Ok. Ready to call it. I would want one. There's a caveat.....

The DSPeaker Antimode 8033SII is a great little box. It does what it says, it does it well, and it doesn't do what you don't want it to. It doesn't alter the sound in a negative way an audiophile may object to. BUT.... here's where you might go wrong in getting one.

My current pair of sealed subwoofers (SVS SB12-NSD) were perfect for my old room @1428cu ft. They rocket it. Hard. Enter the new space built in this thread @2392cu ft. They barely load it to being tactile.

So the issue is my current subwoofers don't have the mustard to get the job done when DSP is applied to take away room support. If I had a pair of larger subs, capable of tactile experience in larger rooms without room support, it would be bass nirvana.

Here we can see the DSP is cutting the measured first order length mode energy in room by 12.5db (lower left corner in pic.) Since this mode is centered on 25hz this really hurts LFE effects in movies, but is almost never an issue in music content. Hmmm.

Frequency response of DSP corrected and DSP bypassed subwoofers(grey bypassed)


The DSPeaker really did make a meaningful change to the low bass decay energy in room. Bass really tightened up in a measurable and perceptual way. This was a great benefit as it reduced room blooming during sustained loud bass passages.

ETC plot of subwoofer decay measured in room (grey bypassed)


Lastly, the DSPeaker improved the impulse response of the subwoofers as a pair. The results aren't as striking as Dirac measured, but they don't sound as artificially dry either.

Dual Subwoofer Measured Impulse Response in room (grey bypassed)

So what does all this mean? The DSPeaker is a very capable unit and does what it claims to do. What it cannot do is give you more net output than you begin with. It cuts problem resonance frequencies, leaving you with less room support. So I know what you are saying, just turn the sub levels up you dummy with the DSP applied. Here's the rub. With lowish displacement subwoofers, like mine, tactile LFE energy is dependent on room resonance support... Turning up the gross bass levels creates an imbalance in overall frequency response to restore some tactile sensation. I was able to sneak the bass up +4db before I was at the perceived level pre-dsp. That doesn't begin to replace the 12.5db removed at the room's most kinetic frequency...

If you have a dual setup with plenty of subwoofage to spare, the DSPeaker Antimode is a great idea. If you are barely making ends meet with your subs (like me) stay put and enjoy the bass support you have. DSP means less. Less can be more if you start out with tons!!

All in all it's a great little tool if you have the right circumstances. This was a great learning experience and an awesome way to spend part of a chilly weekend. Thanks Socketman. cool