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Re: Sub demo protocol

Quick suggestions:

• Move around alot during the demo. modal behaviors in rooms are spatially localized, so you'll get tricked staying in one spot.
• Pay attention to 90Hz in any and all subs. Experience tells me the relative amount in the vicinity of 90Hz in a sub will define its "punchiness". Balancing 90Hz when comparing subs goes a long way to leveling the "punchiness" field. It is also a useful cheat in system tuning to punch up whatever is installed.
• Get close to the boxes (with earplugs) once they are at a decent level, listen around for various rattles and port complaints. This is always revealing.
• Listen out of band (up to 250Hz), for extraneous cabinet noises, high frequency port noises, etc.

In terms of total cone volume displacement, this double 15 against a pair of KW is probably a pretty fair comparison (top shelf 15 vs. midline 18). I would be expecting the FA box to play cleaner (due to the B&C split coil technology and shorting rings) and to have better porting performance (e.g. less port noise). Also I'd expect the FA to have more dynamic headroom.

Hopefully you'll find these guidelines useful.