Anybody Felt Lower-End ARC preamps Bass-Shy?

Thanks for the reply Chadnliz. I am quite sure it's not the speakers since I am running them in high-pass configuration and the bass is entirely handled by the subwoofer. The reason I was suspecting the LS-16 was when I stumbled upon another user here who also felt that the LS-16's bass does not go too deep. Maybe I'm over-reacting although I might be getting a more-than-enough bass response.

Thanks for all responses.

Ryder, define enough bass please. Without hearing your system how can anyone know how well bass is reproduced by it?

That is the reason why I have asked if anyone has got better bass after upgrading to a better preamp. Most questions posed in the forums are often subjective and opinions are accepted based on rationale.

Anyway I appreciate your advice on running the whole system balanced. Unfortunately I can't since I have my subwoofer inserted in between the LS-16 and Plinius amp. My speakers are high-passed. If I run full-balanced, I can't hook up the sub in high-pass configuration and my speakers are limited to 35Hz only. Furthermore, I reckon the bass roll-off much higher with their current placement. Without the sub, the bass is much weaker compared to what I'm getting now. I have balanced cable from my Krell CD to the LS-16 though.

Since you mentioned the bass on the LS-25 may not be too different from the LS-16, I guess I can be rest assured it's putting out decent bass. Looks like I have to keep experimenting.

Music used was mainly Pat Metheny's earlier works "Letter From Home"(which happens to be my most listened record now), and "Still Life Talking".

May be other variables involved. I was hoping the bass can be slightly more visceral. Will keep experimenting.

Thanks for all inputs and advice.

It is possible that the earlier Metheny's discs are lacking in ultimate bass but most of my favourite tunes are in these albums. I have a few reference cd's such as "missouri sky" by Metheny/Haden, quite good bass but music wasn't as good as the earlier ones. I've read about Brian Bromberg in another thread and will look into getting his album later.

I've checked the LS-16's specs.
Input impedance is 150k ohms balanced, 75k ohms SE.
Output impedance 600 ohms balanced 300 ohms SE, 40k ohms minimum load.
Input impedance on the Plinius SA-100Mk1 is 47k ohms. Mk3 may be not too far off. I guess it's okay?

Rwwear, I've tried running the mains full-range before but the Plinius was struggling to drive these speakers. I was switching back and forth between full-range and high-pass and found that dynamics was greatly reduced when running the speakers full-range. The rhythm and drive were missing even at low to moderate volumes. I then realized my amp was underpowered in driving these speakers and by high-passing them the load on the amp was considerably reduced resulting in a more dynamic sound.

I think I'll just get another Plinius power amp and run in monoblocs since I need the watts anyway. Then I can run my speakers full-range without losing drive and dynamics and just let the subwoofer fill in the low bass. Another option worth considering.

After reading the responses from the other thread "Mono blocks are better or Stereo power amp?", most likely I'll be getting another Plinius amp and run in monoblocks.

Thanks all.

Ngjockey, I am not driving the 805's with the Plinius as they are 'easy' speakers. It's the PMC LB1 Sigs which have Dynaudio drivers. It's surprising these monitors can be quite power-hungry -250W/4ohms with a rather low sensitivity. The SA-100Mk3 only delivers 180W/4ohms and the difference is clearly apparent between running the speakers full-range and high-passing them. I also wished the Mk3 was sufficient for the PMC's but this didn't seem to be the case.

Although I felt the system sounded good high-passed with a subwoofer, I was intrigued by the benefits of running the speakers full-range after reading some comments from others here.

Thanks for the link on the informative thread.

Hi Audphile, I suppose you won't have any problems driving the N803's with the X250.5 since it's a powerful 250W amp that can run into 4 ohms load. I will most definitely get a 2nd Plinius amp and run my speakers full-range but the sub still needs to be there since the PMC's are limited to 35Hz only, and there's a lot of low bass missing.

Off-topic. I just recently listened to some Marten Duke speakers driven by Gryphon Tabu amp. The highs on the Marten Duke is better with a cleaner and more refined sound(due to the ceramic tweeter that extends to 40kHz) but midrange down to the bass the PMC's are better to my ears. Not too bad since the Dukes can buy 2 pairs of my speakers. I think I'll be sticking with my speakers for a while.

Audphile, thanks for the link. I never thought piano notes could go that low. I've just had a quick check on my piano and have to say that most music does not go past the lowest natural D note at 37 Hz. Most low piano notes are in the region of 40Hz and above.

Not too sure about organ though but I don't think I have any music on organ. I don't see any category for 'drums' but if double-bass has covered that then I think I'm fine.

Anyway I'll see how well the PMC will perform in full-range when I feed them with more power. I agree that the lack of cabinet volume will affect bass impact to a certain degree but the current speakers are just right for my room size. Bigger floorstanders will not be too ideal