Dayton 408 DSP review 

It was a lot but thank you for the positive response. The more people that are educated about these things the more will get back into it and that is better for everyone.

@@PaulPi3rce I have not touched car audio for about 8 years or so. I have a modest system in my truck, a couple of alpine 12s, 3 zapco amps, alpine mids and tweets, and the zapco sx-sl IIpreamp eq. I have not touched it since it was put in the truck. Last week decided to install a double din head unit so I can join this century as far as latest technology. The Pioneer head unit seems to have everything possible as far as dsp... would I benefit from this separate DSP? Would the sound be that much better? All I am doing is replacing the head unti and getting rid of the zapco.

Would you be so kind as to provide an Amazon link to the power supply you recommend? I recently the DSP-408 for a home audio application and would love to improve the existing unit

@@ts6640 it looks like they deleted my Amazon link, here's the name of the product. ifi iPower2 12V US. I just bought one it works great.

😂

marjohn77 I have a LC7i and the EQS (from Audio Control). Sounds like I’ll still need to keep the LC.

Did ypu install it already?

So how can I use the delay on this DSP without rew? Thank you

I just wonder how good this all works with an android head unit

tankdog03 you can sum more inputs and add as many as 8 outputs. If you only had a single input you still can have 8 outputs.

Yes you can link any channel to another in the DSP but if you are doing active than you might want to EQ each one separately to the driver with a microphone and REW so they are balanced.

IKR!!!

It lets you control sub level directly from the head unit rather than thru a menu level.

You could also do it that way but by running from the sub pre out of the HU to the DSP and then from the DSP to the amplifier you get the extra sub controls afforded/built into the HU also. In my case I can turn up or down the level for the subwoofer separately from the HU because I wired it this way.

Problem solved!!! New problem after installed in car. Factory High level wiring is wrong, input 3&4 is 1&2 !!! Whinning noise is horrible. For the Data file error, you just use the Remote controller to launch any of still available 5 presets into the DSP before connecting to Windows. Once "Transmission" is successful, do a factory reset from the DSP Windows's topleft dropdown menu. Everything should be fine, including Bluetooth. I hope this can work for your unit too. But I wouldn't know what else can be done if you dont have the RC.

If you contact Parts Express I believe they are aware of these issues and will help you with it. I have not had that problem with mine but it depends on the software release/update version too.

Well you will lose any surround effect that comes from left and right channels if you sum them together. You also won't be able to use your fader/balance if all channels get all the input signals

You set it in the DSP software to send the input signalmto whatever output channel you want.

Myron Howell it is the Q factor or Q band. Basically how steep or tight of an EQ peak you are applying. When you see on the screen the EQ that looks like mountains, that's equalizing the frequency response across the audible range to be balanced and "flat"

David, You do not need to do that because the DSP has high level inputs and with 3.5 volts output should be plenty to drive any amplifier.

Thanks

Under your LP or HP filter type box you select the Butterworth filter, which is your shelf filter because the slope is abrupt and close to the 3 db down point vs the Linkwitz Riley or Bessel filters which use a more gradual slope and the Linkwitz Riley filter is also down 6 db at the crossover point vs 3db. For the subwoofer you would use a low pass butterworth filter. Just experiment with it and try 12 db vs 24 db to hear how it blends with your mid woofers and choose the one you like the best.

PaulPi3rce thank you.

@@WitnessTheSickness99 you have to tick the box on 1 and 10, I use these on my sub only,

I set my monoblock with a DVM to the RMS rating of the sub and then level match the midbass and tweeters with the gains on the 4-channel amp after DSP EQ so that they are matched to the output of the sub and each other. This gives me the lowest possible noise floor.

@@PaulPi3rce Thx. So you only use 1 input channel per output channel then? I tried that and even when at full volume, each output of the dsp measures nowhere near 3.5volts. Is that ok to do? I'm only asking because I was under the impression that the higher the voltage going into the amp the better. The only way I can get 3.5volts going out of the dsp is to assign all 4 inputs to each output at 100% and at full volume. Actually the volume of the dsp is at 58 cuz it clips after that. Am I missing something here? If so, can someone please put me on the correct path?

@@mpeezy358 gain is relative to the input, it's a ratio, the the hotter the signal going in will result in a hotter signal coming out, but that's what the gain on the amp is for, find your max input level (volume on the source) that is clean, then adjust the gain on the DSP outputs to it's max level clean, then adjust the gain on your amps to the max clean level, use test tones to do this, you can get special tools to find the clipping point, you can not do this with just a DMM, you need either a Oscope or a distortion detector, don't just depend on your ears either.

