Improving bass response

I was able to get a completely seamless transition. It didn't happen until the sub was completely broken in and it didn't happen until I got the setup right. Took me a couple weeks of adjusting. Once I got it, it was like the Concertos were different speakers. They still had much of their original characteristics, but the sense of ambience and power was greatly improved. Soundstage reality and dynamics were greatly increased as well. Best $1100 I have ever spent on audio. Well, then I ended up selling my Concertos and upgrading to the Sapphrie III LEs, but that is another story. Try it, you'll love it!

Oh I forgot; If you still have the REL, a better power cord for it replacing of the stock cord really smooths out the low bass response (less boomy for a REL, which is not boomy compared to other subs). At least 6 feet long. Maybe then it will integrate well.

I found the following upgrades to my system improved the bass:
1. Nordost quattro-fil cables (from spm)
2. Spiking the speakers.
3. The addition of a sony scd-1. This had an amazing impact.
4. Powerful amps (duh).

Of course you can give up some imaging and get more bass by moving your speakers back. You can also get one of those computerized room analyzers. Those will help you position your speakers for optimal bass response.

With a given room and given speaker/listener positioning, the thing that most effects the bass response is the speakers. By far. Next would be amplification. Then preamp. In some systems the speaker cabling makes a significant difference as well. Power cords make a difference in areas that relate somewhat to the bass, such as bloom and dynamics, but I don't think they can solve your problem. My advice, free and worth every penny.

Your most cost effective solution: power cords. You have some nice equipment. I own both the Blue Circle BC62 mentioned above and the Cardas Golden. The BC 62 at $125 is a steal, very neutral across the board and much, much better if you float the ground. The Cardas Golden, available used if your patient around $200 is, in my opinion even better (I use it at the front end of my system, feeding both my CD/DVD player and my line conditioner; my integrated amp which is plugged directly into the wall utilizes the BC 62, which I have been happy to live with, unlike the other 6 or 7 cords I experimented with before settling on it-I would like to buy a 3rd Cardas for that, but can't really swing it $$ wise right now) with tremendous bass extension, although not "tight" in what I consider to be the "audiophile" sense. You could experiment with both these cords, or others; I used to own an Arcam Alpha 8SE-if you want to keep the costs down, you could go with one Cardas and one BC 62 and switch them between amp and CD player to see which combination gets you the right balance. I have an excellent line conditioner, which works very well with my current set-up, but did not do much for the Arcam CD player when I owned it, and I figure that unless your spending huge amounts (ie. plus $1000) on line conditioning, your amp is better plugged into the wall, so I'd be wary of line conditioners with your current set-up.