[DecibleDude]

 I've had my VA Set 120 control amp for over a year now and in most respects am very happy with it. There is one thing I've noticed over time though, and that is seemingly less bass in comparison to my previous integrated amp which had an active preamp, unlike the 120 control amp. I've only noticed this when using the cd player, but not so much on the phono. Anyway, I've heard that this thinnest in the bass is inherent to passive preamps, but I've also heard that it can be alleviated with the right choice of interconnect cable between the 120 and the cd player. Is this the case, and is there anything I can do to beef up the bass a bit? High frequencies are not the issue they sound fine. So I'm wondering if particular cables might help or even a different cd player. To be clear, I love the amp, but would like it even better if I could tweak it in some way to address this issue? Thanks 

[rotarius]

Well, you cannot do anything about weak bass but some spendy ICs have a lot of capacitance to roll off highs which can make it sound more balanced. 

[hawkmoon]

What are you using now?

[DecibleDude]

 Just standard cheapie RCA interconnects thin black wire type.

[hawkmoon]

Beg, borrow, or purchase some interconnects to see the changes in sound.  All Van Alstine equipment is revealing of the wires connecting to your system.  This includes your speaker wires as well as your interconnects.  Once you try a few interconnects you will hear how they change the sound of your system.  Have fun!

[Rusty Jefferson]

Have you changed any other pieces of equipment/speakers in your system except the two integrated amplifiers?

What was the previous integrated amplifier?

What speakers are you using?

[Letitroll98]

I doubt very much that you'll increase bass frequency levels with a cable change unless there's something significantly broken in your cables.  However there are ooddles of modestly priced interconnects that will improve the overall sound of your system.  Have you made any measurements?

[DecibleDude]

I doubt very much that you'll increase bass frequency levels with a cable change unless there's something significantly broken in your cables.  However there are ooddles of modestly priced interconnects that will improve the overall sound of your system.  Have you made any measurements?

No, just the amp, but previously I had a Musical Fidelity which was about 80wpc if I remember correctly. Anyway the first time I noticed the diff was on Heart's "Little Queen" in which there's really enjoyable base content which is just not as robust on the 120, although to be fair the upper frequencies are better on the 120. The cd player put out 2v which is sufficient, but I've been reading about impedance mismatches and capacitance differences that make this more problematic with passive preamps. I was hoping for any easy fix if there is one, and the cable thing would be about as easy a tweak as there could be if it worked. The doubt comes from the fact that I've found many articles stating that low capacity cables can definitely improve high frequencies, but no mention of low frequencies.

[DecibleDude]

Have you changed any other pieces of equipment/speakers in your system except the two integrated amplifiers?

What was the previous integrated amplifier?

What speakers are you using?

I responded to your question on someone else's question by accident just above, so read as response to you.

[yeldarb]

I have a Norh SE9 which has an Alps pot, for a passive pre.  When I first tried it, it sounded thin with a CD source.  I made some interconnects with twisted pair CAT5E and it was "thin" no more.  So try different cables.  Make some.

[I.Greyhound Fan]

Well, you cannot do anything about weak bass but some spendy ICs have a lot of capacitance to roll off highs which can make it sound more balanced.

I beg to differ.   I own a pair of AudioQuest Colorado 72v XLRS and while they have great sound they have anemic bass.  Both my Blue Jeans XLR and Belden 8402 XLRs have way more bass.   I use the Belden 8402 XLRS as they have a nice tone.  High frequencies are very similar with the AQ cables having a bit more clarity and air in the high frequencies.  The difference in bass is not subtle.  The 8402's also beat out a pair of Cardas Parsec XLR's.

With that being said, in general you are not going to get deeper bass by changing cables.

[hawkmoon]

Blue Jeans is a very good cable.