Hand-enameled Faceplates
Chang, the leader of Subtonic Storm, mentioned the extreme delicacy that the enameling process requires for the faceplate. Enamel has been used in jewelry, watches, and high-end accessories as far back as the 13th century BC. Due to its unique, lush look, enamel is still used abundantly, especially for premium handmade watches.
However, achieving such a unique appearance comes with a great cost. As they need to be heated in the oven (like bread), there’s always a decent chance for the heating to go wrong, where the enamel would form bubbles, discoloration, or simply “explode”, as Chang mentioned during the conversation I had with him. Subtonic Audio mentions on their development blog that they bake the faceplates in the oven three times, and only one out of three survives.
Along with Storm using a complicated 7-way crossover, the atrocious difficulty of getting perfectly baked Storm faceplates is the major reason why the lead time for production is very long, hence the rarity. Chang, owner of Subtonic Audio, shares that they’re able to produce about 4-6 pairs a month, with the Standard Edition being a bit faster but still limited to only 6-8 pairs max.
Earpiece Specs: BAs, ESTs, and Slam Drivers
The Subtonic Storm is a 9-driver, 7-way crossover IEM sporting 2 Subtonic SLAM BA Woofers + 5BA + 2EST drivers. Why am I not referencing the driver config simply as 7BA+2EST? Well, it’s because these special 2BAs are not your typical 2BA, but a SLAM driver designed by Subtonic.
What is “SLAM”?
Subtonic goes into depth about explaining this technology here, though let me briefly summarize it. SLAM stands for “Splitwave Layered Armature Management” and is one of Subtonic’s most crucial technologies, allowing Storm to perform at an unparalleled level. SLAM entails Subtonic’s own way of decoupling the traditional structure of a single-spouted, dual-driver BA unit. Such a driver design has the advantage of doubling the bass output and loudness/SPL. However, since this design also means two drivers share the same crossover and only play the same sound frequencies, Subtonic Audio claims it falls short of Subtonic’s needed standards for the Storm, especially the bass impact. See why Subtonic named the driver as “SLAM” now?
SLAM: The ‘True’ Dual Driver
To resolve the limitation of such dual drivers, Subtonic designed their own single-spouted, dual BA woofers that are each different in tuning and have electrically independent crossovers. As a result, while sharing the same unit, one woofer covers the sub-bass and the other covers the mid-bass, transforming a simple dual BA woofer into a “genuine dual woofer” that each covers the lower and higher bass range.
The upper SLAM woofer is topped with independent internal chambering, while the bottom SLAM subwoofer has an open-venting design. With all these combined, Storm provides a much natural, clearly defined, and extensive bass. Subtonic stated that the invention of SLAM technology allowed the team to have much finer control, not only in frequency response but also in bass impact and decay, hence them stressing the differentiation between the other 5BA drivers and the 2 “SLAM” BA drivers, instead of counting up all BA drivers in the same category.
Flagship Stock Cable with various options
The Subtonic Storm comes with a range of stock cable options designed and tuned by Nightjar Acoustics, one of the partner brands that created Subtonic Audio. The default cable is Nightjar Acoustics Mira Cable, where users are given options between 2-wire and 4-wire (each priced at $1600 and $2500 for standalone sales). However, after launching the Launch Edition, Nightjar has announced Mira MK2 ($2000 for 2-wire) and even higher-end flagship cables that would suit well with Storm; Nightjar Sovereign ($3500) and Sovereign Symphony ($5500).
All Nightjar cables mentioned here are made of 7N OCC Copper and SPC hybrid mix, yet their further specs are different in geometry, gauge, tuning, resistance, and others. For this review, since Storm offers various cable options, we’ve used the following cables for testing Storm’s sonic performance and sound signature: Nightjar Mira 2-wire, Nightjar Sovereign Symphony, and Hansound Luna.
Next Page: In-depth Sound Impressions of Subtonic Storm