Question Help with improvement in my system

[Roel35]

Hi All,

I recently upgraded from my first hifi setup. I now have a pair of MA silver 200's connected to a Rega Elex-R and a chord Hugo DAC. The sound is excellent and very pleasing, I seem to have only one problem that is that the bass is too boomy. Now I read many threads that my room is the reason and I get that. I was wondering if changing my receiver could help control the bass a bit and maybe even provide better sound as I feel the elex-r's 72,5w might be too little to control the 150 of the speakers. My previous setup was a pair of RX 2's with a Marantz pm6006. I had the same issue then but changed it to the brio and Rega DAC. It sounded way better, it seems I've come full circle. I am really pleased with the speakers (look and sound, bar the boominess) and the DAC is amazing. That's why I'm thinking of swapping the amp for a better/more powerful one. I saw musical fidelity A3.5 second hand. Would that be an improvement on the elex-r?

 

[matthewpiano]

I think you need to look more closely at the speaker/room interaction rather than the amplifier. The Elex-R is more than capable of controlling the MAs, and certainly more capable than the Brio in this respect. It may be more that the MAs are simply unsuitable for your room. How are they placed in relation to room boundaries and you listening position?

 

[Roel35]

Thank you for your reply. I think you have a good point. The speakers are placed 3 meters and 1,5 meters from the side wall and about 40cm from the back wall. I have to add that the bass overload doesn't apply to all songs, just the bass heavy songs. So for 85% of the time it isn't really a problem and sounds great. But when it doesn't it's really disturbing. When I use the supplied bungs the boom disappears though, although I do feel they effect the overal sound slightly. I really like the sound and look of the speakers so I would like to keep them. I was wondering if changing amplifiers would be an option, as I understand it is not. About the MF A3.5, anyone have any experience with this amp? And would it even be worth considering over the elex-r? Or maybe there are better options/suggestions.

In terms of room acoustics, what are the options to improve the sound? Also note that the speakers are new so are still being broken in.

 

[RoA]

I just mentioned this in another thread. This (or similar) may help in creating more pleasing Acoustics if moving stuff round doesn't or is not practical.

MiniDSP 2x4HD Pocket Size unbalanced DSP Processor | Kalibrate Limited | Home Cinema products, Calibration, DVD Players, 3D Glasses | Audio Systems | Cinema Systems

MiniDSP 2x4HD Pocket Size unbalanced DSP Processor

www.chromapure.co.uk

I am a believer in DSD as an aid for problematic rooms.

Hope this helps.

 

[muljao]

You've a great amp and highly regarded dac. You don't say (unless I missed it) how big the room is. The speakers although likely great in some systems bare likely what's letting you down here, but give it all a few days, if you've bings for them try them out

 

[Roel35]

Thanks for your responses and advice. It's really appreciated! I'll consider adding a equaliser or dsd as suggested. The room size is a approximately 5m by 4,5m. Not that big really. Acoustics are terrible I knew that as it sounds hollow even when speaking. But since I rent I won't/can't do too much about it, apart from repositioning the speakers. I have adjusted them slightly and used the bungs for the small port and it sounds good now. I think I'll keep it like this for now. Maybe in the future I'll move to a bigger room with better acoustics, it's definitely something to consider.

I started the thread because I had doubts about the amplifier and I read and heard good things about musical fidelity and monitor audio fitting well together. So that's why I was looking at de A3.5 amp, which is much older but has more power. Opinions on that model seem scarce though or outdated so I'll forget about that one. Especially since I can't listen to it. I can however, confirm to anyone wondering, that Rega en Monitor audio sound really great together. Same goes for Marantz (my previous set) that was only lacking power.

Any suggestions on amps that would be an even better fit in my current setup? Or maybe even different speakers..

 

[rainsoothe]

Thanks for your responses and advice. It's really appreciated! I'll consider adding a equaliser or dsd as suggested. The room size is a approximately 5m by 4,5m. Not that big really. Acoustics are terrible I knew that as it sounds hollow even when speaking. But since I rent I won't/can't do too much about it, apart from repositioning the speakers. I have adjusted them slightly and used the bungs for the small port and it sounds good now. I think I'll keep it like this for now. Maybe in the future I'll move to a bigger room with better acoustics, it's definitely something to consider.

I started the thread because I had doubts about the amplifier and I read and heard good things about musical fidelity and monitor audio fitting well together. So that's why I was looking at de A3.5 amp, which is much older but has more power. Opinions on that model seem scarce though or outdated so I'll forget about that one. Especially since I can't listen to it. I can however, confirm to anyone wondering, that Rega en Monitor audio sound really great together. Same goes for Marantz (my previous set) that was only lacking power.

Any suggestions on amps that would be an even better fit in my current setup? Or maybe even different speakers..

Are the speakers on stands or furniture? Also what speaker cable are you using?

 

[Roel35]

Are the speakers on stands or furniture? Also what speaker cable are you using?

There floorstanders so I have them on the spikes that came with the speakers. I have wooden floors which I think is the cause of the poor acoustics. The speaker cable is nothing special I think, I got them with my first hifi set. They looked ok, but it's a standard cable I think..do you think changing the cables can make a difference?

 

[rainsoothe]

There floorstanders so I have them on the spikes that came with the speakers. I have wooden floors which I think is the cause of the poor acoustics. The speaker cable is nothing special I think, I got them with my first hifi set. They looked ok, but it's a standard cable I think..do you think changing the cables can make a difference?

Of course they're floorstanders, because they're the 200, which I would've known if I read the post more carefully

Yes, speaker cables CAN make a difference (ime), in some systems more than others, but not nearly as big as DSP or room acoustics. I haven't heard the Audioquest Rocket 11, but reviews suggest it might be a good match in your system, and you can find it on a ton of online shops. Another option I heard myself is DBM Reson, which I used for this specific reason (curing bass boom, which it did), but it was in a Naim system - and Naim are particularly sensitive about the cable used.

There's also cheap room treatment you can treat yourself to: a rug in the middle of the room, plants and other uneven surfaces on the sidewalls etc.