REF3 with VS115

On the back of the amp try other speaker taps 4 ohm 8 ohm Etc also moving your speakers around try first either 6 to 8 inches forward or backwards you could be just agitating a room node.
one or both should do the trick
Cheers Johnnyr

Audio Research REF preamps have big bass.
REF3 supposedly addressed the sort of fat, sometimes overripe bass of previous REF1 and REF2 models but it should still have some serious slam in the lower register. Which is good. In some systems. If your speakers already do that, it may become too much of a good thing when you add electronics that emphasize the bass as well.

Try changing speaker placement. You CAN reduce bass with cables, etc. But you need to find out first if the bass you are getting is bad, or is it just something you need to get used to for few days and you won't be able to return to how how your system sounded before.

Keep us posted.

I wonder if the bass on the Audio Research REF amplifiers and all of their reference components have an enhanced bass sound also.

When I purchased my Audio Research REF CD7 (moving up from a CD2), I noticed the increased bass in the player immediately.

ARC has bass to begin with. Their REF tubed stuff does bass like best of solid state, or even better.

Mitch, did you notice it with REF3? You may not have because you owned REF1 and REF2. All of these had crazy bass. It's just that with every generation of REF preamps it improved, right? Bass with REF3 should be faster and more detailed than it was on previous REF models. But it will still be BIG.

I had REF1 and it had bass that would punch you in your chest. Try listening to Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture on telarc with REF3....but watch out for those digital cannons!

In my system, the REF 3 and 115 seem to do bass just right, certainly not overblown. My speakers, Dali MS5's, work well with this amplification, though they certainly need a large room. In a smaller space, I suppose the bass might be a bit overwhelming which, again, is more a function of the speakers than the preamp/amp combo.