Dayton Audio B652-AIR 6-1/2" 2-Way Bookshelf Speaker with AMT Tweeter Pair

I've been working with consumer and professional audio equipment for my entire life, so even though I only just received and set these speakers up in my living room tonight, I've already played a few songs, and HOLY CRAP were they a good investment! A little background here: for the past 17 years, I've been using a pair of Realistic Minimus 25's that my father gave me when I moved out to go to college. I'm not sure when he bought them, but I remember them being our main living room stereo speakers from at least the very early 90's. I've looked the 25's up, and the year I see mentioned most consistently is 1985, so they could very well be as old as I am. They still work! Don't get me wrong, I'm not abandoning them. I have plans for them. But I'm overhauling my home studio setup, and I wanted something that put out a more full sound. The one place the 25's are lacking is bass. They have 4.5-inch woofers and handle 25 watts RMS at 8 ohms, so I had to have the bass knob on my 2001 KLH amp (which is also getting replaced) turned up to 3 o'clock. The 652's have 6.5-inch woofers and handle 30 watts RMS at 8 ohms, so while the power handling is comparable, the bass response is MUCH more powerful! I swapped the 25's out for the 652's without making any changes, even though I knew they would be different. I actually had to TURN DOWN THE BASS, and you will almost NEVER hear me say that, EVER! When you're sitting right between a pair of what are essentially near-field monitors and the bass is too muddy instead of too hollow, that's a big change! The funny thing is, if you read some of the reviews here on Amazon, there are several people who complain that the bass from these 652's is weak. I knew these people had to be wrong, because... well, let's face it, it's Amazon; most of the reviewers have no clue what they're doing with audio equipment. But even despite that, I was going into this expecting that they WOULD be somewhat anemic on the low end. I was pleasantly surprised to find that they perform even better than I expected! The key -- as with any pair of stereo speakers -- is proper placement. You need a wall behind them to reflect the low frequencies back out from the rear of the cabinets, and you need to aim them to properly set the stereo field for where you'll be listening most often. Do that, and and you'll find that these babies push MORE than enough bass. You won't get Sensurround-style lows out of them (boy, am I dating myself with that reference or what?), but you won't be disappointed. The one issue I *do* find with them, however, is that there seems to be a bump in the high midrange that's a bit harsh, particularly on female vocals. They're definitely not flat like the 25's are. I get the feeling it's caused by the crossover in the speakers. These come with Dayton Audio's AMT tweeters (basically a pleated ribbon), which cover a wider upper band than traditional tweeters, allowing the woofer to focus more on the mids and lows, and requiring less power for the same SPL. That's probably boosting the gain in those frequencies. I can't rein it in on the KLH because that just has a basic pair of "bass" and "treble" knobs, but I have a 15-band graphic EQ on the way to pair up with the new amp (which is just an amp, nothing more), so it shouldn't take much to find the trouble frequencies and dial them down a bit once that arrives. You may want to do the same. Otherwise, those AMT's really sing! The highs are airy, not harsh... dynamic, not crushed... very pleasant to listen to! All in all, I'm glad I bought them! For $55, you'd be hard-pressed to find a better pair of brand new bookshelf speakers.

WOW WOW WOW! I am 'blown away' by the sound of these B652-AIR's! I've been an audiophile since the 70's, when I discovered great sound via my father's vintage early 60's FISHER 500C stereo receiver, running the original German Telefunken tubes. Since then, i've had McIntosh, Onkyo Grand Integra, Rogue Audio, California Audio Labs, early Polk Audio, Magnepan, and JBL (horn loaded speakers), just to name a few of my favorite brands. I ordered these Daytons, because I wanted a cheap pair of halfway decent speakers for my garage setup, using a FiiO X1 music player as my source (with WMA lossless files). Being that it is still February and frigid outside (and in my non-heated garage), I couldn't wait until Spring to try these out. So I hooked them up on a large dresser in my bedroom (grilles off, just inches from the wall), using the FiiO X1 as my music source. I tried both a classic Pioneer SX-780 vintage stereo receiver, as well as a Qinpu A-6000 MKII tubed hybrid integrated amp during different listening sessions. To say I was floored by what I was hearing is an understatement! Even right out of the box, these speakers SING! After some hours of 'break-in', their sonics belie their small price and small size! They sound natural, detailed, airy, and well-paced! I thought I was listening to a pair of $1000 dollar monitors! I fed them Sonny Rollins, Stan Getz, Mozart, Debussy, Steely Dan, The October Project, 60's through 80's pop/rock, Synthpop, Techno, Motown, Neo-Flamenco, and a lot of other stuff, and they performed admirably, even at a healthy volume! These speakers image and project very well, and sound very musical! Honestly, I have not had this much fun auditioning a pair of speakers than when I brought home a pair of Polk Audio Monitor 10's, back in 1986! 30 years later, I still have that pair of great speakers, and i'm sure i'll still have this pair of Daytons in 2046 (if i'm still around, that is)!

This speaker works really well. Great speaker for the price of $104.

Thanks very much ... A bit of a wait, but worth it!

Initial impressions are that it is a little bright. Using it with an Aiyima A03 tube preamp (6K4 tubes) & A03 2.1 amp, paired with an 8" passive sub. Soundstage is large enough and I took the advice of one of the reviewers here to shove it right up against the wall. This helped with the bass response. Due to the lack of it and my console space (which is tight), it is a match made in heaven. So bass is not overly bloated and is still present. Sounds up to par with the rest of my budget audiophile speaker arsenal so far. Will update the review in the future as the drivers open themselves up more.... Conclusion: Decided the speakers weren't for me and returned them. The upper register is peaky and the size is rather big. I needed smaller speakers for my bedroom.

Excellent speakers

After getting these out of the box i was very disappointed to find a crack/scratch on the front of one of the speakers through the tweeter and into the cabinet face. Have returned them for a refund. Will see what the refund process is like.