Bass & Treble adjustment

This is what I also want from my system. Proper bass at low volume. 3 choices here.

  1. More sensitive speakers with more/bigger drivers able to move more air and use the power from your amp more efficiently.
  2. Add a subwoofer
  3. Increase amp power and keep the same speakers.

Either choice implemented well will give you what you want. However option 3 might be considerably more expensive to achieve the result.

I agree.

Ahh yes, also that option. Although this might not maintain an even sound as the volume is increased for normal listening levels. Can you select different FR curves from your phone on roon? That might be a good way to solve the problem actually.

Luxman has tone controls

I did #2 and #3

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None of those 3 options address reduced hearing sensitivity to bass (and treble) at low volume.

See this:

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Proper bass at low volumes is the holy grail of hifi.

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In my experience as my speakers have got larger, with the addition a big bass driver, and now with the addition of powered bass sections, I have got much better bass, and bass presence, at low volumes. Why does this have anything to do with reduced hearing sensitivity ?

Back when I had 6” standard 32 litre floor standers with my atom I had bugger all bass at low volumes. I then built the bigger more sensitive speakers and got much better bass at low volumes. Now with my current speaker which has the addition of 250 watt amps for the 12” driver I have even better bass at low volumes. Or I could have powered the original 6” floorstander with a more powerful amp and improved my bass. Probably not to the standard it is now but it would help.

This was the OP’s issue?

I’m not entirely sure of the point you were trying to make but any one of, or a combination of, the options I suggested will improve bass at low volumes if done in the right way.

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Damn right!

Sometimes I come in after a late shift when everyone is in bed and put the stereo on. I get great bass presence at low volume. Like vol. 14/15 on the Atom. Really helps me wind down after a busy shift in emergency. I never used to be able to do it due to lack of bass as the op states.

Then @Pablohoney should trade in his Naim kit for Luxman.
OR … just get a sub for low-level listening. My ol’ Kef R107s have excellent full, tight, bass, but I still like a sub for low-level listening, and for some classical pieces.

I think the RME ADI-2 DAC/Preamp is a great option for this, it has a programmable DSP / parametric EQ for different sound levels. Below is an example of how this can be used to lift bass and treble more (relatively) when the total output volume drops:

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I’m running floor standing Monitor Audio RS-8s.:

“ First, the RS8s offer unusually extended frequency response, with bass that reaches down into the midto- low 30Hz range and treble that extends beyond audibility. They also have quite good driver integration, with crossover points for the most part seamless. They, along with other affordable new near-full-range speakers such as Revel’s Concerta F12s, dispel the myth that full-range sound has to cost the earth. Second, the RS8s offer spacious imaging (though traces of treble “zing” occasionally peek through) with good image height and width. They also produce deep soundstages that consistently draw favorable comments from guest listeners.

Third, the RS8s are easy to drive, and so work well with moderately powered, moderately priced electronics. They also sound dynamically alive, so you may find yourself playing them at higher volumes than you would (or could) with most competing speakers. The RS8s are downright happy playing ebullient jazz and rock material; they did a fantastic job of capturing the exuberant, punchy sound of “Vertigo” from U2’s How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb [Interscope].”

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Maybe just get a nice sub and you might get that low level bass your after. Especially if you’re really happy with your speakers otherwise. It will just nicely reinforce your low end.

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You can’t really set the sub to behave differently at different volumes unfortunately…

There are three distinct things, quite different:

One is speakers reproducing full range undiminished bass as low as there is any in the recording. That I believe is to what you are referring - as was my first post in this thread, and the solution is suitable full range speakers, or a sub with speakers less capable in the bass, of course with amplification able to drive and control.

The second is reproduction of bass at low listening levels, to be the same as a proportion of the music as it is when played at realistic levels through the same speakers. Regardless of whether the speakers reproduce the fullest bass, weaker bass (and, though generally less obvious, treble) is a natural phenomenon of the response of the human ear. That is what I was referring to in my last post - it appeared to be referenced in your post to which I replied, and was in someone else’s post prior to that.

The third is bass lacking in the recording. This appears to be the main thrust of the opening post, though later the factor of low listening levels was also introduced. The OP’s lament of ‘tone controls’ of one form or another able to tailor response with different records is the only solution that would resolve that (and then limited to increasing whatever is present to increase, and limited by tge crudeness or otherwise of the control).

Of course, in any particular instance two or all three of the above mayapply.

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Absolutely agree with @litemotiv , I have had a RME ADI -2 fs DAC in my system as DAC pre for nearly a year now. It can provide Vol. control plus simple treble and bass control, or programmable ’loudness’ control or Five band parametric EQ. Performed in DSP. All variable or stored as presets on the remote. I use mine as simple room compensation to curb a room induced bass peak. Great bit of kit for modest outlay by Naim standards. If you don’t like what it does in your system you can always use it as a desk top headphone amp at which it excels. The DSP principle is effective and I am also tempted to try Dirac.

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It doesn’t need to. If it is well integrated it will just aid in moving more air at any volume meaning you hear more low frequencies. The OP’s speakers likely roll off earlier than he assumes. It will aid in a flatter response down to 30-25 at least.

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Yes - though not as sophisticated and balanced as my suggestion, and requires that preamp.

For me, getting the full range speakers made problem 2 & 3 no longer an issue.

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Full range speakers alone, whatever the type or how implemented won’t provide more bass as volume setting is reduced, nor more bass when the recording rolls it off…