@millercarbon --
This is actually an excellent summation, if it weren't for the fact that a pair of subs can work wonders in a more limited number of seating areas. Really, why would you want smooth response most everywhere in the listening room when where you're seated is where you're seated, positioned most likely dead center in front of your main speakers and you're less than a goddamn convention of people? Yes yes, sans DSP and room treatment and what not and just close to an acoustical miracle left for you to savor relatively cheaply, but still; a pair of (not least bigger) subs can do great as well, and not only to the ears of some stubborn dumb asses that don't know any better. I have listened to DBA set-ups, not SWARM's per se but a variety of quad sub systems of greatly different sizes all from 8" DR woofers to 15"-loaded horn subs systems. By far the latter was the best, indeed some of if not the best I've ever heard/felt, but without a shred of a doubt I preferred dual sub set-ups with 2 x 18" ported DR woofers and even more so 15"-loaded tapped horns (from the pro arena), both placed symmetrically to the mains and crossed no lower than 80Hz, compared to asymmetrically placed DBA's with up to 12" DR sealed woofers and crossed somewhat lower.
I, indeed we don't know any better? Excuse me, but that would be plain arrogant, or, better yet: ignorant to presume. You're placing yourself on top of a pedestal taking a piss at what you haven't experienced, or if you have it wasn't your cup of tea (to each their own, perhaps?) - fair enough. However, this never gets through, and instead it's the same condescending diatribe again and again against anytime other or LESS (to your mind) than a DBA.
You guys love selling the DBA approach, but if bass quality and integration is anything to go by it seems I should be even more prolific with the traits of a pair of big, efficient, symmetrically placed and crossed-no-lower-than-80Hz subs. That's something to savor as well, but the same could, to a perhaps even higher degree than the audiophile resilience to DBA, be leveled: who cares?
Let's be clear: what you're getting at is, essentially, spot on. The physics part of subs integration with a DBA gets annoyingly in the way of the audiophile snooty approach that loves what's more expensive is also necessarily better. It's hilarious as it is sad.
... since we all know no one or two subs can ever touch a DBA, then not only do the high-end dealers make money selling you the one sub that can’t work, they get to sell you another. And another. And another. And EQ. And more amps. And room treatments.
There’s simply way more money to be made selling audiophiles things that don’t work than things that do.
Especially if they first sell you on a good story. Which since you already know DBA works, and yet is not widely adopted, then you know how good they are at selling audiophiles on stories.
And that’s the real answer to your question. Why would anyone buy a sub? They don’t. They buy a story.
This is actually an excellent summation, if it weren't for the fact that a pair of subs can work wonders in a more limited number of seating areas. Really, why would you want smooth response most everywhere in the listening room when where you're seated is where you're seated, positioned most likely dead center in front of your main speakers and you're less than a goddamn convention of people? Yes yes, sans DSP and room treatment and what not and just close to an acoustical miracle left for you to savor relatively cheaply, but still; a pair of (not least bigger) subs can do great as well, and not only to the ears of some stubborn dumb asses that don't know any better. I have listened to DBA set-ups, not SWARM's per se but a variety of quad sub systems of greatly different sizes all from 8" DR woofers to 15"-loaded horn subs systems. By far the latter was the best, indeed some of if not the best I've ever heard/felt, but without a shred of a doubt I preferred dual sub set-ups with 2 x 18" ported DR woofers and even more so 15"-loaded tapped horns (from the pro arena), both placed symmetrically to the mains and crossed no lower than 80Hz, compared to asymmetrically placed DBA's with up to 12" DR sealed woofers and crossed somewhat lower.
I, indeed we don't know any better? Excuse me, but that would be plain arrogant, or, better yet: ignorant to presume. You're placing yourself on top of a pedestal taking a piss at what you haven't experienced, or if you have it wasn't your cup of tea (to each their own, perhaps?) - fair enough. However, this never gets through, and instead it's the same condescending diatribe again and again against anytime other or LESS (to your mind) than a DBA.
You guys love selling the DBA approach, but if bass quality and integration is anything to go by it seems I should be even more prolific with the traits of a pair of big, efficient, symmetrically placed and crossed-no-lower-than-80Hz subs. That's something to savor as well, but the same could, to a perhaps even higher degree than the audiophile resilience to DBA, be leveled: who cares?
Let's be clear: what you're getting at is, essentially, spot on. The physics part of subs integration with a DBA gets annoyingly in the way of the audiophile snooty approach that loves what's more expensive is also necessarily better. It's hilarious as it is sad.