What is wrong with my system?


Hi everyone -

I’m posting here because individually I think my components are all good, but together my system is not making music, rather is is making bright bass less noise. Honestly, I’m thinking it’s no one component, but the matching of components that is causing this issue. I would like to get everyone’s opinion as to what I’m hearing. My components are as follows:

B&W 802D (first generation diamond)
Audioquest bi-wired Indigo speaker cables

Classe CAM-200 monoblock amplifiers
Audioquest Water XLR interconnect

Bryston BP26 preamp
Audioquest Water XLR interconnect

Mark Levinson 5100 cd player (PCM slow minimum phase)

thanks in advance.

Mark Levinson 5100 CD player


onehorsepony

Showing 1 response by relaks

I remember some 25 years ago I had a Bryston pre/power - ATC 35 combo and complained about the lack of bass. Which was ridiculous really, since on paper that combo was able to produce a thunderous bass ( just like the OP setup). I even went to the dealer, he quickly put together the same amp and speakers and it produced a monstrous bass. I felt so stupid. But in my room subjectively there was no proper bass.

I measured the freq. response, and the reason was a strong room mode around 120 Hz at the listening position even at a moderate level, which masked the deeper bass.

I couldn’t move the speakers around much, so added a TacT Room Correction box and flattened that mode. Immediately I got a flat, deep, powerful bass and as a bonus - a much more natural midrange.

You may have something similar. Start with moving the speakers a bit and walking around the room while listening to the bass. Is the upper/mid bass changing dramatically? Can you find a listening position where the deeper bass goes low and you can feel it properly?

If that’s the case, you may need some extensive room treatment, which is a lot of work, or some digital eq like Lyngdorf Room Perfect which is not cheap, or a new speakers/ amp combo that will behave differently in that region. Probably some good 2-way standmounts.

When I was starting, I had that Idea of a big speaker that will give me a big bass. The reality proved to be a bit more complicated. The subjectively flattest and deepest bass in my room, not using digital room correction, came from a relatively compact quarter-pipe standmound.