Clipping or system limitation

I think there’s a couple of possibilities here. There may be a speaker-room interaction problem. But if so, I’d expect you to hear it on lots of tracks, not just this one. The other is that you’re hearing just what’s on the album. I had a listen and heard some modest bass reinforcement about a minute and a half into the track. But it does sound somewhat unfocused and nothing like a double bass. But then I wasn’t expecting an instrument at that point. If I were, I’d be inclined to agree it was “a bit off”.

My suggestion is that you do nothing at the moment other than listening to lots of music on your fine new system. If the bass issue doesn’t recur, that’s great. If it does and starts to spoil your enjoyment, that’s the time to start playing around with positioning and considering changes to your electronics.

Roger

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Probably an artefact of the ports and speaker placement, you could try repositioning. That bass is at quite a low level on my NBLs.
What is your speaker cable? If it’s causing HF resonance in the Nait you may be losing some headroom to it making clipping more likely but the Nait will be getting warm if that’s the case.

Hi Tapp
Just listened on my system, sounds like a synth coming in at that point def not an acoustic piano imho, Tord Gustafson uses bass pedals on his what was said album to the same effect,
Terry

Roger,
Great response very relevant to the concerns I raised.
I’ve had the set up about a month so c100 hours listening and this is the only track that reveals issues to my ears.
Needless to say I like your suggestion of just listening.
I think this affirms what sounds good is quite personal although a second opinion never hurts.
Thank you.

Hi Yeti,
NACA5 5m x2 and amp isn’t warm.
It sounded like distortion on the track to me but clearly other peeps on here perhaps have a more resolving set up.
Interesting to hear the different slants and suggestions all worthy of consideration.
Thanks.

ChiefChirpa,
Okay that makes me feel a little better about my investment.
Good excuse to listen to some of your suggested titles.
Thank you and HAGD.

Definitely live and close-miked with rather too many miscellaneous taps and clicks for my liking. May be natural/realistic but very distracting - like sputs n cracks on vinyl, quite spoils my enjoyment

I bought the album yesterday from Bandcamp, and as you say it’s acoustic. But the track referenced in the original post, which I listened to on Qobuz, has the synth bass addition. It’s most confusing when there are multiple versions and people are listening to different things.

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The bass on the last tack sounds like a synth - deep but no strings. Interestingly the credits show no bass player for track 12……

@anon4489532
Yes not having the same starting point certainly does not help!
That said not knowing exactly what instrument you are listening to highlights the issue for me - looking at Roon under the Album Credits a synthesizer is listed on all tracks.
Hope you enjoy the album.
KRs,

Interesting. I just listened to both tracks from Tidal.

I hear the deep bass tones on both tracks but more pronounced on track 12. I don’t know how low the tone is but at higher volume it seems to sets off my room a bit too. Not sure my speakers reach the full depth though.

Don’t like that at all! Just as I can’t listen to Keith Jarrett because of his nasal vocalising interfering with his great playing on seemingly every track. Completely off putting.

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Can’t go wrong with 5m of A5, unless the soldering’s not up to par but I doubt it would have a huge effect even then.

A track that used to upset my old speakers (Thiel CS1.6) in my old room, which was the same size as your but for the addition of a bay window on the left and a couple of alcoves either side of the fireplace opposite, was Lad Zep’s Gallows Pole, there was something thumping away at an unbelievably low frequency for those speakers and quite out of control from part way through following an upgrade. I can’t even remember what the upgrade. No other track caused a similar problem but it primed me to be ready to upgrade the speakers and I happened on a pair of trade in NBLs soon after at my local dealership, problem solved.

John Bonham?

Listened to the track several times. The sound is coming from the recording - almost like an organ or synth. It is not a speaker placement/room interaction. I did not dislike it but can a piano naturally make such a sound? Maybe a resonance in the piano or room environment of the recording.

A-ha - track details - Hania Rani, Composer, Keyboards, Piano, Synthesizer, MainArtist

Thanks for this artist I will explore futher, love it.

No clipping with the SL2s / 552DR / Dave they really show off of the recording, you can here her moving around on the chair, breathing and the surroundings of the recording studio / apartment.

Are we sure about that? The credits in Roon (for the release on Qobuz) lists piano, keyboards, synthesizer for this track. It may be wrong, but I found neither confirmation nor a clear contradiction on Discogs, label website, her homepage, or the PDF booklet on Qobuz (which lists no instruments at all)

I am hearing no uncontrolled/clipping/distorted bass on this track, but it’s very deep bass. Not sure even a prepared / unconventionally played or miked piano is physically capable of notes that deep. It sounds like a synth to me but of course, if it’s a synth, it can have any sound

I’ve been listening again. The bass notes seemed more obvious on Qobuz but on the downloaded album it’s more of a very deep wash in the background. It’s a bass synth of some sort. I’m sure I’d hear it much better in speakers larger than shoe boxes but it’s still very clearly there.

That may well just mean that she used non-complex electronic sounds before. And the bass drone here is certainly not complex :slight_smile:

Supernait 3 and Atc scm11, bass is clean and as deep, well to 40hz which as low as the 11’s go in my room. I get the sense there is quite a bit more below that tho.