One thing, where are your speakers relative to the walls and corners? The usual simple fix for more bass is to put the speakers up against the wall, and then in a corner.
I just assumed you had tried that.
I just assumed you had tried that.
Help wanted: Bass!
I’m in need of augmenting the bass in my system. I’m the old school type and would rather NOT go the sub route.
My system and environment:
• Pre: Conrad Johnson Premier 16LS
• Pwr: Conrad Johnson Premier 12 Mono Blocks
• Pwr Condtnr: Shunyata Hydra
• Speakers: Tannoy Kensingtons
• Cabeling: Stealth PGS IC’s, Vandenhull Bi-wire Speaker wiring
• Sources: Conrad Johnson DV-2B CD Player, SOTA Star w/SME arm w/Grado cart, Magnum Dynalab Tube Tun
• Music: Classic Rock, Easy listening, Female Jazz singers, Classical
• Room: Big (25 X 30) w/cathedral ceiling. Harwood floors/ceiling and big glass windows. Rugs and furniture
Came across the Emerald Physics Bass Manager claims to add 1/2 octave of bass to any speaker. IYO, could that be a solution? Are there similar helpers like this out there? Not much in the budget (about $500) for a near-term purchase. Could double that for a longer-term.
Again, not wanting to go the sub route unless I have too. Can’t do room treatments or alter room configuration (it’s our living room) either.
Any thoughts/suggestions will be greatly appreciated – thank you!
My system and environment:
• Pre: Conrad Johnson Premier 16LS
• Pwr: Conrad Johnson Premier 12 Mono Blocks
• Pwr Condtnr: Shunyata Hydra
• Speakers: Tannoy Kensingtons
• Cabeling: Stealth PGS IC’s, Vandenhull Bi-wire Speaker wiring
• Sources: Conrad Johnson DV-2B CD Player, SOTA Star w/SME arm w/Grado cart, Magnum Dynalab Tube Tun
• Music: Classic Rock, Easy listening, Female Jazz singers, Classical
• Room: Big (25 X 30) w/cathedral ceiling. Harwood floors/ceiling and big glass windows. Rugs and furniture
Came across the Emerald Physics Bass Manager claims to add 1/2 octave of bass to any speaker. IYO, could that be a solution? Are there similar helpers like this out there? Not much in the budget (about $500) for a near-term purchase. Could double that for a longer-term.
Again, not wanting to go the sub route unless I have too. Can’t do room treatments or alter room configuration (it’s our living room) either.
Any thoughts/suggestions will be greatly appreciated – thank you!
Showing 7 responses by erik_squires
Hi RB! I would say spend no money until you have your hands around the neck of the problem. :) I might TRY some solid state amplifiers, just to see if what you have is an amp/speaker mismatch, as well as different amp taps. The usual order of improvements should be:
It's a real shame that you are not more amenable to room treatment, but that will have to wait until we know what the problem is. GIK has an entire line of treatments that can be painted on, you can get any designs you want on them. Their sofit bass traps disappear into the corners with the right cloth cover. Let's start with a near zero dollar approach. Get Room EQ Wizard and a calibrated microphone and stand. The cheapest calibrated microphone is the Dayton iMM6, but it's so small it's a pain to use on a stand. Great with a phone or tablet though. Better is the UMIK-1. Measure your frequency response as well as bass decay from your listening location. Come back when you have a quantitative idea of the problem. Best, Erik |
Honestly, while I love well-tuned subs, in your case would avoid subs at all cost, because you don't want to do any room treatment. The deeper in the rooms response you go the more chances you'll have to make the room ring like a bell, and then subs get a bad rep for not being as detailed, not being as good, whatever, compared to the mains. Your single best bet, after the amp taps, is to measure, and EQ appropriately. If you said you had flexibility of sub woofer placement, were willing to consider some soffit traps, and began with an EQ in the picture, then subwoofers would be a direction I'd suggest. Otherwise go ahead, I'll just show up with popcorn.... :) Best, Erik |
inna, Yes, but subs can be a nightmare if you have no control over their placement, room acoustics or EQ. In this case it's the perfect storm for @rbshauman I'd get zero. Given the ability to control at least 2 of the three pre-requisites, I'd start with 1 and see what's missing. The value of a second sub may be smaller than it's worth. |