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.

Great value. For a starter system these are ideal. Great highs and tight bass. Sensitivity is only listed as 87 db but it seems much better than that. I have them on and old RS STA-42 receiver that is just rated at 10W per channel and they really kick.

A little background...I never got to hear the original B652's that everyone raved about. The first set I had were the "new" models that apparently had bad tweeters. They were awful!! I contacted Dayton, and to their credit they sent me a pair of the "fixed" models. They were much better than the first set. I played them for a month or so, and then re-reviewed them. In short, I said that they were a good pair of cheap speakers; a real steal for $39 and a good set of speakers for anyone who wanted acceptable sound for a small price. But they still sounded like cheap speakers to anyone who is used to listening to higher quality audio. Now,getting to these new "Air" models. The Air Motion tweeters are wonderful! Very smooth with just the right amount of brightness. Bass response is not bad; I still think it would be better with either a larger cabinet or ports, but it's respectable as is. So highs and lows I'm happy with. And that leaves the problem area...in the upper midrange. The standard B652's have an area around (I am guessing a bit here, I didn't scope them) 2-3 K where those frequencies are too loud and they come across as being somewhat harsh and shrill. Unfortunately, these Air models have the same exact problem. I suspect it's because of the lack of a real crossover; these have only a capacitor to knock the lower frequencies off the tweeter. But that doesn't keep the whole frequency spectrum from being thrown at the woofer, nor does it do much to balance the volumes of the various frequencies. If your system has an EQ, you can "notch" this band down some and partially correct it. But if all you have is bass and treble; you're stuck with the shrillness. Considering the surprisingly good platform they have to be a cheap speaker; I am surprised Dayton doesn't go ahead and use a real crossover in these. The additional $20 a pair would be money well spent because it could potentially turn these into speakers into some that sound as good as models costing $300 or more a pair. But as they are, they still sound like cheap speakers with a great tweeter. Still...for $59, they are a steal. If that's all you have to spend, you will get a lot for your money in these. As a comparison to another popular low-priced speaker; I did an A-B test with the Micca MB42-X's. I feel that if you have another $20 to spend,the Micca's will give you a far more accurate and better balanced speaker with a real crossover network. They might have slightly less pronounced bass since they only have a 4" woofer; but they are wonderfully smooth and balanced, without the shrillness of the Daytons. I am going to be generous and give these 4 stars because of the excellent tweeter. Otherwise, it would be a 3 star rating because of the harshness. The tweeters alone are worth the purchase price. Good listening! ---Update--- It seems NoAudiophile tested these and noticed the same spike I mentioned. But he actually scoped them and the spike is at 3150 HZ (hey, I was close). He also stated that they have some problems as is. Interestingly; he reversed polarity on the tweeters and it improved things somewhat. I might try this and report back. --Long Term Update-- I never got around to reversing polarity on the tweeter, so no comment on that. I have been putting some time on these and playing them for hours at a time. The Air Motion tweeters are a tremendous upgrade from the tweeters in the standard B-652. The tweeters in the standard B652's are kinda crappy (hey, whataya expect for $39?), so this is a huge improvement. They do still have that spike in the upper midrange that I mentioned above. That probably wouldn't be an issue in home theater, but it does bug me a bit for music. Not terrible, but trained ears will pick up on it. Remember...I'm looking at these from a budget audiophile's point of view, so I'm being a little on the critical side. Still...for the price they are excellent, and I suspect most people would be thrilled with the sound. I had a little time to play and I did an A/B with the Micca MB42-x speakers. The Daytons have a 6.5" woofer compared to the Micca's 4", so the Daytons had a slight advantage in thump, though the Miccas actually go lower. The Micca's silk dome tweeter gives the Dayton a run for the money, but the Miccas win handily in the midrange and in overall sound quality. Between the two, I would spend the extra $20 and go with the Miccas; especially if you will be using a sub. But if $59 is your budget, I'm not sure you can do any better. Really an excellent speaker for the price. Good to see that Dayton brought these back. I hope they make a version of the floorstanders with the Air Motion tweeter. I will probably test them if they do. Good Listening! --Update-- Not sure why Amazon is so high on these. Parts Express has them for $59 with cheaper shipping. The current seller here is crazy high on shipping. --Update-- I find myself getting angry at these because they are almost excellent speakers. The tweeter is quite good, but the problem with the midrange mentioned above is annoying. Granted...most people would not notice it, but I do. Oh what a difference a crossover would make.

TL:DR: Sonys are much better for living room usage, these are better for near field listening. both amazing. EDIT: Might as well throw this out there for people who don't know, there's a workaround for these speakers where you switch the phase on the tweeters, so that the null you have where the woofer meets the tweeter becomes a peak. I opened these up and to my surprise this was already done! Guess Dayton Audio took the initiative. This means they are very peaky right out of the box. EQ this peak out and you'll understand how these are so good. Search for the Noaudiophile review on these if you want to know more about this. I already knew what I was going for when I bought these. I first bought the b452 airs to replace some HTIB satellites. I didn't want them to take much space since I already have a pair of Sony SS CS5s and my room is quite small. the 652s were too big for my taste. yeah... fast forward a couple of weeks and the 652s are now sitting in my room... I was blown away by the sound coming from the 452s, I like them so much, but they are small speakers, they will never be able to blend with a subwoofer properly. meet these... the sound coming from these is now wholesome. you loose just a tiny bit of vocal clarity compared to the 452s but now these pair flawlessly with my subwoofer. I am running a 5.1, 80wpc channel Sony receiver, powering an Infinity Kappa 10" in a sealed, built to spec box, and these as my mains. everything time aligned and following a house curve. this setup is spectacular. the 652s play loud enough without any hint of distortion, and the transition from subwoofer to mids is seamless. sound wise, they went above and beyond my expectations for speakers this cheap. now, how do these fare against the Sonys? the Sonys are much better sonically. better mids, better highs, better everything, and they handle more than double the power. they are a better built speaker with a dedicated crossover network. I don't think there is anything that can touch those in the price range. Higher quality overall, BUT if you're using them on a desk where you will have them close, get the 652s. I found that the Sonys are very fatiguing when using them close because of the double tweeter array. I had to low pass them at like 15khz plus some extra EQ on the highs for them to be bearable. And even then they don't sound as good as the 652s do. These are not fatiguing at all, even at double the volume. the amt does the magic here. Using them in a living room where you will be far from the speakers, get the sonys. For near field listening, b652s. No way to go wrong here, both are superb speakers for the money.

