What speaker gets the bass most right?

caesar

Well-Known Member
May 30, 2010
4,290
767
1,698
I get the impression that the bass may be the most difficult frequency for a speaker manufacturer to get to sound most realistic. As an electrostat owner, I already have the magical midrange and highs (with proper amplification). But although my speakers get the texture and tonality of the bass perfectly down to 28Hz, there is not enough of the speed or impact of what real bass sounds like in a club or in the hall - such as when that bass drum is cracked.

From what I have heard, the best bass I have heard is by Wilson Maxx 3 (and Maxx 2). Any other contenders out there?
 

JackD201

WBF Founding Member
Apr 20, 2010
12,308
1,425
1,820
Manila, Philippines
Of the recent models I've heard lately, aside from the aforementioned Wilsons, Focus Audio, JMLab, Revel and VSA are all speaker manufacturers I find to have nice and tight bass that go down low.
 

Robert

Well-Known Member
Nov 10, 2010
163
3
405
The best bass I heard was the Kharma Exquisite Reference, in the lower room at GTT Audio. The room is huge, and the speakers were quite memorable.

The Avalon Isis also does realistic bass, meaning the weight and scale is conveyed throughout all passages. Even on solo piano, the left hand needs to have weight. Yes, it can go low and loud, but that is <1% of all music. I believe the crossover design with the midrange is key to create the sense of detail, direction, and space.

Many speakers go loud but not low, are not balanced, do not integrate with the midrange seamlessly, or have an artificially tight sound.
 

JackD201

WBF Founding Member
Apr 20, 2010
12,308
1,425
1,820
Manila, Philippines
I very much agree.
 

MylesBAstor

Well-Known Member
Apr 20, 2010
11,236
81
1,725
New York City
I very much agree.

I was always partial to the Infinity Vs, RS1bs (both with modded xovers that bring their performance to another level) and the big Genesis. Say what you want, one thing Arnie loved was bass :)

Then there's the triple stacked RELs as Sumiko used with the big Sonus Fabers at CES last year.
 

Mike Lavigne

Member Sponsor & WBF Founding Member
Apr 25, 2010
12,467
11,363
4,410
The best bass I heard was the Kharma Exquisite Reference, in the lower room at GTT Audio. The room is huge, and the speakers were quite memorable.

i owned the Kharma Exquiste Reference 1D's for 4 years in 2 different rooms. i agree it was a great speaker and had very articulate and integrated bass performance. very musical. when i moved them into my current room they were a bit 'lost' as they could not quite handle it. to be fair; i now know the the room was over damped at that time.

last year i did resolve the room issues and my current speakers, Evolution Acoustics MM3's, set my reference for the best, most articulate, most integrated and balanced, and the most 'forget about it and just enjoy the music' bass i have heard.

the sealed box with 1000 watt amplifier bass drivers of the MM3's go down to -3db at 10hz yet perfectly mate with the ceramic mid-range in my room. you cannot hear separate drivers.

Many speakers go loud but not low, are not balanced, do not integrate with the midrange seamlessly, or have an artificially tight sound.

agree; and when i finally got my MM3's to do all the wonderful things while still allowing the fullness and ambient foundation it really unleashed my system. there is no 'false' leanness or lack of note decay in the name of definition.
 

FrantzM

Member Sponsor & WBF Founding Member
Apr 20, 2010
6,455
29
405
Hi


Difficult question to answer, I will venture a few answers:

Genesis 1 has the best bass I have heard from a speaker without sub .. Not much else is in their league for the low bass. I have my reservation about their mid bass however.
Rockport Altair .. Has to be heard to be believed (My current dream speaker)
For people whose ears I trust, the Von Schweikert VR-9 is in that league .. Having heard the VR-4 in person. I must say that I believe so.. The bass from the VR-4 is one of the best I have heard from similar box

