[quality_sound]

These were auditioned in the OEM (read: **** ass) midbass location in the rear of the doors in my 08 VW GTI.
The doors are pretty well deadened on the outer skin, the inner skin and the door panel.
The baffles are 2 layers of 3/4" Birch ply and 1 layer of 1/2" Birch ply for 2" total.
For now, power is from a Zapco DC Ref 750.2 in stereo at 4 Ohms stereo.
The HU is an OEM VW RNS-510 through a Navone LOC to the Symbilink transmitters.

The JLs, out of the box, are hands down better sounding. Like the difference between home theater an home audio. HT will do music well, HA does it better. Better resolution, more detail, more musical. It reminded me of the difference between a Mag v4 and a DIYMA R12 with the extra bottom end the Mag has over the DIYMA. The Dayton is like the Mag and the JL is like the JL. The JL has a faster attack and decay and tonally it's flatter out of the box. With no EQ the Dayton's are more "fun" but the JLs are more "correct."
The JLs are however, less efficient. If it wasn't for the fact that my car kills midbass when in motion I'd stick with the JLs. Hell, I might put them back in anyway and try them for some more extended listening. Maybe the efficiency difference won't matter so much.

Size-wise, the mounting depth is pretty much identical. We're talking less than a 1/16" difference. The ZR800 is a smaller framed driver so it'll fit in more places. Because of the smaller frame the cone is a little smaller but it also has MUCH more excursion. At first this worried be but it also has much more motor so the extra movement does seem to be well controlled.

I listened to a number of different tracks in a number of genres but some examples are:

Dire Straights - Money for Nothing
Earth, Wind, and Fire - Getaway
Lil Wayne - Go DJ
Colbie Caillat - One Fine Wire
Michael Jackson - PYT

In every case with REAL drums the JL sounded more like real drums. The Datyons had a bit too much bottom. Even snares were very full sounding. Again, the JLs seemed faster and more tonally accurate compared to the Dayton. Not that the Dayton is bad by any stretch of the imagination, the JL is just better. Think of the JL like a Dyn...but with balls.

I'm kind of rambling now so I'll sum it up like this, if you want to go subless, run the Daytons. I have them all the way down to 30Hz with a -6dB slope and they didn't even bat an eye. They easily played 40Hz notes, and with authority I might add. My first thought with the Daytons was "Maybe I should have waited on putting subs in." Which also left me thinking "The midbass/sub transition is going to be VERY fat."

So to sum everything up,

Pros:
JL - more tonally accurate, a little easier to squeeze into some cars, comes with a grill

Dayton - more efficient, more robust bottom end, spring loaded push terminals, plays low and loud, can be used in a 2-way with a large format tweeter or horns, price

Cons:
JL - smaller cone, solder tabs, price, is pretty useless over maybe 400-600Hz,

Dayton - sounds more like a sub than a midbass, no grill included

I know this is kind of all over the place so feel free to ask any questions you might have. I think I've decided to toss the JLs back in and give them a week or two with the sub playing and see how I like them. I'll revisit this thread when I have more findings.

 

[bassfromspace]

This review was all over the place.

Good nonetheless.

 

[azngotskills]

Kind of confused me when you say the the Dayton can be used with a large format tweeter or horns, but sounds more like a subwoofer? Are you saying that its usable frequency range is rather broad, well not the best just can extend both high and low?

 

[MiniVanMan]

Much higher Qts on the JL, so it stands to reason it will perform better in a car door than the Dayton. Put the Dayton in a suitable enclosure and watch it sing.

Usable bandwidth on the Dayton is to about 1.5khz. Then you have to really compensate for the extended cone breakup. Not really suitable for a 2-way, unless you're using a full range driver.

I'd love to do an HD test of both the JL and the Dayton. Of course I'd like to do an HD test with a lot of 8" drivers. That will happen down the road of course.

Nice review. Let me sum it up.

The JL performs better than the Dayton when mounting in a car door where a higher Qts would be desired. You lose bottom end when doing so, but you also gain accuracy, and avoid bottoming out of the driver.

About sum it up??

 

[quality_sound]

Kind of confused me when you say the the Dayton can be used with a large format tweeter or horns, but sounds more like a subwoofer? Are you saying that its usable frequency range is rather broad, well not the best just can extend both high and low?

Sorry, I told you I was all over the place. Yes, it has a VERY wide usable range. Hell, I'm running them passive with some CDT TW-19s and with VERY little tuning it doesn't sound half bad. With more tuning, and a front of the door location I'd seriously consider leaving it as is and not running a sub. No it won't do sub-40Hz with authority but there's almost nothing that low anyway. You do get some breakup, as MVM mentions below, but it can be controlled to some extent or you can run horns or a large format tweeter and keep the RS225 in it's happy place.

Much higher Qts on the JL, so it stands to reason it will perform better in a car door than the Dayton. Put the Dayton in a suitable enclosure and watch it sing.

I was thinking about selling the Daytons but I might just make some HT cabinets with a couple of the RS225s for bass, an RS125 or RS150 for midrange and a tweeter. What to do, what to do?

Usable bandwidth on the Dayton is to about 1.5khz. Then you have to really compensate for the extended cone breakup. Not really suitable for a 2-way, unless you're using a full range driver.

Yeah, a 2-way would be VERY tweeter dependent. Would rock with a set of horns though.