It’s true - this is the best speaker for the money - match it with a good DAC preamp amp and you’ve got a system that will give you sounds equal to up to 10x the price of name brands. I stream exclusively. I don’t own a cd player or a record player to get the cleanest signal IMHO. I use my iPad with Apple play, a Cambridge audio DAC magic plus, an nad preamp and an adcom 555 200 wpc amp and a BIC F12 sub. These little speakers are phenomenal, at any price. I’ve been on a jag for the last 6 months, ordering and listening and returning (banned from one company?!!!?). I’ve listened to B&W, elac, Martin Logan, Magnapan, klipsch, Yamaha, Sony, all in the $100-1000 range. I have a smallish listening room, 12x16 with rug and nice soft sofa/chair furniture and bookshelves. 8ft ceilings. It’s a soft and cozy listening room. My playlist is a mix, Dire Straights, Yes, Ry Cooder, Bela Fleck, Kings of Leon, Black Keys, Eric Clapton, Steve Winwood, Stevie wonder, Michael Jackson, Jason Isbell, James Taylor, Bonnie Raitt, Joni Mitchell, Sade, Peabo Bryson, Jeffery Osborn, Sting, Lang Lang, Rachmaninov, Mozart, John Williams, Yo-yo Ma, Alison Krause, Vince Gill, Nickle Creek, Celine Dion, Oscar Peterson, Brubeck, Miles Davis, Monty Alexander, Luca Sricagnoli, Justin beiber, Taylor Swift, Adele, and Christine and the Queens. Some movie soundtracks. Some blues but not much metal cause my tinnitus won’t let me go there for long. So the little folded tweeter fits me for my long listens with little or no fatigue. I try to listen mostly at 80-85db when cranking. Yes and the Who and Kings of Leon at 90db. The little Dayton’s handle with aplomb in my smallish room. I listen 2-3 hours per day. They match nicely with the relatively inexpensive BIC sub, very smooth and musical transition. Most of the other speakers were good. Of the bunch I liked the elacs towers for their smooth and powerful presentation and the Maggie’s for detail and soundstage and realism. If you’re a rocker go for the klipsch. But for the price, this delivers just about everything you need. You may have to go to 2 grand to beat em? Except for the Maggie’s. Don’t turn up your nose til you’ve shelled out the $50 to try em. If nothing else, they are the perfect thing to wow your friends with “LISTEN TO THIS!!” I’ll keep the Maggie’s cause they are the King below $2,000, but these I have for that cute little thing that’s fun. Lots of fun! (and very easy on the ears)

For the $60 I paid, the sound quality is good but construction and quality of finish is below par. Some of the paper thin black vinyl at the top/side of the front baffle is blistering up on both speakers (this same problem is on a YouTube video from 2020 - apparently nothing done about it). The cabinet side wall thickness is thin with no internal brace. Inside, there was one piece of polyester batting on the rear - nothing on the sides, top or bottom of the cabinet. The result is a somewhat boomy bass and boxy midrange. For a sealed box design, the internal cabinet should lined/stuffed with polyfill type (which I did to improve the sound). So for a few bucks more they could have improved these. They are good value for money if you're willing to put up with the imperfections. OK for a bedroom or the garage.

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)!

For the past few months I have been looking for the ultimate audiophile budget bookshelf speaker system. So far I have tested the Fluance SX6'S, Micca MB42X's, Dayton Audio B652's and these B652-AIR's. Here are my thoughts on the AIR's and overall conclusion from my comparisons. The Dayton Audio B652-AIR's are an excellent speaker for just under $70. They are definitely an improvement over the original B652's-which were renowned for their amazing value. I'm always on the hunt for audiophile sound on a budget and the AIR's ALMOST fit the bill and here's why. Although they do sound amazing for the price, they are not perfect. I found them to be a lacking a bit in the mids. The 6 1/2" woofer produces some amazing lows for a non-ported speaker and the Air Motion Tweeter (AMT) produces wonderfully crisp highs. Where they fall short is in the midrange. Mids are there, but just fall flat. Perhaps a better way of saying it is that they are overpowered by the highs and lows. If I used an EQ to pull the high end out I could definitely hear the mids better, but this produced a much flatter that was overall unpleasing. For my system I am using a Macbook Pro running iTunes 11:4. That is connected to the Behringer UCA202 DAC via USB. The DAC is connected to an older, but still good, Aiwa AV receiver that is rated at 120WPC but only produces about 30. The EQ and DSP was turned off on my receiver and I used iTunes to adjust the sound for optimal sound reproduction. The B652-AIR's are one of, if not the, best speakers I've heard for around $65. The main reason I can't give them five stars is that for just a little more there are far superior options out there. At only around $15 more I would definitely choose the MIcca MB42X's. They have better mids and produce a better soundstage. My ultimate choice for budget audiophile bookshelf speakers would be the Fluance SX6's, at $100 refurbished they are an amazing speaker!

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.