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You don't lack bass, you have too much treble

One of the biggest surprises in audio and acoustics is how damping a room with treatments makes small speakers sound so much bigger.  Yes, you get a broader, deeper soundstage but you also seem to get a lot more bass, more power, more extension!!

What's going on? 

What happened is your room was too bright.  The overall balance was too heavy on the mid and treble so as a result your systems balance was off.

For this reason I often suggest before A'goners start chasing bigger and bigger speakers, that  they think about the room first, add damping and diffusion and then go back to thinking about the bass.

Not saying you don't need a bigger speaker, but that some rooms may never have a big enough speaker in them due to the natural reflective properties.

erik_squires
erik_squires OP
16,373 posts
 

@curiousjim

I did take a look at the Stereophile measurements for your speakers. While Stereophile does not do compression measurements, they do show a pronounced hump in the presence area. A Schiit Loki may be just the thing for you.

The other thing I note is that off-axis the speakers have a lot more treble energy than mids.  Definitely a speaker worth treating the sides and first reflection points for, as well as moving away from side reflections.

mashif
275 posts
 

@curiousjim 

I also have a sensitivity around those frequencies where trumpets, sax, and certain guitar notes sound annoyingly loud. Less toe in did make a big difference as does room treatment. That frequency is typically around 2-3k and unfortunately some speakers have a peak there. Some room measurements could help you find if that's the case. 

erik_squires OP
16,373 posts
 

Oops, my bad, the extra energy I noted is ultrasonic.

danager's avatar
danager
966 posts
 

@curiousjim 

A 10db to 15db jump in that frequency range is pretty drastic.   What are you using as a source?

curiousjim's avatar
curiousjim
4,889 posts
 

@danager 

Currently I’m using a BS Node N130 with a linear power supply going to a Denifrips Pontus ll via USB.

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