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Performance Optimized · Datasheet

Dayton Audio Ultimax II UMII18 Box: Ported 18" Wedge Enclosure Single 18" Ported enclosure

Net volume
2.72 Cubic Feet
Tuning
29.5 Hz
Max mounting depth
8.996 Inches (Dayton Audio Spec)
Cutout
16.839 Inches (Dayton Audio Spec)
External dimensions
30.00 Inches W × 21.00 Inches H × 10.12 Inches / 17.77 Inches D
Front baffle
Vertical Baffle - Driver Fires Rearward Into The Trunk
Buy at Audio IntensityFactory-direct, ships from Tullahoma
Dayton Audio Ultimax II UMII18Buy at Audio Intensity
  • Alignment: 2.72 cu ft net vented at 29.5 Hz. F3 36.3 Hz anechoic, 2.90 dB passband ripple
  • Driver: Dayton Audio Ultimax II UMII18 D2, 1200 W RMS, 28.0 mm Xmax, 22.00 Hz Fs
  • Build: Rear-firing wedge, 20 degree rear rake, V-groove and dado joinery, triangular side-exit slot port with a 1/2" rounded mouth, double 1.5" baffle, side-mounted terminal cup
  • Cabinet: 30.00" W x 21.00" H x 17.77" D at base tapering to 10.12" D at top, 28.2 sq in port, ships dry

Spec of record

Technical specifications

SeriesProline X Performance Optimized Wedge
Driver-Specific FitmentDayton Audio Ultimax II UMII18 D2 (Dual 2 Ohm)
Enclosure TypePorted | Rear-Firing Trunk Wedge
Baffle ConfigurationVertical Baffle - Driver Fires Rearward Into The Trunk
Wedge Angle20 Degrees On The Rear (Seat-Side) Panel
External Width30.00 Inches
External Height21.00 Inches
Top Depth10.12 Inches
Base Depth17.77 Inches
Internal Volume (Gross)3.40 Cubic Feet
Internal Volume (Net After Displacement)2.72 Cubic Feet
Port TypeTriangular Slot | Bottom-Rear Corner | Straight, No Bend | Side Exit
Port GeometryIsosceles, 7.75 Inch Legs, 28.2 Square Inches, 23.74 Inches Long, Side Mouth
Port Tuning (Fb)29.5 Hz
Port MouthTriangle Through Side A, 1/2 In Roundover On All Three Edges, 41.7 Square Inches At The Face
Port ThroatOpen Far End, 4.51 In Gap To Side B, 3/8 In Roundover On The Panel End
Port Air Velocity18.2 m/s In The Channel, 12.3 m/s At The Flared Mouth (17.0 m/s Chuff Threshold)
Predicted F336.3 Hz (Anechoic)
Passband Ripple2.90 dB (Anechoic)
Subsonic Filter23 Hz High-Pass, 24 dB/Octave - REQUIRED On A Vented Enclosure
Driver Fs22.00 Hz
Driver Qts0.530
Driver Qes / Qms0.670 / 2.530
Driver Vas248.200 Liters / 8.765 Cubic Feet
Driver Sd1184.0 Square Centimeters
Driver Mms420.00 g
Driver BL19.20
Driver Re4.2 Ohm
Driver Xmax28mm (One-Way at 70% Bl (Klippel))
Excursion Design BasisDerated To 28.0mm For Alignment - Dayton Audio Publishes At 70% Bl (Klippel)
Driver Displacement0.18 Cubic Feet (Published by Dayton Audio)
Driver Sensitivity87.5 dB
Driver Power Handling1200 Watts RMS
Driver Overall Diameter18.504 Inches (Dayton Audio Spec)
Mounting Depth Required8.996 Inches (Dayton Audio Spec)
Cutout Diameter16.839 Inches (Dayton Audio Spec)
MaterialLangboard Elite 3/4" MDF
ConstructionShopSabre CNC / Two Windowed C Braces At The Third Points, Seated On The Port Panel
JoineryV-Groove and Dado (CNC-Cut)
Front Baffle ConstructionDouble-Layer 1.5" MDF | Cosmetic Front Layer Routed For The Acrylic Insert
Mounting HardwareThreaded Inserts At Every Mounting Location | Stainless Steel Machine Screws Included
Voice Coil ConfigurationDual 2 Ohm
Terminal CupProline X ABS/Carbon Fiber Composite | Side Mounted, Opposite The Port | 12g OFC Pre-Wired
DampingNone - Ships Dry. Polyfill Detunes A Ported Enclosure
Recommended Power840-1200 Watts RMS (Dayton Audio Rated: 1200W RMS)
Carpet FinishPlush Black
Shipping Weight70 lb
Bundle OptionsEnclosure Only (Bring Your Own Dayton Audio Ultimax II UMII18)
Warranty1-Year Limited (Enclosure)
ManufacturedTullahoma, Tennessee, USA