I'd love to do an HD test of both the JL and the Dayton. Of course I'd like to do an HD test with a lot of 8" drivers. That will happen down the road of course.

If I wasn't under the time constraints I am I'd send you one of each for testing. Hell, I'd send you my DA8.6 as well.

Nice review. Let me sum it up.

The JL performs better than the Dayton when mounting in a car door where a higher Qts would be desired. You lose bottom end when doing so, but you also gain accuracy, and avoid bottoming out of the driver.

About sum it up??

Pretty much. Also, I've NEVER bottomed the Dayton, I don't even know that you can. It might be suspension limited but it's noise free as loud as I've used it. The JL is noise free as well but until I get more time on them I can't say if it can be bottomed or not.

I have decided to put the JLs in for a while and see how I like them. I'll have my 650.6 back Monday so I can hear them with subs as well and see if my initial thoughts pan out. Should be a fun week.

 

[quality_sound]

I've gotten some more listening time and I'm loving the JLs more every day. They just lock the bass image in the front of the car without any undue overhang or sloppiness.

I had Zach listen and he thought the same thing, they're invisible. If you didn't know they were right under your arm or next to your hip, you'd never guess that they were. It's weird. They don't shake anything. There's almost no tactile cues that they're in the doors. But when you turn them off you immediately know they're gone. Think of a DIYMA-like sounding midbass driver.

I guess I'll leave it like this, even at RETAIL pricing I'd take these over ANY midbass driver I've heard, including the L8 and MW170.

Yep, they're keepers.

 

[Boostedrex]

Those JL's did sound really nice. I hope to get some more listening time in Paul's car after I get home from Florida. From the 10 minutes or so that I've had so far I was impressed though.

 

[bass_lover1]

FL huh, where you is, son?

 

[Boostedrex]

I'm flying into Destin/Ft. Walton Beach this Sunday and will be there for 6 days.

 

[FoxPro5]

Think of a DIYMA-like sounding midbass driver.

WHoa! I saw this thread and thought to myself "those ZR's are the IB woofer used as a dedicated mid equivalent of the DIYMA sub" Then I read this. Nail on the head, damn.

But alas, I didn't care for the DIYMA sound nor did I care for these. I'm a slut for a lot of spice and these are just too bland and buttery for me. I'm tired of "nice" at this point, personally. And with 400wpc ea, I also bottomed them out.

But if you want an ultra smooth driver, these are it. They're very good.

 

[bass_lover1]

I'm flying into Destin/Ft. Walton Beach this Sunday and will be there for 6 days.

Bah, too far away.

 

[AAAAAAA]

8's are so much fun to talk about. The daytons sure can shake up the place though.

 

[jimbno1]

Has anybody compared a Trio8 to Z800 or L8?

 

[quality_sound]

WHoa! I saw this thread and thought to myself "those ZR's are the IB woofer used as a dedicated mid equivalent of the DIYMA sub" Then I read this. Nail on the head, damn.

But alas, I didn't care for the DIYMA sound nor did I care for these. I'm a slut for a lot of spice and these are just too bland and buttery for me. I'm tired of "nice" at this point, personally. And with 400wpc ea, I also bottomed them out.

But if you want an ultra smooth driver, these are it. They're very good.

I'm not surprised you bottomed them with 400, that's over double their rated power. lol They definitely are smooth though. I like that they do their job without drawing attention to themselves.

8's are so much fun to talk about. The daytons sure can shake up the place though.

That's what I DIDN'T like about them. No control, that's not fair, less control, and you could easily point them out. But they are definitely fun.

Has anybody compared a Trio8 to Z800 or L8?

I haven't compared them directly but I've heard the L8s and I like the ZRs better but I like the L8s more than the Daytons if that helps.

 

[AAAAAAA]

I have found that shaking has more to do with power\efficiency and the actual frequency that's playing then the driver.

I can get my current 8's (SLS) to really pound on certian songs or be more laid back depending on the xover config and EQ settings.

 

[newtitan]

hey quality, you still in town? can I hear them by chance? or can someone direct me to where I can buy a pair non msrp, ie anyone dealing jl online?

 

[quality_sound]

I have found that shaking has more to do with power\efficiency and the actual frequency that's playing then the driver.

I can get my current 8's (SLS) to really pound on certian songs or be more laid back depending on the xover config and EQ settings.

True, but when a driver does it naturally it's a different story. With the same settings the Daytons are omre bottom heavy and less controlled.

hey quality, you still in town? can I hear them by chance? or can someone direct me to where I can buy a pair non msrp, ie anyone dealing jl online?

Yep, for another month and half or so. My next couple of weekends are booked but let me know when you're free and we'll see if we can get a time set up.

 

[FoxPro5]

I'm not surprised you bottomed them with 400, that's over double their rated power.

I was. Every other driver used with the same power for the same purpose did just fine. I don't 'set my gains' or abuse my speakers, but I like them to crank a little. IMO 400w is the min for a door mounted MB...even HE drivers.

 

[quality_sound]

I guess it just depends on what you're trying to do with them. I only have 1/4 the power you do but I haven't found the midbass lacking with either driver so that's good at least. lol

 

[FoxPro5]

I guess it just depends on what you're trying to do with them.

Maintain significant acuity and poundage at highway speeds. I agree with the disappearing act you mentioned....kind of Dyn-like. Thing for me is that they vanished too much, if that makes any sense. To each their own, glad you like them.