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Which component to upgrade to improve bass control?

Adding Symposium shelves and rollerblocks to my monitor (Silverline SR17.5) equipped system definitely helped but bass is still not nearly as controlled as I'd like.

Until we move into a different house where I can have a dedicated room for audio, I cannot use subs or add panels, traps, etc. to the room.  

So, I'm left with the possibility of upgrading a component but I have no idea whether my integrated (Wells Majestic), transport (Sim Moon 260) or DAC (Aqua La Voce S2) might be the best candidate for upgrading.

DAC UPGRADE ?
Are R2R ladder DACs simply weak in this area?  Searching the threads, I found a reference to DAC power supplies having a strong influence re: bass control but I lack the technical expertise to utilize this fact. Please keep in mind that I do not enjoy DACs that prioritize resolution above all.  

TRANSPORT UPGRADE ?
Would replacing the Moon transport with say, the new Pro-ject CD Box RS2 T be a better choice? 

INTEGRATED UIPGRADE ?
Would an amp with more grunt be the best choice?

I can only upgrade one of these at this point.
Budget:
Integrated: 5K
Transport: 3.5K
DAC: 5K
stuartk
stuartk OP
2,375 posts
 
@tvad:

"You might call Peter and ask him about using Symposium platforms between your speakers and target stands"

In fact, I did order them but Peter could not tell me when they would be available. As it happened, I had an old Symposium shelf lying around so I had it cut in half and placed the resulting slabs under the monitors. I thought they helped at first but the system started sounding excessively dark to me and I ended up pulling them out. All I can deduce is that it was "too much of a good thing" in conjunction with the Herbie's footers under the speaker stands. I should try the shelves without the Herbie's, see how that sounds. 
stuartk OP
2,375 posts
 
@millercarbon:

"One of the beautiful things about multiple subs, the more subs the less the room matters, and the less it matters where in the room the subs go...By the time you get to four it hardly matters where you put them the bass will be so good you won't believe it. ".

This is indeed encouraging. I don't know about fitting four Swarm cabinets into our curent living room but at the very least, I'll be able to employ them in our next abode. It was actually my wife who asserted I should have a dedicated audio room, at that point. I'd be very foolish to argue with my wife!  

"Springs go under the speaker. What the speaker is on hardly matters".

Thanks for the clarification.-- I thought the springs needed to be in contact with the floor. What happens during an earthquake, I wonder? The piano black finish on the Silverlines is fairly slick. 

stuartk OP
2,375 posts
 
@eriksquires:

"Some miniDSP units are pure digital. No analog. Another alternative is to use something like Roon, which has DSP built in".

If a Swarm won't fit, some sort of DSP may be my only recourse. I'm not technically inclined by nature so I don't exactly relish the prospect of diving into the world of DSP but neither do I enjoy sloppy bass. Perhaps you can explain why some DSP units include a DAC. What's the point? 
gosta's avatar
gosta
839 posts
 
Why not? DAC is cheap technology today, although some (me included) like to pay too much for this...

Don't be frightened. Saying no to dsp today is like saying no to cd's yesterday. It won't stop it's the future and gets better for each day. Just get on with it :-)


optimize
164 posts
 
Now we are moving in the right direction..

When you have sloppy bass with your bookshelf of the reasons I tried to point out previous.

How does the logic work by still playing with those sloppy bass makers and also add subwoofer/s..

Will they stop to produce sloppy bass? I do not think so.. Maybe the subwoofer/s will mask it if they play a little bit louder..

(A fix if you get subwoofer/s is (again the DSP) if you measure where in Hz you have your sloppiness and if we are lucky it is the bass reflex port that is cousing the sloppy bass and for example it is maybe between 40 and 60 Hz. Then set up the x-over in the DSP that feeds the powe amps is above 60 Hz so that your bookshelfs is not playing anything below 60 Hz.)

Regarding that maybe try to plug those bass reflex holes quick and free test. It will not play that low but maybe some sloppyness will disappear.🤔


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