It is fair, I think, to say that our wallets dictate the composition of our systems.
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?
Showing 3 responses by toddalin
I prefer a tight, accurate bass with texture (e.g., you can "hear the wood"). This is more a matter of the speaker rather than the amplifier, and I think that an accordion-edged woofer does a better job than a foam-edged woofer, regardless of size. With respect to amplifiers, what most determines the "tightness" of the bass is the damping factor with the higher the factor, the more accurately the woofer follows the signal (i.e., is tighter). "Damping factor (DF) in audio systems measures an amplifier's ability to control a speaker's movement after a signal stops. It's the ratio of the speaker's impedance to the total output impedance of the system (amplifier, cables, etc.). A high DF generally results in tighter, more controlled bass, while a low DF can lead to a softer, "flabby" bass sound." When looking at woofer specifications, a higher BL factor would infer a tighter bass, assuming a similar impedance. "In loudspeaker engineering, the BL factor, or motor force factor, represents the strength of the motor structure in a speaker driver. It's a critical Thiele/Small parameter (T/S parameter) that directly impacts a speaker's efficiency, sensitivity, and bass reproduction." |