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What's wrong with my system?

My admittedly budget, mid-fi system severely lacks base. And I don't know why.

It consists of:

Speakers: Tannoy Eyris DC1 bookshelf speakers on stands (they're the old version of the Tannoy Revolution Signature DC6 bookshelves with the dual concentric drivers)

Amp: Arcam A18 Amplifier
DAC: PS Audio Digital Link III DAC
Cables: Blue Jeans interconnects
Source: 256 bit rate AAC up to ALAC going to an Airport Express connected by optical to the DAC

The high end is great, voices sound amazing with the dual concentric drivers. But there's no base to speak of. And I know it's not the speakers because I once auditioned a modded Music Hall DAC which gave them a ton of low end (but eliminated the high end, which is why I didn't buy it).

Would the Arcam be the problem? I can't imagine it's the airport express or optical source to DAC because it's all digital until the DAC. And everybody loves the PS Audio DL III, so I can't see that being the problem, either.

Any ideas???
01jeremy01
mapman's avatar
mapman
22,099 posts
 
One other thing worth mentioning is that good bass is inherently a problem at low listening volumes due to our human ears. Its a normal thing but something that bothers some. The common solution in the old days was a "loudness" button, which provided an artificial bass boost at lower volumes, for better or for worse.

You want to listen at higher, more realistic volumes to better assess bass performance. Bass requires power so listen at higher volumes to best determine where any real issues with bass levels or quality might occur.
almarg's avatar
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almarg
9,670 posts
 
I looked through the descriptions and specs on all of the components, and the only thing I can add to Mapman's good comments is the possibility that the bass and/or treble control circuits in the Arcam are either misadjusted or malfunctioning. Have you tried its "direct mode" ("DRCT" on the remote), which removes those circuits from the signal path?

Also, like Michael (Swampwalker), I don't understand why reversing + and - to one speaker would kill the treble, but not affect the bass. In any event, to be sure that the two speakers are in phase with each other verify that a recording featuring a centered soloist results in a well focused image, centered between the speakers. As opposed to an image that is vague, diffuse, and hard to localize.

Regards,
-- Al
dtc's avatar
dtc
1,047 posts
 
Can you try headphones or another set of speakers? How about connecting a sub-woofer to see if that produces bass? Or can you get some test tones and a db meter and see how the system measures?
01jeremy01 OP
7 posts
 
Whoa, the DRCT really helped! It didn't really extend the bass, but the sound is so much more transparent and open now, including the bass. That definitely helped! Thanks!

And thanks for the other suggestions. I don't think it's a connection problem, and unfortunately the ps audio doesn't have a headphone out, but I am going to compare it with other DACs next week, and possibly see if a more powerful amp will make the difference. I'll keep those points about bass in mind.

Thanks, again! I think I'm getting closer to the answer.
dtc's avatar
dtc
1,047 posts
 
The Arcam has a headphone jack. That is what I was suggesting. It goes through different amps and trying it would help understand if the 40 watt/channel was the issue. If there is plenty of bass through the headphones, then there is an issue with the output amps for the speakers. If they are equally muted in the bass, then it would be some other issue. Not definitive, but might help fill in part of the puzzle.

Given that the DRCT mode helped, what happens when you turn it off and adjust the bass and treble separately?
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