[Chrisbee]

People will argue about quick or fast bass until the cows come home. Usually because they are fans of small sealed boxes. Despite its bottomless extension the IB has no hangover so it really is fast. The fascinating thing is that you can hear exactly how a sound starts, is sustained and then decays in the very briefest of moments. No other sub I've heard can do this. In comparison, most other subs sound a like a range of large cardboard boxes being beaten by a stick then over-amplified. The distinctive "boxy" AV subwoofer sound you hear in every room and hall at every AV/HT show and in every dealer's demo room. Brutally loud and impressive maybe, but so artifical, so second hand, so muffled and so lacking in real detail.

It is instantly noticeable when an IB is playing the bass on music. Percussion immediately stands out by sounding very deep and very real. If you have a solo percussion CD and let the IB loose you will be shocked by the frightening dynamics, depth and realism. You will flinch back from drum hits that sound literally a few feet in front of you. So sharp and quick and so LOUD! The shortness of the blow is so unxpected. So brief. So instant. So out of nowhere and so quickly gone again. It leaves you totally unprepared before you are being shocked again.

When the ring finger drops in LOTR it feels exactly as if a heavy hammer strikes the floorboards beneath my feet. Short and hard. Bang!

If I was forced to choose a single word to describe the difference between any other sub I've ever heard and an IB. It would have to be that that the IB is, quite simply, realistic. You can't ask for more than that.