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Tone controls to get bass from small speakers?

Have you ever thought you'd like to have tone controls at your disposal to do a good job of extending the bass of small speakers? (aw, c'mon, admit it).

Anyway, it seems that whenever a product (usually a budget product) actually does have tone controls, it is set to boost bass around the 100 hz level, and this seems fairly useless. In the past, however, I had an astounding little system consisting of Spica TC-50's, a Marantz CD63, and an AMC 3030 integrated.

The Spicas weren't exactly Jurassic Park dinosaur stompers, but the really cool thing about the AMC was that it boosted bass around 50 hz, not 100 hz. This gave the apparent effect of giving the Spicas real, extended bass.

Do you know of any combination of small speakers and amplification-with-tone-controls that can pull a thirty foot organ pipe out of a hat?

Thanks guys.
stevegolf1
stevegolf1 OP
38 posts
 
Guys,
Again, thanks for your insights. I'm doing a lot of web surfing with all this great information!
Steve
megasam's avatar
megasam
798 posts
 
Before you spend big bucks try putting some vibrapods between Spicas and stands, you will be amazed at the increase in bass response.

If you try this with larger floor standing speakers it will often produce too much bass, but small two way monitors respond very well to vibrapod decoupling from stand.
hatley7d85
1 posts
 
I've had my 3030 in for upgrades, one being tube sockets, which allow me to change tubes. However, the bass on this integrated amp is solid state. I think this amp will show more with a better source and cables. I run a Rotel 955AX with a set of solid copper Lindsey Guyer intercoonects, which gives a hint of bass through my 1Bs. I'd hook up an analog source and see if the bass response is better. This amp needs a well matched source to show its best.
seandtaylor99
1,262 posts
 
My take on your situation is :
TC50s are great .. I have Spica Angelus and the mids/imaging are to die for. Bass is also lean on the Angelus, which is peculiar for such a huge speaker.

I thought about tone controls. Old Quad amps have a cool bass control called tilt and lift (I think). It worked wonders on a friend's LS3/5 (which have similar bass to the Spica Tc50s). So you COULD try an old Quad pre/power combo ... probably cost about $500 used. I wouldn't do this, though.

However in the end I have to agree with danvect ... a small cabinet will only do so much. I'd add to this that to force the Tc-50 to make huge woofer excursions so you can shake your neighbour's house with organ music is probably going to either damage the tc50s or destroy their mid range (which the same drivers are trying to produce).

In the end I bought a subwoofer. A REL. Coupled with the Spicas it sounds amazing. Dynamics, grunt and detail and imaging. Plus it's more versatile .... sub is placed for best bass response and spicas are placed for imaging (well away from the walls, where thir bass response is at the least).

Don't mess with half-measures ... pony up the money for a quality sub and I think you'll be very pleased.
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