bassgroove
New Head-Fier
- Joined
- Aug 22, 2011
- Posts
- 23
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- 15
When I was a kid, about 30 years ago, I had an uncle we went to see, he lived far away and died young so I only ever saw him once. He had some large wooden speakers, a large stack of hifi separates and while the adults talked about stuff in the kitchen he put some music on for me.
It is, to this day, the only time I remember hearing bass that seemed to transcend reality. So hollow, transparent and light yet also deep and expanded, like it had fractured reality and I was astride parallel universes.
It wasn't loud, it wasn't boomy, it didn't make the room vibrate (that I recall). I don't remember what the music was or what the equipment was. I was a young kid.
I do recall the quality of the bass and ever since then I have actually shunned most equipment that had any degree of pronounced bass as it just paled in comparison to what I knew it should sound like. So, as a teenager I preferred more pronounced treble and muted bass. In my 20's I wanted clear midtones and a lighter treble. In my 30's I wanted soundstage and transparency and extension. Now, as I have just hit 40 I was reflecting on my journey through HiFi and have just started to arrive financially at a stage where I can afford to indulge in good quality stuff.
Now, I feel it is time to hunt for that bass again. To try and relive that impression and have it on tap. Any ideas where I can begin with this?
I have just ordered a pair of Ultrasone Edition 8 Limited's (the wood finished ones), a Woo Audio Firefly with upgraded tubes and am looking forwards to hearing the outcome when they arrive that I will pump ALAC files through.
Now, I know the Ultrasones are closed and the bass I am now hunting for is probably never going to arrive in a closed can, but I work offshore on ships and needed something portable, isolating and still high quality.
I was also thinking about adding a pair of electrostatic headphones to my collection for use at home, but they are notriously bass light and need serious monoblock headphone amps to shine. But I guess my best description of the bass I am after is the kind of midtone sound you get from electrostatics through a valve setup but for much lower frequencies: and being for much lower frequencies it has a much more profound effect.
Do you know where I am coming from on this?
So...
Maybe that bass can only be had from large floorstanding full horn speakers. Maybe I will never hear it again and it was as much about his positioning and the room's architecture, maybe it was a fluke or even an hallucination.
Anyone else ever experience that sort of a bass before?
Just by doing a little research and spending enough you can get most of the good stuff easily enough: good SN ratios, well rounded distinct tones, responsive dynamics, etc. However, what I am talking about I feel goes beyond such discussions. I guess I am talking about the holy grail of sound reproduction.
I'm sure I'm not the only one here who is on some kind of a quest for that sound or their own version of the perfect sound.
I'd sure like to hear some more stories of people with their own holy grail of sound.
It is, to this day, the only time I remember hearing bass that seemed to transcend reality. So hollow, transparent and light yet also deep and expanded, like it had fractured reality and I was astride parallel universes.
It wasn't loud, it wasn't boomy, it didn't make the room vibrate (that I recall). I don't remember what the music was or what the equipment was. I was a young kid.
I do recall the quality of the bass and ever since then I have actually shunned most equipment that had any degree of pronounced bass as it just paled in comparison to what I knew it should sound like. So, as a teenager I preferred more pronounced treble and muted bass. In my 20's I wanted clear midtones and a lighter treble. In my 30's I wanted soundstage and transparency and extension. Now, as I have just hit 40 I was reflecting on my journey through HiFi and have just started to arrive financially at a stage where I can afford to indulge in good quality stuff.
Now, I feel it is time to hunt for that bass again. To try and relive that impression and have it on tap. Any ideas where I can begin with this?
I have just ordered a pair of Ultrasone Edition 8 Limited's (the wood finished ones), a Woo Audio Firefly with upgraded tubes and am looking forwards to hearing the outcome when they arrive that I will pump ALAC files through.
Now, I know the Ultrasones are closed and the bass I am now hunting for is probably never going to arrive in a closed can, but I work offshore on ships and needed something portable, isolating and still high quality.
I was also thinking about adding a pair of electrostatic headphones to my collection for use at home, but they are notriously bass light and need serious monoblock headphone amps to shine. But I guess my best description of the bass I am after is the kind of midtone sound you get from electrostatics through a valve setup but for much lower frequencies: and being for much lower frequencies it has a much more profound effect.
Do you know where I am coming from on this?
So...
Maybe that bass can only be had from large floorstanding full horn speakers. Maybe I will never hear it again and it was as much about his positioning and the room's architecture, maybe it was a fluke or even an hallucination.
Anyone else ever experience that sort of a bass before?
Just by doing a little research and spending enough you can get most of the good stuff easily enough: good SN ratios, well rounded distinct tones, responsive dynamics, etc. However, what I am talking about I feel goes beyond such discussions. I guess I am talking about the holy grail of sound reproduction.
I'm sure I'm not the only one here who is on some kind of a quest for that sound or their own version of the perfect sound.
I'd sure like to hear some more stories of people with their own holy grail of sound.
