Nearfield Low-Level Listening : New Speakers or EQ? Thoughts?

Good input.  Lots to consider.  Volume, Amp, speakers, EQ, room, tubes, voice coil diameter, F-M Curve …

I will try the EQ first.  I have thought about higher sensitivity speakers, always wondered about Fyne F700/701.  A tube amp has been in the back of my mind, but there is much, for me, to love about the Accuphase vibe, and it is still new-ish.

@yoyoyaya yes, very close together, an unfortunate room limitation. Contributes to issue?

@cdc cannot find spec info for voice coil diameter, and more clues?

@moonwatcher thanks for the Frampton reference 

@elliottbnewcombjr good info on the Loki bands, thx.

@deep_333 your right, time to sell everything.👎

Will do some research into the Fletcher-Munson Curve.  Any recommended resources.

appreciate the Forum and it inhabitants.

I use a Loki Max for this very purpose and it works great for me. I live in a tiny NYC apartment and using it to bump the low and the high end when I want to listen late at night without bothering my wall neighbors works well. It’s just what my Tannoy Stirlings needed for that situation. 

I think you should have waited for your Loki Max before posting this. I've used a couple of Lokis for years (early adopter...now one is in my stereo video system and another is part of my main rig's Vali 3 headphone stack) and bought a Loki Max last year for my main system...a brilliantly designed EQ and the remote is a game changer. Fletcher/Munson can pound sand!

@OP I don't think the placement per se is the cause of the issue you are experiencing. But it does seriously compromise soundstaging. Unfortunately, it also means that the Devore O series won't work as their front baffles are too wide for the available space. The Gibbon series might. I'm presuming that the Forest Signatures, which are floorstanding, have replaced the stand mounts shown in your picture. That said, the Forests are essentially stand mount speakers with a cavity for mass loading built into the speaker. I think, in essence, the situation is that you have a small volume speaker that is slightly insensitive so you have a speaker with limited bass extension which is exacerbated by the relative reduction in perceived bass at low listening levels. Your use of the loudness control on the amp is an attempt to compensate for that, as will be the use of the Schiit. That is something of a sticking plaster rather than a full solution. I do think that you would get better results with a pair of more efficient speakers that also have a driver / cabinet combination that will allow them to move more air at low listening levels.

op you are barking up the wrong tree

your amplifier has more then enough power

changing to greater efficiency loudspeakers wont fix it nor will eq

low levet listening involves the flecher munson curve which dictates the ear is less adept at hearing low bass at lower levels you might think adding a sub would fix tha it wont as a good woofer just adds pressure to the leading and trailing notes of the totems the man sound is just coming from the totems

and an eq is too likely to muck up your tonal balance without offering enough finessee to fix the issue

having heard the totem forests for years you need a warmer fuller sounding loudspeaker with greater mid-bass response

please lk at a pair  of Legacy signatures or a pair of Harbeths to completely give you what you are craving.

Dave and Troy

Audio intellect NJ

legacy dealer