Note: measurements taken in the anechoic chamber at Canada's National Research Council can be found through this link.
What could anyone possibly expect from a pair of bookshelf speakers that you can buy on sale for a mere $69.98 per pair (all prices in USD)? “Not much,” you’re probably thinking. After spending time with a pair of Dayton Audio Classic B65 bookshelf speakers, I’d have to disagree.
Dayton Audio’s specialty has always been speakers, both raw drivers and finished systems. Recently, the company added two new lines of speakers.
At the high end of Dayton Audio’s speaker lineup is the Opal1 ($799/pair) bookshelf speaker, which features a 5.5″ midrange-woofer and 1.1″ silk dome tweeter, with a pair of passive radiators on the back. I hope to arrange a pair for review in the near future.
At the opposite end of the scale is Dayton Audio’s Classic Collection, which comprises four models. Their vinyl-clad cabinets evoke speakers of 50 or 60 years ago; black and “wood” finishes are available. All models employ a 1″ silk-dome tweeter. The dainty B40 mates that dome tweeter with a 4″ midrange-woofer ($79.99/pair). The aforementioned B65 ($119.99/pair), a more robust model, is equipped with a 6.5″ woofer. The T65 tower ($279.99/pair) features dual 6.5″ woofers; and the C40 center-channel speaker ($64.99) sports dual 4″ midrange-woofers.
The amounts listed above are the suggested retail prices. But the B65s are available from Parts Express, Dayton Audio’s parent company, and on Amazon, for $69.98/pair; in Europe they’re sold by the Netherlands’ Sound Imports (soundimports.eu) for €89.95. I was curious enough to buy a pair of B65s—at 70 bucks, what did I have to lose?
Description
I purchased the “wood” units, which looked very attractive in my listening room. The off-white grilles (removable, but not easily, so I left them on for listening) reminded me of Acoustic Research speakers from the 1960s. The black units have black grille cloths.
Measuring 13″H × 7.8″W × 6.7″D, the B65 is pretty small, and weighs a mere six pounds. Peering at the speaker from the back, the side panels appear to be just over ¼″ thick. The speaker cabinet employs an acoustic suspension design. While this means sensitivity and/or bass output will be lower than with a ported design, this design provides more flexibility in speaker placement than with a rear-ported unit, because the speaker can be placed very close to a wall—or right on it. Each speaker has a keyhole bracket on the back for wall mounting.
Specified sensitivity is a lowish 85dB/2.83V/1m. Dayton Audio says “potential output” is 98dB, which should be plenty loud for most people. The stated frequency range is 55Hz to 20kHz; no deviation spec is provided. The 6.5″ bass-midrange driver crosses over to the silk-dome tweeter at 4kHz, which is rather high for a two-way speaker, particularly one with such a large bass-midrange driver.
Dayton’s Classic Collection speakers were designed in Ohio but are built in China. All models are covered by a five-year limited warranty, with service handled primarily at the company’s Springboro, OH, headquarters.
Unpacking and setup
The B65s come double boxed, so it’s unlikely they would be damaged in transit, even if the delivery people decided to kick them around. Inside the inner box, the speakers themselves are packed in plastic bags and held in place, away from the box surface, by heavy polystyrene forms. Inside the packing box is a plastic bag with lengths of 18-gauge speaker wire, rubber feet for each speaker, a fairly thorough owner’s guide, and a small booklet showcasing other Dayton Audio components. It’s simple to relieve the speakers of their plastic coverings and set them down, connect them to your amplifier, and start listening.
The B65s took the place of the PSB Alpha B1s as the secondary speakers in my setup. I mounted the B65s on my Dayton Audio 24″ sand-filled stands about 6′ apart and about 6.5′ from my chair. After some adjustment of their position on the stands, I determined they sounded best to my ear with enough toe-in for the sound to come together just behind my head. This resulted in more precise imaging.
The speakers were driven by my NAD C 275BEE power amplifier, which, in turn, was connected to my Apt Corporation Holman preamplifier. The analog source was my Music Hall Stealth turntable and Ortofon 2M Blue cartridge. Digital sources were a Cambridge Audio Azur 650C CD player and a Dell Precision 3630 PC running JRiver Media Center 30, and feeding an iFi Audio Zen DAC.
