Bass Issues


I have an Arcam SA-20 integrated amp, B&W CM5 speakers and an SVS SB1000 sub. I previously had 20 yr. old B&W DM602 speakers. I sold them. The 602's 7" drivers were great with bass but lacked in other areas. The CM's (6.5" driver) are much better in midrange and treble but I'm having trouble getting the bass dialed in. They can get a little boomy and lack a clean drum punch like the 602's had.

I've got them 26" from the rear wall and am using the outer foam plugs in the ports. You can plug the entire port or take out the middle part and just use the sleeve. I've spent days inching the stands around, toed in, not toed in. I was using an AVR as a preamp with the 602's so I had crossover capability. With the Arcam I don't. I'm a little lost without that feature. The CM's sound best when I can cross them over at 80Hz. Do I have options to manage bass like an outboard crossover or something else?
128x128brian_holmes
Boomy bass is usually due to ringing.  You have bass modes that are not decaying in a reasonable (less than 300-400 millisecond) time frame. You've gotten good advice.  Download REW and learn to use and interpret the REW plots, especially the waterfall plot, impulse graph, and frequency response.   Get your speaker and listening position optimized for the flattest possible frequency response below 300 Hz and get those decay times under control as best you can.

Then consider a Distributed Bass Array like an Audiokinesis Swarm.  I ordered a Swarm and am still waiting for delivery.  Soon, I hope.  The Swarm is quite reasonably priced for what it is and what it does.

Finally, add traditional room treatments if after all of this you still have ringing that gives you a perception of boomy bass.  

Getting a speaker to sound good on a particular room is ~ 90% getting the 20-300 Hz region in good shape.   This optimization involves too many variables that are not fully independent.  Unless you have  a very favorably designed room and a speaker that happens to be designed well for your particular room, getting things genuinely optimized by ear is about as likely as winning the lottery.  You might get lucky, but REW makes the task significantly easier. 
If your source is a CD player, just get some Isoacoustic Orea footers and some more for your amp. The focus you'll get will eliminate the boomy bass resulting in some pretty dramatic focus, clarity and impact.

All the best,
Nonoise

     I suggest you try repositioning your sub in your room, and in relation to your listening seat, by using the 'sub crawl' method (you can google it).        This will ensure you're listening seat isn't located near any bass standing waves, which can make the bass sound under or over emphasized or even non-existent at specific room locations.

Tim
Thank you for your responses. Much appreciated. Trying to figure out this science is challenging. I didn’t have this issue with my previous speakers but I guess other speakers is the operative term.
nonoise6
My CD player has an " intelligent digital servo for shock/skip prevention". Not sure if that is equivalent to isolation feet or not.