Help wanted: Bass!

..buy a subwoofer...the cheapest and easiest way to fix your issues..

Since this has not been mentioned:

The first thing to check is the phase!!

Try swapping the red for black connections on the back of the speaker (one channel only), put on a record with some bass impact and see if the bass is better or worse. If the speaker is out of phase bass will be poor and with some speakers and some rooms you may not notice that the imaging isn’t what its supposed to be. So it might be that the imaging will improve as well if phase is a problem.

Another thing that can cause loss of bass is the length of the speaker cables. One advantage to running monoblocks is the ability to place the amps close to the speaker to allow you to minimize the length of the speaker cable. This usually has a bigger effect with tube amps than solid state due to the output impedance of the tube amps being higher. This is exacerbated if the bass region of the speaker is 4 ohms instead of 8 or 16!! Generally speaking a meter and a half is the upper limit with nearly all tube amps unless you have 16 ohm speakers and you don’t. If your speakers are 4 ohms the limit is more like one meter and the cables had better be pretty heavy.

Its also important to make sure the connections on the amps and speakers are as tight as possible. DO NOT OVERTIGHTEN or you might really regret it.

You may also be experiencing a standing wave in the room; often a problem when the room has regular dimensions. If this is the case no amount of EQ will fix it. I advise staying away from EQ as you will find that the EQ exacts a price which is a loss of transparency and musicality. Its better to find a solution by other means. A standing wave can often be cured by moving the speaker somewhat. If you are stuck with the location, back the speaker up as much as you can and fiddle with toe-in.

Of the subwoofer suggestions, I second the Swarm made by Audiokinesis, should you find that subs are indicated.

I would suggest  trying a aftermarket fuse, first the pre amp, then your splendid monos, I recently switched to Audio Magic's new
SHD fuses, they make you realize just how weak that link really is,
I have been using after market fuses for over 10 years, the SHD is mind boggling, and it wont just be better bass! At 175 each seems expensive till you put one in! Good luck, and really nice setup BTW  

More suggestions, gosh this is great – thanks all!

Some quick hitters:

I conferred with CJ was told that phase inversion is necessary; it’s the configuration I’ve been running though - check.

Connections are secure – check.

***Speaker cable length….hmmm, maybe a bit of a problem here. For aesthetic purposes (again, this is my living room and not my hi-fi room) my electronics are on one side of the room and the speakers centered in the room. Because of this arrangement, I’ve got two 20’ bi-wire runs of Van den Hul Teatrack hybrid cabling. Kensington SE’s are 8 ohms. Atmasphere: Think I’m losing much here?***

RBP, fellow fan of CJ!! Thank you so much for sharing your CJ experiences for my benefit! Tube rolling is something I’ve never done (always used CJ stock tubes) but will get to. Should be an interesting endeavor, thanks for passing along the characteristics of those you’ve dabbled with. Cabeling? Though I was good there with Stealth PGS IC’s and Van Den Hul to the speakers but I’ll review.

Will look into the fuse suggestion as well – I would have never thought they could make a noticeable difference.

Grateful for all the suggestions, the solution is certainly within!
RB

rbschauman

Did you see this link I gave you before to try, you should.
http://s89.photobucket.com/user/jeffreybehr/media/C-j%20equipment/PremierElevenoutputwiring1150_cmprsd.jpg.html

Cheers George