Less bass now I have a second Gold Phantom?

[brandtashley]

Has anyone else experienced less bass after adding a second phantom? 

I've had just one Gold Phantom for the last 6 months, and I am quite used to the incredible sound it's produced. All though every now and again it muffles parts of a song, i'm guessing due to it being mono. But most of the time it was great and the bass from the one phantom was extraordinary. 

For example Joe Cocker - You are so beautiful - Organic album, at 0.18 seconds in to the song a really nice low bass note would hit. BUT now I have two Gold Phantoms, that Bass note has virtually gone, much to my disappointment. 

Another example is First of the Year (Equinox) - Skrillex - More Monsters & Sprites album - at 1.07 into the song, the bass is not what it was.

I am enjoying the stereo sound produced from the two speakers, but i feel like i haven't really gained much from buying a second, and in fact I'm feeling I've lost out in a way. 

I'm using a dialog box now. Still using Spotify on the exact same settings. The first speaker is in exactly the same place it was, i've just added a second one on the other side of the room. I've moved them in and out from the walls, no difference.

Would appreciate any thoughts.

[Jean-Marie]

You are probably experiencing a room mode cancellation.

You should try to move yourself in the room, and stand near the back wall to see if you can hear that bass from that position while you cannot from other positions.

Two speakers instead of one will likely excite the room very differently than a single one.

Jean-Marie

[David A]

To build on what Jean-Marie said:

The bass response you hear from a speaker depends on the speaker's bass ability, it's location in the room which will provide greater or less support to bass frequencies, and your listening position which can be in a place which accentuates bass at some frequencies, a place which totally wipes out bass at some frequencies, or a place which falls somewhere between those two extremes.

You haven't given us any information about your room, speaker placement, or listening position. I'll list some things which can, but may not necessarily, cause problems:

Room: irregular shaped rooms, rooms which open into other areas through openings like archways because the other areas acoustically couple to the room and can cause problems

Speaker placement: proximity to a wall tends to provide bass support and proximity to a corner provides the most support so placing speakers well away from walls can reduce bass. If the 2 speakers aren't placed symmetrically in relation to side walls and the wall behind them, the support the room provides to each speaker is likely to be different and that might increase the possibility of the bass from the new speaker cancelling some of the bass from the first speaker. Also where you place the speaker determines how strongly the room modes (standing waves) which occur in all enclosed spaces will be activated. Placing a speaker near an opening like an archway into another area will weaken the bass support the room provides and might contribute to weakened bass response and possibly help create a situation where the bass from one speaker cancels some of the bass from the other.

Listening position: bass is accentuated in some positions in a room and weakened on other positions so experimenting with your listening position might result in you hearing improved bass. You should hear strong bass if you stand/sit against a wall and the strongest bass if you are standing/sitting in a corner but those locations may not be the best for sound overall for a lot of other reasons but trying listening in those positions should give you an idea about the maximum amount of bass you can achieve, even though you should expect a bit less bass in the positions which provide best overall sound.

See if any of those sorts of things might be contributing to your problem and experiment with changes in speaker and listening position placement to see if you can improve things. I will warn you that irregular shaped rooms with openings to other spaces can be very tricky, I know because I have an L-shaped room with 2 archway entrances. but you can get reasonable results in many cases if you work at it. Another problem room situation can be living rooms where placement of speakers and listening position can be subordinated to interior design considerations and the approval of other residents. Hone your negotiation skills to deal with that situation.

[Pim]

Ehh, is night mode off?

[Hifi_swlon]

Has anyone else experienced less bass after adding a second phantom? 

I've had just one Gold Phantom for the last 6 months, and I am quite used to the incredible sound it's produced. All though every now and again it muffles parts of a song, i'm guessing due to it being mono. But most of the time it was great and the bass from the one phantom was extraordinary. 

For example Joe Cocker - You are so beautiful - Organic album, at 0.18 seconds in to the song a really nice low bass note would hit. BUT now I have two Gold Phantoms, that Bass note has virtually gone, much to my disappointment. 

Another example is First of the Year (Equinox) - Skrillex - More Monsters & Sprites album - at 1.07 into the song, the bass is not what it was.

I am enjoying the stereo sound produced from the two speakers, but i feel like i haven't really gained much from buying a second, and in fact I'm feeling I've lost out in a way. 

I'm using a dialog box now. Still using Spotify on the exact same settings. The first speaker is in exactly the same place it was, i've just added a second one on the other side of the room. I've moved them in and out from the walls, no difference.

Would appreciate any thoughts.

If you really want to know what’s going on and are that way inclined, I’d get a umic-1 mike and measure with one and then both and see what’s happening. I have definitely experienced adding more bass equalling less bass and taking bass away adding more bass - it can be resolved with DSP - the hard bit is knowing what frequencies are the problem.

(Edit, actually the hard bit is guessing what frequencies are the problem.... knowing is easy)

[kmjy]

When you add a second Phantom you spread them out for adequate stereo separation. Now you essentially have two subwoofers in the room so placement is absolutely VITAL.

Now the bass is being produced on the left and right rather centred, like with one Phantom.

The positioning in the room as well as with each other is very vital. If the two Phantom are positioned inadequately with each other it can cause this bass cut.

Try angling them differently. Say instead of straight on angle them in so both tweeters line up straight to you, or if it’s like that already try and angle them straight so the tweeters aim past each ear.

While doing this also experiment with room placement.


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[Pim]

The first speaker is in exactly the same place it was, i've just added a second one on the other side of the room. 

This got me thinking. Does Spark give an option to move the balance all the way to that one speaker? This way you will effectively have the same setup as before (all music coming from one speaker). That way you can prove to yourself whether it's a room mode or there something wrong with the bass output of the Phantoms.

[kmjy]

Even if the speaker is still in the same spot adding the second Phantom opposite it can still cause this issue if they’re not placed accurately. The woofers that face in towards the Phantom’s are essentially firing at each other. Space them further apart. Angled. Or move the both so that where the original Phantom is instead there is a Phantom either side of that original spot.


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