Taming an unruly bass

[paulsue38]

Recently bought a Pearl Lite CD player to add to my Arcam A 38 and Spendor A3. I use Mark Grant interconnects and QED silver speaker cable. Having some problems with the bass response. The bass response is excessive at times and can dominate on tracks with lots of low bass in particular. Customer support at Spendor were excellent and they are going to send me some foam bungs (free of charge). Other than sell the Marantz already any other tips people may have to deal with this ? I have pulled the speakers out into the room a bit which helped slightly but the room is only small and with four kids in the house it is not really practical, I also have solid block floor so have spike shoes and moving them in and out can be a pain. Argos have Granite worktop protectors for £8 would it be worth sitting the amp and CD player on a couple of these? What about ways of isolating the speakers?

Paul

 

[stereo70]

Have you considered a Pearl Lite amp? These are pretty much made for eachother and if previous KI stuff is anything to go by they seem to be pretty much bass light'ish.

Edit - or could it be room acoustics?

 

[PhilofCas]

What size is the room Paul?

 

[It Cost How Much!?!]

For the speakers, try slide shoes for sofa's, they work really well sliding heavy things in and out.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/4-Furniture-Sliders-70mm-Diameter/dp/B0047UP09K/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1382646049&sr=8-1&keywords=sofa+sliders

Spendor's own speakers (as opposed to other peoples designs they make) always seem to have loose bass. The bungs will reduce the level of bass.

What are the walls made of? If they are plasterboard, they will add to the bass at higher volumes.

Arcam amps, worthy as they are, also have a slightly loose bass, but you should be able to tune the speakers to get an acceptable sound.

 

[RobHolt]

Focus on the room positioning and foam bungs - those will make quite large changes.

The amp and CD player have ruler flat bottom ends, and the Arcam has a high damping factor so neither should be causing this issue.

Not sure what sort of foam Spendor use for the bungs but if it's very dense or closed cell it might go too far and effectively give a closed box bass bass alignment, which is incorrect for the A3.

If after fitting the bungs the bass gets too light, try turning the bungs sideways so that some air can escape. Alternatively, make your own open cell bungs which will damp the bass without messing too much with the bass alignment. If you want some of the latter foam I can send you enough for the ports (no cost).

 

[Rodney Gold]

See if you can change listening position , excess bass is from standing waves , and the operative word is standing , they do not move in the room , so you have to move out of the peaks (or nulls) , moving speakers does affect things a bit , but no where near as effectively as YOU moving.

 

[sheggs]

Yes, you really need to consider your room first. When you get new equipment it can change the dynamics you have been used to

1) Listening position - Are you facing the long wall? / Do you have symmetry in your speaker position / Are your speakers too close to the wall?

2) Acoustics - Do you have flutter echo? / If you put your head in the corner can you hear the build up of bass?

I would look on google for acoustic primer and start reading some of the articles

 

[mbu]

I have used what I call semi bungs. Same idea as Rob I think..

Some foam material. About 9cm X 9 cm X 0.5cm thick. Roll up and insert in port. Port still operates but diameter now reduced. Works a treat - along with speaker positioning of course.

Blocking a ported speaker up completely has never properly worked for me the times Ive tried it.Seems to hobble any speaker designed with a port/s.

 

[listenup]

I too have found that blocking ports has not worked for me,. It does tame some bass, but also changes the overall satisfaction of listening to a well designed speaker, so I went a different route.

My speakers are Revel F32 floorstanders, with spikes removed. They have a huge rear port which sits less than 6 inches from the rear wall and they stand between cabinets which can make bass issues even more of a problem. Track Audio speaker platforms, with their compliant feet, slightly separate the speakers from the floor, and on top of each platform are 6 of the small Black Ravioli to give more separation from the floor. Vertex Pico boxes on top of the speakers add a degree of vibration absorbing to the top of the column.

