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Hi guys,
As an avid member of the DIY Mobile Audio community, I'm happy to pass on a really cool group buy opportunity to my Escape City members.
This is for a 12" ultra-shallow sub made by Stereo Integrity, one that is competitive with the very expensive JL Audio 13TW5 in performance and size, but costs far less. They call it the SI BM MkIII. The retail for this sub is $269 + shipping. During the pre-sale of the first batch of them, the owner of SI was initially going to discount $50 off each unit as a promotion. I asked Nick (the owner) about a group buy, a large-batch discount for us early adopters. He came back with one of the best promotions I've ever seen in a group buy... $175 each + shipping. For me, shipping ran about $30 across 2/3'rds the country, quite worth it.
This is a cutting-edge technology sub, capable of incredibly high performance in tiny, shallow boxes. It runs optimal in only a 1/2 cubic foot of space. The website to take a look at the sub yourself is http://www.stereointegrity.com/ http://stereointegrity.com/bm.php
If you are interested, share your interest by emailing nick directly at [email protected] with your shipping address so he can calculate your total price including shipping. If you like what you see, just paypal him at the same email address the price he quoted you. The group buy will be in effect until the first orders arrive and start shipping. This is an uncertain date, but is expected late January to mid-February.
And for those wanting to know how it sounds, here's the link to the DIYMA member review conducted from under the seat of a small vehicle!
http://www.diymobileaudio.com/forum/mem ... otype.html
Here's a snippet of the sound test on various musical types:
1. Diana Krall - Temptation
- The upright bass was fulland detailed. The blending between the BM and my midbass was very smooth.
- The placement of the upright was correct when I compared it to my hoe reference system.
- The kick drum was full and very nice attack and decay to the notes.
2. Paul Oakenfold ft. Britney Murphy - Faster Kill Faster Pussycat
- This song had the classic Oakenfold driving and intense bass line. The BM had no problems reproducing this just fine.
- The initial beat is nice and strong with great attack. The flowing synth bass lines that follow are well defined and powerful.
3. Stevie Wonder - Superstition
- The kick drum is nice, full, and rich. It's firmly placed dead center with good depth.
- The bass guitar in this song is tuned down to Drop D ad was recorded with an over-driven tube pre-amp to give it that nice grit. The lower notes that fall in the BM's passband are clean and well presented. Nice separation between notes from the bass.
4. Disturbed - Deify
- As I've mentioned in other sub reviews I've done, I like to use Disturbed as they seem to use a bit lower tuned kick drum than most rock bands and they always have a nice amount of double kick bass work. This song is a great example of that. The BM seems quite happy reproducing the mix of drums and bass in this song at low, moderate, or high volume.
- The double kick bass notes are well defined with a noticeable separation between them.
- The drum solo starting right around the 3:30 mark of the song was very nicely reproduced. The notes were strong and didn't run together at all.
5. Alice in Chains Unplugged - No Excuses
- In comparison to the acoustic guitars and bass in this album, the kick drum really seems to stick out. The notes had a great feel to them and had an impressive feeling of impact.
6. Crystal Method - P.H.D.
- Well, here's my low bass test track. There are some seriously low notes on this one. The BM did a great job and even held it's composure as I pushed it up towards it's excursion limits.
- The bass line alternates throughout this track and the BM followed right along keeping everything clean with no hint of mud or boom.
7. Michael Jackson - Bad
- The kick drum and walking bass line are both presented well with great separation between notes.
- The fist 2 notes of the bass line are meant to be played with inflection. The BM portrayed that and the difference in strength of notes was quite apparent.
8. Timbaland - The Way I Are
- This track has a great strong upbeat and the BM did a great job with it. LOTS of impact and even when pushed hard the BM didn't get sloppy or start to sound strained.
- The synth bass line and drum machine beats really came through nicely.
9. Verdi - Anvil Chorus
- Low harmonics from the kettle drums are strong and placed nicely where the percussion section would be in an orchestra.
- The huge drum hits starting at 1:00 strong with just enough heft to the notes.
- At 1:40, there is a nice drum roll tat comes through with a great rumble of clearly separated notes.
10. Profokiev - Romeo and Juliet Sutie no 2 (Montagues & Capulets)
- Lots of low end presented in this piece frm the tuba, contrabassoon, upright bass, and large drums. This is a very dramatic piece of music and that feeling is maintained with the BM on sub duty.
- During the build up passages there are some strong drum hits. These sounded great and I got a feeling of big impact.
Ok, to wrap all this up. I do think that the BM gives up just a touch of performance to my tried and true DIYMA R12. But it's a small margin. However, when you compare the shallow mounting depth and 9.5-10 pound weight vs. the R12's 38lbs and 6" mounting depth, the BM becomes quite impressive. The BM also offers a better feeling of impact than the Mag v4 or DIYMA R12 IMHO. For those of you who like that "feel it in your chest" impact, the BM can do that all day. It's no Monster, but it sure doesn't sound like any of the anemic shallow subs I've heard. I will say that I don't have any experience with the top flight shallow subs though (Alto Mobile Falstaff and one other that escapes me at the moment) so I can't say that the BM is the best shallow sub on the market. But I don't think you'll be able to touch it for anywhere near the BM's price point.
I've got two on the way for a new false-floor install I'm planning. If any of you want a very, very small box in the trunk OR want to make a false floor so nothing is exposed, this sub is your best possible solution.
Take care, and by all means ask any questions you have. I am not affiliated with Stereo Integrity. I'm just an enthusiast who wants to see you guys happy with some killer gear.
Oh yeah, pics!