Modelled response

Performance in this enclosure

Net airspace
2.72
cu ft
Tuning
29.5
Hz · Fb
Half power
36.3
Hz · F3, anechoic
Xmax at
14067
W RMS · 23 Hz subsonic
With NO filter
6233
W RMS · unfiltered
Port
12.3
m/s at the mouth

01Is this driver right for a ported box?

Efficiency bandwidth product places the motor before anything else is decided.

EBP = Fs ÷ Qes = 32.8
SEALED 0–50 TRANSITION 50–100 PORTED 100–150 0 50 100 150 EBP 32.8
Dayton Audio UMII18-22 · EBP 32.8
Under 50 the raw number leans sealed. The Dayton Audio UMII18-22 reads 32.8, so this is a ported build against the grain of its own EBP: it works because the alignment is tuned for in-car response rather than for an anechoic curve, and because the cabinet holds port area and volume the driver can actually use.

02What the box does to it

2.72 cu ft net against a 248.2 L Vas, vented at 29.5 Hz.

Fb = 29.5 Hz  ·  F3 = 36.3 Hz  ·  passband ripple 2.90 dB
20 30 50 70 100 150 200 +4 0 −4 −8 −12 −16 −20 −24 FREQUENCY · Hz LEVEL · dB −3 dB Fb 29.5
Dayton Audio UMII18-22 · Fb 29.5 Hz, F3 36.3 Hz
Anechoic, before any cabin gain, with the 23 Hz subsonic filter already applied. The vent takes over below 30 Hz and the cone stops doing the work there, which is what holds travel down at the bottom of the passband.

03Ported vs Sealed

No sealed comparison is shown for this driver.

A ported-versus-sealed chart is only worth reading against a sealed box someone would actually build: the one we make for the driver, or the one its maker recommends. Neither exists for the Dayton Audio UMII18-22 — we do not build a sealed enclosure for it and Dayton publish no sealed volume for it — so rather than compare this cabinet against itself stuffed and sealed, a box no one would build, the comparison is left out.

04The watts that reach Xmax (in this enclosure)

Travel scales with the square root of power, so there is one wattage that puts the cone exactly on Dayton's published 28.0 mm. The two traces are the same cabinet with the subsonic filter switched on and switched off.

PXmax = 14067 W with a 23 Hz subsonic  ·  6233 W with none  →  the filter is worth 2.3×
20 30 50 70 100 150 200 0 8 16 24 32 FREQUENCY · Hz CONE TRAVEL · mm PAST LINEAR TRAVEL · Xmax 28.0 mm 14067 W reaches Xmax here
14067 W · subsonic at 23 Hz, 24 dB/oct6233 W · no subsonic filterXmax 28.0 mm one-way, published
Each trace touches the limit and no further, because each is drawn at the exact power that puts the cone on 28.0 mm. With a 23 Hz subsonic that takes 14067 W, reached first at 50 Hz. Take the filter away and the same cabinet reaches 28.0 mm on 6233 W — the filter is worth 2.3× the safe power. A vent unloads the cone below tuning, so there is nothing holding it once the box stops loading: on a sealed build a subsonic filter is an improvement, here it is required equipment. The unfiltered trace is still rising where this chart stops at 20 Hz, so treat 6233 W as a bound rather than a floor. Every wattage on this page is a MECHANICAL limit, not an electrical one. It is the power at which the cone runs out of linear travel in this cabinet, and nothing more. What the voice coil can dissipate as heat is a separate ceiling set by the driver, not by the box — Dayton rate this one at 1200 W RMS, and that is the number that binds first here: heat stops you before travel does, so treat 1200 W as the ceiling and the travel figures above as headroom. Final wired impedance, amplifier output and how long you hold the level are all electrical questions this graph does not answer.

