Would like to get more bass out of my B&W 801 series 2 speakers

those speakers always sounded best on sound anchor stands IMO

Hey,

So question is, are your speakers overall in a reflective environment?  A reflective room will accentuate the mid and treble ranges.  Where are your speakers placed in relationship to the rear and side walls?

I would say it is definitely a reflective environment.     I'd post a picture but not sure where to put it on the internet...    don't seem to be able to upload it from my computer.

The speakers are centered along the 32 foot wall, about 8 or 9 feet apart.   pretty close to the wall.

I've seen and heard about the sound anchors,  but haven't ever seen them used and delivered they are pushing $1500.   Would want to be very confident of the result before spending that kind of coin.

Best I can do right now is provide this link to a picture:

https://imgur.com/a/MNjPTb6

IMO, you need waaay more power to dig out the bottom two octaves in that big room.  Look for a very high current (high damping factor also) class A/B amp.  

Would the Adcom GFA555 fall into this category?   They seem to have a decent reputation in the power department.    

Just saw your picture.  Your best option is to treat your ceiling and bring your speakers out from against the wall if at all possible, otherwise treat wall directly behind with as thick absorbers you can afford.

The ceiling is going to substitute a little for the other treatments you can't place.   Normally you don't have to do that much with the ceiling, but in your case you may use it somewhat to reduce the overall reflectiveness of the room.  Also the entertainment center between the speakers is not helping you. 

Try blankets/pillows in between the speakers, and behind to get an idea of where you want to spend money in treatment options.  They are free and can help you get a feel for what choices will work for you.

The Adcom GFAs (aka GreatF&ckingAmp) were good in the day but they are very, very old and would need to be recapped etc.  Is it worth it?  Will they be reliable?  Questionable at best.  Look for something more modern, and good bang for the buck, like a Hegel H30 or better yet the H30A.  Should be plenty of power and pair well with your excellent speakers.  

How was the bass before you modded the crossover? Also your room looks very difficult lots of reflective surfaces. BTW what's that big speaker in the right hand corner?

Have you tried closing the drapes and seeing if the bass improves?

How about integrating a couple of subwoofers?

The bass and overall clarity improved significantly with the modification in my opinion.     I did them one at a time and did A-B after the first was completed.

The big speaker in the right hand corner is a jbl 4648 that I introduced for the home theater.   It adds a lot of "mid bass" frequencies.   Right now I have the two systems completely seperate (2 channel vs HT).    I think the 801s have the potential to make good bass, and would rather not keep adding more big speakers :)

I am intrigued by the room treatment ideas, not sure how I would give a treatment to the vaulted ceiling?    I can certainly move them away from the wall some, and I have heard getting them up off the ground (with some stands) helps too.

I really don't sit in the chairs to listen, this is our "community room" and lots of time spent there working around the kitchen/island.

I will try moving them away from the wall, closing the drapes, and maybe nocking together some short stands out of 4x4s.   I have read that they like to come up around 3-4 inches.

thanks for the input!

On a side note, the HT is 5.1.4 with speakers in the ceiling for the atmos. I replaced a smaller sub with the JBL because it wasn’t getting enough energy into the room.

I haven't tried using the JBL with the 2 channel system because I think the C658 has issues driving a subwoofer?

My question was the same as @stereo5. What changes, if any, occur in the bass when you close the drapes? If the bass gets more to you liking, then treatments are your answer. If there is no change, you will need to address your electronics, speakers, or maybe add subs. Good luck!

Is your listening chair in a null? Have you walked around the entire room to determine the room nodes: the peaks & nulls of the bass?

A drawback of a full-range floorstander is that the LF woofers are in a fixed position. That’s why some people choose monitors and freestanding subs - so they can position the subs anywhere in the room in order to have the bass waves arrive correctly by their listening chair.*

A possible solution could be the Distributed Bass Array, ’DBA’. Examples are: 'The Swarm’ and the 'DEBRA'.

- - -

*A 30hz bass wave is 37 feet long. It’s bouncing off the walls, ceiling and floor. The goal is to have it arrive at your listening chair at the same time as the HF & Midrange.

If you’re sitting in a null, no amount of room treatment will add bass. It could help tame the HF, if needed.

@chessie

Simple solution: At  only 87db, your speakers are very low efficiency and hard to drive.  You need tons of power, with high damping factor amplification in order to bring out the best in your speakers, including the bass response.  Your current amp at approx. 185 wpc into 8 ohms simply doesn't cut it.  You're underpowering your speakers.  I suggest you replace your current amp with something that'll give you at least 300 wpc into 8 ohms.  Once you replace your current amp with something much more powerful, I guarantee, you'll hear miraculous improvements not only in your bass response, but also the overall slam and dynamic of your speakers, especially when listening at low to moderate volume levels.  Happy listening.         

Well, I have received lots of good ideas, thanks and keep the advice coming.

Acoustically this room is a mess, will be trying to figure out how I can improve it.

I am intrigued by the DBA method, wonder if four subs would be enough for my space.   

A friend is going to loan me a Crown XLS 1502 to see what 300wpc will do for me.

I plan to get the 801s up off the floor, get them some space from the wall, and close the curtains.

cheers!

That’s a large room with a lot of volume. I’d add room treatment and an active subwoofer or two for an easy increase in bass output.

Bi-amping could help. A big SS amp on those woofers should bring some life to them, especially if you go next level and bypass the woofer’s passive low pass crossover and replace with an active crossover. Found some online specs that put the crossover frequency between the woofer and midbass at 380hz, so the woofers are handling the lower and middle vocal range. Letting the subwoofers handle below 60-80 hz will relieve the woofers of low bass duty, which should help clarity in the vocal range too.

FWIW I have 801 S2 Mk IIIs. Currently in a medium sized, treated room. Formerly in a very large room. I have used various amps in biamped configuration- Krell, Crown and Mac.Since new I made sturdy pedestal bases filled with sand that must weigh about 35 lbs. That puts the tweeter at ear height when sitting.

Bass has never been an issue. Even though I have a subwoofer (VMPS) for extreme bass,  I can switch it out on my pre amp and on most music I don’’t miss the sub- the 801’s are very adequate .

Right now run they with Mac 250/w amp (un biamped) and never sounded better.

As always, YMMV but the consensus opinion is that for these speakers, large current has always been recommended. Amps are easy to swap in and out- if you can borrow from a friend or dealer and experiment. Let us know