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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!

rbschauman
erik_squires
5,268 posts
 
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:

  1. Room treatment
  2. Bass Traps
  3. Subwoofer
  4. Equalization
Too often I see something like "I want the best possible sound, but I want no room treatment, subwoofer or equalization." :D :D So I hope after measuring you can be flexible to get what you need.

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
erik_squires
5,268 posts
 
By the way, OmniMic is a better choice, but it's about $250 and will eat into your budget fast.
erik_squires
5,268 posts
 
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.
islandmandan
848 posts
 
RB, my listening room is similar to yours, though a bit larger, at 16' X 34' w/cathedral ceilings. Speakers are custom built 12" Tannoy HPD's (ca 1975 Dual Concentric, which have been converted to Hard Edge surrounds, and custom outboard crossovers).

The bass was good without subs, but I felt I could use more bass in my large room. I added a 15" Tannoy passive sub, which I power with a Crown XTi 2002 (1600 Watts when bridged to mono, into 8 ohms), and a DIY 12" sub w/Eminence subwoofer driver. These two subs have put the finishing touch on an already good sounding system. The bass is very good, not at all overstated.  I couldn't ask for more, I feel a closer connection to my music, which now has a foundation that gets me to where I need to be. Nothing much to do now but listen to music in a very satisfying way.

I wouldn't rule out subs for your situation, the right sub(s) might just be what you need to finish your system off. 

Hope you find what you need, regards,
Dan
inna
5,245 posts
 
Cables and even power cords can make quite a difference when it comes to bass. But it requires experimentation and it won't be inexpensive.
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