Bass Boom with Dynaudio Contour 1.8's? Foam Plugs?

Posted by: Jaybar on 20 July 2001

I am still working on the placement of my speakers. Placing them 31" from the side walls (distance from tweater) yields a good deal of bass boom. They are about 7 feet apart. Any experience with the foam plugs for the rear ports? Room is concrete/cinder-block which retains bass?

Jay

Posted on: 20 July 2001 by Mike Sae

In my experience, foam bungs tend to skew the tonal balance too far. The top end gets tipped up and the bass doesn't reach as low the whole sound loses coherency. Drinking straws work much better in my case but it's a rather cheesy solution.

Have you tried bass traps?
I thought I had an uncurable bass boom problem and was on a never-ending quest for new speakers until I tried bass traps- doesn't matter what you use. You can try anything soft and pillowy in the problem corners of your room. I initially stacked a bunch of those triangular Thai pillows in the front corners of my room. No amount of upgrading could yield such an improvment. Bass boom decreased, bass detail and depth increased.

good luck,

mike s

Posted on: 21 July 2001 by Jonathan Gorse

I borrowed some 1.8's once - they boomed like crazy until I moved them 3 feet clear of a back wall - then they really tightened up.

How far are yours from the back wall??

Jonathan

Posted on: 21 July 2001 by Jaybar

Johnathan. Its the proximity to the side walls. They are only about 31" from the side walls. The problem is the room is largly concrete which retain bass. what's your thoughts?

Jay

[This message was edited by Jaybar on SATURDAY 21 July 2001 at 20:44.]

Posted on: 21 July 2001 by Steve Toy

I had the same problem with my Rega Naos speakers.

Solution: bring 'em closer together - about 5 feet apart. That'll be an extra foot to each side boundary. Obviously furniture can get in the way, but you can compensate for the stereo image being too small by NOT toeing them in. Firing straight ahead also aids the counteraction of the horn effect of the corners of the room behind the speakers, which causes the bass boom in the first place.

It's always a nice day for it, have a good one
Steve