# Dayton Sub 1500



## Dougme57 (Sep 4, 2013)

I have the sub 1200 and need more for my large room (aprox 8500 cuft). I was looking at 1 or maybe 2 more sub 1200's and saw this 1500. Has anyone used this sub yet?

Also would it be ok to mix a 12" and a 15"? The 12 is currently very close to my seating area off to the side, I would be going wireless with the addition of any new subs. Also would you go with 1 15" or 2 12"? I do have a lot of space to fill.


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## BeeMan458 (Nov 25, 2012)

Dougme57 said:


> I have the sub 1200 and need more for my large room (aprox 8500 cuft). I was looking at 1 or maybe 2 more sub 1200's and saw this 1500.


LOL!

Forgive me but you're going need a boatload more than a single 1500 to fill that room with subwoofer reproduced sound waves.

Regarding bass (LFE), how serious are you? What kind of "REALISTIC" budget are you working with? What are your expectations?

Our room is approximately 3300^3. So you don't think I'm trying to set you up, to be fair, to realistically fill an 8500^3 room with subwoofer based sound waves, you're looking at between $2,600.00 to $7,000.00.


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## Mike P. (Apr 6, 2007)

A pair of 12's will have more SPL than a single 15. Both the 12 and 15 have excellent reviews considering they are entry level subs. As mentioned above you do have a large space to fill. Can the subs be placed near field to the seating position?


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## BeeMan458 (Nov 25, 2012)

To be fair, in my opininon, each step needs to be a quadrupling of output capability.

Not arguing with the above, if one is going from a 1200 to a 1500, my recommendation would be to go from a 1200 to a pair of 1500s. In my opinion, a pair of 1500s is an outstanding value. As would be a pair of BIC F12s.

Again in my opinion, it all will depend on what one's expectations are and how man Benjamins they have to throw at this type of question.


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## Dougme57 (Sep 4, 2013)

My viewing/listening area is sectioned off by 2 full cloth sofas and 2 big old cloth recliners. The area is about 14x14 with the 1st position couch 12 ft from a 100" screen. The bass is remarkably better than you would think. I have the current sub next to my rack just to the right of the couch. 

We watch a lot of movies and it is not bad, never enough. And I am surprised how well it fills in on music.


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## BeeMan458 (Nov 25, 2012)

Dougme57 said:


> The area is about 14x14 with the 1st position couch 12 ft from a 100" screen. The bass is remarkably better than you would think. I have the current sub next to my rack just to the right of the couch.


Just for giggles, move the subwoofer directly behind your seated position.


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## Dougme57 (Sep 4, 2013)

Yes, I am on a budget. I am in my 50's and still have 3 teenagers at home lol. The 1200's are on sale for $109 and the 1500's are $179. I would need 2 wireless units at $60 each. 

In about 2 years I will be ready for a serious upgrade!


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## Dougme57 (Sep 4, 2013)

I have thought about behind the couch, about 4' behind is a pool table and it go right under it. I can also put one in the front corner and have great waf .


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## BeeMan458 (Nov 25, 2012)

Dougme57 said:


> Yes, I am on a budget. I am in my 50's and still have 3 teenagers at home lol. The 1200's are on sale for $109 and the 1500's are $179. I would need 2 wireless units at $60 each.
> 
> In about 2 years I will be ready for a serious upgrade!


If you can, run the subwoofer's cable under the house. Can't help you with the teenagers at home other than wishing you a sincere good luck with the next ten years. 

Buy a single 1500 today and the next time you can, grab a second 1500.


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## Mike P. (Apr 6, 2007)

Go with the 1200's if your budget is limited and place then close to the seating position if possible.


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## BeeMan458 (Nov 25, 2012)

Dougme57 said:


> I have thought about behind the couch, about 4' behind is a pool table and it go right under it. I can also put one in the front corner and have great waf .


...+1

Ignore the pool table.

During viewing, hook up the subwoofer and when not viewing, store it under the pool table.


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## Dougme57 (Sep 4, 2013)

Running under the house is not an option, my main rig is in the basement with concrete slab under foot. That is why I wanted to go wireless.


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## BeeMan458 (Nov 25, 2012)

Dougme57 said:


> Running under the house is not an option, my main rig is in the basement with concrete slab under foot. That is why I wanted to go wireless.


To save money, run it around the edge of the room. 

Two wireless units $120.00 vs the price of a second 1500.


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## Dougme57 (Sep 4, 2013)

Yes, I use looked at them on PE and Amazon has them for a little less. I have some Am/Ex points on Amazon and that helps!


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## Dougme57 (Sep 4, 2013)

If I make my own cables from RG6 they would be 20-25'. Will that be too long for the runs? I have 2 sub outs on my Onkyo 708 and am using 1 now. Would a y for the 2 new be ok with those lengths?


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## BeeMan458 (Nov 25, 2012)

I don't know. One of our subwoofer cables is 15' and one is 25'. My understanding, it's not a problem. If a problem, "Y" connect to both connectors on the back of the subwoiofer and IIRC, that will give you 3dB more input.

