Yesterday I pulled out my JBL L100A's and hooked them up to my Dynaco ST-70 and was really impressed with the clarity and sweetness, especially in the upper mid's and highs. What this revealed was that I had some smear in my main system.
Today I lowered the gain on my subs to the point you could barely hear them which is what you are supposed to do. I put on a couple of CD's that I was very familiar with and don't have exaggerated bass. The result was startling, the bass was actually stronger (not louder) as it was more defined, cleaner, and definitely faster. There was no smearing anymore and everything was livelier and more coherent. The integration was good before, it is superior now.
Mind you the adjustment in the gain was minimal and was only fleshed out by listening to a set of speakers that are admittedly forward.
It is too easy to fall in love with too much of a good thing, bass. The truth be told, less can be more and I recommend that all who are reading this see if lowering the gain of their subs doesn't have the same positive effects as it did mine. It only takes a few minutes to find out and is completely reversible if you liked your original set-up!
Please post your results!
Thanks,
Jim
