My new Cambridge Audio CXA81 mkII lacks bass. Now what?

[Steinwaytune]

Following What Hi-Fi for a few years, I'm new to the forum.

This week I bought a Cambridge Audio CXA81 mkII amp to match my 9 month old Dali Oberon 5 speaker set. Its incredibly precise and open character is a real pleasure.

But... I now found out that this combination lacks bass a lot in my bigger room. My just passed away 21 years old Arcam A85 had the possibility to add bass, but the Cambridge doesn't have that.

So now I have a dilemma to solve:
- add a subwoofer (but which...?)
- sell the Oberon 5 and buy another pair of speakers (but which...?)
- return the Cambridge and swap it for like a Marantz PM7000N or an Arcam A15, or... another amp (but which...?)
- or...?
My budget is £ 1.250 max.

My gut feeling says: add a subwoofer of get heavier speakers, but I have no idea what is the best option... I would really appreciate your advice!

 

[jetblack9090]

Well the first step is to make that thing back to Richer sounds and throw it through the window😂

Well this is going to be a long replies so I do apologize but please stick with me.

Firstly there are a lot of amplifiers that when they are new, and I know this is controversial, but as they break in they develop Bass, or your perception of their bass or lack of it diminishes. I've experienced this personally and have seen this to be true.

Secondly if you like the overall sound of the Cambridge and the only niggle with it is the fact of the bass issue, then definitely adding a subwoofer will work and increase the amount of perceived Bass in your larger room.

Thirdly a different amplifier will sound different and produce different levels of perceived bass. In my opinion I would go with the a15, it has a great lovely rich and warm sound with great clarity as well and of course a great Bass.

The Marantz isn't terrible by comparison however I find that the budget level Marantz integrateds, as good as they are sound quality wise, often struggle when needing to put out true power which of course is what you'll need to fill up a larger room, so of course we'll come across sounding thin and without bass.

Fourthly dali speakers are in my opinion not necessarily the Best bass makers in the world. They're not bad, however I always felt the company's products came across as really devoting a lot of themselves to the quality of the mid-range, often at the expense of the lows and highs.

So at the end of the day what I would do is keep to Cambridge for a little bit longer and see if it either breaks in or you get used to it. If that doesn't work, go get yourself the Arcam a15, you won't regret it.

 

[Fandango Andy]

Following What Hi-Fi for a few years, I'm new to the forum.

This week I bought a Cambridge Audio CXA81 mkII amp to match my 9 month old Dali Oberon 5 speaker set. Its incredibly precise and open character is a real pleasure.

But... I now found out that this combination lacks bass a lot in my bigger room. My just passed away 21 years old Arcam A85 had the possibility to add bass, but the Cambridge doesn't have that.

So now I have a dilemma to solve:
- add a subwoofer (but which...?)
- sell the Oberon 5 and buy another pair of speakers (but which...?)
- return the Cambridge and swap it for like a Marantz PM7000N or an Arcam A15, or... another amp (but which...?)
- or...?
My budget is £ 1.250 max.

My gut feeling says: add a subwoofer of get heavier speakers, but I have no idea what is the best option... I would really appreciate your advice!

when you say your Arcam had "the possibility to add bass" that sounds like tone controls or in other words analogue EQ. used sparingly you can make small tweaks, but used to excess they will kill your sound quality. This video is the best explanation I have heard about it:

View: https://youtu.be/7yjhJutykmU?si=Nqti9mHeTLZpoPnn


It also touches on one of the most important things in hifi, speaker placement. Take some time to make sure you have you speakers perfectly positioned. With my speakers, knock off a couple of degrees of toe in, or move them a little closer to (or further from) the wall and they are like different speakers.

One you are confident you are getting the best out of your speakers, if you are still not happy, get a sub.

Personally, I would have chosen a Marantz over a Cambridge Audio as I like how they sound, but thats just personal preference.

 

[jetblack9090]

when you say your Arcam had "the possibility to add bass" that sounds like tone controls or in other words analogue EQ. used sparingly you can make small tweaks, but used to excess they will kill your sound quality. This video is the best explanation I have heard about it:

View: https://youtu.be/7yjhJutykmU?si=Nqti9mHeTLZpoPnn


It also touches on one of the most important things in hifi, speaker placement. Take some time to make sure you have you speakers perfectly positioned. With my speakers, knock off a couple of degrees of toe in, or move them a little closer to (or further from) the wall and they are like different speakers.

