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Dayton Audio Reference RSS315HO Dual Box: Ported 12" Professional Series Enclosure Dual 12" Ported enclosure

Net volume
1.43 Cubic Feet
Tuning
33.0 Hz
Max mounting depth
5.748 Inches (Dayton Audio Spec)
Cutout
11.102 Inches (Dayton Audio Spec)
External dimensions
42.00 Inches W × 16.00 Inches H × 10.50 Inches D
Front baffle
Three 3/4" MDF layers, 2.25" total | Woofer Flush-Mounted In The Outer Layer
Buy at Audio IntensityFactory-direct, ships from Tullahoma
Dayton Audio Reference RSS315HOBuy at Audio Intensity
  • Alignment: 1.43 cu ft net vented at 33.0 Hz. F3 39.8 Hz anechoic, 0.01 dB passband ripple
  • Driver: Dayton Audio Reference RSS315HO Single 4 Ohm, 700 W RMS, 12.3 mm Xmax, 26.20 Hz Fs
  • Build: Front-firing standard box, 2.25" three-layer baffle with the woofer flush-mounted in the outer layer, Dayton Audio logo acrylic, dado joinery, 29.0 sq in front slot port beside the woofer with one bend along the back wall, port and excursion gated at 1680 W
  • Cabinet: 42.00" W x 16.00" H x 10.50" D, 61 lb, threaded inserts pressed into the baffle on the published 11.614 inch bolt circle

Spec of record

Technical specifications

SeriesProline X Professional
Driver-Specific FitmentDayton Audio Reference RSS315HO Single 4 Ohm (RSS315HO-4 single 4 ohm or RSS315HO-44 dual 4 ohm)
Enclosure TypePorted | Front-Firing Standard Box
External Width42.00 Inches
External Height16.00 Inches
External Depth10.50 Inches
Internal Volume (Gross)2.49 Cubic Feet
Internal Volume (Net After Displacement)1.43 Cubic Feet
Port TypeVertical Slot Beside The Woofer | Front Exit | One 90 Degree Bend Along The Back Wall
Port Geometry2.00 x 14.50 Inches, 29.0 Square Inches, 40.35 Inches Of Path
Port Area29.0 Square Inches
Port Tuning (Fb)33.0 Hz
Port Mouth1/2 In Roundover On All Four Edges, 46.5 Square Inches At The Face
Port Air Velocity22.2 m/s In The Channel, 13.8 m/s At The Mouth, At 1680 W (17.0 m/s Chuff Threshold)
Design Power Basis1680 W RMS (1.2 x The Driver Rating) For Port Velocity And Excursion
Predicted F339.8 Hz (Anechoic)
Passband Ripple0.01 dB (Anechoic)
Subsonic Filter26 Hz High-Pass, 24 dB/Octave - REQUIRED On A Vented Enclosure
Driver Fs26.20 Hz
Driver Qts0.310
Driver Qes / Qms0.330 / 3.630
Driver Vas53.700 Liters / 1.896 Cubic Feet
Driver Sd514.7 Square Centimeters
Driver Mms251.00 g
Driver BL20.00
Driver Re3.2 Ohm
Driver Xmax12mm (One-Way)
Driver Displacement0.09 Cubic Feet (Published by Dayton Audio)
Driver Power Handling700 Watts RMS
Driver Overall Diameter12.362 Inches (Dayton Audio Spec)
Mounting Depth Required5.748 Inches (Dayton Audio Spec)
Cutout Diameter11.102 Inches (Dayton Audio Spec)
Flush Mount Recess13.375 Inches In The Outer Layer
MaterialLangboard Elite 3/4" MDF
ConstructionShopSabre CNC / Windowed Brace Front To Back Beside The Woofer
JoineryDado Joinery (CNC-Cut), Flat Panels
Front Baffle ConstructionThree 3/4" MDF layers, 2.25" total | Woofer Flush-Mounted In The Outer Layer
Baffle Layers3
AcrylicGlossy Black Dayton Audio Logo Insert, Outer Layer, Standard
Mounting HardwareThreaded Inserts On The Published 11.614 In Bolt Circle | Stainless Machine Screws Included
Voice Coil ConfigurationSingle 4 Ohm
Terminal CupProline X ABS/Carbon Fiber Composite | Back Panel, Terminal-Cup Side | 12g OFC Pre-Wired
DampingNone - Ships Dry. Polyfill Detunes A Ported Enclosure
Recommended Power489-700 Watts RMS (Dayton Audio Rated: 700W RMS)
Carpet FinishPlush Black
Shipping Weight68 lb
ShippingUPS Ground Parcel, Included In The 48 States
Bundle OptionsEnclosure Only (Bring Your Own Dayton Audio Reference RSS315HO)
Warranty2-Year Limited (Enclosure)
ManufacturedTullahoma, Tennessee, USA

Modelled response

Performance in this enclosure

Net airspace
1.43
cu ft
Tuning
33.0
Hz · Fb
Half power
39.8
Hz · F3, anechoic
Xmax at
5791
W RMS · 26 Hz subsonic
With NO filter
930
W RMS · unfiltered
Port
13.8
m/s at the mouth · 1680 W

01Is this driver right for a ported box?

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

EBP = Fs ÷ Qes = 79.4
SEALED 0–50 TRANSITION 50–100 PORTED 100–150 0 50 100 150 EBP 79.4
Dayton Audio RSS315HO-4 · EBP 79.4
Between 50 and 100 a driver takes either load, and the choice becomes one of priorities rather than of physics. The Dayton Audio RSS315HO-4 reads 79.4. Ported buys output and low-end reach around tuning; sealed buys a shallower rolloff below it. This cabinet takes the first trade.