Listening
Dayton Audio recommends breaking the B65s in for 30 to 40 hours before serious listening, and that reflects my experience with these little speakers. At first, low frequencies were weak and high frequencies sounded harsh, but the harshness abated as the B65s broke in. The more I listened to the B65s, the more I enjoyed their sound.
Playing sine-wave test tones through the B65s confirmed that Dayton Audio’s claim about the speakers’ bass response is rather optimistic. Output at 80Hz was very close to 100Hz and the 1kHz reference, but the 63Hz was barely discernible—which one would not expect, given the specified response of 55Hz–20kHz. Predictably, bass output was greatly aided by the addition of a subwoofer. I found my Vera-Fi Vanguard Caldera 10 a most satisfactory companion for the B65s. However, for most of my listening, I used the B65s without the sub.
I also played three bands of 1/3-octave warble tones—bass (descending from 200 to 20Hz), midrange (rising from 250Hz to 2kHz), and treble (from 2.5 to 20kHz)—to see if I could discern any significant cabinet resonance. I was impressed to find that there was none that I could hear.
I’m a big fan of French romantic and impressionist orchestral music, such as Claude Debussy’s Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune. One of my favorite versions is a live recording from 1972 with Leopold Stokowski conducting the London Symphony Orchestra (LP, Leopold Stokowski Sixtieth Anniversary Concert, London SPC 21090). The flute plays a primary role in the piece, and I was impressed at the clarity and timbre of its tone as reproduced by the B65s. The soundstage was not the broadest I’ve experienced on this piece, but the depth offered was excellent, with the rest of the orchestra somewhat behind the flute and oboe. The strings sounded lush, as befits a Stokowski performance. However, the piece demonstrated the B65s’ need for some bass reinforcement, as the low strings were pretty much missing in action.
In “101 Eastbound” from Fourplay’s eponymous 1991 album (CD, Warner Bros. 9 26656-2), the drumbeat plays a very significant role. Through the B65s, the snare beats had fast, clear transients, but the hollow sound of the drum body made it seem as if the band was playing in a large, poorly insulated studio. Nathan East’s five-string electric bass was discernible, but was well below the level of the other instruments. But as with Harvey Mason’s drum beats, East’s staccato notes had great timing. The guitar and keyboards sounded realistic, with little coloration. In all, it was a creditable performance.
Maureen McGovern is probably best known for singing the theme songs of various disaster flicks from the 1970s, and as the singing nun in the movie Airplane!. Her 1992 compilation album Baby I’m Yours (CD, RCA Victor 09026-60943-2) has one song in particular that shows off her abilities: “Anyone Who Had a Heart,” which was a hit for Dionne Warwick in the ’60s. McGovern performs this the way it was meant to be: as a jilted lover who can’t understand why her man doesn’t love her back. The background is primarily a natural-sounding piano playing a Bach-like set of runs, and strings that were beautifully massed on the B65s. The pain in McGovern’s voice grows as the song progresses and the loud passages come through as pleading. The B65s really liked her voice, separating it clearly from the accompaniment, which was broad and fairly deep. I find it difficult to listen to McGovern deliver the last three words, “Why . . . won’t . . . you?,” and not get a lump in my throat. On this track, as on the others, I would have liked to hear deeper, more powerful bass from the B65s, but overall, I was very impressed with their performance.
One of Frank Sinatra’s most masterful performances was “Witchcraft” (CD, Classic Sinatra: His Great Performances, 1953–1960, Capitol CDP 5 23502 2), arranged and conducted by Nelson Riddle. Through the B65s, I noticed some hollowness in Sinatra’s voice, as if he had been recorded at some distance from the microphone. I believe this was an artifact of the B65’s light build: thin walls and, quite possibly, not enough internal damping or bracing. It wasn’t annoying, but having heard the song hundreds of times in my life, it just didn’t sound quite right. The trumpets were really out front, more than I remember on other speakers.
