I want coloration... of the bass variety

[CeresHilton]

Hello there

Firstly id like to introduce my self as this is my first post.

Im Marc a scrap man by trade.... bedroom dj and vinyl record collector (i own one of the most expensive records in the world believe it or not)

Im also a recovering drug addict, i used to smoke crack cocaine

The good news is that im drug free i now have the money to actually buy luxuries again Ive even paid to learn to read and write properly, i was reading age 7 books 18 months ago so please excuse any poor spelling etc.

Im wondering if you guys could help me build a new system please?

I currently have a rag tag mis-matched system that i bought way back in 2008-2009, it consists of a Marantz pm8003 70wpc integrated amp, rega apollo cdp and ART Stiletto monitor speakers on Partington dreadnaught stands, fairly decent cables etc

Im currently in the market for a full system overhaul as my current set up is bass shy as they come, im mainly putting this down to the speakers to be honest, 150mm driver with 110mm of actual moving cone isnt exactly going to make the earth move, on the plus side the Art monitors deliver in every other aspect, they are never bright and very warm sounding, these speakers are crying out for valve amplification, but im not really a valve kind of guy.

Im looking for Standmounts with bigger drives and a bias towards bass, any ideas guys?

When i bought the Rega apollo i quite liked it at first but i soon got bored, its got a really boring overall sound to it, anyone who suffers from sleeping problems should buy a Rega Apollo, forget sleeping tablets, put your apollo on with a death metal cd and i kid you not youll be off to sleepy land in 10 mins flat.

Im looking for a CDP thats has loads of punch and a bass heavy nature, ill sacrifice top end to achieve this.

As far as the amp goes id be happy with a few more watts than my current 70wpc and again id like a bass heavy number.

Im budgeting £4500-6000

thankyou in advance

Marc

 

[Gazzip]

Bass seems to be a must but you are constrained to standmounts which are not always great in that department. Would you consider adding a sub?

What is the record you own?! Intriguing!

 

[Gazzip]

Also how big is your room?

 

[dim_span]

a nice budget .... here's some suggestions for older gear ...

Acoustic Precision Eikos CDP ... £749

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Acoustic-prescision-eikos-CD-Player-/191538299163?

Yamaha CR-3020 ... £1785.00 (that includes free shipping from Poland)

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/YAMAHA-CR-3020-/121594293497?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_212&hash=item1c4f95acf9

Celestion Ditton 66 speakers ... £600

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Celestion-Ditton-66-Main-Stereo-Speakers-/181692288790?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item2a4db44f16

that works out to approx £3135 excluding shipping .... the Eikos cdp is as rare as hen's teeth and very rarely gets offered for sale .... The Yamaha CR-3020 amp is also very rare (180 watts @ 8 Ohm and weighs 37kg) ... budget an additional £300 to get it cleaned and checked over (there is a company in London who are very good with these old Yamaha amps) ... and the ditton 66 speakers will give you the bass that you require

all of these items will increase considerably in value

 

[CeresHilton]

Also how big is your room?

For some strange reason im not a great fan of subs, my room is at a guess 4m by 4m.

The record is called Newcastle hardcore vol1 on Bloody Fist records.

thankyou for reply

 

[chebby]

The record is called Newcastle hardcore vol1 on Bloody Fist records.

http://www.discogs.com/Various-Newcastle-Hardcore-Volume-One/release/55585

 

[CeresHilton]

The record is called Newcastle hardcore vol1 on Bloody Fist records.

http://www.discogs.com/Various-Newcastle-Hardcore-Volume-One/release/55585

Mines brand new and signed, its appraised at nearly £2000

 

[CeresHilton]

Does anyone think the Supernait 2 is worth an audition? i heard that naim are quite punchy along with exposure.

 

[drummerman]

Does anyone think the Supernait 2 is worth an audition? i heard that naim are quite punchy along with exposure.

Certainly. Naim's have a low damping factor (12) and will give you the punch you crave. So if used with a speaker with low'ish mechanical damping the result should be a warm'ish, full bass.

 

[CeresHilton]

Does anyone think the Supernait 2 is worth an audition? i heard that naim are quite punchy along with exposure.

Certainly. Naim's have a low damping factor (12) and will give you the punch you crave. So if used with a speaker with low'ish mechanical damping the result should be a warm'ish, full bass.

Thats great news, my local hifi dealer has Supernait 2's for audition, i must say the addition of a more up to date dac than in the original Supernait would of been nice, but no dac at all? seems strange since every one and there grandmother are putting dacs in there intergrated amps now. trust naim to un-set a trend that they set in the first place...

 

[CeresHilton]

Do you have any experience with Kudos speakers Drummerman? is the Cardea super 10 fit for a supernait2 and my requirements, the 180mm drive is appealing.

Im sure i remember years ago that kudos partnered well with Naim..... or was it Neat... or both? damn i used to have a good memory

 

[lindsayt]

CeresHilton, you've quite correctly identified the major cause of the lack of bass in your system. Namely the tiny mid-bass cones in your speakers.

I'd suggest that you should try a pair of Goodmans Magisters. These have good quality 15" bass cones in a medium sized stand mounted sealed box. You may well find that £150 to £200 is all you need to spend to get the speakers that are the right solution for your requirements.

