different amp too much bass

[clifford]

recently switched from arcam alpha ii to arcam delta 60

the delta 60 has so much bass and no controls to change them.

I've tried it with a number of components like tt ,CD, DAC etc. same deal.

speakers are monitor audio bx2.

I assumed same company just slightly better amp wouldnt have such a different and frankly worse sound due to the overbearing bass.

any ideas if the delta 60 was known for this or could be something else be at play here?

cheers

 

[CnoEvil]

Hi Cliffod

I can't comment on those 2 amps directly....but some amps seem to give more bass.

The only thing you can do is try and mitigate it:

- How close to the walls/corners are they

- What stands are they on and are the stands filled - if so, with what

- Are the speakers Blu-Tak'd onto the stands

- Are you seated in an area where bass is boosted

- Do you have suspended floors

- What speaker cables do you use

- How is the room decorated

(Has anything changed since you swapped amps)

 

[SemiChronic]

If things sounded ok before and all youve done is change the amp, then it more than likely is the amp.

Alpha 30w / Delta 60w

The power increase might drive youre speakers differntly and give more powerful bass.

Many say old arcams sound a bit warm and fuzzy. It might just be tired

If possible try amp swapping with friends

 

[Oldphrt]

recently switched from arcam alpha ii to arcam delta 60

the delta 60 has so much bass and no controls to change them.

I've tried it with a number of components like tt ,CD, DAC etc. same deal.

speakers are monitor audio bx2.

I assumed same company just slightly better amp wouldnt have such a different and frankly worse sound due to the overbearing bass.

any ideas if the delta 60 was known for this or could be something else be at play here?

cheers

Did you have the bass turned down on the original amplifier?

 

[nopiano]

Have you switched back to check something else didn't change?

If the old amp had the speakers out of phase, but now it is in phase that could account for it. But otherwise, aside from you unwittingly playing the new one much louder, I cannot explain it.

 

[Infiniteloop]

Have you switched back to check something else didn't change?

If the old amp had the speakers out of phase, but now it is in phase that could account for it. But otherwise, aside from you unwittingly playing the new one much louder, I cannot explain it.

I suspected phase too when I read this post.

 

[clifford]

hi to answer you questions, before i do i need to say nothing had changed in the current setup from the alpha ii to the delta 60. simply all i've done is switched the amps around. everything is still in the same position as before. no speaker phase problem as i was cabled correctly into both amps.

- at the moment the speakers are on a solid fireplace stone hearth. not ideal but its only while i finish some DIY. I am then thinking about getting some solid wood hifi rack dual stands for the bx2 speakers. would this help reduce the bass? theyre currently on the floor.

- im sitting accross the room from them about 3 or 4 meters away with a wall behind me.

- suspended pine floor unfortunately, no carpet but majority of floor covered with large persian rug

- speaker cables are cambridge ones from richer sounds. these ones: https://www.richersounds.com/hi-fi/hi-fi-accessories/speaker-cables/audio-innov-ultra-100-100m-reel.html

- room is decorated with painted walls, some soft furnishings, large persian rug, suspended floor, large open fireplace, glass on two sides

my main problem sems to be that while nothing has changed apart from the amp. i would have thought that one arcam to another would yield similar but more refined sounds, aying as the new amp is meant to be better, if slightly more powerful.

Bass seems way to much though. on the alpha both bass and treble where set to middle position 1 o clock which i imagine is what the delta defaults to even though it doesnt have these selectors.

one thing ive noticed is i hardly have to turn the volume knob for it to get loud fairly quickly. like to 8pm from 7pm. the alpha was similar like that but i would go to about 9.

any ideas?

 

[CnoEvil]

- It's possible that the different amp is producing a frequency that is being agitated by the suspended floor...or by sitting too close to the wall behind you.

- Does the boominess change, if you change positions.

- Getting the speakers on decent stands....ideally metal, filled with something like uncooked rice might help. This should tighten up the bass and allow some of the vibrations to be sunk into the stands. Making the stands too heavy could give over-blown, slow bass. I'm not sure what the affect of wooden stands would be.

- Can you bring the speakers and seating into free space, just as an experiment, to see how they sound?.....ie. can you Blu-Tak them onto a couple of sturdy tables, just to try.

I can't help thinking that the speakers are triggering resonances in you room, that you have to isolate and then mitigate.

 

[Pedro]

I agree with nopiano, the perceived change in bass response may be due to loudness.

If you're sitting against the back wall or very close to it, you will get a bump in bass response, so to speak, which isn't good. If this is the case you should move at least 50cm from the back wall.

Have you tried sitting in a different spot?

 

[clifford]

thanks for the responses guys. I will try all of your suggestions and then report back.

while I'm at it does anyone know the differences between metal filled stands and solid wood ones?

I hate the look of the metal ones and I have a budget of say 120£ for stands. would aesthetically prefer wood if it isn't going to make things worse.

 

[clifford]

also why are these Amps so loud at low volume. it makes it difficult to listen at low volume without losing sound in a channel etc

 

[SemiChronic]

Some amps put out loads of volume at the bottom end of the dial, to impress and give a sense of awesomeness. More a trait of budget equipment.

As far as stands go, in my opinion . The perfect stand should be 'dead'. Wood, metal plastic or whatever it shouldnt matter, zero resonance is best

 

[CnoEvil]

It is really difficult to predict how your speakers will react to different stands, of different materials and filled with different fillers, in your room.

IME Wooden stands don't give the tightest bass......the only way to know is to borrow some from a dealer and try.

I remember seeing stands with a "See-through" centre pillar, that you could fill with coloured pebbles etc...Atacama Aurora 6 (now discontinued, but possibly available somewhere)

 

[gasolin]

Have had a nad D3020, currently a 3020i, C316BEE and a C326BEE never noticed to much bass even when whathifi say the nad C326BEE is a bassy amp

 

[clifford]

i have an update to this. so the other day when i got home everything sounded fine with different types of music. unusual.

this continued for a few days then yesterday the boominess was back. with no changes.

it also seems like there is a section of music missing just above the deepest bass. and im wondering if im getting flucuations in volume that would account for the bass. i guess the section missing would acent the lowest bass also.

im not thinking that maybe i have problems internally.

how could i test this?

 

[clifford]

i have found some good info here...

http://theartofsound.net/forum/showthread.php?40777-Help-needed-to-resurrect-arcam-delta-60-Please-)&p=690172#post690172

 

[insider9]

i have an update to this. so the other day when i got home everything sounded fine with different types of music. unusual.

this continued for a few days then yesterday the boominess was back. with no changes.

it also seems like there is a section of music missing just above the deepest bass. and im wondering if im getting flucuations in volume that would account for the bass. i guess the section missing would acent the lowest bass also.

im not thinking that maybe i have problems internally.

how could i test this?

Best way to test this is acoustically. Get a Umik-1 and measure it when there are no issues and then again when there are. See what difference you get. See what's happening in the room. It will open your eyes to what's really happening.