The 1960s and ’70s produced a lot of supergroups—think Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young; Cream; and Blind Faith—but the ’80s had one as well: the Traveling Wilburys, a group that included Bob Dylan, George Harrison, Jeff Lynne, Roy Orbison, and Tom Petty. The tune “Handle with Care” from their first album, The Traveling Wilburys Volume 1 (CD, Wilbury Records 9 25796-2), was revealing. Listening to this song was the first time I heard any sibilance from the B65s, and it was brief in duration, indicating to me that the B65 has a pretty sweet-sounding tweeter. The soundstage was broad and fairly deep. The singers were well out front and ranged fully from left to right. The five singers’ voices sounded very realistic and were mostly quite enjoyable.
During louder passages of Toto’s “Rosanna” (LP, Toto IV, Columbia FC 37728), the B65s showed some strain, but not to the point of breaking up. The soundstage was frankly outstanding—broad, with the instruments and keyboards clearly delineated from left to right. But the vocals were somewhat too prominent in the midrange, which was especially noticeable given the B65s’ weak bass. I could not resist adding my subwoofer, with the level control at the eight o’clock position and the low-pass filter at about 70Hz. This made the sound much more realistic.
Comparison
I compared the B65s with my PSB Alpha B1 bookshelf speakers (discontinued, $279/pair when available), a classic design from the mid-aughts that combines a 5.25″ polypropylene midrange-woofer and 0.75″ aluminum-dome tweeter. I did not use my Vera-Fi subwoofer for this comparison.
“Four Brothers” from The Best of The Manhattan Transfer (LP, Atlantic SD 19319) offers a real test of the speed with which a speaker responds, as the lyrics go by at the speed of a Concorde jet. If you can understand more than half of the lyrics, the speaker is pretty good. The Alpha B1s were very neutral, as you’d expect from one of Paul Barton’s designs. The soundstage was wide, with decent depth. The backing band was very tight and full-bodied in sound. Nearly all of the words were intelligible. There was not a lot of bass, as is to be expected from a speaker whose specified response is down 10dB at 55Hz. But what there was came through solidly—pretty good sound from these pups.
The B65s highlighted the midrange more, especially the two male voices and that of alto Janis Siegel. The band’s sound was just as tight as on the Alphas and actually offered slightly more bass output. The B65s were not quite as neutral as the PSBs, but their sound was still pleasant and quite dynamic. As with the Alphas, the vast majority of the lyrics were intelligible. The only potential con in this comparison is that they are significantly less efficient than the PSB Alphas.
Conclusion
So, what can you expect from a $70 pair of speakers? From the B65s, darned decent sound. Are they the most neutral speakers on the market? No, but they aren’t so colored that they ruin the audio experience. Are they an endgame purchase? Not a chance. But they can put out nice-sounding tunes and are more attractive than many other speakers that cost twice as much, or more. Granted, the amplifier I used with the Dayton bookshelves is rated at 150Wpc. Would they perform as well with that little 15Wpc receiver you have out in the workshop? No way. But if you’re thinking of setting up a second system in a bedroom, den, or office, or want something for a teenager’s room, do not overlook the Dayton Audio B65s. This dandy little pair of speakers is among the most amazing values of the era!
. . . Thom Moon
thom@soundstagenetwork.com
Associated Equipment
- Speakers: PSB Alpha B1, Vera-Fi Vanguard Caldera 10 subwoofer
- Power Amplifier: NAD C 275BEE
- Preamplifier: Apt Corporation Holman
- Analog source: Music Hall Stealth turntable with Ortofon 2M Blue cartridge
- Digital sources: Cambridge Audio Azur 650C CD player; Dell Precision 3630 desktop with i5-8600 processor, 16GB of RAM, 2GB solid-state hard drive and CD/DVD drive, running Windows 10 and JRiver Music Center 30 to feed an iFi Audio Zen DAC
- Interconnects: Manufacturer-supplied for turntable and computer to DAC; Linn Silver on CD player; Dayton Audio analog from DAC to preamplifier; Morrow Audio MA1 analog from preamplifier to power amplifier
- Speaker cables: Audtek 14-gauge OFC cable terminated in banana plugs
Dayton Audio Classic B65 loudspeaker
Price: $119.99/pair, available at time of writing for $69.98/pair
Warranty: Five years, parts and labor
Dayton Audio
705 Pleasant Valley Drive
Springboro, OH 45066
Phone: (937) 743-8248
Website: www.daytonaudio.com