Before the speaker platforms arrived (and a much more affordable option), I had used wooden chopping boards with spikes, with marble place mats of the same size on top separated by a compliant silicone sheet. That's what convinced me that lifting the speakers off the floor and adding compliance was the route to go.

 

[paulsue38]

Thanks for replying everyone some really interesting ideas. The room is a typical 1930's small front room (my man cave, four kids including three teenage girls!) It is around 4m wide with a depth of 3.5m. Speakers are either side of fire place 2.5m apart. Sofa opposite fireplace and speakers. Walls solid, bay window to left and solid block flooring. Listening position cant change. No problem with bass until Marantz arrived but it does have a weightier bottom end than the Cambridge Audio 640 that it replaced.

The Marantz does give extra detail and a wider soundstage the added bonus of SACD and the DAC adds flexibility. Will try some marble chopping boards under the Spendors to start with while I wait for the bungs to arrive. Don't really want to completely close the port so will take heed of the advice given here. Perhaps a bundle of straws would give some partial port blockage?

Thanks again

Paul

 

[RobHolt]

Don't really want to completely close the port so will take heed of the advice given here. Perhaps a bundle of straws would give some partial port blockage? Thanks again

Paul

Yep - but use the very thin ones and pack them in tight.

 

[Guest]

Looks like you've got standing wave problems.

Bass is a very important part of the music so it would be a shame to solve it by bunging up your speakers.

Corner bass traps are the answer & come in wife friendly colours.

Check out the Search facility on this here forum as there's lots of good advice on room treatment.

 

[paulsue38]

Many thanks I will have a look. Don't rally want to use bungs. These are fine speakers as well just won a group floor-standing test in this months Hi-Fi Choice.

Paul

 

[roob]

Get a set of Linn Kans

 

[brystonian]

I'm just really echoing (arf) what other people have already said but: :zip:

You probably have a room with strong peaks and nulls, and your head is directly in a peak. If you're hearing a +12dB peak at 120hz it'll sound terrible!

Moving yourself back or forward can completely change the perceived level of bass.

Moving the speakers/yourself away from the walls/corners will reduce boundary reinforcement.

Bass trapping would really help to flatten the response in the room and would be my first choice after finding the ideal listening/speaker position. But some people don't like having traps hung all over the place. My room looks like a padded cell.

Some people swear by these new fangled anti-mode computer ma-bobs. That measure the modal peaks and nulls in a room and equalise the output of your speakers to counter their effect. I've never seen or used one so can't comment. But from what I've read, they're pretty natty.

If your A3's are like my A6's. There's a nice smooth black painted metal puck in each corner that you've screwed the spikes into. These are for use with hard floors, take the spikes out if you don't have a carpet!

I slide my speakers about 2 feet into the 'listening position' on my hard floor everyday and they've not left a mark yet. If your floor is really nice though, you could stick a felt pad to each puck.

 

[Rodney Gold]

I use a Dspeaker antimode 2.0 to integrate 4 subs that compliment my meridian DSP6000's in a 2 chan music only system , best upgrade ever - deep clean textured and hugely powerful bass down to 16 hz. Used many many other RC devices , this is the best - EU725.

http://www.dspeaker.com/en/products/20-dual-core.shtml

 

[Radioham]

I have a similar issue, and found the KI Pearl Lite amp solved the problem as it has "Tone" controls, but not the old school, they are just effect at the extreme edges of the audio spectrum. I too found the foam bungs on my earlier speakers reduced the Bass, but made the mids congested.

 

[Chumpy]

Usually above, some useful suggestions.

In proper environment, maintained/used properly, proper Linn Kan probably has best rhythm-bass definition of any audio speaker-sys ever made/sold.

Other non-believers are welcome to enjoy what suits their environments/bodies.

 

[S-Man]

In proper environment, maintained/used properly, proper Linn Kan probably has best rhythm-bass definition of any audio speaker-sys ever made/sold.

.

It's such a great shame that there are not enough pairs in existence for everyone.