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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
vtvmtodvm
66 posts
 
jimman2—Here is some good background FYI: https://www.kirkville.com/music-not-sound-why-high-resolution-music-is-a-marketing-ploy/

There are a great many audiophiles today who do not believe that basic "Red Book" (CD) 16 bit/44kHz digital sampling is sufficient. They want 24 bit/96kHz sampling or higher. (This latter technology was not economically viable in 1981-82, when Sony & Philips created the CD format.) Personally, I feel that there's zero audible benefit in going beyond 16/44 as delivered to the final listener, but then I don't subscribe to lots of other audiophile esoterica either. I like measurements.
colin44ct357's avatar
colin44ct357
122 posts
 
Agree 100%, overbearing Bass kills any system.Speakers must be pure and true.Cover the complete spectrum in a natural way which does not rearrange the ornaments!
vpi's avatar
vpi
223 posts
 
I must join those who have spoken of speaker placement.  At ten inches from your front wall bass is going to be overemphasized and you will lose most of the depth in the soundstage. Images will also be smeared by the wave coming off that front wall.   You are not going to get a good balance from almost any speakers that hug the wall like that except perhaps some of the on-wall speakers.  However,  all of the on-walls I'm aware of are designed for home theater, not serious two channel music.  I'm 74 and spent five of my younger years in Naval aviation so I have a significant high frequency loss but I get a very nice balance with extended highs from a pair of Canalis Cambrias about three feet out from the front wall listening fairly near field at about 12 feet.

2channel8
758 posts
 
After you try stuffing the port (experiment with full and partial stuffing) Experiment with toe in.
I have some old Boston Acoustics T-830 3-way mini towers that sound great very close to the wall. They are sealed (Acoustic suspension).
I upgraded to Canton Ergo 3-way towers that are ported in the front. They sound awesome to my 65 year old ears. Canton says their speakers can be placed 12" from the surface behind them, even though the Vento 826 bookshelfs are rear ported.

I believe NHT is back in business and they make highly regarded acoustic/sealed speakers. You could also focus on front ported speakers that are less influenced by the surface behind them. Some examples are Monitor Audio and SalkSound.
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