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What's wrong with my system?

My admittedly budget, mid-fi system severely lacks base. And I don't know why.

It consists of:

Speakers: Tannoy Eyris DC1 bookshelf speakers on stands (they're the old version of the Tannoy Revolution Signature DC6 bookshelves with the dual concentric drivers)

Amp: Arcam A18 Amplifier
DAC: PS Audio Digital Link III DAC
Cables: Blue Jeans interconnects
Source: 256 bit rate AAC up to ALAC going to an Airport Express connected by optical to the DAC

The high end is great, voices sound amazing with the dual concentric drivers. But there's no base to speak of. And I know it's not the speakers because I once auditioned a modded Music Hall DAC which gave them a ton of low end (but eliminated the high end, which is why I didn't buy it).

Would the Arcam be the problem? I can't imagine it's the airport express or optical source to DAC because it's all digital until the DAC. And everybody loves the PS Audio DL III, so I can't see that being the problem, either.

Any ideas???
01jeremy01
elizabeth
6,726 posts
 
Is one woofer wired out of phase by accident?
Usually the worst feature of 'out of phase' condition is terrible bass.
out of phase wiring either to the speaker cable, or even one driver is wire reverse.
Try switching ust ONE speaker wire plus minus around at one end only and see if the bass gets better.
01jeremy01 OP
7 posts
 
I tried it but it didn't work. That just knocked out one of the tweeters while keeping the bass the same. Thanks for trying to help, though.

Any other ideas? Anyone?
almarg's avatar
almarg
8,673 posts
 
I see here that the speaker has an unusual terminal configuration. Are you sure that you have them connected properly?

Assuming that you are not biwiring, and that your speaker cables are unshielded, the two red terminals should be connected together, perhaps with a metal jumper that was supplied with the speakers, as well as being connected to the red (+) output terminal of the amplifier. The two black terminals should be connected together, perhaps with a similar metal jumper, as well as being connected to the black (-) output terminal of the amplifier. The green terminal should most likely be left unconnected, assuming your speaker cables are unshielded.

If you have left one of the two red terminals and/or one of the two black terminals unconnected, it would definitely account for the problem.

Regards,
-- Al
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