a 100 wpc amp of the type that abound nowadays.

 

[ta240]

Dayton usually impresses for their price point though, highly interesting for sure. Who is buying a pair to send to Erin or Amir?

It looks like they've paid attention to Monoprice. A very smart move as the DIY speakers aren't the cheap alternative to store bought in most cases anymore. They are fun as a project but the days of being a fraction of the price of factory built are gone.
I'm guessing that they are seeing increases in sales of completed items compared to parts and kits. It reminds me of the craft stores. The ones that sell the completed items that look like you may have made it yourself are much busier than the ones that sell all the stuff to make something. In many cases, just like the speakers, the completed item is cheaper than all the stuff to make it yourself.

 

[Great Sun Jester]

You'll need a tugboat to push those at 78.5 dB SPL.

 

[aschen]

A very smart move as the DIY speakers aren't the cheap alternative to store bought in most cases anymore. They are fun as a project but the days of being a fraction of the price of factory built are gone.

Recently built a pair of their c-notes for fun. Paint, glue, primer, sandpaper, Bondo and misc small stuff really adds up, well more than doubled the cost. Im sure there are better or at least as good commercial speakers for 300$, not to mention many hrs. Had a great time though.

Low sensitivity, deep bass, tiny premium monitor is kinda oddball but may perfectly fill a small uncrowded market niche.

 

[Prana Ferox]

The thing about Dayton Audio / PE is that some of their drivers and low level components are nice, trustworthy, solid values for the cost/MOQ but an awful lot of the other non-speaker stuff they sell is cheap / rebranded junk. That's fine for a bag of wood screws or a soldering lamp or something but it would take some convincing before I'd pay them $400/speaker for an assembled pair. I'd also be curious who is doing / how well the finishing is, considering their other stuff is $50 speakers with atrocious vinyl veneer.

I'm a little surprised they're not releasing this CSS-style with the completed speaker or a DIY option - even if they priced the DIY such that it made no sense to buy it.

 

[ta240]

The cheapest completed CSS speaker is $2300; the completed Parts Express ones have to be done overseas to end up at the $800 price. It is probably harder to source separate kit parts to offer next to these since they aren't going the other direction like CSS who had the kits first.
I'm also thinking kit builders are more likely to notice the specs and go elsewhere due to the efficiency. It is interesting that they don't mention that they are a bit power hungry in the description. If customers don't read and know what the numbers mean they will be shocked at how much they have to crank up their amp. At 4 ohms and 78.5dB I would think these would be quite a chore for some amps; lower end AVRs will get hot running them.

I agree on the quality issues with a lot of the bargain stuff they sell. But on the plus side they do really stand behind the products. These come with magnetic grills and what appear to be finished cabinets, not vinyl wrapped.

 

[ta240]

Recently built a pair of their c-notes for fun. Paint, glue, primer, sandpaper, Bondo and misc small stuff really adds up, well more than doubled the cost. Im sure there are better or at least as good commercial speakers for 300$, not to mention many hrs. Had a great time though.

Low sensitivity, deep bass, tiny premium monitor is kinda oddball but may perfectly fill a small uncrowded market niche.

It is absolutely crazy how all the little stuff adds up so much on DIY. They are fun but I've had a lot where at the end of it my head is spinning on just how much I spent.

It is a weird market to try to corner. I'd really worry about customers complaining about how hard they are to drive. I'd definitely list a minimum amp power recommendation in the description. Something like "It takes power to produce this level of bass in a speaker this size. 100 Watts per channel is the absolute minimum amp power and 200 is recommended; 4 ohm capable required."

 

[nvidia_7]

Recently built a pair of their c-notes for fun. Paint, glue, primer, sandpaper, Bondo and misc small stuff really adds up, well more than doubled the cost. Im sure there are better or at least as good commercial speakers for 300$, not to mention many hrs. Had a great time though.

Low sensitivity, deep bass, tiny premium monitor is kinda oddball but may perfectly fill a small uncrowded market niche.

A lot of people would love a mini-monitor with good low end frequency response. You can't get away from low sensitivity with such a small cabinet. Luckily power is much easier to come by than it was even 5 years ago.

