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Which component to upgrade to improve bass control?

Adding Symposium shelves and rollerblocks to my monitor (Silverline SR17.5) equipped system definitely helped but bass is still not nearly as controlled as I'd like.

Until we move into a different house where I can have a dedicated room for audio, I cannot use subs or add panels, traps, etc. to the room.  

So, I'm left with the possibility of upgrading a component but I have no idea whether my integrated (Wells Majestic), transport (Sim Moon 260) or DAC (Aqua La Voce S2) might be the best candidate for upgrading.

DAC UPGRADE ?
Are R2R ladder DACs simply weak in this area?  Searching the threads, I found a reference to DAC power supplies having a strong influence re: bass control but I lack the technical expertise to utilize this fact. Please keep in mind that I do not enjoy DACs that prioritize resolution above all.  

TRANSPORT UPGRADE ?
Would replacing the Moon transport with say, the new Pro-ject CD Box RS2 T be a better choice? 

INTEGRATED UIPGRADE ?
Would an amp with more grunt be the best choice?

I can only upgrade one of these at this point.
Budget:
Integrated: 5K
Transport: 3.5K
DAC: 5K
stuartk
hilde45's avatar
hilde45
5,311 posts
 
@aubreybobb Will check it out. Thanks!
stuartk OP
3,296 posts
 
@tvad:

"You might call Peter and ask him about using Symposium platforms between your speakers and target stands"

As I mentioned, Peter stipulates there should be no spike or other footer under speaker stands when using Symposium shelves under monitors. I finally got around to removing the Herbie's Gliders from under my stands this afternoon and put the shelves back under the Silverlines. Better!  I can actually follow bass-lines, now and there's an overall improvement in the sense of ease or flow of music. 

This may be enough to get me through until we move from this house and I'm able to have a dedicated, Swarm-equipped, audio room. We'll see. 

geof3
1,129 posts
 
Given your options are so limited, you might need to go the DSP or equalizer route. I know the latter is a blasphemous thing on Agon, but given few options might be the ticket to helping with the limits of your situation. Usually, moving a speaker closer to a wall is a no go, but it does reinforce bass potentially. Given you cannot optimize your room etc, you can’t have the perfect situation anyway. It might be worth trying something unusual to see if you can gain something you can live with in the interim.
bigaud
8 posts
 
I assume your speakers are well cross-braced, between each pair of opposite panels. i.e, side to side, top to bottom, etc. Assuming a well-designed speaker, then that is the most important factor I have found for clean bass. I have learned this by building and testing.

On to your situation: Bass likes current. Current likes thicker wire. Thicker wire means less resistance. Less resistance means greater damping factor (control).

You said your speaker cables are 20 feet long. Resistance increases proportionately to length. So you have reduced your damping factor some.

I suggest you employ cables that are equivalent to 10 gauge AWG or better.

Since treble likes thinner wires, cables made up of many thin wires work well. I suggest using Kimber 8TC or even 12TC. A friend uses them on his Magnepan 20.7s and they do very well. Their net gauge is even better than 10 gauge.

BTW, I am about to build some speaker cables of my design, see if I can improve on what I did before. One will have 16 pairs of 22 gauge wire - plain solid core copper. This adds up to 10 gauge equivalent. I have hopes on the result.


Brandon
gp4jesus
37 posts
 
Mo’ bigga speaka wya!
20’ runs? Bi-wire if you can. Otherwise double run w/stacked nanners. Made a big diff years ago w/the low impedance highly reactive subs I had at the time. 
My $0.02. Tony
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