Nearfield Low-Level Listening : New Speakers or EQ? Thoughts?

I use a Loki Max for this very purpose and it works great for me. I live in a tiny NYC apartment and using it to bump the low and the high end when I want to listen late at night without bothering my wall neighbors works well. It’s just what my Tannoy Stirlings needed for that situation. 

I think you should have waited for your Loki Max before posting this. I've used a couple of Lokis for years (early adopter...now one is in my stereo video system and another is part of my main rig's Vali 3 headphone stack) and bought a Loki Max last year for my main system...a brilliantly designed EQ and the remote is a game changer. Fletcher/Munson can pound sand!

@OP I don't think the placement per se is the cause of the issue you are experiencing. But it does seriously compromise soundstaging. Unfortunately, it also means that the Devore O series won't work as their front baffles are too wide for the available space. The Gibbon series might. I'm presuming that the Forest Signatures, which are floorstanding, have replaced the stand mounts shown in your picture. That said, the Forests are essentially stand mount speakers with a cavity for mass loading built into the speaker. I think, in essence, the situation is that you have a small volume speaker that is slightly insensitive so you have a speaker with limited bass extension which is exacerbated by the relative reduction in perceived bass at low listening levels. Your use of the loudness control on the amp is an attempt to compensate for that, as will be the use of the Schiit. That is something of a sticking plaster rather than a full solution. I do think that you would get better results with a pair of more efficient speakers that also have a driver / cabinet combination that will allow them to move more air at low listening levels.

op you are barking up the wrong tree

your amplifier has more then enough power

changing to greater efficiency loudspeakers wont fix it nor will eq

low levet listening involves the flecher munson curve which dictates the ear is less adept at hearing low bass at lower levels you might think adding a sub would fix tha it wont as a good woofer just adds pressure to the leading and trailing notes of the totems the man sound is just coming from the totems

and an eq is too likely to muck up your tonal balance without offering enough finessee to fix the issue

having heard the totem forests for years you need a warmer fuller sounding loudspeaker with greater mid-bass response

please lk at a pair  of Legacy signatures or a pair of Harbeths to completely give you what you are craving.

Dave and Troy

Audio intellect NJ

legacy dealer

By the way, 23’ x 23’ x 8’, square rooms can be problematic, even more reason to use measurements to find advantageous, avoid problematic positioning and toe-in.

I would lower the speakers, tilt them back, aim tweeter up at seated ear height, altering the INITIAL reflections off both the floor and ceiling.

Amazing Bytes CD with Test Tones Info here

only finding two expensive listings on Discogs at the moment. Write me a message, I could help you find an inexpensive copy.

I make an enlarged copy of page 4, use the 29 1/3 octave test tones with the SPL Mic on a tripod at ear level listening position. This combined with the Schiit EQ, use one of the presets for ’measured with mic’ then finally, you use your ears and set another of the presets for personal preference.

If there is a big difference between what the mic hears and you hear, time for a hearing test.

I like this chart