Speaker upgrade or add a subwoofer

[Dv p]

I’ve a pair of B&W 606 bookshelf speakers. It offers decent bass but leaves room for improvement. I also find them bit bright. 
I auditioned Wharfdale Linton. But didn’t find them too different from 606. 
Question is should I upgrade 606 to Lintons or add a subwoofer.

[andyr]

3 hours ago, Dv p said:

I’ve a pair of B&W 606 bookshelf speakers. It offers decent bass but leaves room for improvement. I also find them bit bright. 
I auditioned Wharfdale Linton. But didn’t find them too different from 606. 
Question is should I upgrade 606 to Lintons or add a subwoofer.

 

I would suggest a sub - or preferably two - should be added to any bookshelf spkrs.

 

Are the Lintons similarly 'bright'?  (The review I found for the 606s said they were bright.)

 

I note that the Lintons are specced as having a minimum impedance of 3.5 ohms.  The 606's minimum impedance is quoted as 3.7 ohms - so similar.

 

In either case you need an amp whose output doubles from 8 to 4 ohms, to drive them well.  Subs will add to their sonic delivery.

 

[Snoopy8]

How are the speakers set up in the room? Please provide details of the room including dimensions, room treatment etc.  

[BRS]

Totally agree with the need for a sub or two. Soft furnishings, rugs, curtains, etc will help. 

[Dv p]

2 hours ago, andyr said:

 

I would suggest a sub - or preferably two - should be added to any bookshelf spkrs.

 

Are the Lintons similarly 'bright'?  (The review I found for the 606s said they were bright.)

 

I note that the Lintons are specced as having a minimum impedance of 3.5 ohms.  The 606's minimum impedance is quoted as 3.7 ohms - so similar.

 

In either case you need an amp whose output doubles from 8 to 4 ohms, to drive them well.  Subs will add to their sonic delivery.

 

Thanks. Any particular sub you would suggest!

[Dv p]

2 hours ago, Snoopy8 said:

How are the speakers set up in the room? Please provide details of the room including dimensions, room treatment etc.  

[Dv p]

1 hour ago, BRS said:

Totally agree with the need for a sub or two. Soft furnishings, rugs, curtains, etc will help. 

How much a rug would make difference?

[BRS]

Its hard to say but the bigger the better and plush deep pile. Also moving the speakers forward may improve things but probably won't reduce the brightness. 

[andyr]

1 hour ago, Dv p said:

Thanks. Any particular sub you would suggest!

 

Sealed - and with the size of your room ... at least 12" drivers!    Preferably with low-level cables ... if you have an integrated amp ... this may be not possible.

 

1 hour ago, Dv p said:

How much a rug would make difference?

 

As BRS said - the bigger the better and plush deep pile.  The problem in your room is that with a wooden floor and a plaster ceiling ... you have two opposing reflective surfaces.  So ... a big, deep-pile rug will ameliorate this.

 

[Snoopy8]

You have a large room, with high ceilings, hard surfaces, windows on right with blinds, and an open space on the left.  As others have suggested, a heavy rug will make a difference, as will more soft furnishings, curtain, book shelves etc.  Anything to reduce the reflections in the room, which is contributing to speakers being a bit bright.

 

It does not help that your speakers are close to the wall, and I assume your sitting position is close to the opposite wall ?  Any possibility of changing these positions?

[Dv p]

2 hours ago, Snoopy8 said:

You have a large room, with high ceilings, hard surfaces, windows on right with blinds, and an open space on the left.  As others have suggested, a heavy rug will make a difference, as will more soft furnishings, curtain, book shelves etc.  Anything to reduce the reflections in the room, which is contributing to speakers being a bit bright.

 

It does not help that your speakers are close to the wall, and I assume your sitting position is close to the opposite wall ?  Any possibility of changing these positions?

Not possible to change sitting position but will try a rug and some soft furnishings 

[almikel]

big room, tiny speakers - 1 or 2 capable subs, well integrated, would make a significant difference!

 

Mike

[davewantsmoore]

On 9/9/2023 at 2:16 PM, Dv p said:

I’ve a pair of B&W 606 bookshelf speakers. It offers decent bass but leaves room for improvement. I also find them bit bright. 

 

If you want to change the "balance" of the sound....eg. more bass, less treble (ie. less "bright") .... then the most effective and 'precise' (ie. you have control) way to do this is with "EQ" (eg. "tone controls", "room correction", etc. etc... it goes by lots of names).

 

Once you dial in the amount of bass (relative to the mids and high) that you desire..... then you might encounter.

• The speakers cannot go loud enough before the bass starts to distort (the bass quantity is not sufficient).
• It is hard to get an even frequency response..... there are peaks and dips in the bass response .... ( the bass quality is not sufficient).

 

Subwoofer(s) can help with both of the above.

 

To get subwoofer(s) set up well, you will need this "EQ" anyways.   Adding it first, is the best first step.

 

On 10/9/2023 at 12:35 AM, Dv p said:

try a rug and some soft furnishings 

This can be helpful.....  but without EQ (ie. the ability to calibrate the sound balance in the environment that you have) setting up a system is fairly difficult.... so I would start there (EQ).   Even just the basic tone controls built into some amplifiers can help.

 

Of course, though... all of these things (subs, rugs, eq, etc.) can be used together.

 

Especially consider the cost of EQ, vs the cost of a subwoofer.

 

There was a recent thread about this topic.

[aussievintage]

On 09/09/2023 at 8:26 PM, Dv p said:

 

 

They have a rear port don't they?   You might be able to fine tune the bass by experimenting with the distance out from the wall.  Maybe they could come out as far as to be in line with that step in wall (in the left of the picture).

[blakey72]

A rug and some room treatment will be a great start. Yep and experiment with moving the speakers. Subs are good but can take some time to successfully integrate.