Recommend passive speakers with the deepest bass?

W

wwenze

Audiophyte
Have been looking for an upgrade from Usher S-520, but just can't seem to find a good one.

Need passive bookshelf speakers in the 5" to 7" range that can reach around 40-45Hz. It does not have to be -1dB or -3dB - I think I can accommodate up to -6dB or -10dB and use EQ to boost the inadequacy, but the speakers must not have rolled off until nearly silent for this to work.
 
I

ichigo

Full Audioholic
It shouldn't be that hard to find an upgrade the S-520s considering all the reviews of them talk about how easily they bottom out...
 
W

wwenze

Audiophyte
After some more searching, I think I might as well go for active speakers and their DSPs.

But Watkins Generation Four looks good for a passive.

It shouldn't be that hard to find an upgrade the S-520s considering all the reviews of them talk about how easily they bottom out...
They bottom out because they do lots of bass (in terms of frequency) for that size, which is what some of the reviews also mentioned. Which is why they are hard to upgrade from. On the desktop at <80dB with a 6dB bass boost, I don't hear any bottoming during testing. Maybe the 2013 version that I own is different.
 
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highfigh

highfigh

Seriously, I have no life.
After some more searching, I think I might as well go for active speakers and their DSPs.

But Watkins Generation Four looks good for a passive.



They bottom out because they do lots of bass (in terms of frequency) for that size, which is what some of the reviews also mentioned. Which is why they are hard to upgrade from. On the desktop at <80dB with a 6dB bass boost, I don't hear any bottoming during testing. Maybe the 2013 version that I own is different.
No, they bottom out because A) the magnet assembly isn't 'bottomless' and B) the tuning doesn't match the low frequency ability/characteristics of the driver. Without the boost, they probably don't bottom out unless they receive too much power.
 
Good4it

Good4it

Audioholic Chief
My vote is BMRs. I have a SVS 12” ported sub and I don’t need it for music.
 
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Swerd

Swerd

Audioholic Warlord
I heard Usher S-520s a number of years ago. They seemed to have more emphasis on the mid range (too much?) and lacked bass. I always wondered if they had enough baffle step compensation. More BFC would balance out the bass/mid range balance at the expense of sensitivity, which was already very low, about 84 dB.

I agree on the recommendation for Philharmonic Audio's BMR Philharmonitor. They're a 3-way bookshelf speaker with bass as low as 32 Hz. The clean and deep bass is only one part of their excellent overall sound quality – their mid range is to die for (to use a highly technical term). The BMR speakers are several sound quality classes above that Usher.
 
ematthews

ematthews

Audioholic General
Can anyone tell me here how the Phil BMR's would be any different than my Ascend RAAL towers? They look like they dig deeper but I am curious on the overall sound difference.
 
everettT

everettT

Audioholic Spartan
Can anyone tell me here how the Phil BMR's would be any different than my Ascend RAAL towers? They look like they dig deeper but I am curious on the overall sound difference.
The midrange is unique in that it measures well way off axis. When you look at the measurements, its sick.
 

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