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

I just wanted to make it known that, in addition to Jim Romeyn's DEBRA which differs from my Swarm in footprint (his is rectangular, mine is square), Vinh Vu of Ginko Audio offers a slimmer and trimmer Swarm-type system as part of his Sextet, which was introduced at Capital Audio Fest a couple of weeks ago: 

https://www.ginkgoaudio.com/2019/09/12/introducing-sextet-speaker-system/ 

Vinh is using two of the subs as speaker stands in that system, which works very well with his patented Arches resonance-control support system.  The Arches add stability without adding visual mass, as you can see at the link above, and can be used on a regular Swarm or Debra set as well, especially if two of them are going to double as speaker stands.  Jim and I will be offering the Arches as an option. 

Just for the record, I don't get a kick-back from Sextet subwoofer sales. Vinh paid me in Arches for my design work (it was a collaboration but I did the math with the same target curve in mind as for the Swarm and DEBRA). 

Duke

@noble100 - thanks so much for the detailed and thorough response. I think I got caught up in setting up each sub in a symmetrical manner, rather than optimizing the position using the crawl method. I also tried to set them up without the main speakers running, which negated the bass output from that they provided. I will follow your guidance and let you know how it goes :). Thanks again.

Chris

@c_morris999 +1

Agree 100%!  noble100 has always been very forthcoming with detailed and thorough explanations. I now understand the basics behind the major advantages afforded by the DBA concept.  

It really does make sense. 

millercarbon is another great resource as he has built his own DBA system from scratch and is also very knowledgeable.  Learned a lot from him as well.

My listening room is a small office 9 x 11 with no floor space to spare and there was no way I was going to practically fit in a sub (let alone four of them!).  It just would not work.  I did not place an order.

Then about a week ago I read a post earlier in this thread from Duke mentioning that 2 or 3 subs can be mounted up high facing the ceiling. 
  
I called Duke from AudioKinesis (who was very accommodating and patiently spent a lot of time on the phone with me answering all of my newbie questions while giving me a mini education in acoustics) and ordered the Swarm in black finish.

Duke also explained that in addition to saving floor space in a small room, ceiling facing subs help with the vertical plane (don't ask me to explain) in most room sizes.

Duke also mentioned that the two subs on the floor (one under each main speaker) can be placed facing any direction and not necessarily right up against a wall.  

Now I can have two subs up near the ceiling and the subs under each main speaker will not take up any additional floor space!!

He said I might want to experiment with just one ceiling facing sub, one sub under each main and the fourth sub under my desk.  Perfect for a foot rest with the benefit of one less shelf to mount up high on the wall.

Now that's versatility!! 

I will post results after setting things up. Would be interesting to compare setup notes/results with other Swarm/DEBRA/Custom DBA owners using them in small (or any size) rooms.

Hans

I went around my room today with one sub running a 30hz tone placed in the listening chair . I went around the room and identified all the hotspots with an iphone app like a spectrum analyzer. I like being able to reach around high and low to see actual numbers and readings.  Directly behind my seating area there is a wide  stairwell going downstairs .  I found a few 30hz hotspots down there. I put one sub there to try it . It really brought up the deepest bass impact without a ton of volume. Placing the sub as Tim suggests in the listening seat is a must . The whole  room is your subwoofer after. Its amazing what even one 10” is capable of with accurate room placement . I’m starting to think my dual 18” could have been more 10” instead . Although the nice part is i can dial them back and still achieve 20hz with authority.
 Been a very eye opening topic. 

@davekayc - Did you place the sub up on the listening chair itself or on the floor where the chair would be located? Interesting (and clever!) that placing a sub down the stairwell enhanced impact of the lower bass.