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Dayton Audio RSS390HF-4NO PHOTONo photo available

Dayton Audio

Dayton Audio RSS390HF-4

Subwoofer · 15″ · 4 Ω

Dayton Audio RSS390HF-4: Subwoofer. Published Fs 19.5 Hz, Qts 0.43 , Vas 212 L. Explore these values before choosing an enclosure.

Resonance Fs
19.5 Hz
Nominal sensitivity
91.2 dB
Rated power
500 W
Excursion Xmax
14 mm
Design with this driver Manufacturer / original source ↗

What this driver's data tells us

Dayton Audio RSS390HF-4

Dayton Audio RSS390HF-4 is a Subwoofer. Its available data describe the following design trade-offs.

With Fs 19.5 Hz, Qts 0.43 and Vas 212 L, an ideal maximally flat sealed reference (Qtc 0.707) is approximately 124.4 L, with a −3 dB cutoff of 32.1 Hz.

The reference exceeds 80 L. This alignment calls for a large cabinet; shrinking it changes damping and bass response.

The calculated sealed cutoff is 40 Hz or below, a promising starting point for extending low bass without a port.

Qts 0.43 leaves both sealed and vented designs worth comparing. Select between them using the required size and simulated bass response.

Published sensitivity is 91.2 dB (2.83 V / 1 m). Sensitivity describes output for the stated input, not maximum usable sound pressure.

On an approximate 1 W / 1 m basis (88.2 dB), sensitivity is in a moderate range.

Basis and further reading

Calculated from published parameters; this is not a listening review. Box sizes are net acoustic volume for one driver. Room gain, EQ, damping material and construction losses are excluded.

Voltage-to-power conversion uses nominal impedance. These size, cutoff and sensitivity bands are editorial guides, not audio-quality standards.

Driver character card

Explore the stats

These bars show physical quantities, not sound-quality scores. A longer bar is not always better. Open a stat to learn what it means.

Resonance · Fs19.5 HzDisplay range: 10–2,000 Hz · log

The driver's free-air resonance. A lower value can help a bass design, but the enclosure, excursion and response determine usable bass. It is not the finished speaker's bass cutoff.

Sensitivity91.2 dBDisplay range: 65–115 dB

Output at the manufacturer's stated input and distance. 1 W and 2.83 V are different references for many impedances. This card keeps the original value and reference; it is not an efficiency or sound-quality rating.

Resonance damping · Qts0.43 Display range: 0–1.5

Electrical and mechanical damping combined. Lower values indicate stronger damping at resonance. It helps choose an enclosure alignment, but does not tell you whether the sound is fast, warm or detailed.

Suspension compliance · Vas212 LDisplay range: 0.1–1,000 L · log

The volume of air with the same compliance as the suspension. It is not a recommended box volume. Use it together with Fs and Qts.

Linear excursion · Xmax14 mmDisplay range: 0–30 mm

Published linear excursion. Definitions differ between manufacturers; verify one-way versus peak-to-peak values. It does not by itself predict distortion or maximum safe output.

Radiating area · Sd829.6 cm²Display range: 1–1,500 cm² · log

Effective radiating area, not the frame's outside diameter. It helps estimate how much air a cone moves when combined with excursion.

Sensitivity reference: 2.83V/1m

Which enclosure could work?

Screening guidance from the available parameters, not a guarantee. A manufacturer's exact-model enclosure plan takes priority. Listening quality cannot be ranked from T/S parameters.

Sealed

Worth trying

Fs, Qts and Vas allow a sealed-box calculation. Qts is below 0.707, so a Qtc 0.707 target may be explored; actual size and output limits still matter.

Fs 19.5 Hz · Qts 0.43 · Vas 212 L

Bass reflex

Worth trying

Qts lies in a commonly explored low-to-moderate range. Try box volume and tuning together, and check the response, port speed and cone excursion below tuning.

Fs 19.5 Hz · Qts 0.43 · Vas 212 L

Transmission line / quarter-wave

Needs careful design

Fs helps set a starting length, but taper, area, driver position and damping determine the result. There is no universal Qts pass/fail rule.

Fs 19.5 Hz · Qts 0.43

Back-loaded horn

Needs careful design

Use an exact-model manufacturer plan or a dedicated horn model. Qts alone cannot establish suitability. Throat, mouth, path and rear chamber must be designed together; this page does not simulate horns.

Fs 19.5 Hz · Qts 0.43
Explore other enclosure types

Mass-loaded transmission line

Needs careful design

The line and outlet act together. Tube length, area, damping and port mass require a coupled model; a bass-reflex preset is not an MLTL design.

Fs 19.5 Hz · Qts 0.43

Passive radiator system

Needs careful design

Potentially useful when a practical port is difficult, but the passive radiator's area, mass, compliance and excursion must be matched separately.

Fs 19.5 Hz · Qts 0.43

Double bass reflex

Needs careful design

Two chambers and two ducts interact. Check their combined resonances with the dedicated model; these parameters alone do not establish an advantage over bass reflex.

Fs 19.5 Hz · Qts 0.43

Open baffle

Needs careful design

Front and rear bass cancel without an enclosure. Panel size, equalization and excursion matter. Low Qts is not an automatic rejection when EQ is available.

Fs 19.5 Hz · Qts 0.43
Basis and further reading

Bass mini-lab

Move the volume slider. Both curves use the same box volume; the bass-reflex tuning is adjustable.

-36-24-120121020501002005001000Relative bass response (dB)Hz
Sealed: F3 32.1 Hz · peak 0 dBBass reflex: F3 22.7 Hz · peak 0.9 dB

Illustrative small-signal T/S models, not an optimized recommendation or a measured speaker. No room gain, diffraction, port losses, excursion limit or power compression is included. The initial tuning equals Fs and must be adjusted for a real build.

Read the graph as numbers
Frequency (Hz)Sealed (dB)Bass reflex (dB)
20-8.8-5
50-0.70.9
100-00.3
200-00.1
500-00
1000-00

Frequency response Response

Common scale for all drivers: 20–20,000 Hz
Dayton Audio RSS390HF-420 Hz — 20 kHz · Logarithmic axis
3540455055606570758085909510010520501002005001k2k5k10k20kdB SPLHz
Source SPL curveRecorded range: 20〜19,670 HzUnavailable or missing ranges are left blank.
Automatically validated response data2.83V/1mResponse source ↗

What do published reviews say?

Attributed summaries, not our listening test or a consensus score. The enclosure, crossover, room and listening level affect each review. Exact model and impedance are checked.

No exact-model listening review has been verified for this page yet. We do not infer tonal quality from T/S parameters or borrow reviews of similar model names.

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