Goodmans Magisters are naturally fairly neutral in their balance between bass midrange and treble. What sort of tonal balance you'd get from them will depend upon the room that they're in, where you put them within the room and where you sit when listening to them.

Due to the low price of the Magisters, you might as well buy a pair and use them as a baseline to compare against anything else you fancy trying, up to the limit of your budget.

 

[CeresHilton]

CeresHilton, you've quite correctly identified the major cause of the lack of bass in your system. Namely the tiny mid-bass cones in your speakers.

I'd suggest that you should try a pair of Goodmans Magisters. These have good quality 15" bass cones in a medium sized stand mounted sealed box. You may well find that £150 to £200 is all you need to spend to get the speakers that are the right solution for your requirements.

Goodmans Magisters are naturally fairly neutral in their balance between bass midrange and treble. What sort of tonal balance you'd get from them will depend upon the room that they're in, where you put them within the room and where you sit when listening to them.

Due to the low price of the Magisters, you might as well buy a pair and use them as a baseline to compare against anything else you fancy trying, up to the limit of your budget.

I hear what your saying but part of me associates big whopping cones with an un refined sound, 15" drives take me back to my Jamo days in the early 90's, bass boost turned up to max and the house shaking in serious LO-FI lol

 

[TrevC]

The Wilson Benesch Arcs have awesome bass for their size.

 

[CeresHilton]

The Wilson Benesch Arcs have awesome bass for their size.

Excellent recomendation Trev, thankyou, those are some lovely looking speakers, ive just done a little research and found a couple of decent priced second hand offerings,

would you say that naim and wilson benesch work together Trev?

I

 

[TrevC]

The Wilson Benesch Arcs have awesome bass for their size.

Excellent recomendation Trev, thankyou, those are some lovely looking speakers, ive just done a little research and found a couple of decent priced second hand offerings,

would you say that naim and wilson benesch work together Trev?

I

Yes, they will work really well together.

 

[lindsayt]

Goodmans Magisters are not unrefined. They do not sound like the Jamo's you're referring to. The key to speakers like the Magisters is that they have good midrange units and the huge bass drivers are merely there to back them up to stop the bass quantity and quality from letting the side down.

It's the same with every large speaker that I've enjoyed listening to. Good midrange with the bass to back the midrange up.

However, if you don't want to try the Magisters because you'd associate them with lo-fi then that's fine. We all have different tastes.

 

[Vladimir]

Oh dear...

 

[davedotco]

Event Opals.

Seriously punchy speakers with bass that goes very deep for a standmount. If you are ever able to play reasonably loud, these are the speakers to have.

Partnering equipment will depend on how you want to use your set-up, will you be DJ-ing and do you have a mixer?

Apart from vinyl and a cd player, do you use other sources or is this simply a 'normal' playback system?

 

[Gazzip]

Event Opals.

Seriously punchy speakers with bass that goes very deep for a standmount. If you are ever able to play reasonably loud, these are the speakers to have.

Partnering equipment will depend on how you want to use your set-up, will you be DJ-ing and do you have a mixer?

Apart from vinyl and a cd player, do you use other sources or is this simply a 'normal' playback system?

Ooooooooh! They look rather interesting. Where would I be able to listen to those?

 

[daveh75]

Event Opals.

I'd add Mackie HR824 mk2s to the list too.

 

[daveh75]

Ooooooooh! They look rather interesting. Where would I be able to listen to those?

A local pro audio store.

 

[davedotco]

Both these and the Mackie HR824-3 speakers are professional type speakers and you will need a studio equipment store or a music shop that deals with more than just budget recording gear.

First choice dealers would be Studiospares in north london, otherwise google studio monitor suppliers and ring around.

The Opals are about the biggest and most potent monitors that I would use in a domestic set-up without serious acoustic treatment, though ideally some bass trapping would probably help, particularly at higher levels.

The HR824-3 are powerful but less refined though a lot less expensive, little more than half the price of the Opals. Stepping out of the normal hi-fi 'comfort zone' can be difficult, the dealers are very different and you have to think differently too, worth it though.

For really refined use and a slightly more hi-fi sound, Quested S8Rs are easy to listen too though the Unity Audio 'The Rock' is undoubtably my current favourite. A professional level monitor using Elac Drive units and power amps by Tim De Paravicini.

Prices start around £1200 for the Mackies and go up to £2600 for the Unity Audio, the others are in between.

 

[pyrrhon]

Music is another drug and can be expensive too.

I can only advise you that many people will recommand bass extension but not high bass spl for wich I havent yet heard a woofer under 8 inch render properly.

I know these : Klipsh Heresy, Adam A8x, M-Audio M3-8 produce involving bass.

Color is so special and personnal. Its not very popular among audiophiles today. I know Totems dont damp cabinets and are thin layered a bit like an instrument. You may find color and bass with Totem Winds.

 

[Gazzip]

Stepping out of the normal hi-fi 'comfort zone' can be difficult, the dealers are very different and you have to think differently too, worth it though.

Were you a pro-audio dealer or a hifi dealer Dave? None of my business so don't feel compelled to answer. Just curious, that's all.