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The Kayak Armada System: scale up to match the performance of megabuck systems

The Kayak Armada System combines one of the best minimonitors with the NSM EXP, one of the best small subwoofers, and a pair of NSM custom sand-fillable Sandbags stands. You end up with a system that is greater than the sum of its parts. This system provides the utmost flexibility in fine-tuning the loudspeaker's interaction with the room to deliver an ultimate listening experience.The Kayak Armada System will outclass most minimonitor subwoofer systems and even some highly regard monitor-pedestal bass systems.

While a good floorstanding loudspeaker offers the utmost efficiency in packaging, a good sub-sat system with two active subwoofer offers the utmost flexibility in tweaking the system's performance to maximize its performance relative to room acoustics. Monitor-pedestal bass systems such as the Wilson Watt Puppy offer added performance because they reduce inteference of the bass into the higher frequencies by using two enclosures. However sub-sat systems with two active subwoofers like the Kayak Armada offers the best performance because the bass enclosure is completely separated from the enclosure producing the higher frequencies. And our custom Sandbags stands are a rock solid foundation for the Kayaks that isolates them from room resonances. Moreover, with two active subwoofers,  each subwoofer can be relocated in the room independent of the Kayaks to get the best bass response and to defeat room resonances that naturally occur. This is because the crossover and volume control of each subwoofer can be adjusted to match the output of the Kayaks and the subwoofer's bass output can be brought into absolute phase alignment  by repositioning the subwoofer and/or using the subwoofer's phase switch.  

Interestingly, the Kayak Armada System improves the Kayak's outstanding performance. Because in the Kayak Armada System, integration of the Kayaks and the EXPs is further enhanced by a high quality 6 dB per octave filter that incorporates film foil elements  to filter out bass from the Kayak's woofer allowing even more linear bass integration between the Kayaks and the EXPs and more delicate movements of the Kayak's woofer which result in better midrange imaging. Even if the Kayak is operated full range it will image better because, with the EXPs in the system, the Kayaks will be played at lower volume since there is no psycoacoustical need to try to get the Kayaks to pressurize the room.

Here is what a reviewer said about a system consisting of a single EXP sub and a pair of NSM Model 5 speakers: "This sat sub combination is a steal. The sound is rich, the soundstaging convincing and the bass goes deep....and with the small size of the sat speakers, my wife is reasonably happy too. Hooked up to my Cambridge Audio Electronics for a total of $2k this system sounded almost as good as my $10k system." (Richard Cook, Audioreview.com)

Now imagine a pair of Role Audio Kayaks that, "Even when placed less than two feet from my listening position a pair of Kayaks not only become sonically invisible, but they produce a humungous soundstage that rivals my reference Aerial model 5A. The Kayak's image also has just as much lateral precision as the Areals. But unlike the Areals, and every other speaker I've had in my desktop system, the Kayaks just vamoose." (Steve Stone, enjoythemusic.com, 9/05) Combine that with a pair of EXPs producing quick stereo bass down to the low 20Hzs and you are ready to take on the Wilson Watt-Puppy system.

The Kayak Armada System cannot match the dynamic ability of large monitor-pedestal bass systems such as the Wilson system, but the Wilson system cannot match the Kayak Armada System's finesse, accuracy, musicality and imaging.