System too bassy - Primaluna & Usher


I'm looking for advice on how to tame my bass. Since upgrading my amp to the Primaluna Dialogue One from a low end Harmon Kardon, I've noticed my fatigue level from the bass has shortened my listening times drastically. That could also be because listening levels are higher because of the increased power. Regardless, I would like to tame the bass which these Ushers are known for.

THE SETUP:

Lossless Files
Apple TV > unknown decent quality optical cable to...
Rega Dac > low end Monster RCA cable to
Primaluna Dialogue One > $3 ft speaker cable to
Usher Be-718 speakers
VTI Metal stands

The room is 12' X 13' with one side open concept into the rest of the condo. The wall that the system is against is actually a couple of feet shorter because of the HVAC system, which puts one speaker in a corner.

I just got the Primaluna amp and I love the Ushers and do really like the Rega Dac. So I'm not willing to change those.

MY THOUGHTS:

I'm thinking of interconnects, speaker cables and room acoustics. I think room acoustics is a must regardless. Perhaps I do that first, then look at the total sound.

What are your thoughts?
deetothevee
I'd use the same wire for both myself at this stage jut because that will keep things simpler. You can always experiment with whatever variations you want from there later.
I think what makes sense right now is to get used to this new sound. Then consider my next option. What I've noticed so far is that the bass issue has been removed at the 9 o'clock volume position and only starts to become a problem at nearly the 10 o'clock position. Which in my room is quite loud. So this has definitely improved my bass issue and I feel confident that I can manage this issue with a few more tweaks. Id love to try room accoustics as I think it is a must for any situation but I can't do that just yet because I'm unclear with my living situation. So I think a rca interconnect might be the next thing to consider.
Glad I was able to help. One more thing to try, if you haven't already, would be running the amp in triode mode, rather than ultralinear mode (which according to the manual the amp automatically defaults to when turned on). I don't know if with your particular speakers and setup triode mode would produce results that are better, worse, or just different than ultralinear (although I'd certainly expect the results to be different), but it's something that's easy enough to try. The manual indicates that the mode can be switched via the remote control.

When you do that, keep in mind that the power capability of the amp in triode mode is just 18 watts, compared to 36 watts in ultralinear mode (although that is just a 3 db difference; not a large amount subjectively). So on material containing high volume peaks, especially in the bass region, be careful not to turn the volume control up beyond the point where distortion starts to become obvious. That would signify the onset of clipping (i.e., the point where the amp is being asked to deliver more power than it is capable of). Severely clipped waveforms, which will sound very distorted, can damage speakers.

Also, although the manual doesn't say this, IMO it would be prudent to not change between the two modes while music is playing.

Regards,
-- Al
Al, FWI you can change modes on the fly without risk so A/B comparisons are easy. The difference is that in triode mode the top end is rolled and the mid-range is somewhat sweeter. You can hear the decrease in power output. The change is not so much different from other amps with mode switching, IME. And I doubt that this will solve any of the OP's issues with the bass, although it will make edgy recordings far more listenable.
11-10-13: Newbee
Al, FWI you can change modes on the fly without risk so A/B comparisons are easy.
Thanks, Newbee. Since the design of your amp has a lot of commonality with the design of the OP's, I'll defer to your comment.

Best regards,
-- Al