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Budget bookshelf system for acoustic bass

Need help deciding on a speaker system. I listen to mostly acoustic Jazz and am looking for a system that accurately reproduces the lush harmonics of the string bass and the clean timbres of brass and cimbles. Problem is it needs to be a bookshelf system and my budget is around $600 - 800. Do folks think I need a subwoofer or will a monitor with good response down to 40 or 45 hz suffice for the string bass? Obviousky if I go with a sub there wilk be some loss of coherence and I don't want a thumper to shake the room with HT special effects.

My system is a Linn Classic, Music Halll MMF-5 TT with Goldring 1012GX cartrige and Bellari VP129 pre-amp.

I'm thinking of three very different aproaches. 1) Magnepan MC-1 with a sub like the PSB SubSeries 5i or the Infinity PS10. 2) A budget monitor like the NHT SB3, PSB B25 or Infinity Primus 150. 3) One of the above monitors above with one of the above subs

Any suggestions? Thanks, PDenni
peterennis1
c123666
871 posts
 
consider a spendor sp1
pabelson
344 posts
 
There's no such thing as a monitor that goes down to 40 Hz. Speakers that size start tailing off somewhere in the 70s. My suggestion would be a small monitor like the PSB Alpha or Paradigm Titan, along with as good a sub in the same line as you can afford.
programmergeek
322 posts
 
That is tuff unfortinally you need mass to move air that is really the bottom line. Now without getting into acoustics to much monitors and wall speaker usually don't have much bass because of the size and the fact that if you add bass the speaker becomes more bassey without accurate bass and just sounds worse. If you add a sub you have the problem of the sub not amplifying the same as the speaker and the bass getting heavy at some volumes and light at others. But you will need a sub and that is a expensive speaker.

Vanderssteen has solved this by using a crossover on your pre amp out to cut the bass form the mains and send it to the sub. they also connect the sub to the speaker out so it gets amped the same. You can pick up a 2w pretty cheep 500 or so and add that the trouble is there is a little set up involved. Not sure if other subs do this.

Hope this helps, also placement will effect your bass allot try to keep the speakers away from walls and out of a cabinet.
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