Dayton DA270-8 with Pyle PDS442 + Dayton H07E

Dayton DA270-8 with Pyle PDS442+Dayton H07E

Since I’m already working with the Pyle PDS442+Dayton H07E combo, it is an opportune time to test my new 10″ Dayton DA-270-8 woofer. I loaded the DA270 onto a 55 liters sealed box for a start. A ported version will be done later for comparison.

Dayton DA270-8 Frequency Response

Sealed Box = 55 liters. Baffle Width = 16insFig 1 – Black Plot = RAW, Blue Plot = 1.5kHz (24dB/oct, Linkwitz Riley)
Mic at 36ins, Woofer axis. Impulse Window=5ms. No Smoothing. Nearfield below 600Hz.

The Black plot in Fig 1 is the RAW response of the DA270-8. A severe cone breakup spike is recorded at 4kHz~5kHz. After that, the woofer dies off quite rapidly.

The Blue plot is with my outboard electronic crossover at 1.5kHz. With a 24dB/oct slope, the spike is down -50dB. At this level, no further treatment to suppress the spike is needed.

Crossing the Dayton DA270-8 with Pyle PDS442+Dayton H07E

Fig 2 – Blue plot = DA270-8, Red plot = Pyle PDS442+Dayton H07E

The Red plot is of the Pyle PDS442+Dayton H07E at 1.5kHz (24dB/oct, Linkwitz Riley). The two drivers are crossing acoustically at about 1.4kHz which is promising.

Summed Response of Dayton DA270-8 with Pyle PDS442+Dayton H07E

Fig 3 – Summed Response with Pyle PDS442+H07E wired in Reversed Phase.
Mic at 36ins, H07E axis. Impulse Window=5ms. No Smoothing. Nearfield below 600Hz.

Fig 3 is the Summed Response of the Dayton DA270-8 with the Pyle PDS442/H07E combo. Overall, it is flat except for a slight dip at about 1.2kHz. For proper summation, the PDS442 is wired in reversed phase.

Summed Response with Crossover Null

Fig 4 – Summed Response with Pyle PDS442+H07E wired in Normal Phase.

Fig 4 is the Summed Response with the PDS442 wired in Normal Phase. A null is visible at about 1.4kHz, which is where the two drivers crossed acoustically (Fig 2). The symmetry and sharpness of the null indicate the acoustic centers of the DA270-8 and the Pyle PDS442/H07E are quite close.

Harmonic Distortion of the Dayton DA270-8 with Pyle PDS442+Dayton H07E

Fig 5 – Distortion Sweep with Mic at 24 ins on Dayton DA270-8 axis.

The 2nd (Red) and 3rd (Violet) harmonic distortion of the Dayton DA270-8 with the Pyle PDS442/H07E is remarkably low (Fig 5). Generally, they are -55dB below the fundamental. Interestingly, all the way down to 200Hz. 

About the DA270-8

One of my main worries with this DA270-8 is whether it can do vocals properly. As it turned out, it did it superbly. Voices didn’t sound nasal. In fact, vocals are superior to the Dayton PA200-8. In that driver, it had a hump at 700Hz which caused male voices to sound slightly hard when they hit that spot. With the DA270-8, male and female vocals are smooth throughout.

The Bass

I initially tested the DA270-8 in a sealed box of 55 liters with a Q of 0.84. It sounded perfectly fine even with a Q of 0.84. After listening to it for a week, I inserted a port to the same enclosure. The box was tuned to 35Hz (below), resulting in a +3dB bass boost centering at 60Hz.
With a few more days of listening playing various genres of music, I concluded that the bass character is essentially the same except that it is slightly louder. By bass character, I mean the attack, definition and clarity. Taking into consideration room gain and personal preferences, a sealed or ported enclosure will work equally well. 

How’s the Sound?

The DA270-8 is pretty good for the price. It is not as refined as European brands like Peerless and Seas but for listeners that are not too picky about sound and just want something cheap to enjoy their music, it fits the bill perfectly. When combined with the Pyle PDS442 and Dayton H075 horn, the resulting sound has broad appeal. This speaker can play all kinds of music.  

The DA270-8 cost $49.35 at Parts Express. Together with the Pyle PDS442 ($22.88) and the Dayton H07E horn ($7.99), the total cost is only $80.22 per speaker. That’s very reasonable for this sound quality.