Dayton DSP-LF Preview

See the complete review for the Dayton DSP-LF.

Do you need a Dayton DSP-LF? Got a subwoofer? Want to make it sound like a $3,000 subwoofer for an extra $59.99? Yeah – really! So, how’s that work?

Dayton Audio DSP-LF Low-Frequency DSP Controller

Most subwoofers (and especially inexpensive ones) have a frequency response that looks like a hill. Rolled off at the low and high frequencies with a big bump in the middle. And that’s the response in a fancy anechoic chamber!

In your room, the thing sounds MUCH worse. Why? Because your room, to put it politely, is an echo chamber at bass frequencies. It’s not unusual for a typical listening room to have 20-decibel peaks and dips in the bass. Yeah – Really!

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The Dayton DSP-LF box is intended to fix that. It uses your cell phone as a microphone and will flatten the frequency response AT YOUR LISTENING POSITION by applying inverse echo information. No, it isn’t perfect, but it is versatile enough that you can tweak your subwoofer’s bass response to make for a much better listening experience.

If you’re already using an AV receiver, then the built-in room correction with the dedicated microphone will already do most of what the Dayton DSP-LF will do. But if you don’t have room correction, the Dayton DSP-LF adds it (and without affecting your main speakers at all).

Stay tuned for the full review!

See the complete review for the Dayton DSP-LF.

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Glenn Young

I learned to play the guitar in high school, hoping to persuade Berma Sanchez to date me, but alas, no such luck! In the late 1970s, a neighbor who was the station engineer for the local PBS network took me under his wing and taught me the electronics of audio reproduction. Throughout college, I used that knowledge to modify Dynaco vacuum tube equipment for friends. After graduation from LSU, I took a job in the chemical manufacturing industry, learning about industrial hygiene and the mechanics of hearing. In the 1990s I learned to write, initially as the newsletter editor for my local Safety Engineering chapter. In the early 2000s, I had my first book published (I’m now working on my third). A few years ago, the Secrets of Home Theater and High Fidelity website issued a call for authors. I responded and was excited to be selected. Over the years, I’ve published a number of equipment reviews and am honored, in 2019, to be given the title of “Senior Editor.” But none of the above offers the “why” of my interest in home audio. My musical tastes are highly diverse, and my love of music (acquired probably in the church choir of Grace Baptist Church) has been passed on to my daughter, who got her B.S. degree in music and her M.S. in violin performance and music education before being switching gears and then going on to graduate from Harvard Law. Although the majority of my extended group of friends and family prefer hobbies such as hunting, fishing, football games, etc., I’ve found that I still greatly enjoy time with my audio system and discovering new music. At some time in the fairly near future, my hearing will decline and I’ll no longer be able to listen analytically. But so long as my audiograms show acute hearing, I’ll keep doing what I enjoy best - listening to wonderful music and sharing my thoughts and impressions with like-minded friends.