wanted: Big bass!!

[admin_exported]

Ok, So the MF A1 has been removed from my system and has been replaced with a MF A3 amp. As I now have significantly more power on tap I think its time to get some new speakers to make the most of my new amp...

Budget is around £1500 and I am open to sugestions for either floorstanders or standmounted speakers with a sub.

My main requirement is DEEP bass. I also want said bass to be tight and controled. Although I mainly listen to bass heavy music I also have a fair bit of acoustic stuff in my collection and so the speakers will also have to be able to reproduce this convincingly.

Thanks in advance guys!

 

[TheHomeCinemaCentre]

You wont get deep bass at £1500 but you can get close. Do you have a large room? A set of Dali Ikon 6 MK2 should give you plenty of bass but still maintain a balanced sound over a range of volumes. We have the 6's set up in our demo room and with some heavy dubstep I was convinced the sub was on!

A sub will give you deep controlled bass but with your budget you are not going to get a really deep sound. The Paradigm Sub Se delivers stonking performance for the money and with the room eq enabled can sound even better. It is £650 which fairly eats into your budget. With £850 left there are several options on monitors the PMC DB1 being the first thought. If you have a large room the floorstanding option would be my choice.

A demonstration is essential.

 

[Thaiman]

A one box A3 amp doesn't do big bass (the way I assume you would like anyway) the A3 pre/power dig deeper and for speakers I would go Dali suggested above (mind the bright-ish top end with A3 though) or Neat Motive 1 sound like they can go as deep as the paper say, 25 Hz, smart looking too. ART Modern 6 also worth a look, gorgeous bass they have (not sure how much they cost though)

 

[plastic penguin]

james_LR90:

Ok, So the MF A1 has been removed from my system and has been replaced with a MF A3 amp. As I now have significantly more power on tap I think its time to get some new speakers to make the most of my new amp...

Budget is around £1500 and I am open to sugestions for either floorstanders or standmounted speakers with a sub.

My main requirement is DEEP bass. I also want said bass to be tight and controled. Although I mainly listen to bass heavy music I also have a fair bit of acoustic stuff in my collection and so the speakers will also have to be able to reproduce this convincingly.

Thanks in advance guys!

Monitor Audio GS20 and/or a sub...

I am slightly puzzled when people talk about really deep bass and [then] mention the word tight, taut or controlled. on systems I've heard, once bass frequency goes below a certain mark it tends to be a little loose* and therefore rubbishes the controlled phrase.

*This is dependant on room acoustics/size.

 

[TheHomeCinemaCentre]

High volume deep controlled bass that is tight is possible it just comes at a price.

 

[aliEnRIK]

plastic penguin:
Monitor Audio GS20

I was thinking similar. Plus some Van Damme UP LC-OFC cables to boot (They keep bass very controlled and deep)

 

[aliEnRIK]

Or

To hell with control and get some big n beefy CERWIN VEGA

 

[Anonymous]

Haha thanks for the sugestion but I think I will steer clear of Cerwin Vega!! Dali ikon's are one of the speakers I had in mind but I would be worried about the combo being too bright. Would adding an A3 power amp help with regards to what I am After?

 

[Anonymous]

Neat Motive 1 looks promising! I'm not expecting earth shattering bass I just want to listen to my music and not feel like there is something missing.

 

[Craig M.]

you could easily get some 2nd hand/ex dem dynaudio contour s1.4 for your budget, i doubt you'd feel you were missing bass. need a bit of room round them though.

 

[Anonymous]

Nick, With regards to Thaiman's post about the ART Moderne 6 what are your views on this speaker as I can see you sell them where you work. They do look pretty stunning although they are more than I wanted to pay tbh.

 

[TheHomeCinemaCentre]

james_LR90:Nick, With regards to Thaiman's post about the ART Moderne 6 what are your views on this speaker as I can see you sell them where you work. They do look pretty stunning although they are more than I wanted to pay tbh.

The Art's are stunning, really transparent with a huge involving sound stage. They will produce tight bass but they do not plunge the depths of bass so how you listen is very important. If drum n bass at high volume is your thing the Art's will perform but you may get a bigger impact elsewhere. They are very different in sound to a lot of other speakers so an audition /home demo would be essential but if you gel with the sound everything else sounds lacking. I got hooked on ART ages ago and ran a pair of glorious Expression monitors for years. Now I am saving hard for a set of Deco's for my main room

The Ikon 6's is quite different to the ART sound. They are not bright though - the soft dome with ribbon tweeter sorts that. Bass is good and solid and they produce a fair amount without it becoming flabby or slow. Once again I think these are superb, so much so that I have finally changed the speakers on my decks for a set of these.

Let me know if you want any more info.

