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

Recognizing member and contributor @audiokinesis for this award!!!

http://www.theabsolutesound.com/articles/2019-golden-ear-awards-robert-e-greene/
david_ten
millercarbon's avatar
millercarbon
12,531 posts
 
Right. Anyone willing to learn can do this with any sub woofers. Anyone willing to learn can also DIY their own, which is what I did. Which, as far as I can tell, almost no one does.

There seems to be hardly anyone who even acknowledges the superiority of the principles on which the Swarm, or distributed bass array, is based. So you take a lot for granted.

But to answer the question, what makes the Swarm so special is there's nothing else on the market quite like it. No other low bass solution comes anywhere close. In fact the only other system that is sold as a system turns out to also be designed by Duke! So yeah, pretty special.


contuzzi
413 posts
 
Again, what about the swarm is unique other than being sold four woofers and told to place them a certain way?  I’m genuinely trying to figure this out.

I have owned and set up multiple stereos with 4, 6, and 8 subs, so this isn’t exactly unfamiliar territory.
millercarbon's avatar
millercarbon
12,531 posts
 
Well first it was special, now its unique. The award and thread is for recognizing a quality product. I'll post the excerpt since you seem not to have read it:
"redefines the boundaries of the possible in my experience in correct reproduction of bass in small rooms. With suitable recordings, the listening room’s acoustic signature is effectively erased and replaced by that of the recorded acoustics. There is solid theory behind this, but the listening results speak for themselves."


What exactly are you trying to figure out, really?
contuzzi
413 posts
 
The fact that you’re getting all worked up about it answers my question.  So basically it’s just a package of four average sub woofers sold as a set with instructions on how to place them.

Cool.  
bdp24's avatar
bdp24
10,158 posts
 

@millercarbon, I believe @contussi feels that since one can buy and use 4 subs without necessarily needing to buy the Audiokinesis Swarm system, why is it being viewed as so remarkable? What he’s missing is that while a more advanced hobbiest may want to do it on his or her own, there are some more casual consumers who just want to spend their $3,000 on a finished, plug & play product, without needing to do any subwoofer designing him or herself.

Sure, a person can buy 4 good subs, amplification for them (if they are passive, unnecessary if they’re self-powered), and x/o’s for them (again, if passive. Most self-powered subs contain x/o’s). Or, one can buy the Audiokinesis system, where all that has been done for you. @contussi, what proponents of "swarm"-style sub systems are suggesting is that the $3,000 Audiokinesis (or similar) plug & play system will buy one better bass sound than will the same amount spent on a pair of subs.

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