One you are confident you are getting the best out of your speakers, if you are still not happy, get a sub.

Personally, I would have chosen a Marantz over a Cambridge Audio as I like how they sound, but thats just personal preference.

Tone controls aren't evil, regardless of what Paul McGowan says. I don't care who he is and how long he's been doing this, if I don't like the sound of a system and I can change that by rotating a treble knob or pressing a loudness button or twiddling a bass boost knob, then I'm going to do it. Remember this whole thing is all about pleasure, if by convincing yourself what something should be means that you have to grit and bear it every time you do it to achieve the supposed perfection pontificated by the glitterati, then trust me it's not worth it.


I did forget about speaker placement, very important. Although I would make the claim that if his arcam amplifier was producing a sound quality that was to his liking and he didn't change anything other than the amplifier then of course it's the amplifier that's the problem.

 

[Fandango Andy]

Tone controls aren't evil, regardless of what Paul McGowan says. I don't care who he is and how long he's been doing this, if I don't like the sound of a system and I can change that by rotating a treble knob or pressing a loudness button or twiddling a bass boost knob, then I'm going to do it. Remember this whole thing is all about pleasure, if by convincing yourself what something should be means that you have to grit and bear it every time you do it to achieve the supposed perfection pontificated by the glitterati, then trust me it's not worth it.


I did forget about speaker placement, very important. Although I would make the claim that if his arcam amplifier was producing a sound quality that was to his liking and he didn't change anything other than the amplifier then of course it's the amplifier that's the problem.

In fairness if you watch the video he says they aren't evil. But gives an explanation and analogy.

The OP describes the Cambridge Audio as "incredibly precise and open character is a real pleasure." I take this to mean it sounds better than the Arcam, otherwise I would recommend picking up a second hand one of those.

I agree with what you say about tone controls, but they don't come free. Improvements I one element could detract from another.

 

[jetblack9090]

In fairness if you watch the video he says they aren't evil. But gives an explanation and analogy.

The OP describes the Cambridge Audio as "incredibly precise and open character is a real pleasure." I take this to mean it sounds better than the Arcam, otherwise I would recommend picking up a second hand one of those.

I agree with what you say about tone controls, but they don't come free. Improvements I one element could detract from another.

True enough, I just think his sort of rhetoric precipitates the idea that they are bad, and then going forward That's all you hear, when in fact that's not really what he said at all.

When I first got into this hobby 10 years ago I got into the habit of buying all sorts of audio gear, a luxury to be sure, and I found that the more equipment I tried the more I realized I gravitated towards a certain sound.Then a couple years after that I realized that the type of sound that I enjoyed from my equipment is so far removed from the Hi-Fi" ideal" so as to be funny.

You see because I spent the first couple of years in this hobby with the idea that what the magazines and what the reviewers and what the big players in the industry said was good sound, was indeed the ideal sound And after it was all over And I got what they said was good sound I realized I hated it. Truthfully once I had the Epiphany that none of that mattered, I told myself I would spread that doctrine as far and wide as possible.

If someone 's Hi-Fi happiness includes tone controls then I'm all for it, regardless of what it possibly does to the sound. Because listening to music should be a matter of enjoyment and nothing else, remember this is an entertainment medium after all.

 

[Steinwaytune]

If someone 's Hi-Fi happiness includes tone controls then I'm all for it, regardless of what it possibly does to the sound. Because listening to music should be a matter of enjoyment and nothing else, remember this is an entertainment medium after all.

Fair enough!

 

[Fidelity dom]

It sounds that you like the character of your amp & I don’t think your speakers should be particularly base light, in fact iam sure I’ve seen them reviewed when it was suggested that they could a little bloated if not placed carefully. They drop to 39hz so adding a sub will definatly fill out the bottom end down to 20hz. Definatly worth having a play with speaker positioning & giving your amp some time before deciding if you need a sub, Personally I like the extra foundation a sub gives the music with speakers that don’t drop so low.