Dayton B652-Air Review (Bookshelf Speakers under $100 Part 2)

Associated Equipment Below, your results may vary based on your ears, room, and associated equipment:
Reviewed Today: Dayton Audio B652-Air www.parts-expr...
Equipment Used:
IotaVS SA-3 Integrated Amplifier
Cables by MazeAudio (speaker) & Furutech or Analysis Plus (interconnect).
Tidal HiFi via Bluesound Node 2i SVS SB-2000 Pro Subwoofer (review coming soon).

[@1rbarreda]

$50 & free shipping at Parts Express thru 8/31!

[@NemoPropaganda]

That’s perfect, i put a Parts Express link in the description :)

[@seoulrydr]

The benefit of a review such as this - you can go out, make the purchase, and play around with the sound without breaking the bank. Kind of like shopping vintage speakers without the risk. Or in the case of these speakers, an even higher risk of 'failure'. Fun review!

[@josephstark4944]

Just replaced the homepod in my gym with a pair of these I paid $40 for two+ years ago. I had an SMSL amp/Dac stack and a WiiM on the closet. Stoked! So much better. Them being sealed and shallow are perfect, I have them on a window seal basically against the glass.

[@NemoPropaganda]

that sounds like a great setup with very little investment, like a sandwich someone else made, it always taste better :)

[@sting0072007]

Love my pair, but build quality is def an issue. Make sure if you buy you do a good check to make sure they aren't defective, tweeter/woofers all working etc.

[@NemoPropaganda]

all my drivers worked, I just had some bubbling vinyl across the top :(

[@yogoeasystudio]

Thanks for the review.

[@carsreallysuck]

I should buy this just because

[@NemoPropaganda]

It's kind of in your name, like it's destiny...

[@NemoPropaganda]

@@razorone2299 I agree with that, the reality is Dayton speakers are cheaper than speaker stands. I just hope the fit and finish is a little better than what I experienced, that bubbling vinyl across the top is the only reason I sent them back, otherwise I would have kept them for as a budget reference.

[@NemoPropaganda]

@@razorone2299 Wow! That's some serious screen action you've got going on their!! I actually dig your logic a lot and while I'm sure you gain some performance with better speakers when i watch a movie i become immersed in the story so I'm not paying attention to the sound unless it's bad so as long as it's good enough and I've got a killer screen (and can hear the damn dialogue) I'm a happy man!

[@fordssuck]

I wasn't happy with the highs, so added pyramid super tweeters. Much better

[@HPMIKE55]

Great job & when you have time look into the GoldenEar Technology SuperSubX Powered Subwoofer.

[@NemoPropaganda]

I know they make some great gear but I've never had a chance to hear any of their stuff. I can reach out to them and see if they'd like to send a sample but at $1300+ I'm not curious enough to spend my own money.

[@HPMIKE55]

@@NemoPropaganda i understand if you like i can seal you my $980. Iv had it for 3 months now. ;-) and yes i do love but its to mush for me. lol

[@sumdood2035]

The big downsides to these are 1. Sealed. They produce even less bass than a smaller ported counterpart 2. Basically ZERO crossover. It has a few caps right on the inside of the speaker terminal cup. These could be AMAZING with a bit of modding.

[@lllllllllllllllllllll1lll1]

Yes indeed... the only glaring issue I've found is the tweeter. Holy distortion.

[@manFromPeterborough]

The 6 ohm is an average of the 2 drivers, woofer is 4 ohm, tweeter 8

[@marklowe7431]

Must also understand impedance is a graph not a number.

[@manFromPeterborough]

@@marklowe7431 The reason some 4 ohm woofers are teamed up with 8 ohm tweeter is for dB matching instead of using dropping resistor in series with tweeter. The micca MB42 speaker has 4-8 ohm written on the back which clearly states mixed impedance between the drivers 4 ohm woofer and 8 ohm tweeter. I have the B652 AIR speakers, the 8 ohm tweeter has a 3 ohm dropping resistor due to it's high dB output

[@guily6669]

Vocals are good, YES, sold. I specially need vocal clarity to use it as home theater almost just for gaming and the current speakers I have are horrible and muddy that I have to keep asking people to repeat as it's hard to understand while the Z5500 satellite speakers with a single full range driver were perfect for gaming and voice clarity Anyway I think those speakers could improve considerably by just adding a cheap inductor to the woofer for a 1st order crossover as it sadly only have a cap for the tweeter and the woofer is always playing full range or better trying 4 nothing...

[@NemoPropaganda]

Just keep in mind everything I say about them being good is with respect to their extremely low price.

[@guily6669]

@@NemoPropaganda well that's exactly what I like, cheap price 😉 However the best prices I see are mostly 4 US, can't find them in EU at any good price, not eBay, not Amazon... Can only find the smaller version ☹️

[@theHeartlessNooB]

Nemo I am looking to get 2 pairs of speakers for atmos and rear. Movies and games only. These or the Miccas? Or is there something else?

[@NemoPropaganda]

ehhhh, I don't really like either of these. neumi bs5 is supposed to be pretty good though I have not heard it.

[@kcs.9744]

Good review 👌

[@NemoPropaganda]

Thank you 🙂

[@chrisg8820]

These are $70 right now because of shipping, are the Polk T15s worth the extra $30 for a 2.1 set up in my game room? Mostly for music but some tv…. I just picked up a used Yamaha receiver cheap and I have an extra Polk subwoofer, just need two cheaper speakers. I do like Polk and have them in my living room for my surround sound.

[@NemoPropaganda]

I didn't really like the T15 and felt the daytons while having a much lower build quality sounded better overall.

[@andreusburton8838]

Could you please review the Wharfedale d310? I can't find any decent reviews for this speaker.

[@NemoPropaganda]

I did a video series on 3 different around $200 bookshelf speakers and i really feel like the $229 emotiva airmotiv B1+ is the best in that category. Of course i have not heard all $200 speakers but the Emotiva is just so good, my queue is pretty long right now but i will keep it in mind and maybe revisit when i have more time :)

[@damnitdang]

Is the enclosure glued sealed? Or is it leaky?

[@NemoPropaganda]

I never took mine apart but they did not leak at all.

[@barrywilliams606]

Would these be good for front speakers in a 5.1 setup?

[@NemoPropaganda]

If $58 is your maximum budget yes, they will be good, but if you can spend a little more you can buy much better speakers. The Polk T15 which i have also reviewed often goes on sale for $69 which would be better for HT use. The Micca MB42x at $89 would be even better, it's larger soundstage and sharper presentation will be better for the HT environment.

[@damnitdang]

2022, $59 now

[@jamalshamah7280]

Is this a good side speaker

[@NemoPropaganda]

For surround sound? I think it will be just okay and the Micca MB42x would be better.

[@jamalshamah7280]

I have the rb42-c for my center, only problem i need to put on the wall. Guess I can make a shelf.

[@NemoPropaganda]

@@jamalshamah7280 yeah i would use a small shelf for sure! just don't shove the speaker all the way against the wall, try to leave 2" if possible :)