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I am intrigued by Audio Kinesis Swarm subwoofer solution.
http://www.audiokinesis.com/the-swarm-subwoofer-system-1.html
The idea is to use multiple small diameter subs to smooth out room response and maintain the "quickness" of small driver. I was thinking of "cloning" the idea using The cheap Dayton Audio 8" subs from Parts Express.
http://www.audiokinesis.com/the-swarm-subwoofer-system-1.html
For $400 bucks I can see buying four of them, spreading them around the room and keeping their individual gain quite low to minimize distortion due to cheapish drivers/cabinets. Thoughts?
Remember, it's all about the music.
Follow Ups:
First of all, I am honored that you think highly enough of my Swarm system to want to roll your own!"The idea is to use multiple small diameter subs to smooth out room response and maintain the "quickness" of small driver."
The first part is right on the money, but the "quickness" comes from the shape of the in-room response curve, not from the driver size.
A subwoofer in a normal-sized home listening room is a "minimum phase" system, which means that there is a direct correlation between the frequency domain and the time domain. Where there is a peak in the in-room frequency response, there will be ringing. When we fix those peaks, whether by using a distributed multi-sub system or EQ or aggressive bass trapping, we also fix the ringing. And vice-versa... the peaks and the ringing are just different manifestations of the same problem, so when we fix one, we fix the other.
A distributed multi-sub system is imo more effective than bass trapping alone and works over a wider listening area than EQ alone, but all three techniques can be combined.
A less obvious aspect of my Swarm system is the target response of the individual subwoofer modules. My target response is the approximate inverse of "typical" room gain, which is about 3 dB per octave across the bass region. So my subs gently roll off at about 3 dB per octave from 80 Hz on down, in anticipation of what boundary reinforcement will contribute. I have customers who report +/- 3 dB in-room down to 20 Hz or sometimes a little bit lower, WITHOUT any EQ (just the native response of the subs + acoustic adjustments), so my target response is arguably in the ballpark.
The "acoustic adjustments" mentioned above include the option of plugging the port on one or more of the Swarm modules, and/or reversing the polarity of one of the subs. Personally, I've found reversing the polarity of one of the subs to be beneficial every time I've tried it.
I doubt that an inexpensive 8" woofer will allow you to get a "room gain compensation" response like I described above, but you can still use port plugging and/or polarity reversal to get a better net in-room response. And finally, the reduced spatial variation in response of a distributed multi-sub system makes it an excellent candidate for adjusting the response via EQ. The kilowatt-ballpark Dayton amp that I use in the Swarm (part number 300-811) has a single band of parametric EQ, and I think its 230-watt ballpark little brother does too.
Duke
Me being a dealer makes you leery?? It gets worse... I'm a manufacturer too.
Edits: 07/14/16 07/14/16
Given the small price difference I'd go with 10 or 12 in sealed subs and a mini DSP ( the Swarm amp has EQ) to give you a parametric EQ for the subs. The swarm effect is not dependent on the small diameter sub, but exciting lots of different room nodes in a variety of locations to smooth out the response on average across the whole space.
BTW - My son's system has a 10 in Dayton sub. It is nice.
That being said I'm getting ready to get a Rythmic 15 in sealed sub. I've asked the Rythmic folks about buying two less expensive 12 in subs and a mini DSP or one 15. The recommended the 15. Price is about the same.
Thanks for the info! I have a DSPeaker Dual Core parametric digital EQ that I use to correct for bass nodes in the room. I also have a Marchand crossover so I can limit the subs to only the necessary lowest frequencies. I don't mind going to the 10" or even the 12". I just thought that it would be easier to place smaller subs.
Remember, it's all about the music.
Parts Express has two Reference Series subs (10" and 12") that will work in about 1 cu. ft. cabinet.
There is no beer in food, but there is food in beer.
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Small drivers aren't really fast in the bass. In fact bass itself isn't fast. Bass is long wavelengths changing slowly. What is thought of as fast is a well damped bass driver with minimal overhang. The problem with that is that it only sounds bassy when there really is bass meaning it doesn't sell well. But large 18" woofers can be well damped if properly designed. I live with tight 18" ones.
I do understand the physics and that 18s can be as, or more effective, as 8". However, if I am going to place 4 subwoofers it is much cheaper, and takes less space, to buy 8" drivers than 18". Also, the sum of 4 of them should allow them to go to reproduce lower frequencies than a single 8" sub.
Remember, it's all about the music.
I agree about spreading them out to minimize room resonance. But it's unlikely they'd go lower. All things being equal a good 18" will have a lower free air resonance than a good 10' allowing lower bass reach. Multiple 10' drivers doesn't change this.
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