Large speakers plus EQ, what have you done?

I don’t know of this qualifies as to your question or if I am off base here, but...I have the Legacy Focus XD’s which produce (to my ears) the best bass I have ever heard. To control it I purchased the Matching Wavelet II outboard crossover/DSP/Preamp and it made a massive improvement in the bass performance. The bass is not boomy, it is deep, defined and well textured-it gives me goosebumps. As I have made improvements to electronics and cabling it just keeps getting better in the bass. The Wavelet can be purchased and programed to mate to non Legacy speakers too. It works!

I have large floorstanders with usable response down to 25Hz, which fits your criteria. These are positioned in a very large room with good symmetry and minimal surface reflections. The crossovers are well designed and free of glaring flaws, yielding fairly even response at my listening position as measured using REW. What I needed was a bump in bass to suit my tastes and minor adjustments along the frequency response curve to smooth and taper.

I originally used DSP but eventually abandoned this in favor of a dbx 2231 dual 31-band graphic EQ, using REW measurements to assess the results. This EQ delivered solid measurements in ASR’s testing, but I was nevertheless concerned that it would increase the noise floor, diminish resolution, or compromise the expansive soundstage I enjoy in a perceptible way. My own testing has demonstrated this not to be the case. I have been completely satisfied with the results.

While this route cannot resolve glaring room issues or flawed speaker/crossover design, it is a demonstrably viable option for those wanting to contour the bass or entire frequency spectrum to suit their preferences. It is most applicable to those using only balanced XLR interconnects (RCA not supported), who require minimal adjustments, and who use REW to verify the results.

Does building a custom room or optimizing the room with treatments count as EQ ing ?

@ronboco

Really not for this discussion. Once we go there the whole thread goes to a general discussion about how to get better bass, which is NOT actually what I want to talk about in this particular thread. I’m asking about this particular approach (2 large speakers + active equalizer) and those with direct experience with it.

Of course, if you tried that and then decided it didn’t work as well as another approach, that’s fine to talk about.

Audiogon is absolutely lousy with discussions that have devolved into general bass improvement threads, that and whether Class D is there yet. I would prefer not to do another one here.

Best,

Erik

My crude method is an API parametric  equalizer.Starting with the Amroc room mode calculator to see where the problem frequencies in the bass are I adjusted the frequencies by ear and left it alone. If I were to someday purchase longer cables I would have it next to me and fiddle with it to fine tune sometimes.But I'm happy enough with the sound now that it's not important.