From the shop floor

Installer's take

UMII18 in the ported wedge: 2.72 cubic feet at 29.5 Hz, 36.3 Hz anechoic.

The port mouth runs about 12 m/s at full power, well clear of chuffing.

Dayton print the bolt circle, so the threaded inserts are pressed into the baffle at the shop.

Rated 1200 W RMS by Dayton. It ships dry, no polyfill in a ported box, and set the subsonic filter near 25 Hz.

Before you order

Questions

Why is this enclosure tuned to 29.5 Hz?

The port runs 18.2 m/s in the channel and 12.3 at the mouth at the 1200 W design power, and the cone peaks at 8.2 of its 28 mm. Passband ripple is 2.9 dB and the in-car spread from 25 to 60 Hz 3.4 dB. Tuning is chosen for in-car response rather than an anechoic curve: a vehicle adds roughly 12 dB per octave below about 45 Hz. In this cabinet that lands at 3.4 dB of in-car spread across 25 to 60 Hz.

Why the 20 degree wedge, and why rear-firing?

The raked face is the seat side. A factory rear seat back leans about 20 degrees off vertical, so the cabinet sits flat against it and uses floor a square box wastes. The baffle stays vertical and fires rearward into the trunk, which acts as the acoustic extension into the cabin. This one is 17.77 inches deep at the base and 10.12 at the top, 30.00 wide and 21 tall.

Do I need a subsonic filter?

Yes, at 23 Hz, 24 dB per octave. Below tuning a vented box stops loading the cone and excursion runs away toward DC. With the filter in place this cabinet puts the Dayton Audio Ultimax II UMII18 at 29 percent of its usable travel at full rated power; without it there is no meaningful number to quote.

How much power can I run, and at what impedance?

Dayton Audio rate the Ultimax II UMII18 at 1200 W RMS and that is the thermal ceiling. The Performance Graphs tab shows the mechanical limit, the power at which the cone reaches the end of its travel in this cabinet: here the cone sits at 29 percent of usable travel at the rating, so heat is what stops you, not travel. A D2 coil is 4 ohms in series or 1 ohm in parallel; run series unless the amplifier is rated for 1 ohm. A D4 is 8 series or 2 parallel.

Would a sealed box be better for me?

Not one we can show you. We do not build a sealed enclosure for the Dayton Audio Ultimax II UMII18 and Dayton Audio publish no sealed volume for it, so the Performance Graphs tab carries no ported-versus-sealed chart: the only sealed box left to plot would be this cabinet stuffed and sealed, which nobody would build, and a comparison against it would tell you nothing you could buy. What a vented box gives up is the region below tuning, where the cone unloads and the 23 Hz subsonic filter takes over; around 29.5 Hz the vent carries the load and cone travel drops to its minimum, which no sealed alignment can do.

How does the side port work?

It is a triangular slot in the bottom-rear corner: the floor and the raked back wall are two sides, one bevelled panel is the third. It runs across the cabinet, opens into the box through a 4.51 inch gap at the far end and exits through the side panel as the same triangle. Straight, no bend: 23.74 inches of path and 28.2 square inches of channel running at 18.2 metres per second, 53 percent of its turbulence limit. The three mouth edges are rounded over at 1/2 inch, so the opening at the face is 41.7 square inches and the air leaves it at 12.3 metres per second against the 17.0 threshold where a slot port starts to chuff; the panel's throat end is rounded at 3/8 inch for the same reason. The terminal cup is on the other side.

Does this enclosure ship with polyfill?

No, and do not add any. Every sealed Proline X enclosure ships with polyfill; a ported one must not, because damping changes the effective volume the port is tuned against. The port here is cut to 23.74 inches for 29.5 Hz. Stuff it and you move the tuning without shortening the port.

Is the Ultimax II UMII18 included?

No. This is an enclosure only, cut for the Dayton Audio Ultimax II UMII18 specifically: the 16.839 inch cutout, the 8.996 inch mounting depth allowance and the 2.72 cubic foot alignment all come from Dayton Audio's published parameters. Dayton make the UMII18 in one version, dual 2 ohm (UMII18-22). Bring your own driver.

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