Before the Swarm there was the one Talon Roc subwoofer. That came out, intending to sell, when the DBA went in. But too busy to sell it was just sitting there in another room. One thing I've definitely learned about bass: the more sources the better!
So curious, the Roc went back in. Stuck right in a corner. Crossover turned as low as it would go. 50 Hz, higher than ideal since we are at this point down to that lowest octave. But whatever. Give er a go.
Which honestly, wasn't expecting much at all. My biggest let down with this sub was always that no matter what or where it went it just wouldn't go real low. Always blamed the sub. So if it was incapable of really low bass then how's it gonna be any different now?
Well part of it may be the way we hear bass. Duke has said many times we perceive bass volume a lot different than higher frequencies. So even a little more (measured) can sound like a lot more (perceived). Part of it may also be a sort of reinforcement effect with the Swarm. Which ultimately that comes back to the first reason. I don't think its location, since I tried one of the DBA subs in the same spot.
Anyway, whatever the why, the result is clear. The sound with the 5th sub is sublime!
Tim's room is almost identical to mine. About 1 foot difference each way. His set up and listening position however is completely different. I've checked his in mine and its no wonder he raves the way he does. In my room however, with my locations, the sweet spot is just about the biggest bass null in the whole room. Its sweet because the bass there is super tight and clean, but a bummer because its hard to get enough.
Until now. The 5th sub has solved that problem! Before, with "just" the 4 DBA subs it wasn't possible to get this much really low bass without sometimes driving the Daytons to clipping. Now though with the Roc filling in that last little bit the Daytons get a break and its awesome.
Again, same as with the others, its impossible to localize the sub. Bass "imaging" is at least as good as ever. Best of all, there is definitely an increased sense of the walls disappearing and being in a much bigger space.
So curious, the Roc went back in. Stuck right in a corner. Crossover turned as low as it would go. 50 Hz, higher than ideal since we are at this point down to that lowest octave. But whatever. Give er a go.
Which honestly, wasn't expecting much at all. My biggest let down with this sub was always that no matter what or where it went it just wouldn't go real low. Always blamed the sub. So if it was incapable of really low bass then how's it gonna be any different now?
Well part of it may be the way we hear bass. Duke has said many times we perceive bass volume a lot different than higher frequencies. So even a little more (measured) can sound like a lot more (perceived). Part of it may also be a sort of reinforcement effect with the Swarm. Which ultimately that comes back to the first reason. I don't think its location, since I tried one of the DBA subs in the same spot.
Anyway, whatever the why, the result is clear. The sound with the 5th sub is sublime!
Tim's room is almost identical to mine. About 1 foot difference each way. His set up and listening position however is completely different. I've checked his in mine and its no wonder he raves the way he does. In my room however, with my locations, the sweet spot is just about the biggest bass null in the whole room. Its sweet because the bass there is super tight and clean, but a bummer because its hard to get enough.
Until now. The 5th sub has solved that problem! Before, with "just" the 4 DBA subs it wasn't possible to get this much really low bass without sometimes driving the Daytons to clipping. Now though with the Roc filling in that last little bit the Daytons get a break and its awesome.
Again, same as with the others, its impossible to localize the sub. Bass "imaging" is at least as good as ever. Best of all, there is definitely an increased sense of the walls disappearing and being in a much bigger space.