 

[drummerman]

james_LR90:Neat Motive 1 looks promising! I'm not expecting earth shattering bass I just want to listen to my music and not feel like there is something missing.

Dynaudio Focus 110/140 with an amp that has control.

 

[Anonymous]

Nick how do you think the MA RX6/8 would compare to the Ikon 6? The Ikon 6 is at the top of my list at the moment but I hear good things about the MA's...

 

[Anonymous]

Maybe b and w cm9 or you could always go for 600 series, 683 and have change left over, for a sub??. These speakers seem to me like they have lots of bass.

 

[Anonymous]

I have been thinking about throwing a sub into the mix with a pair of decent standmounters. the Dynaudio Focus as recommended by Drummerman are pretty well regarded as are the B&W but im just not sure if the standmounter/sub combo will integrate well. I dont want the bass to lack coherence with the rest of the range. Anyone have experience of a standmount/sub set up???

 

[Anonymous]

I use my SA1s with a REL Quake to some degree of success. I suspect that the Quake isn't really good enough to produce a fast and integrated sound. The sub route is an excellent idea on the provisos that a) you're willing to buy a decent one (as suggested earlier really), b) you're willing to invest some time in getting the sound right in the room, c) you're willing to position it for sound over asthetics.

Some people love them, some people hate them. Perhaps get a demo before you decide whether they cut it for you. To me it's much better to have standmounters and a sub that works well in the room without boom than a pair of floorstanders that boom!

FWIW the REL R Series is meant to be very good for music.

 

[Anonymous]

Hi igglebert just had a look at the REL R-205 and it gets a thumbs up. At around £750 that would leave me the same for a pair of standmounters + stands. Any in particular you can recommend??? I'm leaning towards the stand/sub set up as I could run the sub for my bass heavy music and simply turn off when im listening to more acoustic stuff which would be perfect I think.

 

[drummerman]

james_LR90:I have been thinking about throwing a sub into the mix with a pair of decent standmounters. the Dynaudio Focus as recommended by Drummerman are pretty well regarded as are the B&W but im just not sure if the standmounter/sub combo will integrate well. I dont want the bass to lack coherence with the rest of the range. Anyone have experience of a standmount/sub set up???

James_LR90, I have been using a sub for some time with anything from small standmounts to floorstanders. I can recommend that configuration for flexibility and effectiveness.

The dynaudio's I've mentioned really are bass heavy, so much so that you may find you won't need a sub. In any case, start with the speakers and add the sub when/if required. There's no point in shortlisting before you settled on the former, especially as your room has considerable impact on what the whole thing will sound like.

 

[Anonymous]

Yeah I may be getting a bit carried away and should decide on speakers first. The dynaudio's seem spot on for what im after and at the price they are I would have to wait a while for a sub anyway if I still felt I needed one.

Thanks for the advice so far guys but as it will be nearer christmas when im ready to buy any further sugestions are welcome! The Focus 110's are where im thinking of going come demo time...

 

[Anonymous]

james_LR90:Hi igglebert just had a look at the REL R-205 and it gets a thumbs up. At around £750 that would leave me the same for a pair of standmounters + stands. Any in particular you can recommend??? I'm leaning towards the stand/sub set up as I could run the sub for my bass heavy music and simply turn off when im listening to more acoustic stuff which would be perfect I think.

DM's right about the Dynaudios, plenty of bass. OK, it doesn't go as low as you seem to want but they really pump it out. Great idea to get the sub later as you can see how the room gets on with just the speakers.

In terms of other recommendations, you need to listen to a few to see what sort of presentation you like.

 

[Anonymous]

james_LR90:I have been thinking about throwing a sub into the mix with a pair of decent standmounters. the Dynaudio Focus as recommended by Drummerman are pretty well regarded as are the B&W but im just not sure if the standmounter/sub combo will integrate well. I dont want the bass to lack coherence with the rest of the range. Anyone have experience of a standmount/sub set up???

Yes i have and had fantasic results, I had ATC acive 20s on partington stands with a rel505 sub. The sub really intergrated well with speakers and even helped with some of the harsh sound on some recordings. I think it's a great set up because you have all the detail/characteristics of the standmount and the backup and reinforcment of the sub for those wanted lows.The rels match up and intergrate with most speakers.

I wanted to post a picture of my old setup to show you but I am a newbie to these forums....(help)

 

[Anonymous]

sorted....

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[Anonymous]

Tarquin that set up looks very sweet... im even more inspired now and deffo get the feeling stand/sub is the way to go

 

[TheHomeCinemaCentre]

I would be sure to listen to the sub/monitor combination properly before you buy. As I have mentioned many times it comes down to how you listen. With the budget you have mentioned you still may get better integration with a floor standing speaker.

If you do opt for the sub try the Paradigm Sub SE. When properly set up with the room eq you can get amazing results for the money.