bass adjustment-summit

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joeb

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Hi, I've been getting acquainted with my new Summits. I've found that I can adjust the bass to improve almost every piece of music I listen to. Needless to say, this gets tiresome. I've tried to figure out a setting that seems to be the best match for my room, but it seems futile. So I've just randomly picked a setting that I think works well for the "average" piece of music. anybody have a better suggestion? (dumb question, huh)
 
Hi joeb,

I think you nailed it. Some recordings are bass boosted and some are thin. I've just set it at the average and accept it. Now if there was a remote control for the adjustment it would be different!

Gordon
 
Hi joeb,

Tis the other Gordon here.

Yes, it is good news and bad news but I have found it to be an extremely useful tool for fine tuning the sound of the system.

I would recommend that you use a CD with a well recorded acoustic bass to set the levels. There are numerous choices.

If you don't have any Patricia Barber, you might try one of her releases. "Nightclub" is very approachable. If you want something more abstract but equally compelling, try her "Modern Cool" CD.

I'm not a fan of her two most recent releases.

Both of these contain material you can use if you wish to go this route. Also a good check for voice reproduction.

The key thing you are looking for is overall tonal balance from top to bottom. Too much mid / low bass will end up "clouding" the mids and highs. Not enough will make the music sound thin with an absence of mid range body and palpability. Soundstaging will also be very two dimensional.

The one thing I've learned over the years is to use multiple reference discs of different genres that are representative of the music you like when fine tuning a system.

Hope that helps.

GG
 
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I'm not a fan of her two most recent releases.

Both of these contain material you can use if you wish to go this route. Also a good check for voice reproduction.

GG

Would one of those be Mythologies? Not my cup of tea.

Gordon
 
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