Preamble:
I have two systems - HT which comprises a Marantz AVR with Boston CR95 fronts, HD7 surrounds & CRC in the middle paired with a PV500 sub. This set was put together & installed for me by HFX some years ago, all items were purchased from them with their input/advice based on budget & matching of components.
Then doing stereo duty in a different room is an old RA980BX Rotel integrated amp & Rotel CD Player paired with a set of Infinity Reference 61i's originally supplied as a system by Bobby from Soundlab some years ago.
Observations:
Bass on the HT system has always been "flabby" and indistinct. As an example Beth Hart & Joe Bonamassa covering Bobby Blands "I'll take care of you" has some low notes, which causes cabinets & windows to vibrate & sounds dreadful - indistinct & rumbly is the best way to describe it. Explosions and low note effects in movies cause the sub to "whump" and sound like it's about to blow up - volume on the sub is set at around 10 o' clock.
The stereo system suffers from the opposite effect - very little bass, especially at lower volumes. The bass only seems to start being noticeable when the volume control passes the 10 'o clock mark - at which point it is unbearably loud for the room where it is located.
So a compromise all around - however as these were both sold as "complete systems" put together by folk far more knowledgeable than I in matters of audio fidelity I left them as such.
Experiment:
Saturday past wife & daughter were at the stables, leaving the boys home alone. This almost always results in a listening session or a bike maintenance opportunity. Listening was this weekends priority. After half an hour or so I suddenly decided to swop speakers - change the Bostons with the Infinity's on the HT system. Just for the heck of it, why not?!
The difference was like chalk & cheese! Bass was suddenly more defined, tighter, sweeter even - more "there", immediate and no more rumbling, no more wishy washy bass, it had presence! So much so that the listening session ended just before midnight! Many of my favourite tracks were played, as well as some Blu-Ray concerts. Rammstein, Mumford & Sons, Beth hart & Joe Bonammasa live in Amsterdam, Barbra Streisand live, John Lee Hooker - the list went on and on.
Nothing else was changed. Sub volume level unchanged. Suddenly no more "whump" from the sub - in fact it's become a lot more subtle in it's integration with the rest of the system!
It was a great afternoon & evening. Unfortunately the entire Sunday was spent at a horse show, so I haven't had a chance to hook the Boston's up to the Rotel yet. That will be for next weekend
.
So yes, the change was so good it had me listening for close to 12 hours non stop!
I have two systems - HT which comprises a Marantz AVR with Boston CR95 fronts, HD7 surrounds & CRC in the middle paired with a PV500 sub. This set was put together & installed for me by HFX some years ago, all items were purchased from them with their input/advice based on budget & matching of components.
Then doing stereo duty in a different room is an old RA980BX Rotel integrated amp & Rotel CD Player paired with a set of Infinity Reference 61i's originally supplied as a system by Bobby from Soundlab some years ago.
Observations:
Bass on the HT system has always been "flabby" and indistinct. As an example Beth Hart & Joe Bonamassa covering Bobby Blands "I'll take care of you" has some low notes, which causes cabinets & windows to vibrate & sounds dreadful - indistinct & rumbly is the best way to describe it. Explosions and low note effects in movies cause the sub to "whump" and sound like it's about to blow up - volume on the sub is set at around 10 o' clock.
The stereo system suffers from the opposite effect - very little bass, especially at lower volumes. The bass only seems to start being noticeable when the volume control passes the 10 'o clock mark - at which point it is unbearably loud for the room where it is located.
So a compromise all around - however as these were both sold as "complete systems" put together by folk far more knowledgeable than I in matters of audio fidelity I left them as such.
Experiment:
Saturday past wife & daughter were at the stables, leaving the boys home alone. This almost always results in a listening session or a bike maintenance opportunity. Listening was this weekends priority. After half an hour or so I suddenly decided to swop speakers - change the Bostons with the Infinity's on the HT system. Just for the heck of it, why not?!
The difference was like chalk & cheese! Bass was suddenly more defined, tighter, sweeter even - more "there", immediate and no more rumbling, no more wishy washy bass, it had presence! So much so that the listening session ended just before midnight! Many of my favourite tracks were played, as well as some Blu-Ray concerts. Rammstein, Mumford & Sons, Beth hart & Joe Bonammasa live in Amsterdam, Barbra Streisand live, John Lee Hooker - the list went on and on.
Nothing else was changed. Sub volume level unchanged. Suddenly no more "whump" from the sub - in fact it's become a lot more subtle in it's integration with the rest of the system!
It was a great afternoon & evening. Unfortunately the entire Sunday was spent at a horse show, so I haven't had a chance to hook the Boston's up to the Rotel yet. That will be for next weekend
.So yes, the change was so good it had me listening for close to 12 hours non stop!
