My Sonus Faber Amatis have weak bass even though I'm running ML 536s--800 w/ch into 4 ohms


I don't know what I'm doing wrong. I thought the new monos would solve the problem. I still have to use subwoofers to feel like my system has any bass. I've tried speaker placement but to no avail. I realize it could be room issues, but short of packing my room pull of room treatment, there has to be something else. The drivers work, it just doesn't sound full. Should I get a different speaker? At this price, I expected more.

128x128torke

@celtic66 all about synergy. I run Nordost Tyr 2 XLRs, Frey 2 power cord on DAC and amp, Heimdall 2 power cord on streamer. Accurate, fast, transparent and dynamic. Combined with Audience FrontRow speaker cables just excellent synergy. I wouldn’t run Nordost Heimdall 2 interconnects and speaker cables in the same system though.

In over 25 years in high end audio, and owning several high-end, full range speakers, I never experienced any speaker, in any of my rooms, that exhibited a lack of bass.  If anything, the speakers sometime exhibit just the opposite, too much bass.  Also, I never experienced having a set of speakers that were internally wired incorrectly.  Sounds like a room, associated equipment, or a combination of the two issue to me.  Happy listening.          

Are your speakers new? If so, as others have suggested you may need to give them a little time to break in. If that’s not the issue, what speakers did you own before these and were you satisfied with the bass performance? if not, it’s possible that your personal preferences are such that subs will be necessary to meet your expectations.

did you buy the speakers from a dealer in your area? If so, and they are relatively new your dealer should help you with this problem. Maybe he could bring different speakers or a different amp to your room and experiment.  As others suggested, these are quality speakers, which should make enough bass, but “enough“ is subjective and you have too much money invested to be dissatisfied. If you bought them from a quality dealer, you should have a partner in solving this. Good luck.

I have Sonus Faber Cremona Ms. I also have two KEF R400B subs to enhance the bass. My amp is a Macintosh MA8950. I know my room has some issues, but I'm ok with using the subs. Sometimes, I turn them off for specific listening, but most of the time they're on. I don't see it as a problem, more of a solution. 

As  mentioned - If new, the woofer suspension will loosen up over time and start to sound as designed, but can sound restricted early on.

Double check that the polarity of the speaker wires is correct at both ends....you can even take a battery with two leads soldered on each end to check the woofers are wired correctly internally. The positive lead to positive input (plus neg to neg) should cause the woofer to surge forward...otherwise they're wired in reverse.

Bass output is relative to the volume it has to fill.  Your room is large with a large volume of space to fill.  It's possible that your room has some bass issues, and the main woofers aren't up to filling it with low frequency.  Subs can be a good, simple solution.  My speakers had plenty of bass at our old house, but I needed a sub to fill the space of our current room.

Do you have any bass controls you can turn up?  You could also try bi-amping to the woofers with a separate amp that has an independent volume control, but both of these solutions could have some complications and affect on vocals in the 80hz to 200/270hz range in addition to lower bass. 

It's not something I've experimented with, so am only suggesting it as a possible option to consider, but perhaps some sort of parametric EQ with good adjustment options below 100hz could help if other solutions aren't satisfactory to you.