Hook everything up first as single connection or "Y" connection to both Red/Black connectors, other than the LFE connector, won't make any difference. If concerned on this point, give the manufacture's customer service a call and verify my above.


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## Dougme57 (Sep 4, 2013)

I already have 1 12" back there. This would be a 3 sub setup.


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## Dougme57 (Sep 4, 2013)

I ran across some free software for room planning, it works great. I found an used sub120 and placed it under the pool table, big help! The 2 front subs are proposed sub 1200's.









A lot of space and the ceilings are 9'. All the furniture is old and cloth, that helps. Open to suggestions.


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## BeeMan458 (Nov 25, 2012)

Move one of the front subwoofers to the back of the sofa on the right and move the other subwoofer to the opposite side of the back sofa.

Better sound wave distribution and more tactile sensation (feel) for you and your guests by ~+10dB.


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## Dougme57 (Sep 4, 2013)

Like this?


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## BeeMan458 (Nov 25, 2012)

Yes but move the subwoofer NE; immediately to the left of the sofa.

Move the right subwoofer, W; immediately behind the middle of the right sofa.

I'd like to see the subwoofer on the right of the back sofa, placed between the lamp table and the back sofa.

The subwoofer on either side of the back sofa, at almost twenty inches in height, can be used as guest tables for drinks or food placement.

The problem I see, these are not strong subwoofers and in a large, open space, the closer they are to you and your guests, the stronger the output. Having the subwoofers in close proximity to the listening position offers up to a +10dB boost in tactile sensation and the closer to the listening position, the louder the response. In the case of the 1500s, you have light duty amplifiers and pushing the subs close to the amplifiers max output, to get you where you want to go, will stress the amplifiers and introduce noticeable distortion: bad.

To counter this point, having the three subs, close to the listening position will give you coupling gain, you'll gain output due to the subs being closer (less falloff due to distance) and gain in tactile sensation: all good.


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## Dougme57 (Sep 4, 2013)

I think that is as close as I would be able to place it. End of couch would have it in a traffic area and the area behind the recliners is a traffic area to the bathroom. That is an open doorway there and the bathroom is in the front left corner. Three teens and a lot of traffic!


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## Silas (Jul 30, 2011)

If you're looking to get better rumble, you may want to look into tactile transducers. They're very inexpensive and give you a much better rumble than a sub can in a room of your size. They also benefit from not needing expensive acoustic treatments to perform best and won't transmit through the rest of the house, either.

http://www.parts-express.com/aura-ast-2b-4-pro-bass-shaker-tactile-transducer--299-028


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## Bear123 (Dec 31, 2013)

My suggestion for placement would be one on the top wall where you currently have two subs, in the right hand corner. The second where you currently have it in between the two sofas, and the third on the other side of the sofa, between it and the arm chair. So the one couch will basically be flanked by subs.
I would certainly measure the room with REW though to get everything placed properly to play well together.


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## BuddahX (Jan 6, 2010)

I have 2 1500's and im impressed with there performance for the price.


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## rrskda (Apr 22, 2014)

Don't mean to derail, but what is that free software you're using? I'm trying to plan out my sub configuration and that would be a big help. I too am tempted by this Dayton 1500...


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## BeeMan458 (Nov 25, 2012)

You can get freeware REW on this forum.

Download and install the software. You'll need two measuring devices, a digital sound meter you can get at Radio Shack and a measuring microphone. If you have a laptop, you can get a USB measuring microphone at Parts-Express.

There is a bit of a frustrating learning curve that takes a few days to master but once you've cleared this hurtle, it's all point and click.

Hope the above helps.


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## rrskda (Apr 22, 2014)

BeeMan458 said:


> You can get freeware REW on this forum.
> 
> Download and install the software. You'll need two measuring devices, a digital sound meter you can get at Radio Shack and a measuring microphone. If you have a laptop, you can get a USB measuring microphone at Parts-Express.
> 
> ...


Thanks that is helpful. Been a crazy few weeks at work but I hope I'll have some time in the next week or two to play around with this. Of course if I can't get the equipment I'll probably end up back here for more advice


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## BeeMan458 (Nov 25, 2012)

rrskda said:


> Thanks that is helpful. Been a crazy few weeks at work but I hope I'll have some time in the next week or two to play around with this. Of course if I can't get the equipment I'll probably end up back here for more advice


Getting the gear, that's the easy part.


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## rrskda (Apr 22, 2014)

BeeMan458 said:


> Getting the gear, that's the easy part.


Well I'm not sure I'm enough of an enthusiast to spend $80 on that mic, given that that's about 40% of the cost of a Dayton 1500  I'll take some room measurements and ask for advice in a new thread.


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## BeeMan458 (Nov 25, 2012)

rrskda said:


> Well I'm not sure I'm enough of an enthusiast to spend $80 on that mic, given that that's about 40% of the cost of a Dayton 1500  I'll take some room measurements and ask for advice in a new thread.


My apologies. I understood your comment to mean it was a difficult task to order the microphone.


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