I've never used a Swarm, but I have tried to "knock off" the idea with a pair of Rythmik subs and the pair of smaller Velodynes that I used prior to upgrading to the Rythmiks.
The four sub set-up reduced some "bloat" in the octave above 70ish hz (by about 5 db) that I couldn't shake when using the Rythmiks alone. Other than that, there wasn't a lot of difference in response, either by my ear or by my RTA. I then EQ'd both the dual subs and the quad subs with Audyssey and found the sound from the two set-ups was pretty much indistinguishable. Although the RTA readouts weren't identical, they were pretty close. They were also better than the non-EQ'd four sub set-up and, in either case, I preferred the EQ'd set-up
In the end, I settled on dual subs with Audyssey and now use the Velo subs in other applications. Note - this isn't a comment on the Swarm (which I've never heard), merely my experience with dual subs vs quad subs and EQ'd subs vs non-EQ'd subs.
The four sub set-up reduced some "bloat" in the octave above 70ish hz (by about 5 db) that I couldn't shake when using the Rythmiks alone. Other than that, there wasn't a lot of difference in response, either by my ear or by my RTA. I then EQ'd both the dual subs and the quad subs with Audyssey and found the sound from the two set-ups was pretty much indistinguishable. Although the RTA readouts weren't identical, they were pretty close. They were also better than the non-EQ'd four sub set-up and, in either case, I preferred the EQ'd set-up
In the end, I settled on dual subs with Audyssey and now use the Velo subs in other applications. Note - this isn't a comment on the Swarm (which I've never heard), merely my experience with dual subs vs quad subs and EQ'd subs vs non-EQ'd subs.