Speakers or Amplifier

I concur with Theo in that you will want to try different cables. I reviewed a fair number of Wireworld products for Dagogo.com, and I still endorse them as very fine cables. However, there are other cables which confer a deeper, more present bass response, among them Clarity Cable and Silnote Cable, both reviewed.

The Ariel 7t is a fine speaker and will give you clean bass. If you want to stay in that league of performance and step significantly lower in bass output, you might have to part with a fair bit more than $10K. :( It's not unusual to have speakers with bass specs at about 22dB and in that zone of quality to cost upwards of $30K. Your best bet may be to add subs.

Subwoofers are a legitimate boon to an already capable speaker system, and if you can't get enough LF currently they are a fine way to supplement the system. If you do so, I strongly recommend you do stereo subs, not just one. The qualitative difference in experience with twin subs is easily heard. You seem to have the space to do so.

You could dip your feet into a few different cables or power cords. I do not see aftermarket power cords in your system listing, and I didn't read all the posts to your system, so I don't know if you already have taken action on it. But, if you haven't yet gone to replace the stock power cords, you have a lot of sound to discover. I recommend you get some heftier gauge copper power cords to ameliorate the thinness of the bass/LF. You'll still have money left over for subs. You can not only take a small step, you can completely revamp your rig if you do it right. Feel free to also see my review of the Legacy Audio XTREME HD subs at Dagogo.com

What is it that has you so put off by subs? True, they are challenging to integrate perfectly seamlessly, but when done well, they offer compelling LF potentially at a fraction of what could be attained by a larger, more expensive speaker.

If you are set against subs, then you will have to change your speakers to achieve a sea change in bass. Swapping amps will give you some benefit potentially, but the twin 7" drivers simply are not capable of massive LF. This is true regardless of the brand. Having reviewed and owned speakers with bass drivers from 7-8" through 15" to obtain the LF you want, and at a quality you want, you will have to move up substantially in the cost of the upgrade, likely, and go to no less than a 10", and very preferably a 12" or 15" bass driver. Doing so, you will get your bass!

However, unless you do your homework, there is no assurance that the outcome will supersede that of adding quality subs to your current speakers.

When you say you want more bass I'm assuming that you mean more defined bass: that you want to hear more of what's going on instead of what I call 'musical smoke'.

I'm in the 'try different cabling' camp and encourage you to try out a pair of Darwin Ascension Plus ICs. They may still be on sale for the price of regular Ascensions. The detail, definition and see-through in the bass range is simply stunning, which aids in increase in extension.

All the best,
Nonoise

Thanks to everyone for their input. I have confirmed that I can connect subs through my M1 DAC and will be ordering a JL Audio F112. If I feel it integrates well, I will order another one.

Hi Richard, Here is a different opinion... Your Bricasti DAC is not yet broken in. I recommend that you stay put until the unit has at least 800 hours on it... Its bass performance is bound to change in one direction or another, and finally stabilize in a spot quite different from where it is now.

Once Bricasti is stable, you can assess with better accuracy how much bass is missing if any, and what to do about it.

If you upgrade speakers or amp right now, you will just end up in a different spot of the eternal audiophilic upgraditis merry-go-round... Still dissatisfied, just in a different way from right now.

G.