[audioman999]

I am starting to venture into the world of classical music.  Most of my listening to date has been jazz, blues.  I was a little disappointed when I started to listen to the music, not the same level of imaging as jazz and vocals, not really getting much bass extension.  My current system is the B100 with the DAC driving Totem Model 1 signatures with a Rotel RCD991 which i use as a transport.  my listening room is 9x14.  My question is do I need more power to make the music sound more lively or do I need larger speakers that can handle deeper bass.  Any input is appreciated as well as recommendations.  I've been thinking about trying out some PMC if I can find any in Ottawa.  Thanks

[Phil A]

It depends on what you are listening to.  If you are listening to a large orchestra vs. a small group then you may notice the lack of bass more.  You can always integrate a sub like a small Rel that might work well in the room.  Do you have room treatments?

[Napalm]

It's normal, amongst other things it's due to the recording techniques too.

The easiest thing to do is to add a subwoofer. But then you'll fight with integrating it to the Totems and room.

Or you could just accept things as they are.

The neighbors' grass ain't greener either.

Nap.

[HsvHeelFan]

My local audio retailer, that I bought all of my stuff from, for years, always said "You don't  need a subwoofer."  Yeah, right.

I was driven to purchase a Velodyne subwoofer when my old Integrated Amp started failing.  It would go into shutdown at the most inopportune times and after swapping out 2 different sets of KEF tweeters, I decided I needed a subwoofer. 

What a wonderful addition. Now, if I had PMC's or some other high end speaker system, I may not have needed a sub.  With my KEF Q70's, the Velodyne allowed me to tailor the sound to what I like.   I can get room shaking bass, if that's what I want.  I've gone for a more balanced sound that works well with CD's such as Telarc's "Time Warp",  "Round Up", "Star Tracks II" and others as well as Rock and Roll and Jazz.

Yes, it took me weeks and hours and hours to get my crossover point and the gain levels along with polarity and phase set.  I'm sure it drove my wife nuts while I was tweaking it.

Now, I'm real happy with it.

Classical music covers hundreds of years of music. There are  large Orchestral works and small Orchestral works along with Sting quartets, quintets along with woodwind or brass quintets or even Wind Orchestras or band pieces.  All can have varying instrumentation. 

There are a number of classical "starter" lists on what to listen to.  Start out slow and listen to a variety of works to figure out what you like.   Telarc recorded CDs are some of my favorites for cleanliness of the recording.

Sometimes, I have to pick a CD based on the Orchestra performance over the technical merits of the recording.

I'm sure many people would disagree about  some of the recordings that I like from a technical standpoint and some of the performances that I think are great. 

Listen to samples, decide what you like and build your collection.

HsvHeelFan