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A Bright Pair of Watt Puppys

I'd love some suggestions on taming my bright system. My Watt Puppy 6's are really bright and it often seems on many recordings as though the tweeter and midrange are just way louder and more dominant than the bass. Often, to get more bass punch (or just warmer sound) I find myself wanting to turn the volume up. This helps the bass level a bit but also sends the rest of the spectrum thru the roof: it gets very loud.

Although I assume my room is too small for these speaks and I need some treatment, can't believe this is the only issue here. Watching other woofers at CES for example, the things extend rapidly right out of the enclosures on systems that sounded warm to me. My drivers barely move at all. Just doesn't seem right.

Also was told by the designer of Genesis speakers that my amp isn't powerful enough to control the bass on the Watt Puppys. That was a surprise.

Here's my system configuration:
WP 6
BAT VK-600
Bat 31-SE Preamp
Kimber 3033 speaker cables
Synergistic Research Alpha Sterling ITC
Shanling CD-100 dual output cd player
Furman power conditioner
Room Size: 15 x 25

Any suggestions? Anyone?
Thanks
/Lee
graywind11
graywind11 OP
20 posts
 
Hey Dan,

They sounded different, yet also seemed bright. Thus my assumption for the room acoustics. I've not treated it yet, save for a few honeycomb blinds over the windows and an oriental rug.

As far as room treatments go, I'd always thought that too much boomy bass was the issue that they targeted, not too little. I'd heard that these speaks were a bit bright, but loved the resolution and imaging so much that I thought I'd solve for the less than stellar bass response on my own. Just love it when I hear deep church-organ bass. Raises the hair on your neck.

/Lee
george99sa's avatar
george99sa
36 posts
 
Wilson speakers are on the bright side,put in some overstuffed furniture and a tapestry or two on your walls,this will cut down High Frequency reflections.
rhyno's avatar
rhyno
649 posts
 
couple thoughts:
1) digital is an inherently bright format. you might want to look into a tube based CD player (less bright IME)
2) my room is 11*15; taking away side reflections is a big help
3) adjust height of watt to your preference (change the spikes)
4) play w/ power conditioning. the amp should not go into the furman. but i've gotten better mid-bass punch w/ some passive power conditioning boxes (ala hydra 2 but using better parts). see the hydra 4 DIY on 10audio.com
5) no idea on the kimber cable. but no one ever calls transparent wire "bright", and its usually rec'd w/ wilsons.

best
rhyno
jaybo
4,478 posts
 
just for the sake of experimentation, try a different front end. the hales will always be more articulate in the bass than a watt/puppy but the watt should play deep. as for the overall brightness you hear. i've always believed them to be very forward in the upper mids and highs. i suspect though, thats the plan when you want to sound detailed.
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drubin
3,275 posts
 
Have you experimented thoroughly with speaker placement? It sounds like a room problem, perhaps less about being too bright (though that may be true also) than about some big dips in the bass response. Have you taken any frequency response measurements?
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