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Help wanted: Bass!

I’m in need of augmenting the bass in my system. I’m the old school type and would rather NOT go the sub route.

My system and environment:
• Pre:   Conrad Johnson Premier 16LS
• Pwr:   Conrad Johnson Premier 12 Mono Blocks
• Pwr Condtnr: Shunyata Hydra
• Speakers: Tannoy Kensingtons
• Cabeling: Stealth PGS IC’s, Vandenhull Bi-wire Speaker wiring
• Sources: Conrad Johnson DV-2B CD Player, SOTA Star w/SME arm w/Grado cart, Magnum Dynalab Tube Tun 
• Music:   Classic Rock, Easy listening, Female Jazz singers, Classical
• Room:   Big (25 X 30) w/cathedral ceiling. Harwood floors/ceiling and big glass windows. Rugs and furniture

Came across the Emerald Physics Bass Manager claims to add 1/2 octave of bass to any speaker. IYO, could that be a solution? Are there similar helpers like this out there? Not much in the budget (about $500) for a near-term purchase. Could double that for a longer-term.

Again, not wanting to go the sub route unless I have too. Can’t do room treatments or alter room configuration (it’s our living room) either.

Any thoughts/suggestions will be greatly appreciated – thank you!

rbschauman
atmasphere's avatar
atmasphere
11,784 posts
 
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?***

To answer the question- yes. Not only are you loosing bass impact, you are loosing resolution. You'll find it easier to make out vocals if you can shorten up the speaker cables.

(this BTW is why balanced interconnect cables are so handy in a home environment as they can be run very long distances without degradation, allowing for short speaker cables; a topic for a different thread)

However, I was not talking about absolute phase with my phase comment. Phase inversion is something an amplifier might do (our amps are non-phase-inverting) but its possible to hook one amp in phase and the other out of phase by accidentally getting one speaker cable hooked up wrong.

When this happens the woofers are fighting each other- you get cancellation in the bass frequencies and so no bass impact. That is why I suggested changing the phase (reversing red for black) on **one speaker only** to test to see if this is the case. Since you have not done so, I suggest you try it and see what difference you hear!
justubes2
203 posts
 
Change out the tubes. I used EI KT90 back when i had the 12s.

If it is a lack of bass impact and not room related suckout, the output tubes made the amps sound as if it gained another 50w of power control and drive over ANY other type output tube, over NOS Gec kt88, Tungsol 6550's.

There is no point taking about tonals of these lusher sounding tubes being better as the bass is the most critical issue you have. Other suggested tweaks will improve resolution, room acoustics but not improving the bass energy which this amp lacks.

The fuses in the amp do not have any audiophile equivalents.
exron
111 posts
 
I just saw this here on Audiogon and I think could help you.  Dave

https://www.audiogon.com/listings/equalizers-emerald-physics-bass-manager-add-1-2-octave-of-bass-to-...
danvignau's avatar
danvignau
935 posts
 

I agree that a sub is a less than perfect solution. I cheated by using identical amps and preamps, respectively for my mains and some good woofers for subs. I have complete control of how much bass I use without any crossover distortion. After many premade crossovers, after learning how to design them myself, and after years of matching subs, I finally tried dual, identical electronics and three inch thick foam for high frequency roll off for my subs, try it. you'll like it.  

Experiment with towels first, a layer at a time. You will be amazed how much better bass can be with no crossovers and a separate volume control that does not change the amount of power by frequency, like a bass control.  

desktopguy
367 posts
 
To really get a handle on what's happening in your room, you'd need a sound pressure meter and someone who knows how to use it. Then again, I look at the dimensions of your room (enormous, incl. height); read reviews of your speakers (clearly not intended for a room that large), and it become simpler. You may not want subs, but that's your answer. Subs would relieve your system of the need to fill this giant space below 50-60Hz (a losing battle). If I were you, I'd get a used Marchand crossover (XM9, crossed over low, ~400/500US used); plus 1 X SVS SB1000 ($499 US) to start. You can always get a 2nd sub later. Remember, you're not looking for massive SPLs from the sub, just enough low-Hz presence to lift the rest of the system (which BTW is really excellent in quality). If/when you finally had the $$ for a 2nd sub, the whole picture would be complete.
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