NAP 300 has introduced too much bass

MDS posted:

FangfossFlyer posted:

Try moving the speakers.

That's what I would try, too, e.g. moving them further away from the rear and/or side walls. 

Absolutely. Natures's Eq. Changes the balance of direct sound (mids and highs) and reflected sounds (bass).

this might be an amateurish suggestion as I'm a newbie myself, but why not try using speaker bungs to tone down the bass or match the speaker cables which are most suitable for your speakers.

another thought came to my mind was bi-wiring but I know from past threads it is not recommended on this forum.

Cheers

HiFinewbie

Exploring the following today and into next week

Plug 300 directly into wall socket

change speaker position

Change speaker cables

do software update to 4.6 (I gather that some people reported a thinner sound afterwards)

borrow alternative mains and speaker cables off friend

experiment with chord electronics DAC + Rpi !

 Ask dealer to see if I can borrow another front end. They are now looking for one in their network of shops.

hifinewbie posted:

this might be an amateurish suggestion as I'm a newbie myself, but why not try using speaker bungs to tone down the bass or match the speaker cables which are most suitable for your speakers.

another thought came to my mind was bi-wiring but I know from past threads it is not recommended on this forum.

 

Cheers

HiFinewbie

Yes this would be an option except for the 40's being an infinite baffle design which doesn't have a port.

i did try this previously when I was contemplating B&W speakers and putting a bung in the port of those made very little difference.

But thankyou for the idea. It's nice that so many people have responded with suggestions  

I auditioned a 250/2 and a 300dr with my SU. The 250 had more of the effect regarding the bass that you are experiencing with the non dr 300 and I didn’t like it at all. The 300dr was completely different though, it had a nice tightly controlled bass which is why I bought the thing there and then. The bass was so much more refined than with the SU alone. I was connecting it to the SU via a hicap dr. My speakers are S400s. 

the Hicap would have damaged the Superuniti?

Drewy posted:

...I was connecting it to the SU via a hicap dr...

Connected how?

Richard Dane posted:

Drewy posted:

...I was connecting it to the SU via a hicap dr...

Connected how?

Sorry Richard, not good at explaining these things but it is indeed what I was doing. 

analogmusic posted:

the Hicap would have damaged the Superuniti?

No not at all. You can’t connect an SU together without a bespoke cable or something like the hicap. I was going to get a 282 as a future upgrade and then use the hicap on that but in the end I went all the way to a 552 and NDS so sold the hicap. It was a couple of years back now so memory is fading on this

Drewy posted:

I auditioned a 250/2 and a 300dr with my SU. The 250 had more of the effect regarding the bass that you are experiencing with the non dr 300 and I didn’t like it at all. The 300dr was completely different though, it had a nice tightly controlled bass which is why I bought the thing there and then. The bass was so much more refined than with the SU alone. I was connecting it to the SU via a hicap dr. My speakers are S400s. 

This is interesting Drewy, I have tried my SU with a 250 dr at the dealer and I thought it sounded very good, although it was in a different room of course. dr'ing the 300 is going to have to wait!

i am currently running the system bi-amped, using the SU and 300 amps, this has improved the balance significantly, even if this is not a suitable end solution.

ROOG posted:

Drewy posted:

I auditioned a 250/2 and a 300dr with my SU. The 250 had more of the effect regarding the bass that you are experiencing with the non dr 300 and I didn’t like it at all. The 300dr was completely different though, it had a nice tightly controlled bass which is why I bought the thing there and then. The bass was so much more refined than with the SU alone. I was connecting it to the SU via a hicap dr. My speakers are S400s. 

This is interesting Drewy, I have tried my SU with a 250 dr at the dealer and I thought it sounded very good, although it was in a different room of course. dr'ing the 300 is going to have to wait!

i am currently running the system bi-amped, using the SU and 300 amps, this has improved the balance significantly, even if this is not a suitable end solution.

We have different speakers though. That’s probably the biggest part of it. 

I suppose I was comparing the 250/2 to the 300dr. The 250/2 seemed to give me more of what the SU was already giving me whereas the 300dr was a real revelation. 

