What is Tight Bass?

@realworldaudio

Thank you for that great explanation of what I have observed. Makes sense… particularly with double bass and other similar sounds… those are so startlingly differentiated and wonderful to hear once I added my tube amp.

It is very gratifying to continue to delve deeper into subjects after fifty years of continuous learning. 

@asvjerry Hi J, I hoped that it was clear that I protested against people being called dumb. Should be pretty obvious from my wording.. or so I thought, apparently wrongly. My humble apologies. Thank you for pointing it out!

I am also upset, just like you that people are called dumb over matters, that's why I mentioned it the way I did as people who prefer linear bass response are called dumb and deaf all the time. 

I'm sad it backfired, but lesson learned. Thank you for teaching me to be more prudent!

Cheers,

Janos

@realworldaudio ..Janos, no offense taken just a mild rebuke made over...

"...not because they are dumb and do not recognize slam, but because the slam is overdone."

Deal, Janos...Many a slip 'twixt brain stem and fingertips.... :)  And clarity in forums is a moving target that's hard to maintain anyway. *S*  No harm, no issue, no problem....

'Linear response', over any frequency band imo, is really only possible with test tones or sweeps.  Music is generally multiple instruments with vocals or no in constant states of 'flux', so any linearity is the status of the speakers' ability to track a sine or square wave accurately enough so that complex waveforms as music are reproduced in an acceptable level of accuracy befitting the input....*whew*

How that integrates with a musical waveform 'accurately enough' is du jour....doing it better and above is the hard trick.

Cheery enough for now, J

@asvjerry , that is exactly right. The best way to see what your system is doing is to run a sine sweep and measure the results with a calibrated microphone. $300 will get you the mic and the program. If you do not do this you have no idea what you are listening too and all of you will be aghast when you measure your system.

There is no tube amp that can produce accurate bass below 40 Hz. The out stage impedance is just too high to control a woofer never mind a big inductive subwoofer. Class A SS amps with very low output stage impedance is what you want. Parasound JC 1+s are an excellent example. Pass XA200.8s are another. Above subwoofer frequencies or 100 Hz and above tube amps are fine if you like them. The only ones I personally like Atma-Sphere MA2s. They are a great match for my speakers according to many people. I also like supporting hand made in America. Watch this! http://www.atma-sphere.com/en/index.html  

@asvjerry Hi J, you have a lot of good things going on, and a sound path that you walk. Indeed, that is the beauty of audio, that there are so many choices and so many roads. I think the road you picked is one that can work extremely well, and your enthusiasm proves that you are reaping the benefits. I am glad to learn from you, and our fellow audiophiles who post here. To infinity and beyond! ;

Cheers,

Janos