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Speakers for aging audiophiles - What's with today bass emphasis ?

I'd love to pick your brains on a issue and possibly a suggestion
My system has 2 sources, a Logitech transporter and Thorens 126 MKIII / SME / Supex.  Ampli recently changed to a Musical Fidelity M6si. My listening is 80% streaming and 20% vinyl. It's mostly classic and prog rock but also acoustic jazz and classic chamber music.
I have an issue with my current speakers setup: Dynaudio BM6 passive.
I have been using those for some months now and find that while they are satisfying in terms of scene, detail, resolution they are exceedingly strong in the bass (say 50 to 200 Hz) and not adequately balanced in the middle / treble, say from 1k Hz up. It seems as though the bass player stand in front with a big amplifier and everyone else is back in the stage.
I have changed the amplifier to the Musical Fidelity but while I am happy with that I did not see much change in respect to the issue I am describing.

I relate this issue to 2 causes:

1. Today's recordings emphasizes the bass unrealistically. Let me just give you an example. I recently bought Steve Wilson remix of Marillion "Misplaced Childhood". Great work. The mix is shining but compared to the old vinyl I have got you get this feeling of too much bass. Bass quality is great, well defined, solid, no complain but just too much of a good thing.

2. I am ageing, over 60 now. It is well know that as you age your sensitivity to the high frequencies falls down

Given those factors I'd like to change speakers to get something that:
- Is very open on the highs
- It's very analytical
- Does not over emphasize basses
- Bookshelf
- Ballpark cost 2 - 2.5 K

Can anyone make suggestions ? I was inclined to the Harbeths M30 but read several blogs where they say they do emphasize the bass. Maybe Dynaudio Special or Focus  ? How about Totem Sky ?

I don't mind spending a few more bucks to get what I want / need.

Thanks a lot everyone.

Mark.
marklings
mapman's avatar
mapman
22,300 posts
 
Is the issue with the Logitech, turntable or both?

Also those Dynaudios are nearfield monitors. Is that how you listen when you hear too much bass?

Placement and room acoustics greatly affects bass response in that range. Have/can you play with that? Could be room acoustics and treatable by moving away from corners or walls and in some cases isolating speakers from floor interactiion better.

Newer digital recordings often have more bass.

I've  heard Tekton DI.   Sound fine but would not seem to fit your bill as described. 
mcreyn
293 posts
 
I will chime in on the side of looking at your room first. It is worth the investment of $100 to purchase a calibrated mic and download rew to see what peaks and nulls you have in your room. Changes in setup (often minor) and room treatments to address these can make a huge difference in perceived bass. Best of all treating the room is not expensive and helps any speakers used.

You could also try an eq, the Schiit Loki is $150 and well designed to not degrade sound.

Finally, if you are intent on replacing your speakers, you should probably add Totem to your list.  
yyzsantabarbara
4,876 posts
 
If you can move the speakers away from the bookshelf, preferably on stands, the Audience 1+1 for $2600 is what I use in my office (on a desk).

http://www.theabsolutesound.com/articles/audience-clairaudient-11-v2-loudspeaker/

It lacks the bass but has top notch sound above bass region. You do need to toe these in. They are crossover less and have drivers on all 4 sides. Each speaker weighs about 8 pounds. I agree with the review I posted and the description of the sound.

The imaging could be a bit better though I may have a problem in positioning these at the moment with the left side wall closer than the right.

Once I move to a bigger office I will add a new set of speakers with a bit more bass but I will still keep these around since they are rather exceptional.
mapman's avatar
mapman
22,300 posts
 
Lowering bass levels need not be rocket science. Distance from wall and corner reinforcement will do it. If your floors are suspended plywood (they have some give and vibrate if you jump up and down). isolating stands like Isoacoustics will clean up the bass making it more articulate and also avoiding muddy bass which obscures midrange. Its possible you need cleaner more articulate bass not necessarily less.
akg_ca's avatar
akg_ca
2,270 posts
 
To the OP: Its not an audio trend assault with an over emphasis on bass.

Without prejudice to the facts that
(a) room treatments and speaker placement matter, and
(b) personal biased tastes are big influences and
(c) synergy (or lack of it) by speakers with the rest of your system
are all big influences in bass bloat complaint.

there’s a vast plethora of available bookshelf choices in your price point strata.... some that work for you and others that don’t.

You need to audition personally, full stop. Any and all of the buzzilion personal choice faves randomly pushed herein are functionally meaningless because they are heavily biased and purely anecdotal personal fave choices with no assurance that they will work and/or improve audio performance in YOUR bespoke system.

I will borrow a topical speaker review extract (redacted to remove another brand name in favour of posting neutrality ) that summarizes the linchpin best-of-breed audio performance factor that separates the contenders from the pretenders in your journey to OZ....the driver midrange performance, with an emphasis on the last two sentences:

”......Immediate impressions are a clear and transparent portrayal with very high detail retrieval, fast and controlled transient response, and superb musical timing, both in articulating rhythms and tempi, and in placing instruments within the temporal flow and context of the performance. The XXXXX is an outstanding mid/bass driver, sonically and musically right in line with the midrange performance of XXXX’s amplifiers and phono cartridges. Get the midrange right and everything else will fall into place. Get it wrong, and all the king’s horses…”



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