Why Can't I Get The Right Sound? Krell pre + PSB's


I had a Rotel RC 1070 and an RB 1070 with a pair of B&W DM 602s3 Book shelf Speakers.
I liked the sound compaired to my Denon reciever and Klipsch KG 5.5's (LOL) First home stereo.

But the problem that sent me searching for a better system was not enough bass in certain demanding recordings. Also I felt there was not enough detail coming from the Preamp to sound at all real. I went looking for a sub and was talked into a bigger pair of floor standing speakers, amp, CD/DVD player and preamp.
I switched up everything for some equipment that I thought was going to fix everything. If I can remember a year back correctly, it was great in the sound room with the HiFi shop's CD. It must have been...

I bought a Krell KRC3 Pre amp, (used $1,300)
PSB Goldi speakers, (used $700)
Arcam P80 power amp (used $600)
DV78 DVD/CD Player (used$700)
all this used equipment was in outstanding condition and still is.
I also bought some Transparent audio cable for pre to amp and TARA Labs from DVD/CD Analog to Preamp.

Can anyone tell me why I can't seem to get the volume of bass and mid?
It sounds to me like I can hear everything in the recording (much more than ever before) but all the low and low mid frequencies are quieter than they should be.
Either that or the high mids and highs are turned up louder than normal. I was told by the retailer that my speaker placement was the problem.

Placement seemed to make sense because there are nice fat bass tones in areas outside the listening area.
Like, for example, if you stand up in front of the couch, there is far more bass than if you sit down. The end of the hall and the kitchen, the dining room and the bedroom. In fact all over in very little spots, there are tiny bass pockets, except where I want them.

So over the next - 9 MONTHS! - I moved the speakers around, and around,and around and around and...so on
Nearer the wall (like we all know) had more bass, but no mid and shrill highs; further in, nicer mids but no bass. I played with the width, toe in and distance from the back wall but nothing like what I feel I should be getting. Nothing like what I think I remember hearing when I got them. (I think you get the picture.)

Sad thing is, my old Rotel and B&W system had more impact! Not the clarity but much more Bass and deep, thick, mids. I guess they're using a lot of un-natural compression and boosting to acieve that but it sure had some thump ...
I miss that! No thump here )c: It this is the way music really sounds, then give me the compression and frequency boosting. (c;

Is the Preamp supposed to sound like that, or is it something to do with the speakers? or amp?
Anyone got any Ideas?

Thanks for your input...
Going crazy!

sorry for the long one (c;
128x128Ag insider logo xs@2xrich007
You may want to make sure your speakers are not hooked up reverse polarity from each other.
Well, the fellows here will ask you about your room, the dimensions, and suggest that you need room treatments. That's one of the mantras here. Personally I have struggled with bass in my room too. I finally went with 2 subs. My family room is too stuffed to have room for treatments. The 2 subs have helped. I might also suggest that you have the mysterious "poor amplifier-speaker match", but the equipment you purchased sounded good to you at the dealers, so the amp-speaker match must be pretty good. It sounds like your room is the problem. One thing I've always believed, is that speakers will do more bass if they are on the long wall as opposed to the short wall. If your speakers are on one of the short walls that may be part of your problem. It's frustrating man, I know, especially when you had an un-resolving system before that loaded the room well but now you have a better resolving system and the sound doesn't load the room. Good luck.
I also support the theory that you may need to address the room first.

However, I think that your amp is underpowered for the Gold's. To get the most out of the PSB's bass performance, try a very high-powered amp.

Michael
I have to agree with Sufentanil. I really think that Arcam amp will struggle with the PSB's, which have an impedance which dips below 4 ohms in the low to mid-bass part of the frequency range. I think the Arcam can only deliver around 70 watts into 4 ohms and may not be able to get the most out of the large bass drivers. I think you need an amp capable of delivering at least 200 watts and decent current into a 4ohm impedance.