Audio Kinesis Swarm Subwoofer Awarded 2019 Golden Ear Award by Robert E. Greene

Congrats on the award and the idea of applying sound theories and principals that resulted in a product that stretches the envelope of home audio performance.  
I have successfully integrated one and two subwoofer solutions into my system when the main speakers had a natural roll off (acoustic crossover)  that made for a near ideal low pass frequency relative to the subwoofers.  
However I was not so successful with a recent set of main speakers that had extended low frequency output to 20Hz from the transmission line port.  I used two high quality highly adjustable subs (via a remote app) and although 80% of music sounded great, the other 20% caused issues that I could not live with- blurring midrange and low quality bass definition being the most common.  
I probably would have had better luck if I filtered the main speakers but this is something I am not willing to do because of practical implications and personal preference / audio sensibilities.    
I am now on a new set of main speakers and although I love the bass, measurements show that it reaches a certain output and levels off while the rest of the frequency spectrum can get louder. 
I miss the louder bass with more impact as the volume increases.    
One option I have is to increase amplifier power.   This should work well.
Another option I have is to try again with subwoofers (which I am reluctant to do) 

Would the 4 sub array lend itself to better integration with main speakers that are near full range (avoiding bass quality and blurred midrange issues) without high passing them?   How?  

In my two-sub setups I found that I needed to adjust the phase or each individually for best integration.  
Why wouldn't I need to do this with the swarm system?  

Thanks.  

Avanti1960 wrote:

"I have successfully integrated one and two subwoofer solutions into my system when the main speakers had a natural roll off (acoustic crossover) that made for a near ideal low pass frequency relative to the subwoofers. However I was not so successful with a recent set of main speakers that had extended low frequency output to 20Hz from the transmission line port."

I’m not aware of anyone using a Swarm with main speakers that go down to 20 Hz. Overlapping that much with the mains wasn’t part of my game plan. What be inclined to I’d try is, reducing the output from the transmission line terminus (probably with open-cell foam) so that the subs can be turned up louder without making the low end too thick.

"I am now on a new set of main speakers and although I love the bass, measurements show that it reaches a certain output and levels off while the rest of the frequency spectrum can get louder. I miss the louder bass with more impact as the volume increases."

I’m not clear about what the issue is. Is the bass region compressing? Can you describe in more detail what the measurements show?

"Would the 4 sub array lend itself to better integration with main speakers that are near full range (avoiding bass quality and blurred midrange issues) without high passing them?"

So far we’ve been able to integrate well with unfiltered main speakers that go down as low as 30 Hz. Sometimes with overlap, sometimes not. Sometimes using the single band of parametric EQ and/or the phase control to reduce the amount of reinforcement in the region of overlap. "Blurred midrange" makes me think the subs were being rolled off too high and/or too shallow, and may have been too loud.

"In my two-sub setups I found that I needed to adjust the phase of each individually for best integration. Why wouldn’t I need to do this with the swarm system? "

I’m not an expert on optimizing two-sub setups, so I can’t thoroughly compare and contrast. But in general we want the in-room bass energy de-correlated for best results, and that includes for blending with the mains. You were introducing some de-correlation by having two subs instead of one, and some more via the different phase settings. The Swarm introduces a lot of decorrelation via the widely-spaced asymmetrical placement and reversing the polarity of one of the subs. Some Swarm systems use two amps, usually set 90 degees apart in phase.

I haven’t had anyone yet tell me that they can’t get a good blend between the Swarm and their mains, whether they are using one amp or two. I think the decorrelation that a distributed multi-sub system brings to the table help make that blend less problematic to achieve.

But you can certainly use multiple powered subs of your choosing and thereby be able to adjust phase and frequency and gain of each independently.

Duke

Can this work with passive subs and a powerful amp driving them in series. 

     Just wanted to add my hearty congratulations to Duke Lejeune and James Romeyn at Audio Kinesis.
     I purchased the Audio Kinesis Debra 4-sub distributed bass system (very similar to the AK Swarm system, using the same amp and 10" long-throw aluminum woofers, but with sub enclosures that are built locally in Utah and slightly different in shape and size than the Swarm's custom enclosures built locally in Austin, Tx.).  
     I bought mine new about 5 years ago for about $3K and I don't believe I can overstate how well this distributed bass array (DBA) concept and system has performed in my 16'x23'x8' room.  I still use the same Magnepan 2.7QR 3-way main speakers that are 6'x2'x2" dipole planar-magnetic panels that have a rated bass extension of 35 Hz.  
     I drive them with a pair of D-Sonic M3-600-M monoblocks rated at 1,200 watts into the 2.7's relatively stable 4 ohm impedance load.  On their own this resulted in very high quality, well integrated bass from the 2.7s but I was wanting more powerful and dynamic bass that could extend a bit deeper and be felt as well as heard.  
     I have a combination system that I use for 2-ch music and 5.1 surround HT.  I initially added a single older 15" M&K sub and later added a 12" Klipsch sub.  While these subs added more bass, I didn't consider it high quality bass because it was a bit lagging, slow, not very detailed and it wasn't well integrated with my main speakers, sounding somewhat disconnected.
     I was almost ready to give up on subs when Duke's AK associate, James Romeyn. convinced me to buy and try the Debra DBA system on a free 28-day home trial period. 
     It took me most of a Saturday for a buddy and I to properly position all 4 subs, route and hide the wiring in the crawl space below my living room and optimally adjust the volume, xover frequency and phase controls on the amp/controller.
     I can honestly state that the bass quality produced by the Debra 4-sub DBA system in my system and room has been nothing short of a revelation.  I consider the bass as very close to state of the art on both music and HT.  The bass is fast, detailed, smooth, powerful, dynamic and it seamlessly integrates  with the fast, smooth and detailed full-range sound quality of my main speakers.  
     Everything sounds like a well integrated complete whole with excellent bass response just naturally being added to the seemingly expanded and even more realistic soundstage; the bass sounds like it's originating from the proper instruments and voices within the soundstage.  This adds to the perception, on good recordings, of listening to music when listened to live and in person, with bass that is felt as well as heard and with the powerful and wide dynamics live instruments and voices are capable of.
     I believe the bass power, dynamics, speed, smoothness and overall bass quality produced by the Swarm, Debra or even a custom 4-sub DBA system are so good that they will seamlessly integrate with virtually any pair of main speakers and in any room.  
     Congratulations again on your extremely well deserved awards, Duke and James. I highly recommend the 4-sub DBA concept and system to anyone wanting sota bass response in their systems and rooms.  Since these systems will work seamlessly with any main speakers, you'll never need to buy another sub system again, even if you switch main speakers or use very fast planar-magnetic or electrostatic main speakers.  
     I've stated this many times before but it's the honest truth; I'm constantly surprised that more individuals don't know about how effective DBAs are and that more don't use one, especially members of a high quality audio site.

Tim
  
  
 
 
 
 
     
     

Hans asked:  "What are some ways you can suggest to position (suspend/hang?) the subs near the ceiling?" 

Thus far, to the best of my knowledge, all of the Swarm units that have ended up near the ceiling have been placed on the top of bookshelves or something similar.   I don't have any ideas for how to suspend subs from the ceiling... no GOOD ones, at least! 

Audiomaze wrote:  "Can this work with passive subs and a powerful amp driving them in series." 

Yes.  I use series-parallel connections for the four 4-ohm subs to present the amp with a 4 ohm load.  

Duke