In my personal experience,however multi-subs are required to provide the best bass possible .. What I got in my own room was simply shocking using the Geddes tri-sub arrangement coupledwith a Behringer crossover/Bass Manager
 

marty

Well-Known Member
Apr 20, 2010
3,025
4,167
2,520
United States
I'd first ask to define what you mean by "bass"? Deep bass, mid bass, or just the all inclusive, don't get fancy with me "bass"? For deep bass, JL Gotham subs are probably in a class of their own. But for all purpose "bass", I would have to say that I have never forgotten a demo I heard at CES may years ago when CES was in Chicago, of the TDL Reference Monitors.
http://baobab-audio.com/index_files/Page309.htm
This speaker had bass so deep, so clean, so prodigious, so powerful and so fast that I'm sure they closed the room for cleaning after the demo i heard because I crapped all over my seat. To this day it may have been the single most impressive bass demonstration I ever heard. I've always been tempted to buy a used pair just to see if what I heard was truly "real", but they come up for resale rarely. Even if they do, one has to suspect the butyl surrounds of the drivers would be somewhat degraded, thus probably requiring reconing which is a nightmare I'd rather avoid. But wow, that demo was like the Kennedy assasination-you'll never forget where you were when you heard bass like that for the first time.
Marty
 

microstrip

VIP/Donor
May 30, 2010
20,806
4,698
2,790
Portugal
I was very impressed with the bass quality of the new Sonus Faber top of the range (now called "The Sonus Faber", as they droped the Fenice model name) - easily one of the best I heard of similar size speaker. I think those going to CES will hear it.
 

slowGEEZR

Member Sponsor
Sep 20, 2010
1,317
74
968
72
Colorado Springs, CO
I really enjoy the bass quality from my Wilson WP-8s. Playing something like "South of the Line", from the album "Rude Mechanicals", by Pitch Black via the Wilsons gave me a new appreciation for bass textures, bass melodies and bass power.
 

Bruce B

WBF Founding Member, Pro Audio Production Member
Apr 25, 2010
7,006
512
1,740
Snohomish, WA
www.pugetsoundstudios.com
I'd second Mike's comments. The Evolutions are definitely in the top 3, with the larger Avalons and Focals.
 

MylesBAstor

Well-Known Member
Apr 20, 2010
11,236
81
1,725
New York City
I'd first ask to define what you mean by "bass"? Deep bass, mid bass, or just the all inclusive, don't get fancy with me "bass"? For deep bass, JL Gotham subs are probably in a class of their own. But for all purpose "bass", I would have to say that I have never forgotten a demo I heard at CES may years ago when CES was in Chicago, of the TDL Reference Monitors.
http://baobab-audio.com/index_files/Page309.htm
This speaker had bass so deep, so clean, so prodigious, so powerful and so fast that I'm sure they closed the room for cleaning after the demo i heard because I crapped all over my seat. To this day it may have been the single most impressive bass demonstration I ever heard. I've always been tempted to buy a used pair just to see if what I heard was truly "real", but they come up for resale rarely. Even if they do, one has to suspect the butyl surrounds of the drivers would be somewhat degraded, thus probably requiring reconing which is a nightmare I'd rather avoid. But wow, that demo was like the Kennedy assasination-you'll never forget where you were when you heard bass like that for the first time.
Marty

Marty: That's what I was trying to get at with the Infinity vs. RELs :)
 

MylesBAstor

Well-Known Member
Apr 20, 2010
11,236
81
1,725
New York City
I'd also add to Marty's comments the speaker's low frequency extension vs amount of "air" moved vs. bass transient response. And many speakers fail in their ability to blend the volume of air moved by the bass, mid and upper octave drivers.

That's where the Infinity V were unsurpassed IMHO. I had one listening session at HPs years ago--and when we put on the drums from the Emerald Forrest LP--our pant legs literally flapped in the wind :) It's also those low frequencies that really give the sense of space. Improve your low octaves and you'll improve imaging, the recreation of the recording space and harmonic resolution.

And one other speaker that no one has talked about that had great low octave extension are the big NOLAs. Perhaps unsurpassed by any other speaker.

And of course in talking about bass quality and extension, there's the room caveat. I knew someone years ago that had Infinity V and no matter what he did in the room, there were was no mid-bass. (It was clearly a problem with problem with the sturdiness of the room's walls/walls flexing and chimney in the room, not room dimension :( ).
 

MylesBAstor

Well-Known Member
Apr 20, 2010
11,236
81
1,725
New York City
The bass you hear is as much a function of your room acoustics as what speakers you use.

