more bass please

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Happy new year everyone..

I have been enjoying my system (in my signature) for the best part of a year now but having recently dug out my dance music collection and really enjoying it, I am finding my system is lacking something. I feel it lacks a little authority and could probably do with a bit more bass. I have heard that cyrus can sound thin and think maybe the combination of this and the forward sounding speakers i have may be giving me a sound that is fast and detailed but also a little bright and fatiguing at times, lacking a little bass too.

Some options i have considered are:

- to change my speakers maybe to something like monitor audio RX6 or the outgoing RS6 (saving me a few £££)

- sell my CD6SE and buy a different CD player with better/more bass (maybe arcam cd192???)

- add a small sub to my existing system or add a psx-r to the amp if this will help.

Does anyone have any advice on which way to go on this or experience with my setup?
 
Have a poke around for some Acoustic Energy Aelite 3s. Fantastic speakers which should suit your Cyrus kit well. They are still fast, attacking speakers, but with plenty of low-end drive and grunt to back it up. And they look gorgeous too...

I've done a bit of scouring on the R3s- I admit I'm not familiar with them- and it would seem they are very accomplished speakers when it comes to jazz, classical, acoustic music etc, but they can lose their way a little when the bass starts pumping.

Changing CD to the Arcam would help, but I believe a change of speaker is the way to go- the CD6SE is such a good match with the amp- performance-wise and aesthetically- that it would be a shame (IMHO) to break the pairing.
 
You could also try some different speaker cables- something nice and thick and coppery, as silver cables can often exacerbate harshness- try and get some on loan from a dealer before you spend any serious cash on new kit, a change of cable could just shave the raw edges off things!
 
I think you are right and i should stick with the cyrus pairing as I like so much about them (much prefer to have matching components too). I will look into changing speaker cable first before shortlisting speakers I reckon. Interesting you mention the aelites... haven't heard of them before.

Anybody know what difference adding a psx-r to the amp would make?
 
Aelite3-cherry_standard.png
Ah. That's what I meant to do. Tried to link to eBay first and computer said no...!

Voici les Aelite 3s...
 
Hi

I'm going to be a little different here (nothing new there). Yes, changing cables may give you a slightly different tonal balance, and the most obvious thing is to tell you to change your speakers. But you like your system for a reason. One of those reasons, I'm willing to bet, is your Rega speakers. Yes, different speakers will give you more bass, but the tonal balance and system synergy you have now might be completely upset.

Do try some cables first as this is a cheaper option, and if you do try other speakers, try the R3's bigger brothers. But also look into the Cyrus pre/power amplifiers. The reason is as follows. Up to the 6vs2/8vs2 amps, their integrated amplifiers were quite lean sounding, shifting the emphasis more towards the mid and treble, and lacked a good, strong, underpinning bass line. When you move up to their pre/powers, it's a different story. Things become a little smoother and easier on the ear. The bottom end fills out too, making them sound a little less clinical and far more listenable.

Adding a sub is something you'll need to try. Again, this is something which can be quite effective if used subtlely, but many people overdo it and it just sounds wrong. Even used subtlely, it does change the overall balance of the system, which may tip it the right way for you, maybe the wrong way.

My money would be on improving the system, rather than just adding more bass to it.
 
Thanks. Seen them on E-bay now too. I will try and have a listen to them along with monitor audio RX6, daynaudio and maybe ATC or spendor (depending on budget).
 
Yup. Good call David. As a gentleman of the trade, your advice is most likely better than mine! (I does me best!).

I fully agree with your thinking on the sub- I've used one in the past and it didn't really help matters, so definitely a try-before-you-buy job...
 
I have an all Cyrus setup and I thought the same. Cyrus kit isn't thin but highly detailed and this sometimes make people think it sounds thin.

I ended up buying a pair of ProAc Studio 140's and my neighbours (I live in a small flat) HATE them
emotion-11.gif
. But they are about 1500 quid a pair.....

t-19369-1075.jpeg
 
I'd have had those eBay Aelites by now, if it weren't for the fact that those lovely people at Barclaycard would probably not be quite so lovely afterwards...
 
I was in the same situation as I found my system sounded very clean and detail, until one day i dug out my massive attack and some bass heavy stuff I listen when I was younger, I was really dissapointed but it took me awhile to realise, wait a minute, where is the bass gone? My floorstander was fast and punchy, but the bass was just doesn't reach where I was sitting, so I change the speaker to bookshelves, and the sound has improved since(I know it's weird, it usually happens the other round).

you could:

1, Like others mentioned, a quick fix would be getting a thick copper powercord for your amp. I done this before and acheive my bass, but i found the sound too thick, lots of details but didn't like it.

2, I'd say cable solution is only temporary, i'd get a sub, that way you will be happy with dance music as well as your other music.

3, what I'm doing with my polite bass system is upgrading my cdp, im on my second cdp, and been experimenting DAC as well, though I went against some of the review and got a very musical DAC, again, weak bass though when it's hooked to my wife's laptop, the bass is decent. I simply refuse to adopt a sound that's bass strong but inaccurate in timbre and clinical.

