For me it ultimately starts with the amp and how it controls the speaker drivers. Clearly the Damping Factor spec is key….I don’t think you need a huge number but as always more is better. The Mac at only 40 is the main culprit, that’s too low. Something around 200 is my minimum for DF. My current amp is 1100 DF at 20Hz, for most part I have very tight bass and articulated well. Some recordings have a bloated low end so nothing you can do with that. Over all I prefer a tight articulated bass that still gives me deep notes and pressurizes my room very well, and I still can hear the other instruments.
You are hearing the difference so it does make for a choice of what you like or not.
Do most people prefer tight bass or non tight bass?
Today I compared a McIntosh 462 to a Moon audio 761 amp. Both sounded really good. I noticed the bass was tight on the Moon Audio 761 while it was not tight on the McIntosh 462. Both on Dynaudio towers (do not know the model but they go for about 14k).
It is hard for me to know which type of bass I would like better in the long run. The tight bass sounded awesome and the non tight bass sounded more fuller. Curious, do most people prefer the tight bass or the non tight bass?