@@charleswp71 Thank you.

@@charleswp71 that's not entirely true, you can get pretty close using just a DMM. It won't be exact, but neither will a distortion detector like the one SMD sells. Now an oscilloscope will be, but then again who has 3k just laying around for and oscilloscope

1 year late but yes it is worth it to get something better. I bought this thing and its is a total POS, riddled with issues from awful humming noise, to poor user interface, to downright awful audio quality through it. 0/10 would not recommend at all. MiniDSP 2x4HD is a good option, but it only has 4 outputs and I need at least 5 for my system.

It sounds just as good as my cars with the JL twk 88 DSP's, basically awesome.

The Dayton 408 does not undo the factory EQ, so using the FIX is the perfect solution, which I have and it works awesome. The FIX also undoes the factory time alignment too, which was more of an issue for me before the FIX was installed. If you are new to DSP's, than the JL Twk 88 is hard to beat but like I say in the video, you can get the same results with the Dayton. Some factory HU's do not have as much factory EQ as others. For example, the factory HU in my Mazda does not but the one in my Ford does and the FIX for me was the only solution. I tried to undo it with the Twk alone and had all kinds of trouble with the bass. The FIX was worth it to me.

@@PaulPi3rce Thanks. I do have an Audison Bit Ten. I just want to see if the investment is worth it. Looks like it would be about $550 with the Dayton and FIX 86. I just didn't know if it's worth it yet. I was thinking about waiting and getting the FIX82 and the new JL VXi amps to get a power upgrade with the DSP built in. I could run fiber optic from the FIX to each amp for ease and SQ. But now we're talking over a couple grand...... Decisions decisions.

Running a Digital Optical Output would be nice and eliminate any possible noise, but is not necessary with good RCA's. The Fix 86 gives you more output channels and equalizers than the Fix 82, useful for future upgrades and multiple DSP's or amplifiers. The higher end JL amplifiers with built in DSP are really nice, but as you say they are huge money and honestly I don't think worth it for car audio. I mean sure they sound great and save space but $700+? I have run many different amplifiers from top of the line Pioneer and Alpine to lower end Pioneer and JBL club series, to middle ground infinity amplifiers, and there is no real SQ difference as long as its a decent brand. I have heard a small difference among cheaper brands though. To be honest I think buying anything more than a $300-400 4 channel amplifier is a waste of money so long as its a decent brand. If I swapped my Pioneer D8604 with a much more expensive 100 wpc JL and didn't tell you than I bet you wouldn't even notice if the gains were all set the same. If I were you, I would get the JL Twk 88 and JL FIX 82 or 86 with a Pioneer D8604 (125 watts x4 on dyno) for the 4 channel and JBL GTX 500 (800 watts on dyno) for a 500 watt sub or Pioneer D9601 if you need a 1 ohm stable 1200 watt mono amp. Soundqubed SI series are also decent for the money and Wolfram Audio has some excellent amplifiers for the money. I just let a friend from work demo my truck who has been into car audio for as long as me. He has a system that he spent lots of money on but no DSP. I have stock ford mid woofers (yes stock 6*8 woofers from Ford but they are bandpassed 80-2600), Tang Band home audio tweeters in stock location (A pillars) from parts express ($25 ea), and a Sundown SD3 subwoofer in a custom ported box tuned to 31 Hz (really awesome SQ sub). I have a Pioneer D8604 and JBL Club 5501 for the sub and there is nothing special about these amplifiers (other than they sound good and are under rated). I tuned this system using my FIX 86 to integrate with the factory radio and a JK Twk for DSP duties. When he auditioned my system I didn't tell him what speakers I had or what amplifiers I have, and after listening for just 5 minutes, he was floored and awe struck by how good it sounds. He was even more in disbelief when I showed him what the equipment was that I was running. This proves its all in the tune and install. My doors are fully deadened along with other acoustic treatments in the cab. He now wants to buy a DSP and have me tune his system once he gets the time, which I will. I have much more higher end speakers (Focal, SB Acoustics, and Sundown) with higher end amplifiers and aftermarket radios with DSP's in my other two vehicles and the results are the same or better. In fact I'm installing the Dayton DSP in my van right now and typing to you while I eat my supper, LOL.

You can try and de-eq the stock Toyota HU with some success but you will not get the same results as you would with a JL FIX 82 or 86, I know I've tried.

