Blumenstein Audio Barnacle 6.5" Active or Passive High-Output subwoofer (sold individually)

The Next Generation of low bass support.

A new type of subwoofer for home audio or home theater that plays by a different set of rules in terms of frequency, size, and cost.

The Barnacle uses a “new” technology adapted for home audio that was developed in secret for decades before releasing. Even though I have a music degree and am classically trained, my first passion in music was actually for car audio - As a pre teen, I was installing systems in my friends’ rides before I even owned a car.

I would have never guessed after all these years that I’d come full circle back to my roots in car audio, but here we are.

Though many audiophiles have preconceived notions of the car audio scene being low brow, the key is actually to focus on just the task of bringing adequate, accurate, fun bass into the home, and what that means from a physics standpoint.

Competition car subwoofers are specifically designed to make powerful bass in small cabinets. Smaller cabinets means that the subwoofers can be physically closer to the wideband speakers - minimizing phase anomalies at the crossover point.

More headroom (due to inexhaustible magnetic structure and 18mm cone excursion) actually translates into both nuance and bandwidth.

The key, again, is headroom - car audio subs can be driven extremely hard in competition which means they don’t break a sweat under the dynamic swings found in music in the home. They seamlessly transition between soft, normal, and abnormal listening levels.

Small cabinet means less resonant energy storage / quicker dissipation which means good, accurate impulse response.

Note: As shown in the more recent photos in this reel, Barnacle subwoofers (active or passive) now ship with a carbon fiber dustcap (covering Sundown Audio logo). This Carbon Fiber dustcap increases cone stiffness beyond the plastic dustcap that comes stock on these drivers. Magnets are also now supercharged (See Speaker Craftpage).

• We’ve even used the Barnacle with our full sized Peavy 15” PA speakers - it gets loud!

  
  

• The Barnacle also scales down to normal and quiet listening levels incredibly well - it is still a nimble 6.5” driver

  
  

• Benefits from the same novel cabinet construction details we developed for our Wide-Band speaker cabinets

  
  

• Compatible with almost any brand of main speakers

  
  

• The vast majority of the high end audio industry is stuck in the past. The Barnacle is the future of bass

  
  

• Now features NRT with Quartz DMS - Noise Reduction Technique using Quartz Diamagnetic Metasurfaces

  
  

• Frequency response up to 30hz-120hz

  
  

• Review from a Triton+Barnacle owner: “I hope the neighbors like King Tubby.”

  
  

• Voltage switchable for international compatibility

  
  

• Ships worldwide

  
  

• 60 day in-home audition, 1 year warranty

  
  

• Email for lead time estimate

  
  

• Price is for one subwoofer. Purchase 2 for a matched pair.

  
  

• Most people should get the Barnacle subwoofer first to make a 2.1 (one subwoofer) or 2.2 (two subwoofer) system and then add the Infrasub later to further extend the low frequencies of the system if needed.

  
  

Barnacle is now available in Active or Passive versions.

The Active version (photos coming soon) is the same size as the Abby Mk II fullrange speakers to facilitate stacking in a variety of different formations.

We recommend the Passive version to any of our legacy clients who have legacy subwoofer amplifiers. However, we do recommend also upgrading to a new 300 watt Outboard subwoofer amplifier to get the most out of your Barnacle subwoofer.