02What the box does to it

1.43 cu ft net against a 107.4 L Vas, vented at 33.0 Hz.

Fb = 33.0 Hz  ·  F3 = 39.8 Hz  ·  passband ripple 0.01 dB
20 30 50 70 100 150 200 +4 0 −4 −8 −12 −16 −20 −24 −28 −32 FREQUENCY · Hz LEVEL · dB −3 dB Fb 33.0
Dayton Audio RSS315HO-4 · Fb 33.0 Hz, F3 39.8 Hz
Anechoic, before any cabin gain, with the 26 Hz subsonic filter already applied. The vent takes over below 33 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 RSS315HO-4 — 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 both cones exactly on Dayton's published 12.3 mm. The two traces are the same cabinet with the subsonic filter switched on and switched off. Every power figure in this section is for the pair, split evenly.

PXmax = 5791 W with a 26 Hz subsonic  ·  930 W with none  →  the filter is worth 6.2×
20 30 50 70 100 150 200 0 4 8 12 FREQUENCY · Hz CONE TRAVEL · mm PAST LINEAR TRAVEL · Xmax 12.3 mm 5791 W reaches Xmax here
5791 W · subsonic at 26 Hz, 24 dB/oct930 W · no subsonic filterXmax 12.3 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 12.3 mm. With a 26 Hz subsonic that takes 5791 W, reached first at 51 Hz. Take the filter away and the same cabinet reaches 12.3 mm on 930 W — the filter is worth 6.2× 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 930 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 1400 W RMS, and that is the number that binds first here: heat stops you before travel does, so treat 1400 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

I built this one for a pair of Reference RSS315HO in a single shared chamber, which is how a dual ported box should be built: one volume, one port, both drivers loading the same air.

It gets the full Professional treatment, a 2.25 inch three-layer baffle with both woofers flush mounted in the outer layer, and the port on the left of the face.

Wiring is where a dual bites you. A pair of RSS315HO-4 (one 4 ohm coil each) is 2 ohms in parallel or 8 ohms in series. A pair of RSS315HO-44 (two 4 ohm coils each) lands on 4 ohms with each woofer's coils in series and the woofers in parallel, or 1 ohm with everything in parallel if the amplifier is rated for it. Check what your amplifier is rated for before you wire it, not after.

It ships dry. Do not add polyfill to a ported box. Set your subsonic filter at 26 Hz.

Before you order

Questions

Why is this enclosure tuned to 33.0 Hz?

Both drivers share one chamber and one port rather than sitting in separate boxes, so the pair works against the whole volume and the port is sized for the pair rather than doubled. The port carries 29.0 square inches of area at 33.0 Hz, and the design power for the velocity and excursion checks is 1680 W for the pair. Passband ripple holds at 0.01 dB across the tuning, with F3 at 39.8 Hz. Tuning is chosen for in-car response rather than an anechoic curve: a vehicle adds roughly 12 dB per octave below about 45 Hz, and this tuning is where that sum comes out flattest across 25 to 60 Hz.

Why is this a Professional build and not a Performance Optimized box?

A single Reference RSS315HO also builds in the Performance Optimized ported wedge and ported down-fire, the smaller and cheaper single-driver boxes. A pair takes this Professional cabinet: one shared chamber on a 2.25 inch three-layer baffle with both woofers flush in the outer layer, and a slot port gated at 1680 W for the pair. It carries a 2 year warranty, against 1 year on the Performance Optimized lines.

Threaded inserts or a kit?

Threaded inserts pressed into the baffle on the published 11.614 inch bolt circle, stainless machine screws included. The inserts are in the baffle when it arrives; the machine screws are in the terminal cup bag.

Do I need a subsonic filter?

Yes, at 26 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 Reference RSS315HO at 54 percent of its usable travel at 1680 W.

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 Reference RSS315HO 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 26 Hz subsonic filter takes over; around 33.0 Hz the vent carries the load and cone travel drops to its minimum, which no sealed alignment can do.

How does the front port work?

It is a vertical slot beside the woofer, the full height of the cavity, 2.00 inches wide and 29.0 square inches. It runs 4.75 inches to the back wall and turns once along it for 29.85 inches; the fold costs about 1.5 Hz and the port is cut for it. The channel runs at 22.2 metres per second at 1680 W, 53 percent of its turbulence limit, and the mouth edges carry a 1/2 inch roundover so the air leaves the face at 13.8 metres per second against the 17 metres per second threshold where a slot starts to chuff.

What does the price cover, and how does it ship?

61 lb, 42.00" W x 16.00" H x 10.50" D external. Every Professional cabinet is priced the same way, by its size: this one is 4.08 cubic feet outside. Delivery to the 48 states is inside the price; it ships as a 61 lb parcel and checkout adds nothing. Do not add polyfill; it ships dry on purpose.

Is the Reference RSS315HO included?

No. This is an enclosure only, cut for the Dayton Audio Reference RSS315HO specifically: the 11.102 inch cutout, the 5.748 inch mounting depth allowance and the 1.43 cubic foot alignment all come from Dayton Audio's published parameters. It fits both Dayton versions. The pair is tuned on the RSS315HO-4 (single 4 ohm), F3 39.8 Hz; a pair of RSS315HO-44 (dual 4 ohm) was run through the same cabinet and lands at F3 35.0 Hz with 1.6 dB of ripple, each cone 6.4 of its 14 mm. Bring your own driver.

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