Setting up and overblown bass issues.

Would I be correct in guessing that you have a rectangular room, possibly 4m wide and that you've got a massive increase in bass at around 40hz?

If so, unless you change your room, there's not much you can do about it as that frequency is the resonant one for the width of your room (same as my last flat). I tried all sorts, but nothing completely solved things. Concrete slabs from B&Q under the speakers were the most effective idea.

The room's 10 Feet by 14 Feet, and I didn't have the problem at my last house in which the listening room was bigger, having said that I hope you're wrong.....

Fisbey,

This is a difficult one, as an Arc owner I sometimes experience a heavy bottom end. My bass matches the description by Mr Sukebe and am reasonably sure that its a room effect. I've been helped by removing a set of double doors between my room and the next to allow some of the bass energy to dissipate. I also used RDC cones under the Arcs and find that gives a bit of extra control, I'll be trying Voodoo isolation platforms when I have the chance.

I don't want to start a stand discussion but I found mana,naim, Arcs was not for me (after 5 years!) and gained much more musical satisfaction and much much less day to day variability from a different stand. Much of the hash went away when I had isoblue installed. (disclaimer: I'm happy to accept that I didn't have my mana set up correctly but with isoblue its difficult to go wrong).

As for extension leads I use a hydra from my dealer having been using a cheap extension block and find a worthwhile improvement.

Brendan

What is/are Isoblue?

Fisbey

I found that using a Musicworks megablock tightened the bass significantly to help my bass problems (the Nap500 also helped)

Speaker positioning also makes a difference try changing wall to speaker distance, speaker to speaker difference and toe-in. Also where you sit in the room makes a difference, is your usual listening position in a bass re-inforcments zone? Try finding the bass peak and node points in the room and moving furniture

All of these help to some degree, but you may need to change speakers.

Isoblue is a wooden modular stand that I think suite Naim very well I think that there is a website so try a search to see if you like its looks.

Brendan

Fisby
My Arcs are about 16" from the rear wall. One is about 20" from the side and the other about 30" from the other side. They are both toed in at about 40 degrees from the back. It does look odd to see them toed in so steeply, but in my room it works.
The other important point is the listening point. I'm usually 20"-30" from the wall behind me. The chairs make marks on the wall as they rock when the kids are on them so we have them away from the wall. coincidentally this improves the sound!

Noel.

Er that's kind of difficult in a room that measures approximately 10 by 14 feet. I'm going to try slabs under the Arcs, if that doesn't reduce the bass (resonance?) with a view to trying a more 'exotic' support, I'll have to think again - I really don't want to let go of the Arcs, but if the rooms too small fo the speakers....

quote:

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Also I think maybe a better quality four or six way adaptor is required - what's cheap and good?

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What's your mains set up? I found things improved enormously when I installed dedicated spurs.

Dave

I have a separate ring main for the front room and a new consumer unit for the whole house - the rest of the house will have new wiring soon.

I'm sure dedicated spurs/separate consumer unit would help, but am starting to think it's the room more than anything else.

Here's a link which has a room resonance calculator near the top of the page.

http://www.mhsoft.nl/Helmholtzabsorber.asp

I'd try listening across the width of the room if possible. Just to get those speakers out of the corners. I did so once in a similar room and have never looked back in every new space I listen in. Even in open plan spaces. I can't stand to listen along a room's longest dimension any more. Assymetry with regard to room dimensions doesn't matter and can really help to minimise bass problems in problem situations. As each speaker then excites the room differently.
It's often a more flexible arrangement with regard to room funishings & can curtail common WAF problems. But only if consulted first. Then they will think it's their idea in the first place. You can thank them regularly for their understanding of the problem and praise them for the improvement in the sound quality!

Nime

Everyone has the right to be wrong.

Fisby,

Nime is right about room asymmetry. One of the strengths of Shainian speakers is that they can be moved around so flexibly.

Noel.

Fisbey,

Bass traps may be the answer. There are wide and varied traps built by many manufacturers to various prices. If you like your arcs this may be one way of keeping them and taming the bass in room. The same has happened to me with moving from an active to a passive set up, a large bass hump. In all honesty I can think of better humps to have but it seems I'm stuck with this one at the moment. The trouble is calculating the frequency it's at as some of the bass traps are very specific to the frequency they are tuned to.
It may be worth checking out www.customaudiodesidns.co.uk for a brief selection or RPG traps. I have a friend coming with a sine wave generator next month which I hope will locate the problem frequencies.

Good luck.

Sean.