Oh and the 250dr is apparently a lot different than the 250/2 but I never tried one. Others will no doubt have more info on the differences

Here is my update on my ‘too much bass’ issue.

My system was set up  with the speakers on the long wall ‘firing across’ my 6 x 3.5m room.

I tweaked the positions of the speakers with little effect, so I set up my measurement microphone and software to find what I had been hearing, a significant bass peak at around 50Hz.

By running Room EQ Wizard I was able to model my room using the ‘Room Sim’ which also showed the likely bass frequencies peak, changing the seating position within practical limits did not significantly affect to outcome. However by moving the speakers in the simulation to the short wall, ‘firing down the long length of the room, the Sim showed that I would be able to sit in a (practical) position in the room which would reduce the bass peak.

I set about moving my system to the short wall and on powering back up I was amazed to hear pretty well what the REW ‘Room Sim’ had predicted. By using the short wall I am able to move the speakers a little further into the room without upsetting the boss and by the same logic I can now sit forward of the back wall. Moving the seating position as directed in REW made a significant improvement to my system response.

I guess that my previous SU system didn’t ‘inject’ as much bass energy into the room and did not excite the room as much as the introduction of the NAP 300 did. I am now much happier with the balance of my system and whilst the stereo image isn’t quite as good as the former across room set up, the additional distance between the speakers and the listening position has created a more relaxed, less 'in your face' experience.

I am suitably impressed by the results produced by REW which gave me confidence that relocating the entire system might be worthwhile.  :0)

ROOG posted:

Here is my update on my ‘too much bass’ issue.

My system was set up  with the speakers on the long wall ‘firing across’ my 6 x 3.5m room.

I tweaked the positions of the speakers with little effect, so I set up my measurement microphone and software to find what I had been hearing, a significant bass peak at around 50Hz.

By running Room EQ Wizard I was able to model my room using the ‘Room Sim’ which also showed the likely bass frequencies peak, changing the seating position within practical limits did not significantly affect to outcome. However by moving the speakers in the simulation to the short wall, ‘firing down the long length of the room, the Sim showed that I would be able to sit in a (practical) position in the room which would reduce the bass peak.

I set about moving my system to the short wall and on powering back up I was amazed to hear pretty well what the REW ‘Room Sim’ had predicted. By using the short wall I am able to move the speakers a little further into the room without upsetting the boss and by the same logic I can now sit forward of the back wall. Moving the seating position as directed in REW made a significant improvement to my system response.

I guess that my previous SU system didn’t ‘inject’ as much bass energy into the room and did not excite the room as much as the introduction of the NAP 300 did. I am now much happier with the balance of my system and whilst the stereo image isn’t quite as good as the former across room set up, the additional distance between the speakers and the listening position has created a more relaxed, less 'in your face' experience.

I am suitably impressed by the results produced by REW which gave me confidence that relocating the entire system might be worthwhile.  :0)

If your back wall was reflective (i.e a hard flat surface), then being  further away should be beneficial for mid and high frequencies as well ad the bass, however the change around may have introduced another potentially bigger issue at these higher frequencies: You now have side walls significantly closer to the speakers, and very possibly causing more early reflections. If the side walls are reflective at the positions where a mirror if placed flat on the wall would enable you to see the speakers, putting something that would absorb or scatter mid and especially high frequencies would be likely to further improve clarity and may firm up the stereo imagery. It is easy to have an initial try with a couple of pillows or large cushions on something like a tall stool each side, and/or propped up with sticks, or even a person standing each side!

Hi IB, I was listening to a pod cast thing by Paul McGowan just this morning, in which he talks about this very thing, absorption vs diffusion. 

Would be worth a try. The room also has three sets of heavy curtains, I should try closing these too.

At the moment I am getting over being able to make use my NAP300! 

Really pleased for you Roog and hope you continue to enjoy your system.

Bob the Builder posted:

Really pleased for you Roog and hope you continue to enjoy your system.

Thank you Bob the Builder, even the missus is pleased as the system does look neater that way around.

I really need to get back to listening to the music.