@@PaulPi3rce I know this post was some time ago, but if you still have your Ford, check into a free software program called Forscan. I have a 18' F150 and have used Forscan to make several changes to the factory modules, including the Audio Control Module. I was able to flatten the signal and convert it from high level to low level with just a few taps on a keyboard. Google it, you'll find a ton of info on it and you can make A LOT of awesome adjustments and modifications with it.

By chance u figured out what causes the noise?

No

I would agree that not everyone will have noise but it is noted as an issue with my setup. The RCA cables I have are actually fully shielded high quality cables for the highs and midrange drivers where the noise came from. Please also note that when I swapped my JL Twk DSP back to back with Dayton DSP, using the same cables and the JL remote attached, that there was no noise at all from the JL DSP. The fact that there is power running through the Dayton remote (also the JL remote) and that it may be emitting some kind of EMF is not going to change the fact that its a $150 DSP and people who buy this DSP are not going to buy mega buck RCA cables. To conclude, I would say that its also a design issue on Dayton but that overall the Dayton DSP is an excellent budget DSP and I have achieved fantastic results with it. I will also note that when measuring for time alignment with this DSP that I get got millisecond results that were way off so I had to calculate and input the millisecond times directly into the DSP to get it right.

I have extremely good RCAs & I have the same issue... Even swapped out & tried several different pairs, different lengths, brands (I have about 20 different pairs of RCAs from basic cheap 1s to gold plated, shielded exspensive 1s)... Its something to do with the DSP remote knob, you unplug the knob and the noise disappears...

@@csmitchell1113 Can the DSP still work fine without the knob?

The JL Twk has the same 10 band parametric EQ per a channel as the Dayton 408. They have the same tuning ability per channel with the JL having a little more finer adjustments. The JL has differential balanced inputs and a better more accurate interface with a slightly higher output voltage so it is slightly better in terms of SQ on paper. The quality of your amplifiers, installation, and RCS's cables will probably make more of a difference in SQ than the DSP between these to. The software for the JL is much better for a novice in my opinion so easier to learn.

so it goes head unit to dsp to amplifiers pre amp input?

Thank you so much for the reply. I'm new to the world of dsp and having trouble in choosing between the dayton or the hertz h8? What you suggest me to pick in terms of better SQ and customisation?

Yes, HU output to DSP input and from DSP output to amplifiers input. Running active with a 4-channel amplifier, one channel goes to left tweeter, one to the right tweeter, one to the left midwoofer, and one to the right mid woofer. The subwoofer, if you have one, gets its own channel and of course amplifier as well. Be careful not to accidentally run a full range signal to your tweeters or to use a high pass filter that is too low (lower than 2500) or you will blow the tweeters. adding a cap as I described in the video is a good way to protect that from happening.

I have no experience with the Hertz DSP. Since you are new to the world of DSP's and I have experience with the JL twk 88, I highly suggest you use the JL twk 88. It is designed and geared toward the novice like yourself but has all the capabilities of the best out there.

Kids fooling around in the background making the wife angry which prompts her to look for me making this video and get angry at me because I'm not helping her so then the car audio fun has to wait another year. :)

that is a dan goood question that I posed directly to the manufacturer. They claim there are "newer" version(s) but their insightful wisdom compels them to ask for my email address via eBay messages... SMDH.... its going to be returned tomorrow. These clowns cant figure out how to send me firmware/software (Ive bought directly from them numerous times in the past. Their sales manager and I have a shared folder in our respective google drives) then I am done. I hope that tax credit for hiring common-sense challenged employees is worth the lost business.

The time to return my unit is

CS47048-DQZ along with a supporting cast of TI, ST, and even a little bios chip not out of place in a modern computer motherboard. I already returned the unit I was duped (as in actual support from the vendor was included) into buying. My curiosity has taken hold and I am trying to get my hands on the "Manager toolkit" from Cirrus Logic to see how difficult it would be to make an interface for this unit native to: msix, Android, maybe an atmel or esp32? It shouldn't take much but I do have quite the assortment of more powerful RISC SoCs. Maybe stick to porting it from CS to react or arm7 bc everyone has an extra raspberry pi laying around. I mean like 3 or older.

Let me clarify my comments were towards a similar unit from another OEM. I do plan on buying one of these Daytons as soon as the money hits my account. Unless they want to give me a demo?

Just as good as my JL

Cat is fine, gets taken care of very well by me. I play with it, rub its belly, and feed that cat every day. Its always following me around trying to climb up on me for more attention.

@@PaulPi3rce LOL I had a feeling just a cat lover myself !