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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
desktopguy
373 posts
 
My desktop audio system is located in a bedroom/converted to home office (13 X 13), and by necessity the speakers/monitors are located w/in 10" of the front wall, similar to your situation.

I've tried 3 powered monitors here. The 1st was sealed but tiny and even crossed over the a sub, the mid-bass was suspect due to smallness of "bass" driver. The 2nd and 3rd were ported and bass was overly full in midbass.

I ended up changing the system quite a bit, improving the electronics and transition to the sub. At the same time, I installed a pair of passive ATC SCM12 Pro's (driven by Wyred4Sound ST 500 Class D amp, very fine sound). This is it for me--excellent sound, top to bottom. It turns out that w/close proximity to front wall, a sealed speaker is essential. I just needed a bigger better one than I had before--plus all the tweaks to electronics.

A 2-way can actually be very very good--but it must be a very very good 2-way for this to work. The ATC is one such speaker. If you had the space, the even larger ATC SCM19 is another.
vtvmtodvm
66 posts
 
marklings—Yes, you're likely correct about digital popular music mixes being more bass heavy than when intended for vinyl media, but that's for good reason. LP discs are the product of a 1948 compromise that traded fidelity for the means to fit 25 minutes/side onto a 12 inch record. Bass response was sacrificed to reduce groove excursion, and treble was boosted to mask surface noise. Complementary equalization is introduced during playback, but analog LPs still measure poorly when compared to standard “Red Book” CD media. CDs convey a dynamic range > 30 dB better than vinyl, with much flatter frequency response, far less harmonic distortion, and near-noiseless playback, so the bass will certainly be more apparent.

And, as noted, sealed speakers will provide a smoother and more natural bass falloff than ported reflex speakers, but they won't extend as deeply. That's why I prefer to use fully sealed mini-monitor main speakers with dual self-powered subwoofers for the low bass, with the main-to-bass crossover functions managed by an active electronic crossover control unit, e.g. Marchand XM66. This makes it convenient to set/reset a desired mains-to-subwoofer acoustic ratio from a single, central location; no need to crawl out to each individual subwoofer.


dylanfan's avatar
dylanfan
139 posts
 
I have Harbeth 30.1’s and they sound beautiful. In fact the big complaint about them is that they lack bass. Maybe so but I am not a big fan of bloated bass either. I am 63 and these are awesome speaker. I do have a small REL sub (T-5) hooked up when I feel like I might need a little more bass to round out the system. These are incredible speakers. Mine are set up in a small 9 foot by 12 foot room and the bass is not boomy at all. Ina bigger room like yours those speaker will really shine and definitely not have too much bass. The mids and highs are incredible and what I really am a fan of. I forgot to say I have Dynaudio X12's and Dynaudio Contour 1.1's. While both of these are great speakers the Harbeth is much better. The Dynaudio Contour 1.1's do not have the clarity in the mids and highs as the X12's. They are more boomy in my small room and why I went with the Harbeth.
banyanbull
35 posts
 
First let me say I've been in the audio business with a brick and mortar facility for over 40 years offering clients outstanding choices for speakers at all price points. We continue to provide a state of the art environment for auditioning speakers which also serves as our home base for custom design and installation.  Most of what you're reading here is misinformation offering little meaningful input towards you goal of finding a nice pair of speakers for your system.  Disregard comments like "the only good two way speaker is a 3 way speaker" which is absolutely ridiculous. Find a local dealer who can offer you an opportunity to do some real listening.  A dealer that does more listening (to you) than talking. Take along music with which you are familiar.  Ask for the possibility of an in home demonstration. Look for well established speaker manufacturers with significant R&D resources. Do your homework but most of all trust YOUR ears.  
shoe
204 posts
 
Silverline Audio Prelude Plus Not a bookshelf speaker but, Lightweight for easy moving and placement, small footprint, easy to drive. Addicting imaging and detail, surprising bass depth that is light, well damped and tuneful not at all overblown, not to mention the finish is superb, I have a pair..
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