b&w 703 sounds 'boomy'

[THX-UltraII]

I ve recently replaced my 705 front speakers for the 703 fronts. Since this upgrade I dislike my bass in my room. It sound very 'boomy' and too much.

- My room is professionally acoustic treated (diffusers, basstraps etc. etc.) and I have a max. reverberation time of 0.6 sec from 20 to 50.000Hz.

- My 703's are placed 60cm from the walls.

- They are placed on 3 spikes/speaker

- I m running them Bi-Amped with the Marantz AV8003/MM8003 combi.

Any thoughts/tips/experiances with this too-much-bass-problem?

[Briz vegas]

- acoustic treatment :5:
- distance from walls :4: - could try a little further into the room if possible
- amplification :3: maybe (I am questioning, not stating) the Marantz is running out of current. There is alot of watts over alot of channels being provided for the dollars - could there be some cost cutting here that limits the current ability of the amp, particularly all channels driven. Maybe something from Krell or Musical Fidelity could tame the bass more effectively.
- the room - is it a 3.#m square room or something. Standing waves etc - is the bass boomy everywhere? Some rooms are just really really hard to get right.

Thats all the suggestions I have. Good luck with your quest

[wgriel]

A little more info if you please: you say that you've changed your fronts from 705s to 703s. Is this a multi-channel home theater? Do you have a sub in your system?

[marky mark]

you could try using the foam that came with the speaker and put it in the flowport

[RobP]

You say that you have them 60cm from the wall, but is that from the side walls or the front wall directly behind them?

I would tinker with the placement, you may have them too close to wall.

[beden1]

You say that you have them 60cm from the wall, but is that from the side walls or the front wall directly behind them?

I would tinker with the placement, you may have them too close to wall.

I agree with this. Someone else complained that their 703s had boomy bass a number of months ago. I think he straightened it out by adjusting the speaker placement.

I've had my 703s for several years now, and the bass is not boomy. In fact, I think the bass output is one of this speaker's best attributes. Very well defined bass.

[William]

....

[Briz vegas]

....

Personally I would have said .. .. but .... is still quite a valid statement.

[bleeding ears]

Have you tried setting the speakers to "small" setting on the preamp (if possible)?

I find boom in most floorstanders set to large.

Use small setting and if you have a sub get it to fill in the lower bass.

Pete

[bleeding ears]

I have actually commented on this subject in some length in the "Home theatre" forum above. (near top)

Look for the title "Small or Large speaker setting"

I would just attach it here but Im not sure how to do it.

Pete

[dknightd]

The OP has not come back. I assume this is because the problem was solved.
I wonder what the solution was.

[THX-UltraII]

The OP has not come back. I assume this is because the problem was solved.
I wonder what the solution was.

not everyone has the time to spend everyday on the internet

[THX-UltraII]

A little more info if you please: you say that you've changed your fronts from 705s to 703s. Is this a multi-channel home theater? Do you have a sub in your system?

yes, multi-channel, HTM1 center, 2x 703 front and 2x 705 rear. I have a SvS PB12+ sub, but in stereo (where the bass-problem is best heard) I play in Pure Direct mode of the Marantz so no sub than.

ps. sorry for my bad English

[THX-UltraII]

- acoustic treatment :5:
- distance from walls :4: - could try a little further into the room if possible
- amplification :3: maybe (I am questioning, not stating) the Marantz is running out of current. There is alot of watts over alot of channels being provided for the dollars - could there be some cost cutting here that limits the current ability of the amp, particularly all channels driven. Maybe something from Krell or Musical Fidelity could tame the bass more effectively.
- the room - is it a 3.#m square room or something. Standing waves etc - is the bass boomy everywhere? Some rooms are just really really hard to get right.

Thats all the suggestions I have. Good luck with your quest

Like I said, my room is very professionally Aucoutic modified. The heavy bass is everywhere.

[THX-UltraII]

you could try using the foam that came with the speaker and put it in the flowport

I ve tried this yesterday and it does help a bit. But what are the negative sideeffects of using them? Is the bass extension less?

[THX-UltraII]

You say that you have them 60cm from the wall, but is that from the side walls or the front wall directly behind them?

I would tinker with the placement, you may have them too close to wall.

60 cm from the side walls, 110cm for the front wall

[THX-UltraII]

Have you tried setting the speakers to "small" setting on the preamp (if possible)?

I find boom in most floorstanders set to large.

Use small setting and if you have a sub get it to fill in the lower bass.

Pete

in Pure Direct the Marantz will aut. swith to LARGE.

[bleeding ears]

Yes, this is the problem I have found also.

When you set to pure direct or in my case bypass mode, the speakers are trying to produce the full bass and I find that it is too much.

Try the small setting or use the crossover if you can.

It will clear up the boom and could actually be an improvement.

Dissapointingly I had to give up trying to use direct mode, I just could not clear up the bass enough.



Pete

[bleeding ears]

I too have tried port plugs to clear up the bass.

I found it did tighten the bass, but at the expense of some clarity which at first was not a problem but as time went on I noticed it more and did not continue to use the plugs.

I think from memory they were size 10 thick white socks. LOL

Black socks may have been better but it could have been my imagination. LOL

Just kidding of course !

Pete

[bigburner]

Black socks may have been better but it could have been my imagination.

You'll find that red socks produce a warmer sound overall.

Nigel.

[beden1]

Like I said, my room is very professionally Aucoutic modified. The heavy bass is everywhere.

I would have your "pros" come back and check your room again. It's possible they did not do a very good job, or they modified your room for different speakers/parameters, or ?

[wettou]

Originally Posted by THX-UltraII Like I said, my room is very professionally Aucoutic modified. The heavy bass is everywhere.

Let us know who did you room so we do hire them sounds like a bad job to me!!

[Iggurk]

Hi THX !

Perhaps that your treatment absorb too much Medium?, I also suggest that you ask for a review of your room with your new setup.

Boomy bass are also sometimes due to bad electric signal, you can also check that.

You can also try to put your amp under ceraball or spikes, the result is impressive on Bass quality (at least on my system).

Perhaps the 3 spikes you're using aren't really efficient, try original one.

Try to move your speakers away from the wall, 60cm isn't that much.
Are they in corners of the room ?
The best position I found, is when I just slightly see the inner face when I'm at the listening position. (speakers aren't parallel to each other).

Check the +/- connection of cables (I'm sure you removed the jumper if you bi-amp)

Regards
Yves

[NMG]

Are you sure that your sub isn't getting a signal when you listen in "Pure Direct" mode? By this I mean is it possible that your sub is still getting a signal AND your mains are getting a "large" signal, resulting in duplication of the bass?

If that isn't occuring, I think you have placement and/or room issues. Try getting them away from the side walls more if possible. The 703's are not boomy speakers at all, at least in my experience. In fact, for many types of music they NEED sub help.

Good luck!