Subpac S2 impression

[iShad]

For people who don’t know what Subpac is, it’s something you place on your chair and it vibrates to the bass. It’s basically a quiet subwoofer meant to be paired with headphones and iems, and I got to say after using it for a few hours it does its job very well.

 

Note: This is meant as a quick impression not a proper review, so apology for the potato quality.

 

Build quality:  Overall packaging is nice, comes with all sort of power plugs you will ever need. The Subpac itself feels very sturdy and well-built but a bit thicker than I’d like, you will need to displace about 3-4 inch from your usual position on the chair with it in between. This is my main complaint and it is especially painful on my Aeron chair; as moving away from the optimal sitting position means lack of lumbar support and my bottom is now on the weird upper curve. However, it feels fine on a couch, sofa, and any chair with less curves and form fitting than the Aeron.

 

(No mount/harnesses since I've been moving around and testing on other surfaces that wont kill my back)

 

Setting up: This process can be painful and annoying if you don’t have a dac with two outputs. Luckily my Hp-a8 does and I paired and synced the Subpac with my Th-900 without too much trouble. Otherwise, you will need a splitter or use the headphones out from the controller box which I do not recommend. The dac on the controller is the noisiest device I have ever plugged my headphones into; I’d avoid it at all cost. 

 

There was one problem using it with my speakers since it was usb input, there’s no way to split the signal and I was forced to use Virtual Audio Cable like you would if you want to use both speakers and headset at the same time. This is where syncing the two become a slight pain, but not too much trouble.

 

As for placing the Subpac, it’s quite simple using the provided harnesses, but you’ll quickly notice a bunch of wires gather around you. The Subpac can operate up to 5-8 hours on battery according to the manual, and is also capable of connecting via Bluetooth. Only the controller is non-detachable with a short cable and is just a dumb design, forcing you to mount the controller on the arm chair. I’d prefer a long cable so I can place it on the desk or at least an option to switch between the two. It seems they can’t make up their mind if this is meant for home use or a portable device and it’s just bizarre.

 

(dem wires)

 

Audio quality/functionality: All the issues become minor once you actually use the Subpac and experience it. Playing a song and feeling every beat, it’s like having ears on your back when paired with a good set of headphones and both synchronized in perfect harmony to deliver literal gut hitting bass. This is the first upgrade after headphones where I feel my setup is getting very close to a high-end speakers setup without disturbing everyone in the house. You get the high fidelity headphones bring, and the visceral feeling of standing in front of a huge subwoofer, win-win.

 

One more complaint, the intensity knob on the controller uses a logarithmic curve instead of exponential curve. What it means is, from 0-69%, the intensity control is linear, but then 70-100% is an insanely huge jump and not practical at all. Why they did that I have no clue.

 

Conclusion: I haven’t try it much for gaming and movies, but from what little I played it works pretty well for racing games and shooters, feeling the engine and gunshot, etc is neat. I got the Subpac mainly for vr when it arrives next year, but so far it’s fun enough just by itself. For $350, it’s an expensive toy, but well worth the price. Sadly, while fun, I don’t know if I would keep it if I have to remove it from the chair when not in use, and I’m too lazy to go through the steps of setting up every time I want to use it. I was hoping it could be permanently mounted on the back of the chair, but it’s not possible. The product itself is great, but could be better if they go with a purely stationary design and save the portable stuff for their wearable version, the Subpac M2. But yeah, anyway, I can only recommend this if you know your chair is compatible.

 

Question:

My A12 might arrives next week, anyone interested in reading more impression?

 

[sissj]

For people who don’t know what Subpac is, it’s something you place on your chair and it vibrates to the bass. It’s basically a quiet subwoofer meant to be paired with headphones and iems, and I got to say after using it for a few hours it does its job very well.

 

 

 

Vibrating chair eh?

 

( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)