I will be changing the format of the Swarm subwoofer modules in the next couple of months, so I'm having a sale on Swarm systems that use the original format subwoofer modules.
For those not familiar with the Swarm, it's a four-piece subwoofer system intended to give smooth in-room response by spreading the low frequency sources around the room. A single amplifier powers the four small subs. The subwoofer modules are vented but tuned low, so that below 100 Hz they gently roll off at about 3 dB per octave down to 25 Hz, and then roll off more rapidly. This 3 dB per octave rolloff is the inverse of typical low-frequency room gain, which most subwoofer systems to not take into account so they end up sounding thicker and heavier than they should. My target market is Maggie and Quad owners, so I "voiced" them accordingly. These are not home theater subs - you can get much more boom for your buck elsewhere.
Okay enough blah blah. Let's look at the pretty pictures:
Above is a shot of a single Swarm subwoofer module. The idea is to face the side that the drivers and port are on away from where you could normally see them, so that it looks pretty - like this. I shot it angled like this so you could get a better three-dimensional view. All surfaces are veneered.
Here we see four Swarm modules side-by-side. This is NOT the way I recommend setting them up - they are supposed to be spread around the room, symmetrically if you're a disciple of Welti, or asymmetrically if you're a disciple of Geddes, or however you need to if SWMBO is calling the shots. Since I'm a disciple of Geddes, I'll quote him on the subject:
"Typical [rooms] have uneven low frequency response. The modal response of rooms at low frequencies causes large peaks and dips in the overall response of a system. EQ is not effective in eliminating these response anomalies.... By using multiple subs distributed around the room, low frequency response can be smoothed out. Placing multiple subs in multiple locations, each sub will excite the room’s modes in a different way. While the response of each would still have the anomalies suggested above, the total combined response is much smoother than any of the individual responses. In essence, they balance each other out, resulting in a much smoother overall response."
Okay, above we see the other side of the four Swarm modules. The outer two will go farthest from the amplifier, and the inner two go closest. The connection goes from the amplifier to the upper set of input terminals (the set nearest the woofer) on the inner two subwoofer modules, and then from the lower set of terminals (nearest the port) out to the single set of terminals on each of the outer two subwoofer modules. Note that two of them have the woofer up and the port down, and the other two vice-versa.
And there you have the wiring pattern shown, along with the rack-mount 1,000 watt subwoofer amplifier that drives them. The wiring is actually series-parallel for the subwoofers; each side of the room gets two 4-ohm woofers in series, and then the two sides are driven in parallel.
Finally, two of the four Swarm subwoofer modules in action, on the left-hand side of the room. The main speaker is a Maggie MMG that has been hot-rodded, or "Gunned", by Peter Gunn of Magnestand. Note that their distances from the room boundaries are staggered in the horizontal plane - one is close to one wall but far from the other, and the vice versa. The unseen two on the right are placed sort of similarly, but not identically. Also, note that they really don't intrude on the usable living area very much if at all.
Dimensions of the Swarm modules are 20.5 inches tall by 9 inches wide by 15 inches deep, and they weigh 29 pounds each.
The amplifier is rated at 1000 watts into 4 ohms, which is actually a bit more power than the woofers are rated for but there are no lower-powered rack-mount amps with the suite of features that I want (4th order crossover, single band of parametric EQ). The woofers are rated at 600 watts total. This setup will keep up with a pair of Maggie 3.6's driven by 400 watts per channel.
Normal price for the Swarm is $1700. The format is changing to an 11" square tower roughly 21 inches tall, and I'm going with a higher power handling woofer, so we will be able to keep up with a pair of Maggie 3.6's driven by about 600 to 800 watts per channel. The price will of course go up, but hopefully not north of two grand.
I am offering my remaining stock of rectangular format Swarm modules, like you see in the photos here, for $1275 for the set (plus shipping). This is 25% off. I have sets available in oak like you see, and also ash which is a very light-colored wood.
If you do not need the big amplifier, and can do without the parametric EQ, I can offer the Swarm for $1100 but with a 240-watt plate amp. You'll have to decide where to put the plate amp, as it won't come with a matching wooden box like my original few sets did (the cost of that stupid matching wooden box was as much as one of the subwoofer enclosures). This plate amp does have the 4th order low-pass filter
Finally, if you have your own amp and crossover, I can offer you a set of the four Swarm subwoofer modules for $1000.
Now one final comment on amplification. The 240 watt plate amp has both line-level and speaker-level inputs, but the 1000-watt rack-mount amp only has line-level inputs. You can purchase a speaker-level input converter for $69 from a company called "Audio Magus", here's the link:
http://www.audio-magus.com/SubLine_Subwoofer_Connector_p/slv2.htmFeel free to post questions here or PM me or e-mail me as you see fit, audiokinesis at yahoo dot com.
Duke