--Ethan

Well actually Ethan, the bass you will hear is a function of what's on the source. That is of course, unless all you listen to are test tones. And there are very few sources, be that of the analog or digital persuasion, that have truly deep bass despite what some may write about. There are a couple of recordings that quickly test the mettle of a system including Psalms of Consolation on Argo, two James Welch recordings on Wilson (Concert and Music for Christmas), some Erato and Harmonia Mundi Organ recordings done in Europe, etc.

Then the amplifiers better have the capability, power supply, etc. to drive the speakers without crapping out. If you don't have that, then it don't matter a damn how good the room is because you'll never hear what the system is capable of.

Then we can talk about the makeup of the room, its dimensions, wall thickness and sturdiness, acoustics, etc.
 

Kal Rubinson

Well-Known Member
May 4, 2010
2,360
697
1,700
NYC
www.stereophile.com
Well actually Ethan, the bass you will hear is a function of what's on the source. That is of course, unless all you listen to are test tones. And there are very few sources, be that of the analog or digital persuasion, that have truly deep bass despite what some may write about. There are a couple of recordings that quickly test the mettle of a system including Psalms of Consolation on Argo, two James Welch recordings on Wilson (Concert and Music for Christmas), some Erato and Harmonia Mundi Organ recordings done in Europe, etc.

Then the amplifiers better have the capability, power supply, etc. to drive the speakers without crapping out. If you don't have that, then it don't matter a damn how good the room is because you'll never hear what the system is capable of.

Then we can talk about the makeup of the room, its dimensions, wall thickness and sturdiness, acoustics, etc.
Sure but I think it should be implicit in such a discussion that the speaker is fed with an appropriate source and more than adequate/suitable electronics. It would be ideal if we could also specify the same about a reasonably reasonably large and well-designed room but that is unlikely. Thus, we are talking about and comparing experiences with different speakers in different rooms and those experiences are defined as much by the room as by the speaker .
 

FrantzM

Member Sponsor & WBF Founding Member
Apr 20, 2010
6,455
29
405
Hi

The thread is taking a slight turn toward a debate between room acoustics and speakers intrinsic quality. I will bite, take a stab at that and move away ...

The Room is the most important aspect of music reproduction. The best gear in a bad room will provide a non-satisfying musical reproduction. There is no way around this fact.

Full range Speakers, differ in the way they reproduce bass in a good room and I think that it what the OP was talking about ...The room being good enough some speakers will produce better bass than others... in that room. Fact not opinion.
 

MylesBAstor

Well-Known Member
Apr 20, 2010
11,236
81
1,725
New York City
Sure but I think it should be implicit in such a discussion that the speaker is fed with an appropriate source and more than adequate/suitable electronics. It would be ideal if we could also specify the same about a reasonably reasonably large and well-designed room but that is unlikely. Thus, we are talking about and comparing experiences with different speakers in different rooms and those experiences are defined as much by the room as by the speaker .

Kal, do you think a $300 receiver could do it?
 

RBFC

WBF Founding Member
Apr 20, 2010
5,158
46
1,225
Albuquerque, NM
www.fightingconcepts.com
Let's not use this thread to start another flame war about members' preferences for gear. The discussion should stay on topic: what speakers do bass the best. While most folks cannot compare various brands in their room, or compare them in an acoustically-superb room, it would probably be wise to seek consensus on good speaker performance in a variety of systems and rooms.

Lee
 

About us

  • What’s Best Forum is THE forum for high end audio, product reviews, advice and sharing experiences on the best of everything else. This is THE place where audiophiles and audio companies discuss vintage, contemporary and new audio products, music servers, music streamers, computer audio, digital-to-analog converters, turntables, phono stages, cartridges, reel-to-reel tape machines, speakers, headphones and tube and solid-state amplification. Founded in 2010 What’s Best Forum invites intelligent and courteous people of all interests and backgrounds to describe and discuss the best of everything. From beginners to life-long hobbyists to industry professionals, we enjoy learning about new things and meeting new people, and participating in spirited debates.

Quick Navigation

User Menu

Steve Williams
Site Founder | Site Owner | Administrator
Ron Resnick
Site Co-Owner | Administrator
Julian (The Fixer)
Website Build | Marketing Managersing