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'amount' of bass

Posted by David Aiken (A) on August 13, 2003 at 13:36:05

In Reply to: Re: inner tubes and weight loading posted by pburke on August 13, 2003 at 09:23:47:

One of the first things that happens when people start to experiment with isolation is that the bass changes and people start having problems with the change.

The first thing I would say is that you're very used to the bass presentation that you've had and your immediate response is always a comparison, hence your comment that you suspect there is a "little less bass" now. Often there's an implicit assumption here that 'more is better' and that when a change results in 'less' of something, then it is a step in the wrong direction.

Leave things as they are for a few days and keep listening until you get used to the new bass presentation before you make a final judgement. My experience is that a lot of the times, the 'loss' of bass is due to the reduction of some emphasis in the mid to upper bass range and that what comes with that is greater extension with a bit more becoming audible in the lower bass, and often an improvement in the definition and tone of the bass as it firms or 'tightens' up. We all have different takes on which of those 3 factors - quantity, extension and definition/tonality - is more important to us and which is least. In the long run I seem to have gravitated towards appreciating the extension and definition, and I'm usually quite happy to sacrifice a little weight for a bit of gain in the other 2 areas. Your preference may be different and there's nothing wrong with that. We probably prefer different coffee too :-)

Also, while bass is often the first thing noticed, it won't be the only change. There will be changes everywhere, including in soundstage and imaging, in the overall 'noise floor' and the sense of greater or less 'silence' or 'blackness' between notes, clarity and definition of sound, dynamics, and tonal colour. Trying to sort things out can be quite difficult at times.

My rule of thumb after playing with isolation and room acoustics for quite some time is quite simple. The really good and genuine improvements all tend to do 2 things in common, even though other things may be more apparent at times. Those 2 things are an improvement in clarity and an increase in tonal colour which is associated with a greater sense of difference between instruments and voices. Things just become more 'colourful' in a sense, though without exaggeration. Try putting on a percussion disc and just listening to the different tonal colours associated with drums of different sizes, skin tensions and striking techniques. Yes, it may sound punchier and more dynamic, and go deeper or have more weight, but if you aren't able to better distinguish the differences between the individual instruments, or between voices in a vocal group, then the change may be accentuating one factor in which case you may end up tiring of it eventually, however enticing it is at first. There tends to be a hidden cost when one thing is accentuated, and it can take some time to find it, but it may be a cost you ultimately aren't prepared to pay. In my experience the genuine improvements don't carry such costs.

David Aiken

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