2. amps-preamps
  3. 147099-115272

Sloppy, muted bass response on Hegel h190

 Hi, I have a Hegel h190 integrated, a pair of Kef  104/2's from 1985 that have been rebuilt but I don't know whem, the speakers have new donuts and new silver Kef tweeter.  I mostly use the sonus connect.   Also I have a 15-year-old Sony sacd disc player. I'm getting low, sloppy bass when I play either cd or wifi.  This is the second amp.  The first one exhibited same issue.  Same amps.  New.

I only have one set of speakers.  I am thinking perhaps a capacitor in Kefs?  This amp should have solid punchy bass, but it is not there.  Speaker cables are blue jean 10 ga banana plugs.  IC are blue jean also.  I am at a loss. I heard the demo Hegel played on these components and it was fabulous.

any thoughts?  I hate to sell everything and start over, but I am at that point.
thank you
crossfree
cytocycle
1,043 posts
 
The Sonos Dacs are not very good, you won't get outstanding results out of it.  Get a Bluesound or Auralic Aeries.   
Have you tried re-positioning your speakers? pull them away from the wall more
everest_audio
285 posts
 
The traits you're hearing are definitely not those of the Hegel H190. The bass and grip on the H190 is fantastic. Something else is definitely not right. I'm leaning towards the KEF, but there could be other issues at play. 

d2girls, your attempts at Hegel bashing on multiple threads are getting very old. Your comments have nothing to do with the original post.
crossfree OP
22 posts
 
Not out of phase.  Going to ask stereo shop if I can bring in and hook up to Aerials.  Both speakers sound the same, not one or the other.  I use coax into amp, so using onboard dac.
erik_squires
16,049 posts
 
Ahhh, well based on this review:

http://www.hifi-classic.net/review/kef-model-104-2-477.html

I could see you getting that. Before you go nuts, try the reverse speaker test. Put 1 or both speakers at your listening location, then walk around possible speaker locations until you hear the best bass.

Then, of course, reverse.
erik_squires
16,049 posts
 
Another question. Is this the first full range speaker you have in the room?

If so, that may be the issue. Talk to GIK Acoustics or Michael Green.

Best,

Erik
More to discover