Hello Hans/hleeid,
Congratulations and welcome to the 4-sub DBA club! The AK Swarm and 4-sub DBA concept works so incredibly well that it almost seems like magic, especially how it works in virtually any room and with any pair of main speakers. Of course it’s actually the opposite of magic, since the whole concept is based on physics, scientifically proven acoustic principles and has been consistently empirically validated. Anecdotally, I had never heard of an instance of the 4-sub Swarm or custom DBA system not working in a room or system until the owner of Audio Kinesis, Duke Lejeune, stated he had encountered a couple of rooms in which the system initially did not work successfully.. But he stated he was able to make both of these systems function properly after specific minor adjustments.
Your room was a good test of the concept since your room had insufficient floor space to accommodate the 4 relatively small Swarm subs. But Duke was even able to make the concept work in your floor space challenged room by suggesting you raise 3 of the 4 subs well above the floor,
Kudos to Duke for knowing of and suggesting such a unique and effective solution. And kudos to you, Hans, for having the good sense to research the concept and having the curiosity as well as the spirit of adventure to give it a try. Your reactions to how amazingly well this concept works reminds me of my own reactions when I first experienced the bass results and seamless integration with my main speakers in my room over 5 years ago; a combination of disbelief, relief, excitement and audio bliss. Very satisfying and I can attest that these feelings are enduring.
As to the questions concerning bass traps and room treatments, I initially had none in my room and just recently installed Stacked GiK bass traps (called TriTraps) in all 4 corners as well as a balance of GIK absorption and diffusion panels scattered about my room. With the added room treatments and bass traps, my perceptions are that the bass sounds equally as excellent but the midrange, treble and imaging sounding more detailed while at the same time sounding more relaxed, realistic and natural. My opinion is that the 4-sub DBA concept’s bass response will not be negatively affected by the use of bass traps or room treatments in my room, ymmv.
Congrats and enjoy,
Tim
