Multiple Small Subs - Geddes Approach

[audiokinesis]

"Psychologically-optimized hypertext speakers"

Now wouldn't you want to read the ad copy that followed just to see what the heck it was talking about?

[ro9397]

I am so happy to see Duke chime in (in) this thread! Blessings galore to my audio hero.

Duke's sub is the best I've heard at making small (meaning domestic) sized rooms reproduce the bass range w/ the same quality as that of bass reproduced in large (meaning commercial) sized rooms. In that regard it has no known equal. IMHO, once a listener becomes familar w/ this quality it is indispensable.

To become familiar w/ this quality takes only a visit to a commercial space w/ live or moderately flat response reproduced bass. Listen carefully to the bass, how invisibly it blends w/ the rest of the music, how the bass & higher range are in the same musical plane, the bass' effortless dynamic quality, & it's "elastic" quality (elastic in a good way). Immediately go home, not listening to any other music & minimal conversation during the trip, then listen to music at home & compare the bass to what you just heard. The bass will likely sound disconnected & synthetic vs. the rest of the spectrum, like the bass is in a different dimension. It may loose its limitless dynamic & "elastic" quality.

The quality described above more frequently is lacking than any other quality in domestic reproduction systems/rooms. IMO this defect is the single largest impediment to sustaining belief. In moderately OK systems this bass quality makes more difference than any component or speaker swap. It's that big a deal.

Unfortunately most audiofiles usually tend to this last, would rather swap components &/or speakers, or concern themselves w/ bass power &/or getting a few Hz lower cutoff. I pity them. I was them.

The second if not equally great feature about Duke's SWARM is its ability to flatten room modes, performing in this regard better than any digital EQ w/ which I'm familiar. In my current room the modes are so awful that performance is more pleasant minus a normal or EQ'd sub system, prefering the .5cf internal volume standmount monitors alone. W/ a four sub array setup as per Duke's SWARM the modes are close to inaudible.

Once the above two performance upgrades are experienced they would be welcomed for the perceived inconvenience of siting four 1cf subs near walls.

[audiokinesis]

Thank you, Jim.

Any success of my Swarm system is an index of how close it comes to approaching Earl's model.

Duke

[gedlee]

I was going to say that the author hasn't had the priveledge of hearing my setup, which is also highly acclaimed. Duke's is a logical approach for a cost effective, lower power system, but I'd doubt that it could compete with mine on high output situations like film.

[audiokinesis]

Earl, it might be worth your while to make contact with Robert Greene. I spoke of your work to him so I'm sure he's aware of you.

He's in the upper level of the mathematics department at UCLA, last I heard working on a follow-up to string theory, so obviously he can think in non-Euclidean dimensionality. He turned down an offer to head Tulane University's math department to take that position. He's also an accomplished professional musician; among other things he was Russell Crowe's violin instructor for the latter's role in Master and Commander. Not only does he have a serious scientific background, but he is a big believer in radiation pattern control AND and he obviously doesn't mind giving recognition to small companies that neither advertise in his magazine's pages nor sell through dealers.

My point being, he's definitely not your average reviewer.

Here's his website:

http://www.regonaudio.com/

[Brett]

It's not often that I get to say this about someone in audio, but you're a class act Duke. You get a compliment upon the performance of your design and pass on much of that to the theorist who inspired you.

Thanks also (belatedly) for a response to an email some months ago on design. Though I eventually went with something else, I got some ideas from you that helped in my experiments.

[Norris Wilson]

Hi Duke,

I second Brett's sentiment. It is obvious that you are very passionate about everything audio. And it is reflected in your helpful post across many forums.

Also, I would like to thank you for all of the free advice and guidance that you have given me over the past few years.

Hope to see you at LSAF 2010.

Norris

[audiokinesis]

Thank you, Brett and Norris. But if anything I've given Earl less credit than he deserves. Most of what I do can be easily traced back to something I learned from him, even though chances are none of my specific choices are ones he would have made.

Duke

[gedlee]

And a "class act" gives "credit where credit is due". A rare attribute in audio. Thanks Duke.

[Patrick Bateman]

Originally posted by Patrick Bateman
I'm really happy with the use of multiple subs. I started with three, and ramped it up to eight, mostly because my mains are so efficient. I am personally using a bunch of DIY subs, but it would be a lot less hassle to just go and buy a bunch of them.

If anyone reading this thread wants to give this a whirl, and do it cheaply, this might be an opportunity to do so.

Newegg has a $250 Polk subwoofer marked down to $100 at the moment. At that price, it's hard to go wrong. Try it out for a few weeks, and if you don't like the sound, go sell them on Craigslist. I wouldn't be surprised if you could RE-sell them for more than $100 each. They are currently $200/each at Crutchfield, and $150/each at buy.com. It's hard to find a plate amp for under $100, much less a finished sub.



Here's the manual:
http://www.polkaudio.com/downloads/m..._12_Manual.pdf

Here's the sub:
Polk PSW10

The promo code to get it for $100 is EMCLNLP28.

Ecost has a Boston Acoustics 10" subwoofer for $95 at the moment. Amazon sells it for $400. It has a 250 watt plate amp with a crossover. For some reason the 150 watt model costs more, I have no idea why. You can get the PDF manual for both off the Boston Acoustics website.

It's a refurb, but I've had good luck with this vendor. Purchased two TVs from them and they've been running great for a year now.

http://www.ecost.com/Detail/Speakers...avid=155442295