Dayton AudioSUB-1500 Powered Subwoofer

Have previously used 10" subs with nice cherry cabinets like my current JBL. While nice looking with their furniture grade wood, they were chosen more for their smaller size and have never been "capable" as in "SVS capable". But then I have never had a need for that level of quality and output in terms of any of my previous listening spaces, whether for Music or HT. However, now my current house bought for retirement has a full finished basement with a massive open space, which I will not section off and room treat for H/T ... so I decided to simply go larger and add more subs. But instead of plunging in with an expensive brute like a Fathom or less stratospheric SVS, I chose to at least first experiment with the Dayton 15" to see what was possible in terms of improving overall output and quality on the cheap ... and also managed to snag it during a sale for $200 which is always nice.As most audio folks know, these subs have long been on the value list when it comes to bang for buck ... and I have to say I was impressed with it from the start. After some time spent experimenting with X-over and gain setting, for my large HT space, I ended up deciding to max the gain and use my Onkyo preamp control exclusively for Sub level, currently varying between -12 to -15. At -10 Low Bass is still a bit boomy/thumpy with anything near full gain and thus more localized --- but at -12 it begins to sound much more musical. Worked like a charm after slight adjustment from THX with the Preamp crossover setting to now 100Hz for my 4 Wharfedale towers, front and rear. At 150W this 15" Sub would seem to be seriously underpowered, which hopefully explains why I wanted to go 90%-100% gain and check the output quality. The results are so impressve with my basement setup that I will definitely be adding in at least one more 15" for the frontstage and likely move the older 10" JBL to an under table placement point between the HT seating to smooth out response and perhaps provide a little Butt-Kicker action as well.In my personal experience, this sub is one of the best buys I've encountered in affordable audio and I've come across quite a few through many years of building a decent Mid-Fi level system that satisfies and doesn't leave me chasing proverbial "Audio Nirvana".Update 11/12/2022:Did purchase a second 15" in Oct '21 and made the change to the setup seen in the pics. The towers do very well on the subs separated by a very thick/dense foam as buffer. The 10" JBL works very nicely for cancellations and the dual 15"s now allow me to dial in the gain better to find the sweet spot, which to me (and likely everyone else LOL) is power with tonal quality. These Daytons don't hit that low like the uber subs and the power is minimal for the driver size. But the net effect when dialed in properly in my space is amazing. Both music and HT are superb in this large untreated but at least finished basement. Original review included mention of the Onkyo PR-SC885 processor. Sad to report it went the way of all things electronic when it's HDMI board failed with no replacement options I could find. So I now have a Denon X3700H receiver set to preamp mode. It's processing has proven better than the '06 Onk by a more than fair measure and has no doubt contributed greatly to the improved Bass as well. I can finally say my system is set and forget now. Now I just decide how loud I want to go.

An overall fantastic subwoofer for the price. I will now list all of the pros and cons, but before that, there is on thing you need to know. I have heard that this speaker is much better after having time to "break in," and I have just been using it for a few hours.Pros:Extremely loud. This will definitely give you earth shattering bone chattering bass at a great cost.The deep bass sounds great.The speaker itself seems to be very high quality, and so does the surround. The speaker looks like it's made for high output and low bass.The box is also very sturdy.No port noise.Cons (Note: My room is not good acoustically, and I have not spent a huge amount of time positioning the subwoofer. )The power is highly unpredictable. The first kick in a series can be pounding and loud, but then the others, will be the correct volume.The frequency response isn't at all close to flat. There are loud frequencies and quiet frequencies all over. I know the placement has a lot to do with this though, but the mid bass is definitely way too loud compared to everything else. I have the crossover set to 100 hz, so it sounds pretty good coupled with my other speakers which start to drop off around that frequency.The box is small and the port is as well. I don't know what it's tuned to, but I think it should be at least a half an octave lower.Very boomy, but the bass is still accurate, and I am able to distinguish all the different notes.lastly, the frequency response, as others have said, is not a lie, but the sound very steeply rolls off at around 32 hz.Final thoughts:This is the best way to spend two hundred dollars guaranteed. You can't get a better subwoofer in this price range, and you'd be hard pressed to even make one in this price range (unless you know how to wire your own amp). Audiophile quality? No, not really. There are booms, the power is unpredictable and the bass isn't perfect, but unless you want to both sacrifice output and frequency response to get a smaller one that's less boomy and has higher quality audio, this subwoofer is your best bet. I am very impressed with this subwoofer, and I have gotten much more than I expected from it.

Like a few others have mentioned, if you think you're getting some massive bass shaker here, you should probably move on. With that out of the way, it's well worth the 200$ for filling in low end, and you just can't beat the price point for what you get. Like others, I had to do some DIY to get it set as I wanted, had to tighten up screws on arrival (it was clacking and popping when I initially set it up). The bottom porting is not ideal, but it was easily rectified by a 6$ set of plastic bed risers, which also eliminated the last unwanted noise problem I had, the feet clicked on my tile floor. I have experienced no issues with the auto switch as some others have reported. For what it is, you're not going to get a better deal. The 5 year warranty from parts express isn't terrible either. It took a bit of fussing with the crossover and level to get it set the way I wanted, but I'm very pleased with the results, and I'd buy it again.If you're looking for something that'll shake walls, audiophile status, you're looking at the wrong sub. If you just want to add presence to your system, a 15" is great, and 150w is just enough to be felt without getting your guts shook and eyeballs rattled.