 

[Chrispy]

Ouch 78.5 dB sensitivity....but many guys already buy amps for something like that even when not needed.....

 

[AdamG]

FYI. Duplicate threads on same subject merged here.

 

[Penelinfi]

It's like a Sierra LX cross Sointuva that costs less than either.

Interesting. I heard rumours of March Audio potentially making a smaller speaker; would be interesting to compare measurements if that happens

I do like the idea of compact speakers with decent bass. Would be fun for someone to create a 3 way compact mini monitor for reduced IMD

 

[Audiohead0122]

Heard these playing today at axpona here in Chicago and guys the 32hz low end on these bad boys is amazing. They had them running dual channel on a emotiva amp I think and they sound amazing. Biggest surprise for me from the whole show. Soft but detailed sound and the dual passive radiators make these speakers sound like a legit 2.1 system. Good size and quality from what I saw

 

[mcdn]

just for the sensitivity alone they are to trash, no offense, but what the hell

High efficiency high power amps are super cheap these days. When a stereo 250Wpc amp is $300, is speaker sensitivity a big deal? Seems like a sensible tradeoff to me.

 

[Ricardojoa]

Could the sensitivity be listed as a typo? It is rated at half space which means at full space it would be even less sensitive.

 

[Audiohead0122]

Could the sensitivity be listed as a typo? It is rated at half space which means at full space it would be even less sensitive.

Doubled checked the flyer I got at the expo and it is indeed 78.5 db sensitivity

 

[AM88]

The cheapest completed CSS speaker is $2300; the completed Parts Express ones have to be done overseas to end up at the $800 price. It is probably harder to source separate kit parts to offer next to these since they aren't going the other direction like CSS who had the kits first.
I'm also thinking kit builders are more likely to notice the specs and go elsewhere due to the efficiency. It is interesting that they don't mention that they are a bit power hungry in the description. If customers don't read and know what the numbers mean they will be shocked at how much they have to crank up their amp. At 4 ohms and 78.5dB I would think these would be quite a chore for some amps; lower end AVRs will get hot running them.

I agree on the quality issues with a lot of the bargain stuff they sell. But on the plus side they do really stand behind the products. These come with magnetic grills and what appear to be finished cabinets, not vinyl wrapped.

They don’t mention anything specifically about them being power hungry but they do have an amp they say is frequently bought together with the speaker, despite the speaker being brand new? It seems to have sufficient power, but ups the price by another USD 900…..
https://www.parts-express.com/Dayto...ter-Stereo-Power-Amplifier-300-810?quantity=1

 

[restorer-john]

There's no need to bash the sensitivity.. It's a natural trade off in a passive speaker between bass extension and size. And probably the only way to use that particular driver correctly (above average power handling but monstrous x-max).

I'm happy to bash the sensitivity. It's a joke.

Let's get serious- 200W cannot be dissipated in a speaker that size. Not continuously, and not even short term. And they are recommending that number?

 

[Penelinfi]

I'm happy to bash the sensitivity. It's a joke.

It's just another tradeoff you make when designing a certain product. I am sure I could get these speakers loud enough for my use.
Not sure why everyone is so into sensitivity and extreme volume levels lol Generally such levels hurt my ears

 

[Ze Frog]

I'm happy to bash the sensitivity. It's a joke.

Let's get serious- 200W cannot be dissipated in a speaker that size. Not continuously, and not even short term. And they are reccommending that number?

It's a trade off though, 30Hz F3 in that size of speaker... that's really impressive and if you have a ton of power available it's not really a problem. Main problem in my mind though is these are relatively cheap, which likely means many people who purchase may have cheaper less powerful amplifier's and thereby not adequate power available.

 

[restorer-john]

It's a trade off though, 30Hz F3 in that size of speaker... that's really impressive and if you have a ton of power available it's not really a problem.

The power has to go somewhere. To get the SPL, you'll be burning up power in the loudspeaker and with less (a tiny fraction) being converted to actual acoustic power, ALL the rest goes up as heat in the voice coils and crossover components.

200 Watts is an awful lot of power. I don't think people understand how much heat is produced. No heatsinks, no fans, no way of getting rid of the heat. It's a fantasy number.