You don't lack bass, you have too much treble

@12many 

I don’t know how to answer your question.  It’s not just a trumpet. It’s anything from a Saxophone to Joni Mitchell’s voice to an electric guitar.

@erik_squires 

So I’m listening to Jazz @ 65-70 dbs and a trumpet pops in @80-85 dbs and it makes my ears hurt. The same can be said for Saxophone, electric guitars and some female singers.  I currently have 6 absorption panels and furniture and CD racks for dispersion. Carpeted floor and a lot of soft things in my room.

I have tried 2 preamps(both tube hybrid), two sets of mono blocks (both sets are tube hybrid) and a Hegel H390 (that is on the warmer side) and I’m still getting that sharpness above @80dbs. My streamer is still the modded BS Node N130, going to the Denifrips Pontus ll and the speakers are still the KEF Reference 5’s.

Any thoughts?

Hi @erik_squires 

Thanks for the reply.

The speakers have maybe 1° of toe-in. I will make it zero.  The floor behind them is carpeted, but I will definitely try more absorption behind them. Behind me is almost no wall at al. There are two door size walkways and a pass through from the kitchen.

And,  I doubt very seriously that the wife will let me put any treatments on the ceiling, but I can always ask. 😁

@mcroth

Yeah, I’d say 60% of the back wall, 15% of the front wall is open to something. At least 50% of the right wall and 30% of the left wall are open as well, so I definitely have several gotcha’s to deal with.
For now, I have a portable divider covered with a quilt covering over half of the biggest opening between the family room and the living room. When we save up some money, that pass through is going to be filled in,

@asvjerry @mahgister 

Lord knows I’ve tried,  but when she came home after spending a couple of weeks with her sister and found some Maggie 3.7i’s in the family room, it was all over for me!

@erik_squires 

I’ve two different amps and two different preamps and it stays the same.  And this is the second pair of Reference 5’s (long story ) and the sound is just as sharp in the same areas and volumes. 🙁

@danager 

Currently I’m using a BS Node N130 with a linear power supply going to a Denifrips Pontus ll via USB.

@erik_squires 

Sorry for hijacking your thread.

@asvjerry 

I hear Bacon makes everything better.😃🥓😃

@danager 

I tried that two years and two preamps and two sets of amps and an integrated ago.  And of course I can’t remember, but it’s simple enough to try.