I recall a magazine article many, many years ago where the author examined a bunch of recordings that he believed to have bass content. Classical music, rock and synth music. All kinds, and only two or three of them had any content below 30hz. And none had any below 25hz. Most were way up in the 40’s! So, reaching below 20hz could be considered overkill. Most of us aren’t setting around listening to test tones. But you make a great point! If it’ll do 20hz, then it should be good and flat at 30hz!
One of my biggest issues with my Legacys, is too much bass. I had the opposite problem before I got the Krell. I had a Crown PA amp with 450 class D Watts on the bass, and a Forte’ Model 3 on the tops, I’m not sure if they do 150 or 200 Watts? Of A/B power. It sounded good! But, somehow was lacking, it was, uninteresting. Uninvolving, lackluster. So the Krell fixed that! It’s compelling! And it flat out rocks! Vinyl really draws me in. CD’s are so bright and spotless! Even FM is interesting. But, it booms. A frequency is resonant, and it booms, and I’m not sure what to do about it. One of the reasons I’m thinking perhaps these are just too big for my space? But, they shouldn’t be, a 16 x 18 is not that small. I’ve got a few more things to do before I pass final judgement. Such as, new interconnect cables from preamp to amp, I’m using plain old microphone cable now. And a new preamp could do wonders? Or not. That’s kind of a crap toss right there, depending on the preamp. But my Parasound Halo 3 is a nice pre, but not in the same class as the rest of my gear. Cost about $800 new, I got it for $300. I love all its features! Lots of inputs, digital control, remote, it’s punching way above its weight class. But can it compete with a $5000 pre? I seriously doubt it. I am hesitant to get rid of it, because high priced preamps generally do not have tone controls.
So, replacing the speakers could be a quick fix? Or, it could just give me a whole new set of problems? If things aren’t right, I doubt speakers will solve the problem. Not that anything is wrong! It does many things right! But it seems my speakers ability to deliver lots of bass is being fully exploited. Ive considered somehow wiring up an L pad behind the speaker terminals? I’m not sure what effect that will have on their overall sound? But it could be an inexpensive project to find out.
While these speakers rock! Have great definition and a smooth top end, saying I do tame the bass, they still do not have that detached sound of electrostatics, that sound stage that floats in the air between the speakers. So, like I was saying, it would be cool to have both pairs. I don’t have a wife around to tell me not to!
Russell