Will this amp trick work for increasing bass performance?

robert1976,

I sent you a PM. 

tablejockey1,437 posts06-18-2020 12:08pmYou don't even have them in your room yet, so you don't even know how they will perform.

I think he has, that's the reason for the biamp, unless I missed something.

He has the speakers, but only a single amp per channel, he want two for more boom boom, in the room room... BUT he wants no subs...

30k budget... 3k aught to do it. He may be picky,and likes Pass, nothing wrong with that.

Regards

robert1976 OP
Which two power amps would you consider? Power amp budget is about $30K. Was told Focals like power, so >250W for bass amp seems the minimum. Pre amp will likely be Pass Labs XP-32.
Maybe Pass Labs X250.8 + X150.8 or X250.8 + XA60.8?

I take it Robert you tried kick up the bass a little with the 3 position bass link on the back and you have it on high?
If so and you still don’t have enough bass, you could try to move the speakers closer to the back wall this will augment the bass also.

The Focals have very good passive xover in them especially the Utopia’s

If that’s not enough then what you suggest with "increasing the bass amp a little" will also work and also add more warmth to the lower mids.
Of the ones you suggest I would opt for on the bass X250.8 and the XA60.8 on the mids/highs.
But that’s a bit frivolous to have the X250.8 on the bass to 200hz when a Class-D will do, at a 1/10th of the price.

I’m considering the Pass Labs XP-32 pre-amp, which has individual volume controls for each channel/amp. By slightly increasing bass amp volume over mid/high amp volume, I get to feel more punch from the 11" woofers. The crossover in the Focals cuts off at 220Hz, so only bass and sub bass are affected.

Above will work if you able to control 2x mids and highs and also 2x bass channels with the pre (4 Channels of volume? If not you need this to lower the mid tweeter amp  https://www.schiit.com/products/sys  and then have the XP32 as the master volume.

Cheers George

Too bad you eliminated the easier and best solution: a good subwoofer. İt would have been cheaper too. 

Thanks all, I'm learning a lot! Few points:

1) It's a living room set up, hence my preference to not have multiple subwoofers around;

2) I've tried adding a single sub. Enough bass but too muddy, and for me too difficult to get it right;

3) The 11 inch woofers in the Focal are plenty powerful, but they don't get engaged enough. Simple bass and treble control, like in my car, would do the trick;

4) @oldhvymec I'm not spending an additional $30k+ for bass. That's including an amp I'll need anyway. It's either X350.8 or X250.8 + XA60.8, with the latter costing "only" $4k extra;

5) Not hung up on Pass Labs. Although pricier, I'm also considering Ayre KX-R with VX-R or MX-R;

6) My only source is streaming Tidal (via Roon in future) and I'll probably choose the Ayre QX-5.

Question:
To what extent would a high-end equalizer degrade the quality of the signal? Would you notice the extra component in the pathway, even with the EQ set to flat?
I don't mind the extra cost and an EQ will sure do the trick. But if my sound quality is seriously affected, it may not be worth it. Easy enough to try though.