Lack of bass with vinyl

Geoff

Sounds like this maybe a tracking error. Have another look at both the tracking weight, and to see if the arm is balanced neutrally without any weight on.

Regards

Mike

Geoff,
I recently purchased a DV10x4 for my Ittok after demming it against the Linn Adikt. I felt the Adikt was a bit lacking, the DV had more of everything and was far more involving than the Linn. Vertical Tracking Angle can affect the treble/bass balance though. Try lowering the arm slightly to see if that has any effect. If your LP12 hasn't been serviced/reset for a couple of years it might be well worth having that done.

It's my general impression (with hicapped CD3.5 and Nait3) that CDs have more bass drive than most LPs. I think it may be the media, recording and the mastering which creates this rather than the sistem, but having said that the Nait3 is not the greatest amp for bass weight. I think a separate pre-power combo would bring benefits here.

David

I had a similar experience to David when demming the 10X5 against the Adikt. Whilst the DV was much punchier, and more fun to listen to, the Adikt had a dark, bassier sound. I am suprised you are finding it lighter sounding.

Check the connections on the cartridge--they can be out of phase just like speaker connections. If you have a test record you could use that.

Also, when the suspension is fouled, the bass of the LP12 can get diffuse.

Finally, tracking weight can affect bass balance, so check that too and try a little more for more bass.

--Eric

quote:

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It's my general impression (with hicapped CD3.5 and Nait3) that CDs have more bass drive than most LPs. I think it may be the media, recording and the mastering which creates this rather than the sistem

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David,
FWIW I have a CD3.5+hicap too, but my LP12/EkosII/Klyde really delivers more bass drive overall, with one small exception. The exception is extremely low, almost subsonic frequencies, where I admit the CDP has the edge. So for the most part, I don't think the bass weight issue is down to the media.

Eric

Eric,
It's only a theory of mine, I claim nothing more, but I do believe that CDs are engineered in a different way with digital mixing and all that stuff. The opportunity is there to create an artificially enhanced bass in a way that older LP recordings probably were not subjected to.

This is not to say that the LP media of itself is incapable of producing the same bass weight merely that it isn't as often present on the recordings.

I do have a few old Decca ffss classical recordings from the 60s that have an amazing amount of bass weight, but these are the exception amongst the LPs in my collection.

David

I was chatting to a mate who runs a label (www.locarecords.com). He was telling me that they do different mixes for vinyl and CD, and that below a certain frequency (100Hz IIRC), the vinyl mix is mono. Is that true?

Cheers to all, I'll check tracking angle and Adikt set up etc. The Adikt replaced an old K9 which was even worse in this respect.

Geoff

From what I remember of my late and unlamented K9 it was worse in most respects than a very bad thing Definitely not a patch on the DV10x4

David

Bearing in mind that many good dealers have in recent years ploughed themselves blindly up the cul-de-sac that is home theatre, where judgement of "good sound" is mostly to do with the perceived quantity of bass, it is not surprising that volume-oriented CDs exhibit a bass problem.

Owing in large part to the attitudes of resllers, the general CD-buying public equates lots of bass with lots of quality, and many CDs are therefore recorded and mastered with ludicrously overblown bass. Just look at how much consumer audio comes with gizmos such as "Mega Bass Enhancement" as a selling point if you doubt this. The fact that the bass lines in much modern music are produced electronically, rather than with stringed instruments of some sort, only adds to the problem, as producing tones below the range of acoustic or electric bass is quite simple with any "music workstation" in a studio environment.

To make matters worse, many 'audiophool' vinyl reissues are also infected with this, in an IMHO rather silly attempt not to be "out-bassed" by CD versions -- vinyl's supposed to be "warm", right? Talk about loosing the plot.

Best;

Mark

I must agree that too much emphasis nowadays is put on bass. I was fooled by all this and when I made my first foray into the world of seperates 3 years ago I wanted more bass. When I got my stuff I was much more impressed with the improvement I got in mid and high range than I was with the improvement in bass.

It's even worse on HT systems with subs, so many I've heard have had the sub cranked far too high up.

anyway I digress slightly. I don't have too many records as I've only recently got a record player again, but I haven't noticed a lack in bass on my vinyl collection. I haven't compared the same piece of music on vinyl and on cd. I've never felt my records were lacking, and do prefer them to cd's, only problem is trying to buy them!

Lp12: late eighties, also forgot to mention Lingo added 1991.

Geoff