4, your room acoustic have something to do with it too, play around with the angle of your speakers and damp the listening room corners and the wall behind the system, go to professional hi fi listening room and concert hall for ideas.

good luck

andy
 
I'm with the sub camp. It'll give you the bass oomph for the music that needs it, and you can keep it turned off for the music which doesn't. I have the RX6, and they're not bass shy. However, for the really low frequency lines of dance music, there's no substitute for a good sub.

See what I did there? Sorry, I'm bored...
 
Q Acoustics 1050i. Give 'em a run in a demo and see how you get on. Hi Fi World Product of the year in 2008, recently superseded by the 2050 floorstander, so available widely for about £200. Someone on here bought a pair and really rates them, huge speaker for the money, good sensitivity at 92db and enjoyed a 4 star review on here. Big, bold, dynamic and will probably tick most of the boxes you want from your boxes (as it were).

By all means check out the others mentioned, but you can buy a fair stack of albums with £1000 or so...the Qs will withstand an upgrade or two as well, so they're not just one trick ponies for budget kit.

EDIT: If you'd consider a used option, seek out a pair of Linn Keilidhs which originally went for £900 about a decade or so back. Same kind of appearance as the 1050i speakers, but a higher quality box. Two bass drivers, Ku-Stone bases, expect to pay between £250 to £350 for a good pair. Like the Qs, they're big substantial floorstanders, none of the slimline look, so if you're short on space, maybe look elsewhere, but with room to breathe, both options would do very well IMO.
 
I'm still sticking with my pre/power recommendation.

One thing for Gears Of Law to consider though - is it more depth that you're after, or more punch? If it just depth you're after, then yes, a sub will do what you need it to, but going the pre/power route (which you can work towards in stages) is going to exert more grip and control over your speakers, giving them more punch and perceived power, which will help with your dance music.

My only concern is that you'll change your speakers for some other, bigger, multi-bass drivered ones and feel you've made the wrong choice.
 
Thanks for all the advice. I am now thinking of looking for a second hand power amp and using my 8 as a pre (as my regas cannot be bi-wired). If I like this, i can change my 8 for a dedicated pre at a later date. Would the X power be best?

I am a bit hesitant to change my speakers as they are great at what they do and don't want to lose that so if i try the power amp first, I could always move onto speakers next.
 
Just realised the speakers you have and the amp you have. You might get something out of the power amp addition, but you might gain more by a change of amp wholesale - too many folk have made comments about Cyrus being a little thin and I'm not convinced adding the power amp will be the wholesale change you want.

Keep the Regas, they're good boxes (and changing them for the Qs or the Linns would be a sideways or even backward move), but a punchier amp that delivers on body as well as clarity, may be what you are looking for - Exposure 2010 (or even 3010 on a deal since the new range has come in) might bring the body that Cyrus kit appears to lack. Worth a try anyway.
 
Aye David, right enough, but there are alternatives to Cyrus yes? Exposure (and it's attendant pre/power options) was mine.
emotion-5.gif
 
Didn't go through the thread line by line, but if your 8 is an integrated amp (i.e. with speaker outlets), you can chain power amp(s) to it (for the 8 I would recommend the X-Power). Chain left to left, right to right between the chain outlets on the 8 and the inlets on the X.

Now use the X-Power speaker outlets to drive the left and right treble (yes treble - treble uses more power than the bass in a domestic setup), and the original 8 speaker outlets to drive left and right bass. Works a treat.

Later on you can add another X-power and run a twin mono setup. But that's next week's lesson.

BTW Cyrus have great little diagrams on their website:

http://www.cyrusaudio.com/cms_downloads/Int_PowerBi-Amp.pdf

Right through to:

http://www.cyrusaudio.com/cms_downloads/Int_4Mono_PowerBi-Amp_1.pdf

Those varmints breed, I tell ya!!!!
 
darren hill,

imho, it's always the bass that needs more power - in a domestic set up or otherwise.

so the x-power shld be connected to the woofers instead of the tweeters in the bi-amping set up you suggested.
 
It's HEAL not Hill, but I'll let you off.

You'll actually find that the treble/mid range end uses more power than the bass at any given volume. It's all to do with complex electronic theory I snoozed through after a heavy night in the Student Union Bar the night before, but it's true.

From a practical perspective, think of the bass going thump thump thump, giving the power capacitors time to recharge between thumps, whilst the treble and midrange tend to be at it all the time and much more dynamically so, meaning you need bigger power capacitors to sustain performance.

So you're actually better off connecting the higher power source to the treble rather than the bass in a domestic situation. In the disco, however, the opposite is true, given you need thumping bass to penetrate the skulls of the average alcopop soaked slapper dancing round her handbag (oh how 80s of me 😀)

In any case, the use of your integrated 8 with a slaved power is a good stepping stone to a full pre + 2x (or 4x) power combo. There's no need to swap the integrated for a dedicated pre, unless you want one of the new pre's with the built in DACs.
 
Unfortunately, my speakers are not bi-wireable so if i was to add an X power, my 8 would have to act as a pre as i couldn't bi-amp.

Would a dedicated preamp (e.g. preVs2) be much better than using my 8 as a preamp? Keeping the integrated would give me more flexibility if i decided to upgrade the speakers as I would have the option of either bi-amping (if i were to buy bi-wireable speakers) or keeping the pre/power setup. Which of these methods (pre/power or bi-amped) would produce the best sound in your opinion?
 
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