Diatone P610 Clone

The original Diatone P610 is an unimposing little 6-inch industrial driver first made in the 1960s. It has a reputation in the hifi world as being one of the smoothest speakers ever built, and prices for original pairs have really gone up in recent years.

The pair pictured here are a re-invention, made in China, and how true to the original design they are I have no idea. I can tell you however, that these are truly great sounding small speaker drivers. With leather surrounds, ribbed cones and nicely solid frames, these little drivers are smooth, smooth, smooth, with good rich bass tones and crisp open highs. They replaced the Coral Holey Basket drivers in my living room setup after a move, and although I think the little Corals are just a bit better overall, in a ported box these little Diatone clones have bested many other drivers in one to one comparison in my new space. For the $150 or so that they currently cost new, I cant think of another new small driver I’d purchase instead.

Although I've used them exclusively in a bass reflex box, I've seen others online using these in open baffles and a variety of other cabinets of all sizes. As time permits I will try these in some other setups and expect them to perform beautifully. Highly recommended!

Update Summer 2020: I've owned these drivers for 6 years or so now and unbelievably have never in all that time tried them in my Telefunken cabinets, until now. These little Diatone clones really are performers! Big, bold images and a tone that is spot on. Bass is actually very full and rich too. Impressive. So much so that I've purchased a pair of 90’s Mitsubishi P610 50th Anniversary drivers to compare. Until then, and really regardless, these Chinese made clones are certainly worth your time if you are looking for a full range driver in this size. I’ve seen these for sale for less than $100. At that price these are simply untouchable!

These sound incredible in the big Telefunkens!