Mcreyn wrote:
"If you were to use the AudioKinesis Swarm system, it uses a single amplifer for each subwoofer. My only concern with using the Audiokinesis would be if it would have enough output capability given the size of your room."
Thank you sir.
And thank you too millercarbon.
Given the size of dpal’s total space and its irregular shape, I would expect the bass to be quite good in there without needing four subs distributed asymmetrically around the room. A distributed multisub system makes a small room behave much more like a large room in the bass region, and dpal already has a large room!
So I don’t think a Swarm-like system would offer as much improvement over two bass sources as would be the case in considerably smaller rooms. When I have done custom systems for similar-sized rooms where aesthetics was a priority, I have just done two large subs.
Imo the sheer size of the dpal’s space calls for a LOT of air-moving capability in order to do low bass at high SPL, so I’d recommend two big subs over my four small ones.
(The Swarm was reviewed by Robert E. Greene of The Absolute Sound in April 2015, and the review is online, in case anyone is interested. It subsequently received several awards from the magazine over several years, most recently this summer, so apparently the concept has a good shelf life.)
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SoundLabs have been suggest a couple of times. Yes they would work very well; it MIGHT even make sense to go with two 90-degree panels per side arrayed to give coverage over 180 degrees, assuming that listening area off to one side is a high priority. But I’d have to do some math to see if that would really make sense.
Disclaimer: I’m a SoundLab dealer.
With MBLs or SoundLabs, I’d suggest diffusion of some sort on the wall behind the speakers so that the early reflections are smeared rather than being strong and distinct ("specular"). I would try to avoid using absorption there because absorption kills shorter wavelengths (high frequencies) more effectively than longer ones, and can thereby degrade the spectral balance of the reverberant field, and in such a large room the reverberant field will dominate the perceived tonal balance throughout most of the room. Both MBLs and SoundLabs do a very good job of creating a spectrally correct reverberant field.
Duke
