Punchy bass - World-Designs-Forum

VantheMan · #1 28th October 2016, 05:45 PM

Does anyone ever look at the 10 inch Seas drivers on their WD25Ts and get the feeling they are a bit reluctant in the bass. Mine certainly go down lower than before but all I have done is change the white cheapo resistors for Mills wirewounds of the same value and the two Soniqs cap combo on the bass circuit for a teflon and Pio combo of the same value. I certainly would love a bit more punch in the solar plexus. So much so that I feel like taking them apart sometimes to see if I have done something wrong. Might the foam on the aperiodic port be holding them back somehow ?

Chris · #2 28th October 2016, 07:13 PM

"punch in the solar plexus"

Have you thought about the addition of a good subwoofer?

Chris.

bob orbell · #3 28th October 2016, 08:19 PM

Hi VantheMan, I had a go with the above speakers, some years ago and to be honest I found them very natural, but lacking in bass punch even with them close to a rear wall, as to say, I did not make a purchase, what I did was make a pair of IPL transmission line speakers, these only had 5" bass units, but boy, did they kick ****, I then moved on to Monitor Audio PL100's, not much help, I know, but just my take. Keep well away from subs, they are for more trouble that they are worth. BOB

Greg. · #4 28th October 2016, 09:32 PM

I have listened to several WD25A's and T's at various locations and my conclusion is that they are very room dependant. I recently owned a pair of T's that I sold on. They produced good bass even though they were over a foot from a wall with large window, but to expect thorax hitting bass punch would IMHO be beyond them. I sold them on and I understand the new owner is happy. Conversely, I have a friend who had a pair he located in front of a solid wall and just a few inches out. There was at least an octave of lower bass missing from their presentation. He followed the placement rules as Peter Comeau had decreed, but in his room for unknown reason, they simply would not perform as wanted in the bass region. There was nothing wrong with his amplification. The bass should have been their but wasn't.

So in my view as said it is a room dependency thing and if you can't get the extension you want, sorry, time to move on and try something else. Furthermore, WD25's will IMO never produce that physically hitting type bass you refer to. The IPL TL's Bob refers to do, as would earlier WAD speakers, my own KLS3's being a good example.

VantheMan · #5 28th October 2016, 10:55 PM

Thanks gents. That would seem to tally with what I´m hearing. In my room bass is good quality wise but it doesn´t seem to have enough presence. Were it the other way round I´d still be complaining. I´m going to dig out my Heybrook HB2s whose tweeter voice coils and caps I renewed last year but never actually gave them an extended listening to. A drop of wood oil and some new grilles to get them past the missus and see how they sound with my present set-up. Considering I only ever used them with my Sugden A48II, my present Sugden A21SE and much improved phono stage should tighten the bass up quite a bit.

Greg. · #6 28th October 2016, 11:48 PM

Good luck. I hope it works out. My reservation is Heybrooks are also designed by Peter Comeau, so you might hit the same bass barrier. Whatever you find, let us know how you get on.

Chris · #7 29th October 2016, 08:54 AM

The Sugden A48II was my second amp I bought back in 1981, I remember the paint peeling off the controls but it did sound very relaxed compared to the Marantz it replaced.

Chris.

VantheMan · #8 29th October 2016, 10:26 AM

No, the Class A/B A48II sound is light years away from the sound of the latest Sugden Class As. Let´s see how it goes.

VantheMan · #9 28th April 2017, 07:32 PM

Just in case anyone reads this.
My update. The reluctant bass was not down to my speakers but to the way my amp was supported. I would never have guessed this because my amp is on an mdf shelf with marble top on 3 right angled brackets to the wall with tiny side screws to the trompe l´oeil bookcase/cupboard surround that hides it when not in use.
Anyway I was given a set of mag-lev Will sound spike by a mate who was working in Korea and not being a great believer in foo I tried to place them under my Linn to see what happened. They definitely did something to the sound but it gets a bid fiddly trying to place them properly with just one pair of hands so I gave up and decided to plonk 3 of them in a rough equilateral triangle under where the not insignificant toroidal of my Sugden A21Se lies. The amp now trembles like a jelly.

Well, well my amp now has muscles that I never knew existed and the bass from my WD25TEx is much lower, of greater presence almost bordering on very slightly fruity and I am very, very happy. The bass line never disappears in the mix like before and I am well chuffed.

The mag-levs as well as a party trick are a great tool for checking the efficacy of your supports. I would never have believed it if I hadn´t born witness to it myself.

Cycleallday · #10 29th April 2017, 05:41 PM

I had a 21SE on trial a few years back and found it a little 'bland' with my 25's. It did not seem to live up to what the reviews said but was well built - maybe it didn't like my Partington stand as it sounded great in the showroom.

I finally bought a Quad Classic integrated (the valve amp designed by Tim de Paravicini) which really goes well with the 25's.

I'd of thought you'd have enough heat out there without a class A amp running !

Looking forward to my next trip out in a few weeks time.

Mel