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As an avid member of the DIY Mobile Audio community, I'm happy to pass on a really cool group buy opportunity to my Escape City members.
This is for a 12" ultra-shallow sub made by Stereo Integrity, one that is competitive with the very expensive JL Audio 13TW5 in performance and size, but costs far less. They call it the SI BM MkIII. The retail for this sub is $269 + shipping. During the pre-sale of the first batch of them, the owner of SI was initially going to discount $50 off each unit as a promotion. I asked Nick (the owner) about a group buy, a large-batch discount for us early adopters. He came back with one of the best promotions I've ever seen in a group buy... $175 each + shipping. For me, shipping ran about $30 across 2/3'rds the country, quite worth it.
This is a cutting-edge technology sub, capable of incredibly high performance in tiny, shallow boxes. It runs optimal in only a 1/2 cubic foot of space. The website to take a look at the sub yourself is http://www.stereointegrity.com/ http://stereointegrity.com/bm.php
If you are interested, share your interest by emailing nick directly at [email protected] with your shipping address so he can calculate your total price including shipping. If you like what you see, just paypal him at the same email address the price he quoted you. The group buy will be in effect until the first orders arrive and start shipping. This is an uncertain date, but is expected late January to mid-February.
And for those wanting to know how it sounds, here's the link to the DIYMA member review conducted from under the seat of a small vehicle!
http://www.diymobileaudio.com/forum/mem ... otype.html
Here's a snippet of the sound test on various musical types:
1. Diana Krall - Temptation
- The upright bass was fulland detailed. The blending between the BM and my midbass was very smooth.
- The placement of the upright was correct when I compared it to my hoe reference system.
- The kick drum was full and very nice attack and decay to the notes.
2. Paul Oakenfold ft. Britney Murphy - Faster Kill Faster Pussycat
- This song had the classic Oakenfold driving and intense bass line. The BM had no problems reproducing this just fine.
- The initial beat is nice and strong with great attack. The flowing synth bass lines that follow are well defined and powerful.
3. Stevie Wonder - Superstition
- The kick drum is nice, full, and rich. It's firmly placed dead center with good depth.
- The bass guitar in this song is tuned down to Drop D ad was recorded with an over-driven tube pre-amp to give it that nice grit. The lower notes that fall in the BM's passband are clean and well presented. Nice separation between notes from the bass.
4. Disturbed - Deify
- As I've mentioned in other sub reviews I've done, I like to use Disturbed as they seem to use a bit lower tuned kick drum than most rock bands and they always have a nice amount of double kick bass work. This song is a great example of that. The BM seems quite happy reproducing the mix of drums and bass in this song at low, moderate, or high volume.
- The double kick bass notes are well defined with a noticeable separation between them.
- The drum solo starting right around the 3:30 mark of the song was very nicely reproduced. The notes were strong and didn't run together at all.
5. Alice in Chains Unplugged - No Excuses
- In comparison to the acoustic guitars and bass in this album, the kick drum really seems to stick out. The notes had a great feel to them and had an impressive feeling of impact.
6. Crystal Method - P.H.D.
- Well, here's my low bass test track. There are some seriously low notes on this one. The BM did a great job and even held it's composure as I pushed it up towards it's excursion limits.
- The bass line alternates throughout this track and the BM followed right along keeping everything clean with no hint of mud or boom.
7. Michael Jackson - Bad
- The kick drum and walking bass line are both presented well with great separation between notes.
- The fist 2 notes of the bass line are meant to be played with inflection. The BM portrayed that and the difference in strength of notes was quite apparent.
8. Timbaland - The Way I Are
- This track has a great strong upbeat and the BM did a great job with it. LOTS of impact and even when pushed hard the BM didn't get sloppy or start to sound strained.
- The synth bass line and drum machine beats really came through nicely.
9. Verdi - Anvil Chorus
- Low harmonics from the kettle drums are strong and placed nicely where the percussion section would be in an orchestra.
- The huge drum hits starting at 1:00 strong with just enough heft to the notes.
- At 1:40, there is a nice drum roll tat comes through with a great rumble of clearly separated notes.
10. Profokiev - Romeo and Juliet Sutie no 2 (Montagues & Capulets)
- Lots of low end presented in this piece frm the tuba, contrabassoon, upright bass, and large drums. This is a very dramatic piece of music and that feeling is maintained with the BM on sub duty.
- During the build up passages there are some strong drum hits. These sounded great and I got a feeling of big impact.
Ok, to wrap all this up. I do think that the BM gives up just a touch of performance to my tried and true DIYMA R12. But it's a small margin. However, when you compare the shallow mounting depth and 9.5-10 pound weight vs. the R12's 38lbs and 6" mounting depth, the BM becomes quite impressive. The BM also offers a better feeling of impact than the Mag v4 or DIYMA R12 IMHO. For those of you who like that "feel it in your chest" impact, the BM can do that all day. It's no Monster, but it sure doesn't sound like any of the anemic shallow subs I've heard. I will say that I don't have any experience with the top flight shallow subs though (Alto Mobile Falstaff and one other that escapes me at the moment) so I can't say that the BM is the best shallow sub on the market. But I don't think you'll be able to touch it for anywhere near the BM's price point.
I've got two on the way for a new false-floor install I'm planning. If any of you want a very, very small box in the trunk OR want to make a false floor so nothing is exposed, this sub is your best possible solution.
Take care, and by all means ask any questions you have. I am not affiliated with Stereo Integrity. I'm just an enthusiast who wants to see you guys happy with some killer gear.
Oh yeah, pics!
