Wire has NOTHING to do with bass quality - unless it's REAL teeny! Remember: BIG woofer/magnet and BIG amp!
Can cables of any cost and quality provide bass response missing in my B&W speakers?
I'm sure variants of this question have been offered previously, but let me ask in light of the following: I have a very modest main system powered by an Adcom 555II amp, Adcom GFP-750 pre-amp, and run into a pair of B&W CM-4 speakers (6.5in woofer, 6.5in. woofer/mid. and tweeter, and bi-wireable). Any music with a moderate-to- heavy bass component (organ, bass fiddle, etc) just doesn't translate to my ear. I'm using a mid-range pair of Monster cables, and in fact tried a second pair of Z-Series to no audible difference. On the other hand I have a legacy pair of a/d/s 1090L tower speakers (2x7.5in woofers, 6in. mid-range, tweeter) that deliver thundering bass when needed regardless of cabling used, and powered by the same system. Even tried passive bi-amping for the B&Ws by using an old Carver M-500t amp for HF input, and Adcom amp for LF input...no diff. Is there any point really in looking at higher-end speaker wire of, e.g., thicker gauge, or exotic geometry, or multi-conductor "shotgunning", whatever, in order to induce greater LF response from the CM-4s? Thanks for your patience.
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kost - please don't enflame this conversation as you have done with many other conversations. We have already determined and stated that bass is a limitation of the speaker's woofer characteristics and box design. OP is simply asking if there is any way cables can improve things. While I agree that cable has somewhat of a limited effect here, it can make the existing bass signals a bit stronger. roberjerman - see my statement. Obviously, as stated before, OP speaker is limited on woofer/cabinet design. |
@ compass_rose In light of comments here, I guess I should clarify that my recommendation of the GE cables was not mean to claim or imply that they would somehow magically transform your speakers into bass dynamos. It's just that you specifically asked about cables that might help your bass situation, and I believe these might. And I wouldn't recommend them at all if bass was the only thing they did well. In addition to the deep bass, I noticed great sound stage and imaging, vocals are very nice, and the highs are clear and pure. There is what I would call an "immediacy" to the music. I think you would enjoy them even if they had no affect on the bass. If you have the money to give them a try, don't let anyone talk you out of it just because, in their learned opinion it just cannot be true. You have a 30 day period to try them. And, no, I have no affiliation with this company; feel free to check my posting history and you will see that I have not posted on these cables in years. |
Well, very spirited discussion indeed! To settle a couple of points raised: my existing Adcom back-end can very successfully drive the a/d/s L1090 towers...unfortunately the original data sheet on the speakers was lost in a move, so I can't determine speaker efficiency vis-vis the B&W CM-4s, which are rated at 90dB/W/m, but I would presume the former to be a bit more efficient than the latter. I'm still going to carry on evaluating some raw speaker wire, but definitely coming round to the view that the CM-4 constitutively lack strong bass presence, and perhaps best to work in the sub in a more blended fashion to support music playback of all genres. |
One last thought from the OP here: a thread on AudioKarma caught my eye just today, where a commenter has both the CM-4 and a/d/s L1090 speakers, and also finds that the CM-4 is rather thin in bass, especially doing an A/B test v. L1090. Exactly my finding as well. http://audiokarma.org/forums/index.php?threads/a-d-s-l1090-info.761221/ |
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